Does SNOW WHITE with Rachel Zegler have a chance of being successful?

The response to this question depends on many factors, including the perspective of those answering it. The final judgment will come through objective reasons as well as purely irrational ones. Ultimately, the truth will be revealed through a cinema screening or streaming. However, some things can be guessed with some probability, such as gathering everything known about the film. Creators, actors, set photos, leaks, teasers, and marketing campaigns provide an initial sense of whether the film is worth the wait. However, Marc Webb’s “Snow White”, with a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, is a project already burdened with “bad blood” from the start. This irrational element moves ahead of the film like a fat pig, trampling on the innocent pearl-like expectations of younger viewers, who are the primary target audience. Yet, as usual, it’s mostly older men with weak self-esteem regarding their masculinity who speak about it. Years ago, Disney plastered their brains with posters of “Snow White” for free. Snow is white, after all, though sometimes yellow—a fact more relevant to partygoers who don’t make it home with the effects of beer on cold, wintry nights and dog owners.

So, how would the haters react if “Snow White” were played by an Asian actress? The strangest part is that Rachel Zegler has Polish-Colombian roots, so we’re talking about her Latino-Slavic background at most. And yet, she is still “too dark” for the cult of the white, heterosexual race, where every princess must be waiting for a prince with stalkerish, aristocratic tendencies to save her. This stereotype, which includes the inherent subjugation of women to men, will be altered in this version, which is a natural consequence of growing gender equality awareness. It’s obvious, though pitiful, that the incel community would prefer women to remain ignorant of what a clitoris is—but after all, we’re talking about a fairy tale. A model of it presented in the 1930s, but these realities are more connected than one might think. It turns out that incels cling more to old fairy tales than children, and even the slightest paradigm shift in them induces fear and hatred because they feel the world will change so irreversibly that they will never become significant in their, in reality, invisible, failed, and meaningless existences.

The situation with Rachel Zegler and the wave of hatred related to her ethnic background is disgusting. It shows that even if Disney, by making live-action remakes of classic fairy tales, seeks only profit, no amount of anger at this approach justifies such an offensive reaction that questions the creators’ basic rights to life and dignity and ties their worth to race, culture, place of birth, etc. That’s plain Nazism. And the fact that such views are dangerously widespread in today’s civilized world, even if only in the form of couch-ridden rants from beer-bellied men, was evidenced when the “Snow White” trailer was released in August. Therefore, it’s important to persistently repeat that freedom and equality before the law belong to everyone. Although, as you may know from my writings, I have never been and still am not a supporter of biological equality in terms of access to social roles, everyone should have the right to try. It’s about the opportunity, the right to it, not individual capabilities like IQ.

The new “Snow White” shouldn’t be dismissed just because it reinterprets an old, puritanical, and ultimately not very popular fairy tale among today’s computer-savvy kids. But it shouldn’t be hailed as great just because these changes are happening either. What personally disappointed me most was the dwarf storyline. Progress, in all its progressiveness, can also cause harm if applied too radically, and that’s precisely what’s happening concerning short-statured actors. On one hand, I understand the creators’ decision to almost completely (except for Martin Klebba) exclude short-statured actors, as they aim to fight the harmful stereotype that such actors can only play characteristic roles, mainly in fantasy, sometimes sci-fi, and historical settings. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine them playing basketball players. There needs to be balance, and excluding short-statured artists from “Snow White” will only make the film seem artificial and harm the story’s reception. Originally, the dwarves were supposed to be a multi-gendered and multi-ethnic group of beings played by regular-sized actors. However, the creators backed out of this and decided to use full CGI. If something has changed on this front, let me know.

Thus, I agree with Jason Acuña, a short-statured member of the “Jackass” group, that this approach doesn’t fix anything and only takes jobs away from short-statured actors, who have worked hard to turn their condition into something that provides them with employment, social independence, and, as a result, boosts their self-esteem. Their self-worth certainly won’t be increased by being appreciated through the removal of stereotypes while at the same time having food taken from their fridge. People have never fed themselves with the idea of equality, which is why it loses out to nationalist populism that, at least at the beginning, tries to meet citizens’ most basic needs. This is not the right approach. So, the dwarves are a significant downside when predicting whether “Snow White” will be a success. Unless, of course, the screenwriters manage to change the story enough that the artificiality of the situation isn’t noticeable. However, the ideological bad taste of excluding a group of actors simply because of their congenital condition will remain. This approach also bears Nazi-like traits. Left-wing circles should think hard about how much they want to make the film an unnaturally propagandistic medium, while fighting the undoubtedly harmful and disgusting propaganda coming from the right, and unfortunately harming certain social groups in the process.

The most interesting and valuable aspect, therefore, seems to be the idea of a princess who doesn’t want to be a toy in a golden cage, controlled by a prince who dominates every aspect of her life and, most importantly, serves as her only chance in life. This is a valuable change from an educational perspective, as it will show the young audience, especially girls, that life’s meaning isn’t found in a man’s kiss or dependency on the male gender or anyone else, for that matter. Girls should be taught from a young age that they can achieve happiness, success, and social standing without male help in the context of relationships or becoming wives. Success, of course, doesn’t exclude starting a family, but on one’s own terms and not through moving from one social class to another. This version of “Snow White” has a chance to be a valuable fairy tale, breaking away from the patriarchal myth Disney propagated in the 1930s. I emphasize that it has a chance because the objective factors will be the execution and the literary quality of the screenplay. The “Snow White” remake should be legendary in every aspect—visually, musically, content-wise, acting-wise, in terms of editing, and… something unique that will be difficult to replicate for decades.

I know the chances of that are slim. They would be higher if the film were produced by an independent company. However, it’s hard to expect Disney to abandon its policies. There are enough examples, like the painfully derivative “The Acolyte“. Its cancellation is like putting makeup on a corpse with a delayed decision that changes nothing. This is my biggest concern with “Snow White”—that it will be ruined by the desperate pursuit of profit and the use of solutions meant for everyone, which end up pleasing no one. In 2025, we’ll find out whether the creators had enough courage and strength to resist the power of money and Disney’s influence, as they represent the film’s greatest hope. The Gerwig-Wilson-Webb trio is made up of creators with impressive portfolios. The weaker link seems to be Gal Gadot due to her acting skills, but I hope the number of takes will compensate for that flaw. To answer the question of whether “Snow White” has a chance, I’d say yes. It does, although it won’t be easy. I’d put the odds at 60:40 in favor of the project succeeding and being watchable, earning around a 6/10. As for whether it will become a timeless, cult classic, the chances are only 70:30 that it won’t.