Black Thor Actor Talks About Racist Comic Book Fans

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Let me just put this as clearly as possible: Norse Mythology did not have any moral values to enforce. It had no messages to preach, it had nothing to teach. It is one of the most pointless religions ever to have existed.

I think you should read Havamal and see for yourself wether or not the Norse had any moral values to teach.
Much of what can be read from Havamal are actually guidelines on how to behave and humanity could gain from following many of them (not all clearly but most).

So I would definitely not call the Norse Mythology pointless.

Thank you for reminding me of that particular Edda. I'm going to have the phrase "I rede the Lothathnir and hear thou my rede..." bouncing around my head for the rest of the day now

Also: Yes, please do read the Havamal. It's like the Norse book of Psalms.

 

[kasperbbs]

Stringer Bell as a norse god?! What fool would oppose such badassery?

Haha, i didn`t realise it was him, i gotta see this movie soon!

OT: I think that casting a black dude as a norse god is a little bit unusual, but it won`t really bother me, perhaps that is because i havent read a single 'Thor' comic.

 

[ryai458]

The only reason I am annoyed, and I have never read a comic in my life, is because I am well versed in Norse mythology and he was not black, I suppose not real at all but still. What I'm trying to say is if they made a movie depicting Norse myth it would alright to be annoyed by an incorrect personification of a god. Think of it this way how pissed would Muslims be if a movie about Allah and and it was a she, it just doesn't go along with the myth.

 

[Mj0ln1r]

PS: What is up with all the people feeling the need to point out that they are from Scandinavia? To anyone who does this: You have no, nor will you ever have, any connection to Norse Mythology in your entire existence. Your nationality doesn't suddenly make you higher above everyone else in this discussion.

Actually, we do. Norse-gods and religion still flavor our culture, our national holidays, and our common names.
As late as the 19th century, Rune-writing was still used in some parts of the country (Sweden), and paganism is alive and well.

So don't speak of things you don't know anything about.

These are not connections. These are conventions. People in England can be said to have as much of a connection to Nordic religion as Scandinavians. All of this is superficial. The names, the holidays, it's just a superficial link between contemporary Scandinavia and Nordic Mythology that might as well be doing-fuck-all-because-we-can days.

As for the culture, that's just false. Ignoring the fact that the culture of Scandinavia is pathetically insignificant as it is, there is nothing from Norse Mythology that support the social rules now in place. The popular Swedish mindset of everything having to be "lagom" came from Viking custom. Hell, Sweden could barely call itself a real country until far after Nordic Mythology was abolished.

As for the runes, you are once again applying Nordic Mythology to something it had absolutely nothing to do with.

Let me just put this as clearly as possible: Norse Mythology did not have any moral values to enforce. It had no messages to preach, it had nothing to teach. It is one of the most pointless religions ever to have existed.

So my point still stands: Nobody from Scandinavia has no reason to proclaim their national heritage.

Now this is a big pile of bullshit you are selling here! I don't mind that you don't like Norse Mythology, that is fine, to everyone theirs!
But describing it pointless and unimportant like a piss in a historic ocean is not just rude, it also shows how little you know about things you hate (and that is probably why you hate them). I agree this religion is dead, like a latin, but it had major significance in the past, (like a latin)!

I am glad everyone has their own opinion, but at least erase your statement "Let me just put this as clearly as possible: Norse Mythology did not have any moral values to enforce. It had no messages to preach, it had nothing to teach. It is one of the most pointless religions ever to have existed. " that one is trully disgraceful :/ ! (I can deny all of this by just reading the first page of nordic mythology on wikipedia)

PS: Also your statement on insignificant scandinavian culture :/.

 

[TheEnglishman]

I don't why people are moaning about the actor not looking Scandanavian, because he's not playing a Scandanavian character. He's playing a warrior from a different dimension who happened to meet the Scandanavians at one point.

There's no reason for him to have to be white, or have any specificed ethnicity.

Than again, this works on the assumption that the people complaining have actually seen the film, rather than them being knee jerk pathetic racists.

Also, all of this is over-ridden by the fact that his character (can't remember how to spell it) is AWESOME in the film.

 

[beema]

If they can cast Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin, I don't see why this is a problem. I guess there was probably a backlash against that as well (or maybe nobody cared because Daredevil was a pile of crap).

I don't support these arguments at all, but I do still think it's kind of stupid to cast a black guy in a blatantly white role just for the hell of it.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

Putting on the devil's advocate cap for a minute.

To the people on Elba's side: what would be the reaction to a movie based on, say, African tribal mythology, with a white cast? Ethically speaking, how would that affect your opinion of this casting decision?

Spoiler

Or do you a maaaaaayyyybe have a little bit of a bias, when it comes to the white-black dichotomy?

Just food for thought.

Hmmm, not really equatable. The entire Thor cast hasn't been made black, its just one guy. If they'd turned everyone in Thor black I'd have raised a few eyebrows, just as if they turned everyone in an African tribal myth white.
But if they made a film based on an African tribal myth and one guy was white, I'd be fine with that. I'm pretty sure there was an Orisha who's skin was white as bone

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

I don't see a problem with a black Nordic god. The Norse as a people were exceptional sailors and we've found artefacts such as dirhems (silver coins from the islamic world) and even a golden statue of freaking Buddha in Viking graves. That particular statue has a twin, currently in a museum in India. So the Norse knew full well there were races other than Caucasians

They also knew those races had their own Gods.

The parallel I made early still stands here really.

If a film or any kind of representation of (for the sake of argument) Hindu Gods or even traditional African deities was to be made. Would it be okay to cast a white guy as one of them?

I mean this film isn't exactly an accurate representation of Norse mythology any way, so it isn't that much of an issue. But can you imagine for a second if the tables were turned on that?

I'd say yes, it would be okay to make a film based on an African tribal myth and make one guy white. I'm pretty sure there was an orisha who had skin bleached white as bone

 

[Realitycrash]

PS: What is up with all the people feeling the need to point out that they are from Scandinavia? To anyone who does this: You have no, nor will you ever have, any connection to Norse Mythology in your entire existence. Your nationality doesn't suddenly make you higher above everyone else in this discussion.

Actually, we do. Norse-gods and religion still flavor our culture, our national holidays, and our common names.
As late as the 19th century, Rune-writing was still used in some parts of the country (Sweden), and paganism is alive and well.

So don't speak of things you don't know anything about.

These are not connections. These are conventions. People in England can be said to have as much of a connection to Nordic religion as Scandinavians. All of this is superficial. The names, the holidays, it's just a superficial link between contemporary Scandinavia and Nordic Mythology that might as well be doing-fuck-all-because-we-can days.

As for the culture, that's just false. Ignoring the fact that the culture of Scandinavia is pathetically insignificant as it is, there is nothing from Norse Mythology that support the social rules now in place. The popular Swedish mindset of everything having to be "lagom" came from Viking custom. Hell, Sweden could barely call itself a real country until far after Nordic Mythology was abolished.

As for the runes, you are once again applying Nordic Mythology to something it had absolutely nothing to do with.

Let me just put this as clearly as possible: Norse Mythology did not have any moral values to enforce. It had no messages to preach, it had nothing to teach. It is one of the most pointless religions ever to have existed.

So my point still stands: Nobody from Scandinavia has no reason to proclaim their national heritage.

1; Conventions are connections. That's the point. They are far fetched, but the roots are still there.
2: Moral values? They had several. Bravery, being the most prominent one. Plenty of morality can be found in the old tales based on the religion, found in the Eddas.

3; My main point is that there is a connection because we as a country have created one. We are forced to learn what is considered our "heritage" is school, read the myths, read about the viking-age, etc, just as the people in US are forced to read about the civil war, and similar stuff that have very little effect on them right now in the current times.
It's part of our tradition, making it part of our culture , making it part of us, silly as it might seem.

 

[Pips]

I think this racist argument is very sad.
Idris Elba did a lot with a small part, and he was one of my favourite characters in the film. I would be glad to see him involved in the Avengers. Not to mention that golden eyes and armour do absolutely NO harm to his looks...

Plus, it's not exactly the first time that we've seen black actors cast as canonically white characters if they are the best people for the role.
Michael Clarke Duncan was awesome as the Kingpin - his voice is just incredible.
Samuel L. Jackson, whilst lacking the voice of gravelly awesomeness, is still a good Nick Fury.

As for the "Norse Gods are white" stuff; the Marvel Asgardians are ALIENS, for Christ's sake! Skin colour ought to be the last thing people whine about.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

If they can cast Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin, I don't see why this is a problem. I guess there was probably a backlash against that as well (or maybe nobody cared because Daredevil was a pile of crap).

I don't support these arguments at all, but I do still think it's kind of stupid to cast a black guy in a blatantly white role just for the hell of it.

Not quite the same thing: Heimdall is a figure in Norse Mythology and anyone with an education in the subject would see casting Mr. Elba as a bit odd.

The Kingpin on the other hand, is just a crime lord. Crime lords have come from all sorts of places, backgrounds (both economically and ethnically) and walks of life. I also cannot think of a single white actor with the same physically imposing figure and deep baritone as Michael Clarke Duncan, a man surprisingly diverse in his talents cos that voice sounds funny (Armageddon), vulnerable (Green Mile) and malicious (Daredevil) depending on how he speaks.

For the record: he was AWESOME in Thor. Seriously, he was just this big imposing force that was both threatening and reassuring. Thumbs up.

 

[rutger5000]

I don't know the comic I don't know the role and I don't know the actor. But here is what I think and what I assume. You want this powerful angry perhaps even evil God. Personally I would have picked a black actor too. It fits the image better. I'd go for something like the main bad guys from 300 and the series SG1. Not saying a white actor couldn't have pulled it of, but a black one fits it better for me.
And yeah this whole stuff is rather retarded

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Isn't replacing a characters race inherently racist? I mean its not in a negative way, but still falls under the definition I would think, even more so considering how the race card is taken out and lighten up for effect.

 

[JDKJ]

Putting on the devil's advocate cap for a minute.

To the people on Elba's side: what would be the reaction to a movie based on, say, African tribal mythology, with a white cast? Ethically speaking, how would that affect your opinion of this casting decision?

To to the people on the other side: What about if the cast were not black...but also not white? Would all you people up in arms about a black guy playing Heimdall be as defensive of a Chinese man playing Anansi, if all you're REALLY concerned about is the preservation of cultural legacy? Are you really speaking objectively?

Spoiler

Or do you a maaaaaayyyybe have a little bit of a bias, when it comes to the white-black dichotomy?

Just food for thought.

Are you aware that blacks in American film and stage playing roles other than the Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben servant or a bug-eyed buffoon like Steppin' Fetchit is a fairly recent advent? And that for the longest time in the history of American film and stage, blacks were played by white actors in black-face? It wasn't really until the blaxploitation era of the early 1970s that blacks were finally cast in roles of the hero and the heroine.

"You see this cat Shaft? He's a bad mother . . . . Shut your mouth!"

 

[Jyggalag]

Isn't Nick Fury supposed to be white in Iron Man 2? But who else other than Samuel L Jackson to take the role? Nitpicking on these details are immature at best. Would you rather have a black actor that can act or a white actor that looks just like the comic counterpart but can't act to save his life?

 

[Pips]

I'd be annoyed if they made a film about tribal deities and made on a white dude.

But that's not a relevant comparison: This film is not about the actual Norse Gods, and it isn't a story about the original myths. It's about comic book characters partially based on the Norse Gods. Of course it would be offensive to stick a white actor into a film supposedly accurately portraying African deities, but this isn't the same at all.

 

[StellarViking]

I agree with everyone else who's of Norse origin here, the comic is based on our myths and legends. I don't care that he was cast as Heimdall. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I have heard nothing but good things about him. Even so, it's a movie, it's not as if they're giving a straw man a spear and an eyepatch and setting it on fire.