...all's well that ends well. Let us bury the hatchet and wait for Captain America movie with some Asian or Arab chick in role of Steve Rogers. That's indifferent nowadays.
Black Thor Actor Talks About Racist Comic Book Fans
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
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This is one of the reasons that the issue needs more discussion. I agree that this looks like a double standard, but there's a little more to it that that. A non-white actor playing a character that you might have traditionally considered to be white - as is the case with Idris Elba playing Heimdall - isn't really the same as a white actor playing a character who is definitely not white, as was the case in The Last Airbender.Jenx said:
Avatar: The Last Airbender was notable for being one of the few major cartoon shows where the main characters were all people of color. Although it's set in a fantasy world, the show takes a lot of inspiration from Asian and Inuit culture. With the majority of movie parts already going to white actors, when Paramount took a show that was known for its cultural diversity and cast even more white actors in the live-action adaptation, people were upset. What made it worse is that some strange wording on the casting directions, which called for "Caucasian, or any other race," seemed to indicate that the producers were looking to cast white actors from the start.
Now, you could make the argument that Paramount simply cast the best actors for the job, but you could also make the argument that the casting process was deliberately weighted to favor white actors. One seems a little naive, and the other seems a little cynical, and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
The key point, however, is that without the context is does look like a double standard, which is one of the biggest parts of the problem.
it's not a conspiracy theory, it's more than obvious that hollywood has a very strong liberal slant and will do anything to promote their agendalSHaDoW-FoXl said:
hollywood was more than willing to loose hundreds of millions of dolars on shitty anti-iraq war movies that no one watched but critics loved and atleast one of which was used as propaganda that lead to the killing of 2 US servicemen in the shooting in germany, to deny the obvious liberal agenda of hollywood is absurd
No, not at all, that's why i'm said that part where comics are inaccurate as hell, only a speculation on names. Also i haven't read those comics and didn't saw the movie, on my part it was same speculationstoprequesting said:
Ignoring race, he sure can pull off the "Space God" look pretty well and really he is well cast.
I think the comic book guys put their foot in their mouth as they got anal about supposed importance of the universe canon and lacked the social skills they were still doing racial discrimination.
I'm not saying ALL racial discrimination is bad, it is perfectly reasonable to say advise a pale skinned person to be careful not to get sunburned, or express concern over a dark skinned person living in high latitudes to ensure they consume enough Vitamin D (that is produced slower in dark skin, even slower where the days are short and sun low).
But racial discrimination on something as far fetched as Fantasy Space Gods. Let it go.
Maybe it would have been better if the fans merely asked for an explanation why this part was such a distinct race from the others, but no, they objected to him EVEN BEING THERE! That's bad. That is denying a talented and suited black actor the role he deserves, and also denying the audience the best talent for the role.
Maybe the film just needed a reference to how he IS Nordic, and a God but racially came from Africa or some African equivalent. Or whatever.
It doesn't matter to me. If I'm able to look over how they all speak perfect modern english I'll look over inconsistent races, especially if I know it helps with casting.
Not many actors can really pull off the Space-God look, and narrowing to white actors would be too limited anyway.
I think the comic book guys put their foot in their mouth as they got anal about supposed importance of the universe canon and lacked the social skills they were still doing racial discrimination.
I'm not saying ALL racial discrimination is bad, it is perfectly reasonable to say advise a pale skinned person to be careful not to get sunburned, or express concern over a dark skinned person living in high latitudes to ensure they consume enough Vitamin D (that is produced slower in dark skin, even slower where the days are short and sun low).
But racial discrimination on something as far fetched as Fantasy Space Gods. Let it go.
Maybe it would have been better if the fans merely asked for an explanation why this part was such a distinct race from the others, but no, they objected to him EVEN BEING THERE! That's bad. That is denying a talented and suited black actor the role he deserves, and also denying the audience the best talent for the role.
Maybe the film just needed a reference to how he IS Nordic, and a God but racially came from Africa or some African equivalent. Or whatever.
It doesn't matter to me. If I'm able to look over how they all speak perfect modern english I'll look over inconsistent races, especially if I know it helps with casting.
Not many actors can really pull off the Space-God look, and narrowing to white actors would be too limited anyway.
not reading the whole thread... sorry
I will say this. As an African American, i do know that if a traditionally black character was arbitrarily turned white it would definitely rile some people up. Nordic mythology is the epitome of white culture, so i do understand why some are annoyed by this. however it doesn't require as much of a fit that is being thrown here.
I will say this. As an African American, i do know that if a traditionally black character was arbitrarily turned white it would definitely rile some people up. Nordic mythology is the epitome of white culture, so i do understand why some are annoyed by this. however it doesn't require as much of a fit that is being thrown here.
He was awesome in the role, although I knew next to nothing about the thor character before going to see the movie. I didn't question why a black guy was in asgard. He made more sense then most of the other canon things in marvel comics lets face it.
it's just stupid
he was surely not casted because he was a good actor but solely to cause some controversy
you don't need to be racist to know that thor is traditionally white
you wouldn't cast a bunch of white guys to depict an african tribe either
people are just too touchy about that issue
they need to acknowledge that humans have races and that people belong to races and that races have distinct attributes that distinguishes them(be it on the inside or outside)
it certainly doesn't help to push equality with that kind of activism
in the end we are not equal and people need to understand that and don't call racist on anybody who points out the obvious differences
he was surely not casted because he was a good actor but solely to cause some controversy
you don't need to be racist to know that thor is traditionally white
you wouldn't cast a bunch of white guys to depict an african tribe either
people are just too touchy about that issue
they need to acknowledge that humans have races and that people belong to races and that races have distinct attributes that distinguishes them(be it on the inside or outside)
it certainly doesn't help to push equality with that kind of activism
in the end we are not equal and people need to understand that and don't call racist on anybody who points out the obvious differences
So no one would object to Gordon Freeman being played by...
Morgan Freeman~? All kidding aside I thought Idris did a great job playing his part but DESPITE this I still think they could've chosen another member of the pantheon for him to play that wasn't oh so ironically titled "The white god".
Whatever the case, the films out now so I see little point in argueing this fact.
Morgan Freeman~? All kidding aside I thought Idris did a great job playing his part but DESPITE this I still think they could've chosen another member of the pantheon for him to play that wasn't oh so ironically titled "The white god".
Whatever the case, the films out now so I see little point in argueing this fact.
This is an outrage!!! It's not like anyone ever took a Galilean Jew and scion of King David and presented him as a blue-eyed European for almost 2000 years.
Oh wait...
Or made the cast of a fantasy movie featuring entirely Asian characters and made the entire cast white... er...
Oh wait...
Or made the cast of a fantasy movie featuring entirely Asian characters and made the entire cast white... er...
When ever I see any move, I base my opinion on the actors off of how well they perform their roles, how well they convince me they are who they portray. It doesn't matter if they are white, black, asian or what have you. Now that being said, some actors fit their roles a lot better than others. Case in point, Justin Chatwin playing Goku in Dragonball Evolution. Now I'm pretty sure the movie would have sucked no matter what, since they let Akira Toriyama go. However, Goku should have obviously been played by an Asian. Just like Roshi and Chi Chi where. Not a canadian. I have yet to see the movie Thor. This actor may do a great job as Heimdall, I dunno yet. But, Asgardians are supposed to be based off of Vikings. And This character was white in the comics. Those are points I would give to the opposing party, but like i said I judge by performance. I'll make my decision on his performance when I see the movie. I hope people can see that this has nothing to do with racisim.
At the end of the day, who the fuck cares?
Well, let me explain better. I understand the comic book fans annoyed at the change in canon, however slight.
But the racists? Fuck 'em. They haven't mentally evolved with the rest of society enough, so let them stay as degenerates. For fuck's sake, they're aliens anyway! Who cares if one is black?!
Also, the man is an amazing actor. He did his character very well.
Well, let me explain better. I understand the comic book fans annoyed at the change in canon, however slight.
But the racists? Fuck 'em. They haven't mentally evolved with the rest of society enough, so let them stay as degenerates. For fuck's sake, they're aliens anyway! Who cares if one is black?!
Also, the man is an amazing actor. He did his character very well.
I never really understood why people feel the need to change source material, other than plot holes or mistakes/goofs. I find it to be pointless busy work, probably by people who feel the need to show that they have done something.
Change something enough and it isn't really anything like it used to be? How far deep into a forest do you go before you start leaving the forest? This leads to the obvious backlash. Why wouldn't there be backlash? Pointless changes are pointless.
edit:
Imagine if they now made a Blade move with a white bloke. Or white women. Or fuckit, an albino half vampire dog. I would be fucking LIVID, because it would be fucking stupid. Stop defending this pointless shit. Seeing some sort of 'racism' where there is none is ridiculous as well as propogating racism in itself.
If you really give a shit, write in a new original character / ip of your favourite colour and make them awesome. Problem solved.
Change something enough and it isn't really anything like it used to be? How far deep into a forest do you go before you start leaving the forest? This leads to the obvious backlash. Why wouldn't there be backlash? Pointless changes are pointless.
edit:
Imagine if they now made a Blade move with a white bloke. Or white women. Or fuckit, an albino half vampire dog. I would be fucking LIVID, because it would be fucking stupid. Stop defending this pointless shit. Seeing some sort of 'racism' where there is none is ridiculous as well as propogating racism in itself.
If you really give a shit, write in a new original character / ip of your favourite colour and make them awesome. Problem solved.
I am completely non racist and I can see both sides of the argument as having some validity. A tricky situation to say the least. It's a hard one to call without actually have first hand knowledge such as if one person pulled off the role better than the other in the audition. If someone who didn't look like the character as much as another but really nailed the character good I'd probably say let's hire him - he's good. If they were comparable? Maybe picking the one with the closest look makes sense.
But for some characters changing the race might look odd..
If I were expecting to see a Norse warrior, I'd picture a white dude, probably blonde haired, who has a beard.
If I were expecting to see a Karate Master, I'd picture a old Japanese guy.
If I were expecting to see a tribal warlord I'd picture either an African or Native American Indian.
That's just the way it is, and it does make sense since that's the reality of those situations. You might be able to say it'd not be much different than an armored medieval knight whipping out a samurai sword or a scimitar. It'd look out of place.
Personally I don't care what the actor/actress looks like if they can really do the character well. A bad actor can ruin a movie, someone not having the right skin color probably won't.
But for some characters changing the race might look odd..
If I were expecting to see a Norse warrior, I'd picture a white dude, probably blonde haired, who has a beard.
If I were expecting to see a Karate Master, I'd picture a old Japanese guy.
If I were expecting to see a tribal warlord I'd picture either an African or Native American Indian.
That's just the way it is, and it does make sense since that's the reality of those situations. You might be able to say it'd not be much different than an armored medieval knight whipping out a samurai sword or a scimitar. It'd look out of place.
Personally I don't care what the actor/actress looks like if they can really do the character well. A bad actor can ruin a movie, someone not having the right skin color probably won't.
Vrach said:
Why do you assume he was cast souly because he was black? That seems prejudicial. He could have been, actually most likely was cast because he's an awesome actor (Have you seen the Wire?). Kenneth Branaugh has cast black actors in traditionally white roles before ( Denzel Washington in Much Ado About Nothing) because he has wanted to work with them due to respect for their talent. Yes he could have cast a white actor but is it really that big of a deal that he didn't? Especially since Elba apparently did such an great job with his protrayal ( don't know, haven't seen it yet, just going with what has been writen on this forum).
On the flip side, Patrick Stewart once did a white Othello in an otherwise black cast. It got rave reviews and no didn't cause much controversy and maybe that was because people recognized how awesome it is to have Patrick Stewart in anything. He can act the shit out of any role!