Black Thor Actor Talks About Racist Comic Book Fans

[Semitendon]

I am a huge comic fan.

I don't have an issue with this particular casting. I am not a fan a Thor, and I don't know very much of his back story or villians, so maybe the argument could be made that I don't really care about this character, and thus, don't care about the casting.

But, I did care about the Daredevil movie, and the casting of a black man as Kingpin would have been notable to me, had he not been the perfect actor for the role ( I don't remember the actors name).

Personally, I have mixed feelings on the issue. Firstly, the history of a comic character should not be sacrificed for the sake of politcal correctness. So, to the comic fans that say he shouldn't have had his race changed for no other reason than pandering, I sympathize and don't blame them for complaining. When a rumor surfaced that the next Spiderman movie might feature a black Spiderman, I found the thought disturbing to say the least.

Alternatively, I recognize that the older comic series were often created at a time when black people were either unfavorably portrayed, or were left out all together. So, I can understand the desire to diversify the comic so as to make them more friendly to the present day moviegoers that are unaware of the history, and don't care about color, ( as applies to me in the case of the Thor movie)

So for my final word I would say this, the race changing of minor characters can be acceptable, provided that it is done due to the phenomenal actor, and not the arbitrary changing of race, major characters should largely be left as they were, so as to preserve the history and integrity of the source material.

Side note: This applies to all older works, including books, fairy tales, and any other source of inspiration that was made prior to the last 50 years.

 

[Monk Ed]

I seem to remember there being a lot of flak given to The Last Airbender for casting white people in the key roles.

I hope those who think Heimdall should have been white, also felt that the Last Airbender's key roles should have been played by southeast-asians.

And, just as importantly, vice-versa.

Addendum: How is this situation any different, though, than if someone were complaining about, hypothetically, Haley Joel Osmont being cast as the next Conan the Barbarian? Nobody would call that person "muscle-ist". Or Sean Connery being cast as a 9-year-old kid? Nobody would call that person ageist. Or a woman playing Batman and being referred to as "he" throughout? Nobody would call that person sexist.

I'm just saying. Complaining about a character's race being portrayed incorrectly should not be dismissed out of hand as racism if it truly affects their suspension of disbelief.

 

[ReiverCorrupter]

I think it's just sad that this even needs to be discussed. You hire actors to play the part. End of discussion.

People getting this worked up about a bunch of hyper rich folks who get hyper rich by playing make believe for a living is just a plug for racism.

Sit back and ask yourself:

Am I complaining because the movie based loosely on a comic book sucked (a la Spiderman 3), or am I complaining because the skin color wasn't what I wanted in my comic book movie? If you're ignoring the quality of your Comic. Book. Movie. then you're being a racist prick. Even if you think you're discussing it with a positive light towards blacks. Because the moment you step back and say "well, Norse Gods are white" and not "...but then again they aren't super futuristic aliens with future-technology either", you're not saying it for any other reason besides being a prick.

It's not any better than those pricks who kept saying "Is America -ready- for a black president?"

This discussion is just...it's just /facepalm.

Or to put it simply: Don't judge an actor based on skin color, judge them based on acting ability. I've heard he played the role excellently, so where the hell is the problem? The super advanced space alien Norse Gods need to be accurate to real Norse Gods in skin color only?

Norse gods would be white according to the Norse people who imagined them. Obviously this rendition of Norse mythology is so different and non canonical that a black Norse god makes about as much sense as any of their other changes. But if this were an actual attempt to be accurate, black Norse gods just wouldn't make sense, and you don't need to be a racist to see it. However, to get overly hung up on this one anachronism when there are other more fatal anachronisms would suggest that it is something specific to this issue of skin color besides mere authenticity.

You see what I just did there was construct an argument where my conclusion follows reasonably from my premises. Calling people pricks over and over again doesn't accomplish much.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Are we, as the most intelligent species on planet Earth, really still demonstrably at this stage? Angry because the depiction of a fictional being in a work of cinema is played by a black person?

The sooner the stupid members of our race die out the better, quite frankly it makes me sick that such idiocy still thrives among humanity.

 

[lord.jeff]

I can see the reason for the complaints, I don't care myself but if you look at the history of the character they should look Scandinavian.

 

[Monk Ed]

Are we, as the most intelligent species on planet Earth, really still demonstrably at this stage? Angry because the depiction of a fictional being in a work of cinema is played by a black person?

The sooner the stupid members of our race die out the better, quite frankly it makes me sick that such idiocy still thrives among humanity.

I recall people being upset that the key roles of the Last Airbender were played by white people. Are they included in your assessment?

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Are we, as the most intelligent species on planet Earth, really still demonstrably at this stage? Angry because the depiction of a fictional being in a work of cinema is played by a black person?

The sooner the stupid members of our race die out the better, quite frankly it makes me sick that such idiocy still thrives among humanity.

I recall people being upset that the key roles of the Last Airbender were played by white people. Are they included in your assessment?

They most certainly are.

 

[NickCooley]

So lemme get this straight, a fictional film about a fictional comic book about fictional gods is apparently some evil emblem of culture crushing because one of the actors playing a side character isn't the same colour as the people who dreamed up said fictional gods?

Sod off.

The lead role is White, Blonde and Blue-Eyed. Does that make the film a Neo Nazi plot to advance the Aryan Master Race?

Talent > Accuracy every day of the bloody week. Shove your canon and shove your mythology (key word myth) I want a good film not a Maker damn documentary.

 

[Haydyn]

I can see fault in being casted as African American. It goes against cannon and the lure the comic is based on. Howevever, it doesn't me. I wouldn't have thought twice about it if I hadn't heard there was controversy about it. My main concern is that Heimdall happens to be "The Whitest of the Gods", so yes, casting him as an African American seems silly.

I want to get to the point where we ignore race. People don't get this way about hair color. I can't wait until I can live in a world where race is not an issue.

 

[Warforger]

Speaking as a white-as-snow Swede, I welcome any attempt to bring some variation to our dire culture.

Well in Tropic Thunder Robert Downey Jr. was made into a black guy, if you watch the movie without seeing the beginning you couldn't tell he wasn't actually black. I don't see why they couldn't have tried to do the same for this guy, the acting is the same and the visuals will also please everyone.

Not that I care, this happens all the time usually a white person being cast as a colored person's role like in Prince Of Persia.

 

[Monk Ed]

I want to get to the point where we ignore race. People don't get this way about hair color. I can't wait until I can live in a world where race is not an issue.

What if Heimdall had been played by a 9-year-old girl? Would the people complaining about that be sexist and ageist?

I might sound like I'm being snarky or something but trust me, I'm not. I want to understand the root principle here.

 

[pigmypython]

It does seem dumb(especialy if your complaining just because of race) but I can kinda understand, I'd find it a bit off if I saw a white, Yami Malik Ishtar or Killer Bee if they ever made a live version movie of Yu-Gi-Oh!/Naruto.

More or less this. It seems out of place in a very obvious way but from what I hear he did a good job so it's all cool. Black Scandinavian lol...

 

[Technicka]

Speaking as a white-as-snow Swede, I welcome any attempt to bring some variation to our dire culture.

Well in Tropic Thunder Robert Downey Jr. was made into a black guy, if you watch the movie without seeing the beginning you couldn't tell he wasn't actually black. I don't see why they couldn't have tried to do the same for this guy, the acting is the same and the visuals will also please everyone.

Not that I care, this happens all the time usually a white person being cast as a colored person's role like in Prince Of Persia.

RDJ's role in Tropic Thunder was a satire of method acting. The whole joke was that he was that serious about his roles that he went and made himself black in the name of being authentic to his character. His use of blackface was a nod to some of the more outlandish things method actors have done. It was also taking a pot shot at Hollywood's lack of diversity - the pool of big names for the fake movie to pull from for ethnic actors was so empty that they had no choice but to cast a white guy for a black character.

 

[JMeganSnow]

It's an issue that people need to keep talking about though, because like any serious issue, it's not going to go away if we just ignore it.

Wait, what? Isn't this, in fact, the only way that racism will EVER go away? If everyone just starts IGNORING what race people are?

My policy regarding racism is this: if you feel the need to bring up somebody's race (except for esthetic-type purposes, the same way you might identify someone as being "tall and blond" or whatever), you're a racist. And you should stop.

If people do actually express some sort of racist opinion in front of me, I don't have hysterics and start shrieking about how they're a racist. I just call them a MORON. It is a much better and much more inclusive title. Plus, I don't have to think about what race they are in order to apply it.

 

[PinochetIsMyBro]

Won't be watching it due to Elba, as they did this just to insult white people and it worked. I'll be showing my disapproval with my wallet.

It's incredibly racist(and though I don't have a problem with that personally, I know plenty of people do) and quite frankly moronic. Imagine casting the actor who played Thor as one of those african gods(for parity, lets say the one who's described as "blackest of the gods"). How utterly stupid.

Next up: A remake of roots with blonde haired blue eyed actors.