Idris Elba Defends Being Cast As A White ? In “Thor”
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Copper
Members Posts: 49,532 ✭✭✭✭✭
Apparently, fans of the comic book, Thor, are up in arms that Idris Elba was cast as the Norse ? Heimdall, in Kenneth Branagh’s forthcoming film adaptation of the same title.
Why are they upset? Take a guess… I’ll give you a hint. He’s black!
And we certainly can’t have a black man playing a Norse ? , can we? I mean, we’re talking medieval Norwegians and Scandinavians; Not kingdoms of the Mali empire.
We’re talking Heimdall, described as the “whitest of the gods;” guardian of the Bifrost Bridge; the link between Midgard and Asgard, etc, etc, etc…; not T’Challa, of the Wakanda nation.
Here are some samples of fanboy laments (courtesy of The Guardian):
This PC ? has gone too far! Norse deities are not of an African ethnicity! … It’s the principle of the matter. It’s about respecting the integrity of the source material, both comics and Norse mythologies.”
And another:
“At the risk of sounding like a bigot, I think this is nuts! Asgard is home to the Norse Gods!!! Not too many un-fair complexion types roaming the frigid waste lands up there. I wouldn’t expect to see many Brad Pitt types walking around in the [first mainstream black superhero] Black Panther’s Wakanda Palace!”
Well… in a fair world, I’d empathize with their cries. Alas, we don’t live in a fair world. And cinema history will show that there’ve been far more instances of whites portraying non-white characters (or mockingly mimicking other non-white groups) on film, than the reverse. And I’m not just referring to Al Jolson in blackface, almost a century ago; contemporary cinema is littered with examples, most recently, in M. Night Shyamalan’s casting of white actors in the Asian-influenced Avatar: The Last Airbender, which draws on elements from traditional Chinese and Japanese culture.
Shyamalan (who’s Indian) was on the receiving end of much criticism for his choices; but he essentially dismissed them all, tipping his hat to colorblind casting, hoping that the audience is able to suspend disbelief.
Well, fanboys of Thor, I’ll offer you the same advice… tip your hat to colorblind casting and suspend disbelief.
Idris Elba’s response to all this… a verbal shrug pretty much. Man’s gotta work, right? And if a job is offered, man’s gotta take it. I haven’t read any reactions from the director of the film, Kenneth Branagh, who actually cast Elba. But, if anything, Idris has nothing to defend. Unhappy fanboys should direct their ire at Mr Branagh and his casting directors.
I am willing to bet that these same people have no problem with micky rourke being cast as genghis khan in his new upcoming film!!
What are your thoughts on this folks?
Why are they upset? Take a guess… I’ll give you a hint. He’s black!
And we certainly can’t have a black man playing a Norse ? , can we? I mean, we’re talking medieval Norwegians and Scandinavians; Not kingdoms of the Mali empire.
We’re talking Heimdall, described as the “whitest of the gods;” guardian of the Bifrost Bridge; the link between Midgard and Asgard, etc, etc, etc…; not T’Challa, of the Wakanda nation.
Here are some samples of fanboy laments (courtesy of The Guardian):
This PC ? has gone too far! Norse deities are not of an African ethnicity! … It’s the principle of the matter. It’s about respecting the integrity of the source material, both comics and Norse mythologies.”
And another:
“At the risk of sounding like a bigot, I think this is nuts! Asgard is home to the Norse Gods!!! Not too many un-fair complexion types roaming the frigid waste lands up there. I wouldn’t expect to see many Brad Pitt types walking around in the [first mainstream black superhero] Black Panther’s Wakanda Palace!”
Well… in a fair world, I’d empathize with their cries. Alas, we don’t live in a fair world. And cinema history will show that there’ve been far more instances of whites portraying non-white characters (or mockingly mimicking other non-white groups) on film, than the reverse. And I’m not just referring to Al Jolson in blackface, almost a century ago; contemporary cinema is littered with examples, most recently, in M. Night Shyamalan’s casting of white actors in the Asian-influenced Avatar: The Last Airbender, which draws on elements from traditional Chinese and Japanese culture.
Shyamalan (who’s Indian) was on the receiving end of much criticism for his choices; but he essentially dismissed them all, tipping his hat to colorblind casting, hoping that the audience is able to suspend disbelief.
Well, fanboys of Thor, I’ll offer you the same advice… tip your hat to colorblind casting and suspend disbelief.
Idris Elba’s response to all this… a verbal shrug pretty much. Man’s gotta work, right? And if a job is offered, man’s gotta take it. I haven’t read any reactions from the director of the film, Kenneth Branagh, who actually cast Elba. But, if anything, Idris has nothing to defend. Unhappy fanboys should direct their ire at Mr Branagh and his casting directors.
I am willing to bet that these same people have no problem with micky rourke being cast as genghis khan in his new upcoming film!!
What are your thoughts on this folks?
Comments
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He'll probably be the best character, Thor always seemed like a ? to me....Hulk used to run that ?
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shout out to beta ray bill!!
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He should of played Aries or who's that sentinel guy that ripped aries apart and went awol in the new avengers comics, I'd love to see their response then.
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Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia
Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai
Any white guy casted in "The Beginning of times type movies"
A lot of other ? that is far from the true race of those people
It was probably less than 50 people who got mad over it though, the media loves to blow ? out of proportion. They know race adds ratings and views so anything that can be turned into a race debate will become bigger than it is and explode. -
ThaChozenWun wrote: »Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia
Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai
Any white guy casted in "The Beginning of times type movies"
A lot of other ? that is far from the true race of those people
This...... -
copperkid27 wrote: »Apparently, fans of the comic book, Thor, are up in arms that Idris Elba was cast as the Norse ? Heimdall, in Kenneth Branagh’s forthcoming film adaptation of the same title.
Why are they upset? Take a guess… I’ll give you a hint. He’s black!
And we certainly can’t have a black man playing a Norse ? , can we? I mean, we’re talking medieval Norwegians and Scandinavians; Not kingdoms of the Mali empire.
We’re talking Heimdall, described as the “whitest of the gods;” guardian of the Bifrost Bridge; the link between Midgard and Asgard, etc, etc, etc…; not T’Challa, of the Wakanda nation.
Here are some samples of fanboy laments (courtesy of The Guardian):
This PC ? has gone too far! Norse deities are not of an African ethnicity! … It’s the principle of the matter. It’s about respecting the integrity of the source material, both comics and Norse mythologies.”
And another:
“At the risk of sounding like a bigot, I think this is nuts! Asgard is home to the Norse Gods!!! Not too many un-fair complexion types roaming the frigid waste lands up there. I wouldn’t expect to see many Brad Pitt types walking around in the [first mainstream black superhero] Black Panther’s Wakanda Palace!”
Well… in a fair world, I’d empathize with their cries. Alas, we don’t live in a fair world. And cinema history will show that there’ve been far more instances of whites portraying non-white characters (or mockingly mimicking other non-white groups) on film, than the reverse. And I’m not just referring to Al Jolson in blackface, almost a century ago; contemporary cinema is littered with examples, most recently, in M. Night Shyamalan’s casting of white actors in the Asian-influenced Avatar: The Last Airbender, which draws on elements from traditional Chinese and Japanese culture.
Shyamalan (who’s Indian) was on the receiving end of much criticism for his choices; but he essentially dismissed them all, tipping his hat to colorblind casting, hoping that the audience is able to suspend disbelief.
Well, fanboys of Thor, I’ll offer you the same advice… tip your hat to colorblind casting and suspend disbelief.
Idris Elba’s response to all this… a verbal shrug pretty much. Man’s gotta work, right? And if a job is offered, man’s gotta take it. I haven’t read any reactions from the director of the film, Kenneth Branagh, who actually cast Elba. But, if anything, Idris has nothing to defend. Unhappy fanboys should direct their ire at Mr Branagh and his casting directors.
I am willing to bet that these same people have no problem with micky rourke being cast as genghis khan in his new upcoming film!!
What are your thoughts on this folks?
? those morons. How many white Egyptians have I seen in movies over the years? Am I supposed to believe Cleopatra looked like Elizabeth Taylor? FOH with that ? . Look at "The Ten Commandments". Yul Brynner was the only cat that looked Egyptian in that cast.
It's not like they cast Elba as Thor. -
there was similar backlash when the director of the war of ? movie said he would be interested in casting djiomon honsiu as kratos!!...just google it and read some of the message boards and comments made
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I understand their point. If it were a movie involving African gods and some how a ? like Leonardo dicaprio got cast as the chief ? I'd be a lil' ? too.
But they been castin white ? as cleopatra forever so... ? 'em.
Get that money idris.
White man...You gon be alright. -
ALSO...ThaChozenWun wrote: »Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia
Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai
Any white guy casted in "The Beginning of times type movies"
A lot of other ? that is far from the true race of those people
It was probably less than 50 people who got mad over it though, the media loves to blow ? out of proportion. They know race adds ratings and views so anything that can be turned into a race debate will become bigger than it is and explode.
Whites playing JESUS. He was brown skinned looked more Palestinian.
Whites Playing Cleopatra. She was dark skinned.
Whites playing King Tut and every other Egyptian Pharaoh. They were all brown skinned or deep black.
WHen I see them get ? off about that then they can talk. Until then..? . -
Its seems kind of dumb to have a black man as the supposedly the most ? of aryans, but in the end I don't really give a ? and 95% of these comic book movies suck-ass anyways. Batman and Ironman are like the only good ones.
and lol @ John Wayne playing Genghis Khan? Is you for real? -
Tom Hanks.. is starring in "The last ? on earth"
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Will Munny wrote: »Its seems kind of dumb to have a black man as the supposedly the most ? of aryans, but in the end I don't really give a ? and 95% of these comic book movies suck-ass anyways. Batman and Ironman are like the only good ones.
and lol @ John Wayne playing Genghis Khan? Is you for real?
If Angelina Jolie is playing Queen Cleopatra, If Brad Pitt played Achilles who's suppose to be dark skinned or darker according to greek mythologies, I think everything else should go left as well. -
Sourpatch Kid wrote: »If Angelina Jolie is playing Queen Cleopatra, If Brad Pitt played Achilles who's suppose to be dark skinned or darker according to greek mythologies, I think everything else should go left as well.
Word to Tarzan.. the white king of the african jungle.. -
His fine ass can play whatever he wants..
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His fine ass can play whatever he wants..
Do you get text alerts when the words black man pops up on the ic. -
ThaChozenWun wrote: »Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia
Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai
Any white guy casted in "The Beginning of times type movies"
A lot of other ? that is far from the true race of those people
Wasn't that character supposed to be white? -
playmaker88 wrote: »Do you get text alerts when the words black man pops up on the ic.
Shut up stupid. -
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playmaker88 wrote: »Do you get text alerts when the words black man pops up on the ic.
Hilarious
Kathyrn...would u like to text in your rebuttal? -
lol
I just happened to scroll by Lights Camera Action and saw Idris Elba's name. He is my current black celebrity crush so I had to comment. Playmaker is just jealous he don't look like Idris.
Yeah I said it!
LOL...Hey I didnt say nothing. Im just here for obvious purposes.
Please...continue.My bad..please continue.
^^^ JINX! -
It is kinda ridiculous though. when ever I think of Norse mythos I think if white people.
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Thats weird, its probably for publicity?, but if Jake gyllenhal can play in The Prince of Persia and white people with turqois blue eyes can play the first people on Earth then, so be it
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shout out to paul mooney!!playmaker88 wrote: »Tom Hanks.. is starring in "The last ? on earth" -
fortyacres&amule wrote: »The conqueror 1956
well if its any consolation, John Wayne caught cancer from that flick because they filmed it in the same desert they was testin A-Bombs in -
John Wayne can play what he wants cause he's ? john wayne.
And Persians are caucasions. So if Gyllenhal was the prince of persia it's not really far fetched although dude is defintaely an anglo.
