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Council of Conservative Citizens boycotts "Thor" for casting a black actor
By Virginia SmithDecember 21st, 2010, 9:45 amComments (15)
Well, this seems like a productive and definitely not super super racist way for the Council of Conservative Citizens to be spending its time and energy: the ultra-conservative group is now boycotting Kenneth Branagh's upcoming adaptation of the Thor comic books, on the grounds that casting a black actor (The Wire's Idris Elba) as a fictional, comic-book-character version of a Norse god is "an insulting, multi-cultural makeover." And yes, they have more to say on the subject:
It seems that Marvel Studios believes that white people should have nothing that is unique to themselves. An upcoming movie, based on the comic book Thor, will give Norse mythology an insulting multi-cultural make-over. One of the Gods will be played by Hip Hop DJ Idris Elba.
...right. Well, the good news is that unless there are more disgruntled fans out there than we thought (Elba's failure to star in a sequel to the totally awesome Beyonce vehicle Obsessed is, indeed, questionable), and even if Elba is a dreaded "Hip Hop DJ" (who knew the COFCC was so down with the kids?) this boycott probably won't get too far given that it's, you know, completely and totally outlandish.
Commentarium (15 Comments)
Frontline struggle right there.
It's like the theists are dragging us backwards through time - first you must worship at the santa altar or they'll launch a jihad, then you have to be supersensitive to christian myths or they'll question your patriotism, now you better not sully their norse legends with black people. What's next? Dirty looks if you question the propriety of Ishtar's advances on Gilgamesh?
The Kouncil of Konservative Kitizens is racist? Who knew?!
I'm not sure I have a problem with anyone taking issue with this. We're a bit kneejerk about black/white issues, but it becomes more nuanced if other races or ethnicities are substituted. It would just look a bit silly to cast a Japanese man as Shiva. Maybe particularly in mythologies, which are very specific to the cultures which spawned them.
The man who played Stringer Bell can play Harry Potter, Peter Parker or Abraham Lincoln for all I care.
If we really want to tip the scale, I'd suggest a movie about the founding fathers depicted as Japanese, German, native Indian, Innu and Hawaiian. In fact, it wouldn't have to be an actual movie, just a proposal summary. That ought to keep the wingnuts busy for years.
The Norse gods are racially diverse. Some are Aesir, others are Vanir. They are like ebony and ivory, smiting giants in perfect harmony.
@thinkywritey you are completely missing the point; saying "what's up with a Japanese Shiva or a black Roman emperor" might be artistic/aesthetic judgments if it came, from, say, a movie critic with a record of writing insightful analyses of movies. These people have a record of just being overt racists and white supremacists. Their interest is not in 'hey, does the slight cultural trangressiveness of racially mixed casting make sense in this case', it's that they don't like black people.
So, because you don't like the messenger means they might not be right that this is stupid?
If we can find anyone who practices traditional Norse paganism, let's ask them if they are offended. As for Roman emperors, the historical sources are not clear as to whether or not some were dark-skinned, some were definitely African, look it up. How about the traditional portrayal of Jesus Christ as Northern European (which he most certainly was not).
@lezley No, I get that point, it's just not MY point. Of course, I'm not calling for a boycott, but my instinctive reaction is still "huh?" If I cared much more, I'd look more into the history of the Norse gods. That said, I'm also with @huh? up there. Reasoning coming from poor motivation does not nullify said reasoning.
This is silly.
I think people getting upset that a black person is playing a role of a "mythical God" is just laughable....
Famous characters that are not white get white-washed all the fucking time. The "good" characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender but not any of the evil fire nation characters, Jesus of Nazareth (as stated by stwskp), Jake Gyllenhal as The Prince of Persia, Natalie Wood(both of whose parents are russian immigrants) as a Puerto Rican in West Side Story...
for me I'm a bit annoyed just because it wasn't accurate to the comics version, (I'll be honest I watch the "Ultimate version" of the Avengers right now) to me the idea of them changing around the characters again is just annoying. Though it seems they agreed by now and changed it themselves. It has nothing to do ith racism for me (though I haven't read the old series yet the new Nick Fury looks WAY more awesome than the old one :D) for me its more so I just don't like the idea of them changing the series from the new version that I JUST started getting used to