PhoenixRising

I was waiting to hear sum1 chime in on that. I knew he'd feel the same way.

If they wanted diversity, then why not cast a black actor as Memnon of Ethiopia? He's a character from The Iliad that I've never seen in any screen adaptation before. Why not just use him? He has a climactic battle with Achilles that is just as good as the one with Hector. There's no need to make Achilles black, and certainly no need to make Zeus black. The Greeks made the gods in their own image, which is pretty much what every culture does. This was PC on overload.

LightYears

sum1

Like I said Alex, it's just like when Gods of Egypt whitewashed a bunch of Egyptian gods by casting European white types in the roles. That was total bull and so is this. You can't take a portrayal of Egyptian gods seriously when Horus is played by a white Danish guy and Set by a white Scotsman, and you can't take an adaption of the Greek Iliad seriously when Achilles and Zeus are cast as black guys. It's just not true to the material. And this isn't obscure material, this is some of the best-known mythological material in the world.

And while they can't really find a cast of Greek actors, they kind of need to find a role for Dave Bautista. He's one of the few Greek-background actors that are well-known. Sure, he's half-Filipino, which is not a common background in the Iliad, but he's Greek background too, so that should qualify him. Billy Zane comes to mind too. He's Greek background too. I loved the Troy movie from over a decade ago and nobody in it was a different race from the characters in the Iliad (unlike this recent adaption), but they sure weren't the right ethnicity. No Greeks. Well, one Greek, I think. Adoni Maropis had a bit part.

Bringing over my last post because it's lost at the bottom of the last page:
Like I said there, this was hardly progressive casting. It was probably stereotypes of black men in their mind that made them think Achilles was a good role to switch to black. Far from promoting diversity, they promoted shameful racial stereotyping of the sort that should have been gone ages ago. When black screen heroes include great characters like Mike Colter's understated take on Luke Cage and when authentic African-American cinema includes films like Moonlight, a superb gay-themed film, then time is up on stupid stereotyping of black people onscreen.

wickedrum

I'd like to point out, that yet again, I did not bring up this subject!

Make Them Laugh

sum and Alex can write posts as long as short teenage paperback books

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wickedrum

I prefer the short posts because it feels like a conversation, not a letter

PhoenixRising

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Thanks, Dave.

No argument here, sum1. I'm agreeing with you.

I know, Rita. I just said that I didn't like Troy: Fall of a City for inappropriate casting. I didn't intend for a lengthy discussion.

wickedrum

I don't like the focus on race. It shouldn't be given such importance, this is exactly what keeps racism going on

PhoenixRising

There's nothing wrong with asking that roles be cast appropriately, Rita. That's all sum1 and I were saying. That's not racist.

wickedrum

I don't see it that way

PhoenixRising

Okay, let's drop the subject then.

wickedrum

sure

sum1

It's just the same as asking that Superman be cast dark-haired or Captain America be cast blond. It's just a matter of faithfulness to the source material. It's not about race, it's about accuracy. But it's another thing entirely when casting follows racist stereotypes (as the casting of Achilles here did). Then there is a major issue of racism that has to be confronted.

But by all means drop the topic.

PhoenixRising

The Ten Commandments

Yes, may we?

wickedrum

we keep going back to this topic regularly