What do you think of Lupita Nyong'o being cast as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey"?

[HawkPerception]

I'm genuinely sick of this woke nonsense.

[Berethor]

Disgusting, go woke, go broke, I would not watch that movie, it would be miserable failure.

[_piotr]

Exactly, woke nonsense. Ignoring historical truth.

[Hagar88]

More wole nonsense. They know what they doing.

[WhitneySnow]

I think it’s a great idea. We should cast more diverse actors in film roles. The most beautiful woman in the world doesn’t have to be a Greek woman, and she certainly doesn’t have to be blonde and blue eyed.

[_piotr]

What about truth and historical accuracy?

[WhitneySnow]

@_piotr not important when you’re dealing with an archetypal tale like the Iliad or the Odyssey. Look at Bridgerton. An amazing show despite the fact that there were no (or very few) people of color among the upper classes in Regency England.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow Let me ask a question. If you wrote a novel, and you took careful consideration in creating your characters physical descriptions, would you not want them to be accurately portrayed? Is it not an insult to the author's work to depict them as someone entirely different? Especially so when it comes to historical or mythological concepts. Would you be okay if Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King were depicted by someone like Tom Hardy or Leonardo DiCaprio? How about if a black woman played Mulan? Or how about a Chinese Aladdin? What about Thor? Should he also be black? Does it really make no difference to you?

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow If anyone can play anyone because physical appearance doesn't matter, then a skinny guy can act the part of a muscular heroic figure like Superman. An obese woman can play Wonderwoman. Why stop at just skin colour? We should make everything inclusive. Just let anyone play anyone.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow Sure, Bridgerton was liked by many (especially the female demographic) because the acting was great and no one focused on that aspect, but when you think about the origin of the era, timeline, and setting, it can definitely and SHOULD irritate you if you have any respect for the author. The book did NOT have the characters depicted as black people.

[_piotr]

Then it should not be called Iliad. Truth is important.

[WhitneySnow]

I’d be ok with all those things. And Homer doesn’t give a detailed description of Helen beyond calling her beautiful, which could apply to any race.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow In classical literature, Helen of Troy is described as having fair, "white" skin and golden hair, fitting the ancient Greek artistic and poetic ideal of beauty. While not directly corresponding to modern racial categories, Homer frequently refers to her as "white-armed" (λευκώλενος) and "fair-haired," signifying her as an aristocratic figure of high status and beauty.

Did you read Homer's work to say otherwise?

[WhitneySnow]

No one who is not really well read in the classics knows that. Most people just think of Helen as the most beautiful woman in the world. And it’s important to show that the most beautiful woman in the world can be a woman of color. I don’t think Homer would mind if they lived today and they were exposed to a world beyond the boundaries of Mycenaean Greece.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow I think that's a terribly inaccurate assumption. Most people of the past would be very frustrated with this woke nonsense today.

[_piotr]

Yes, falsifying history for political agenda is unacceptable.

[WhitneySnow]

@_piotr it’s not falsifying history. It’s allowing people of color to play archetypal roles. It doesn’t really matter if Helen is Greek or not and it certainly isn’t necessary to give the role to a blonde blue eyed Nordic woman.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow Again, it should be necessary. If I was an actor, you would never hear me crying about not being able to play Thor or Zeus or something. I'm a mixed brown/tan skin dude with a slim athletic build. It would ruin the image of them if I played them and inaccurately depict them. I want someone who is actually of Nordic descent playing Thor. I want someone who is actually Greek playing Zeus. I want someone Chinese playing Mulan.

I really don't get why you're so insistent that there needs to be more people of ethnic diversity in films just for the sake of diversity.

[WhitneySnow]

Because diversity is good. And it doesn’t have to be there, but it’s good that it is.

[HawkPerception]

@WhitneySnow Europeans in Europe are now the minority of their race in many regions of Europe. Would you say it's good they're being replaced?

[WhitneySnow]

It’s not a terrible thing. And I’m not sure that’s true anyway.

[_piotr]

The so called "Diversity" is not good. It's artificial. It's crazy idea to mix all people and cultures into an uniform bland mass. There will nor be greeks movies, chinese movies, european movies, etc... Real diversity will disapear. You will end up with awful, ideological, pulp. Every movie in the world will be just a pile of old, boring woke propaganda. We can not get even immerse in story, because of that. Woke Hollywood can not create something cool and new, so they steal ideas from the past. Create a new story yourself. Do not steal from Greeks. Stop vandalizing culture! People thinking like you already destroyed a great part of western culture, but other cultures will not subdue that easily.

[HawkPerception]

@_piotr Agreed

[purplepoppy]

But since Troy is in Türkiye she wouldn't exactly be white would she?

[HawkPerception]

In classical literature, Helen of Troy is described as having fair, "white" skin and golden hair, fitting the ancient Greek artistic and poetic ideal of beauty. While not directly corresponding to modern racial categories, Homer frequently refers to her as "white-armed" (λευκώλενος) and "fair-haired," signifying her as an aristocratic figure of high status and beauty.

[Cidknee]

I think I'll skip this one. Greece is fairly close to Africa but doesn't what's his name describe Helen a little bit?