Color-blind Thor casting sparks hate-group outrage

[Calamerica]

effin ridiculous

 

Idris Elba as Heimdall

 

Upset that British actor Idris Elba—of The Losers and The Wire—was cast as Heimdal in Marvel's cinematic take on the traditionally pale Norse myths, a Missouri-based hate group is urging a boycott.

 

The Council for Concerned Citizens, a legitimate hate group based in St. Louis, takes offense at Marvel's choice to employ color-blind casting when filling the role of Heimdall, the sentry of Asgard. A post on their website states:

 

"It's not enough that Marvel attacks conservatives values, now mythological Gods must be re-invented with black skin. ... It seems that Marvel Studios believes that white people should have nothing that is unique to themselves."

 

This Council isn't the only organization that takes umbrage at Elba's presence in the halls of Asgard: A site called Boycott Thor seems to be a clearinghouse of news items devoted to it, as well as Marvel's other left-wing tendencies, including the pro-African series Black Panther.

 

For his part, Elba has addressed this head-on in the past: "Thor's mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That's OK, but the color of my skin is wrong? I was cast in Thor and I'm cast as a Nordic god. If you know anything about the Nords, they don't look like me but there you go. I think that's a sign of the times for the future."

 

Unfortunately for the future, there are always going to be people who want to hold on to the past.

 

(via Spinoff Online)

 

I can't believe that at the dawn of 2011, there are ignorant ones out there that use skin color as the first criterion of acceptance...

 

When I was a boy growing up, I was a baseball fanatic. When I learned about Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, etc., I was glad that I did not live during those years of the extreme "caste" system based on skin color. I would have gotten in a lot of trouble for having friends that no one else wanted me to have...

 

CAL glad he is in 2010, and hopes for ignorance to fade away...

 

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

I can't believe that at the dawn of 2011, there are ignorant ones out there that use skin color as the first criterion of acceptance...

 

When I was a boy growing up, I was a baseball fanatic. When I learned about Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, etc., I was glad that I did not live during those years of the extreme "caste" system based on skin color. I would have gotten in a lot of trouble for having friends that no one else wanted me to have...

 

CAL glad he is in 2010, and hopes for ignorance to fade away...

 

+1

[That Ron Dude]

The point about David Carradine being cast as a half-Asian is a good one. I don't remember anyone complaining about it at the time. And certainly that WAS an example of discluding a minority group because someone felt that that the show wouldn't have done so well without a white guy in the lead role.

 

So was America simply a racist nation back then? Was David Carradine as Grasshopper just a sign of the times in America's evolution. If the answer is that America was a racist nation back then, you can be sure that in thirty years people will point at America today with brand new reasons, as to why America was racist back then. And so on, indefinitely.

 

I would like to paraphrase the great philosopher Frank Sinatra. "I know that this is an imperfect nation. I know that because we spend so much time trying to make it perfect."

 

Believe me, whatever problems exist in America, Heimdal's casting is the least of them.

 

 

[supapimp]

the show 'kung fu' was based on a idea by bruce lee, but the hollywood studios thought america wasn't ready for a chinese actor to play a lead american show. hence bruce lee went to HK to film his movies.

[seanfingh]

I am Norwegian...I approve of this dude playing the role. Therefore, it is all good.

 

Listen, did I give you grief when you were up in arms about Burt Reynolds playing Boss Hogg? Did I?

I haven't even seen the Dukes of Hazard movie. Plus, they're Kentuckians.

 

 

Pretty sure the Duke boys are Georgian.

[AtlasFan]

"Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection." -United Nations CyberSchoolBus.

 

The trend of color-blind casting in Hollywood is certainly not without precedent, if one considers the lack of discrimination in other areas such as creed, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.

 

Color-blind casting is just more noticeable.

 

For an example, how many people complained about a Quaker playing a prominent Hindu leader when casting Ben Kingsley as Gandhi? Hollywood has cast many Christians playing Jews in such roles as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

 

For decades Rock Hudson played the role of a romantic leading (straight) man despite many people close to him knowing his correct sexual orientation. Neil Patrick Harris plays a straight man on television and no one seems to mind.

 

I guess it’s easier to accept stuff like that than the obvious black on white.

 

dis•crim•i•na•tion

 

2. Treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

 

 

Yes, this is all very good, but I think it is valid to object to racial miscasting at times.

 

Personally I'm fine with a black Heimdall. I wouldn't be watching Thor for an accurate portrayal of Norse mythology, and he's a god - he can look like whatever he wants. All I want from a Thor movie is entertainment, and if the actor is entertaining in the role, then it's good casting.

 

I think it can be offensive to change race when the character in question has race as a defining characteristic. One of the main points about Luke Cage or Black Panther is that they are black. It's a defining characteristic. They don't just 'happen' to be black, it's part of their reason for being. Not so Spiderman. Stan Lee didn't say "Hey I've got an idea! How about we create a white superhero! He could fight crime and do commentary on white issues at the same time!".

 

An example that offended me was the casting of Earthsea. The whole adaptation was beyond atrocious, but that's beside the point. When Ursula LeGuin wrote A Wizard of Earthsea she deliberately designed the lead character, and most of the people in the world of Earthsea, as 'non-white'. He is described as copper skinned, something like native Americans. She did this because she felt the fantasy genre was invariably a whitewash, and she wanted to create something that someone other than white kids could relate to for a change.

 

The racial makeup of the people of Earthsea is important to its author, and to many fans who felt empowered by the book (it was published in 1968). So, when the horrible TV adaptation came along and whitewashed Earthsea, it rightly offended many people including LeGuin.

 

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

[Logan510]

"Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection." -United Nations CyberSchoolBus.

 

The trend of color-blind casting in Hollywood is certainly not without precedent, if one considers the lack of discrimination in other areas such as creed, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.

 

Color-blind casting is just more noticeable.

 

For an example, how many people complained about a Quaker playing a prominent Hindu leader when casting Ben Kingsley as Gandhi? Hollywood has cast many Christians playing Jews in such roles as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

 

For decades Rock Hudson played the role of a romantic leading (straight) man despite many people close to him knowing his correct sexual orientation. Neil Patrick Harris plays a straight man on television and no one seems to mind.

 

I guess it’s easier to accept stuff like that than the obvious black on white.

 

dis•crim•i•na•tion

 

2. Treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

 

 

Yes, this is all very good, but I think it is valid to object to racial miscasting at times.

 

Personally I'm fine with a black Heimdall. I wouldn't be watching Thor for an accurate portrayal of Norse mythology, and he's a god - he can look like whatever he wants. All I want from a Thor movie is entertainment, and if the actor is entertaining in the role, then it's good casting.

 

I think it can be offensive to change race when the character in question has race as a defining characteristic. One of the main points about Luke Cage or Black Panther is that they are black. It's a defining characteristic. They don't just 'happen' to be black, it's part of their reason for being. Not so Spiderman. Stan Lee didn't say "Hey I've got an idea! How about we create a white superhero! He could fight crime and do commentary on white issues at the same time!".

 

An example that offended me was the casting of Earthsea. The whole adaptation was beyond atrocious, but that's beside the point. When Ursula LeGuin wrote A Wizard of Earthsea she deliberately designed the lead character, and most of the people in the world of Earthsea, as 'non-white'. He is described as copper skinned, something like native Americans. She did this because she felt the fantasy genre was invariably a whitewash, and she wanted to create something that someone other than white kids could relate to for a change.

 

The racial makeup of the people of Earthsea is important to its author, and to many fans who felt empowered by the book (it was published in 1968). So, when the horrible TV adaptation came along and whitewashed Earthsea, it rightly offended many people including LeGuin.

 

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

+1 It kind of reminds me of when the remake of Wild Wild West was announced with Will Smith as the star. Sure, it was colorblind casting, but it made absolutely no contextual sense.

[seanfingh]

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

Not effectively. That is the difference between playing a role that has a historical antecedent and playing a role that doesn't.

 

PS: Asgard is pretend. Just like movies are pretend. And anyone that is worried about how white their fictional Norse Gods are in their pretend movies has their panties twisted so tight that they should address that issue first.

[shadroch]

If Charlton Heston can play a Hebrew prince of Egypt, or Yul Brenner can play the King of Siam, I suppose anything is possible.

I'm surprised the controversy isn't over Marvel and hollywood trying to do a movie on pagan gods when everyone knows there is only One True God.

[Logan510]

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

Not effectively. That is the difference between playing a role that has a historical antecedent and playing a role that doesn't.

 

PS: Asgard is pretend. Just like movies are pretend. And anyone that is worried about how white their fictional Norse Gods are in their pretend movies has their panties twisted so tight that they should address that issue first.

 

 

I have to disagree. Would it have been OK if an Asian man had played Peter Parker...or if they had Spider-Man played by a girl? What would it matter...the characters are just pretend right?

[Comicdey]

It's only those who are comic "purists" that really care on a "non" racial level about their sacred characters. I'll admit that I prefer the characters to look just like in the comics that I read as a child. But let's be honest here, these aren't movies for "our" 1960's or 1970's reader generation, but for the current age of fans. We are just a fan base, not the main source of income for any of these comic movies.

 

The story and action is how we should be judging these modern day techno miracles. Not the race color or creed of the actors. I'm out of my 2 cents now.

 

See you at the movies.

 

 

[Comicdey]

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

Not effectively. That is the difference between playing a role that has a historical antecedent and playing a role that doesn't.

 

PS: Asgard is pretend. Just like movies are pretend. And anyone that is worried about how white their fictional Norse Gods are in their pretend movies has their panties twisted so tight that they should address that issue first.

 

 

I have to disagree. Would it have been OK if an Asian man had played Peter Parker...or if they had Spider-Man played by a girl? What would it matter...the characters are just pretend right?

 

yeah, it would've been ok with me watching spider girl throw her costume in a trash can and walk away nekid. No problem.

[Logan510]

It's only those who are comic "purists" that really care on a "non" racial level about their sacred characters. I'll admit that I prefer the characters to look just like in the comics that I read as a child. But let's be honest here, these aren't movies for "our" 1960's or 1970's reader generation, but for the current age of fans. We are just a fan base, not the main source of income for any of these comic movies.

 

The story and action is how we should be judging these modern day techno miracles. Not the race color or creed of the actors. I'm out of my 2 cents now.

 

See you at the movies.

 

 

So you would be fine if an Asian girl were to play Spider-Man...as long as the story and special effects were awesome right?

 

I suppose I can solace in that at least the studio didn't say they couldn't find anyone else to play Heimdall...unlike Kingpin ( for the record, I like Duncan as an actor).

[shadroch]

Why is it okay for a Earthling to play a Kryptonian but not okay for an Earthling to play an Asgardian?

It's a shame so many people still can't deal with a bit of pigmentation, or lack of the same.

It's okay for an Australian to play a California biker, but an Asgardian must be played by someone from whee, exactly?

[Logan510]

Why is it okay for a Earthling to play a Kryptonian but not okay for an Earthling to play an Asgardian?

It's a shame so many people still can't deal with a bit of pigmentation, or lack of the same.

It's okay for an Australian to play a California biker, but an Asgardian must be played by someone from whee, exactly?

 

I think you're just being silly now. I would've felt exactly the same way if Bruce Willis had played Shaft or if they had gotten Jeff Speakman to play Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. I am not "offended" however when Gary Oldman plays Jim Gordon

[seanfingh]

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

Not effectively. That is the difference between playing a role that has a historical antecedent and playing a role that doesn't.

 

PS: Asgard is pretend. Just like movies are pretend. And anyone that is worried about how white their fictional Norse Gods are in their pretend movies has their panties twisted so tight that they should address that issue first.

 

 

I have to disagree. Would it have been OK if an Asian man had played Peter Parker...or if they had Spider-Man played by a girl? What would it matter...the characters are just pretend right?

 

In context, all of those things would work great. This comes up on these Boards all the time. I always use the same example. Do you think the Japanese got all twisted up when Kurosawa's Yojimbo was redone by Bruce Willis as Last Man Standing? Of course not. It is a re-telling of a great story in a different context. It doesn't hurt the original, nor does it lessen the historical impact. And no one was banging their shoe on the table about occidentals playing the lead role of a disgraced samurai.

 

For whatever reason, whenever the sacred comic book cows get tampered with or re-told or something is done differently from the comics, a certain faction screams bloody murder. Personally, I can deal with it, because it is all about the story. The story just needs to be good. I liked my college's production of Romeo and Juliet and I liked the modern re-telling with Leo and Claire Danes. Neither was the same as what Shakespearean troupes were putting out 450 years ago. But I am sure somewhere a Shakespearean purist cried bitter, bitter tears over them.

 

Bottom line to me is tell a good tale and it is all good. Plus just because the Norse were white doesn't mean their (fictitious) gods were white. They were probably just space aliens anyway.

[Logan510]

Interesting. If Idris Elba could play Hemindal in THOR, could he also play a Nazi captain in a World War 2 film?

 

Not effectively. That is the difference between playing a role that has a historical antecedent and playing a role that doesn't.

 

PS: Asgard is pretend. Just like movies are pretend. And anyone that is worried about how white their fictional Norse Gods are in their pretend movies has their panties twisted so tight that they should address that issue first.

 

 

I have to disagree. Would it have been OK if an Asian man had played Peter Parker...or if they had Spider-Man played by a girl? What would it matter...the characters are just pretend right?

 

In context, all of those things would work great. This comes up on these Boards all the time. I always use the same example. Do you think the Japanese got all twisted up when Kurosawa's Yojimbo was redone by Bruce Willis as Last Man Standing? Of course not. It is a re-telling of a great story in a different context. It doesn't hurt the original, nor does it lessen the historical impact. And no one was banging their shoe on the table about occidentals playing the lead role of a disgraced samurai.

 

For whatever reason, whenever the sacred comic book cows get tampered with or re-told or something is done differently from the comics, a certain faction screams bloody murder. Personally, I can deal with it, because it is all about the story. The story just needs to be good. I liked my college's production of Romeo and Juliet and I liked the modern re-telling with Leo and Claire Danes. Neither was the same as what Shakespearean troupes were putting out 450 years ago. But I am sure somewhere a Shakespearean purist cried bitter, bitter tears over them.

 

Bottom line to me is tell a good tale and it is all good. Plus just because the Norse were white doesn't mean their (fictitious) gods were white. They were probably just space aliens anyway.

 

Honestly...it's that kind of attitude that makes it "OK" for an entire generation to think that Spider-Man has always had organic web shooters or that Jim West was always a black Secret Service agent. I find your examples tenuous at best...those are reinterpretations or movies using other movies as their source material. I am not "offended" by the Magnificent 7, but I would find it irritating if the Seven Samurai were remade with seven white dudes playing the roles.

[seanfingh]

Honestly...it's that kind of attitude that makes it "OK" for an entire generation to think that Spider-Man has always had organic web shooters or that Jim West was always a black Secret Service agent.

 

You know, you are right. When I think of things that bode poorly for me as an old man, trembling in fear at the days when the younger generations are running things, it is their lack of slavish adherence to pop culture relevance that keeps me up at night.

[Logan510]

Honestly...it's that kind of attitude that makes it "OK" for an entire generation to think that Spider-Man has always had organic web shooters or that Jim West was always a black Secret Service agent.

 

You know, you are right. When I think of things that bode poorly for me as an old man, trembling in fear at the days when the younger generations are running things, it is their lack of slavish adherence to pop culture relevance that keeps me up at night.

 

C'mon dude, don't be that way. Why is it so terrible that I crave some fidelity to the source material?

[jonjesper]

As long as they never get a female to play Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica, the world will be okay with me...

love,

JJ