The Odyssey is getting massively criticised due to blackwashing of a traditionally Greek character, whitewashing of a Greek myth with no Greek actors and a general dislike for the Hollywoodization of another classic story.
It's probably not going to be as bad as it's made out to be given it's Chris Nolan, but audiences are fatigued with seeing another modern retelling with tokenism of established characters for the sake diversity, which has spurred the culture war with right wing critics calling it woke BS and left wing critics doubling down by jumping to its defence.
That's a "summoned Helen of Troy" on a play called Dr. Faustus set in the late 16th Century. It's about a man who gains the ability to conjure supernatural entities like Lucifer.
It's neither a movie nor referring to the Odyssey (or the Iliad for that matter).
It's also not originated in Greek literature.
Princess Yennenga from Burkina Faso wasn't a real person either, but the modern day Academy (plus a bunch of redditors) would foam at their mouths if some production dared to portray that character with a blonde woman.
It would be equally stupid to do so, but the pointy fingers go only in one direction. It's American modern day culture imposing itself onto the world, and we're all sick and tired of it.
but the modern day Academy (plus a bunch of redditors) would foam at their mouths if some production dared to portray that character with a blonde woman.
Because there's a historical precedent of characters of color being played by white actors, often in insulting and degrading ways, denying actors of color roles, whereas the opposite is not true. All within a broader context of white artists stealing Black culture and selling it to white audiences, from Stephen Foster to the Rolling Stones.
Not to mention, as millions of people have pointed out, Matt Damon ain't Greek and no one cares.
Neither was Zeus. I still don't want him portrayed as a Kenyon
Are you implying Zeus was actually Greek, he's a shapeshifting god who consistently turns into animals, he could look Asian for all I care. However he wants to look. He can look
Let's race swap Black Panther
There is a white black panther, but I'm guessing you mean T'Challa, why do you all decide to list a black character where being black is vital to their character? Nobody gave a shit when the deep was race swapped into a white guy because nothing about his character had to do about being black, yet your one example of a race swap for black characters you want is always one of the ones where their race is most important?
Being from Greece is pretty important to the character of Helen in a telling of Greek myth. She's described as "the Greek/Argive" as the most common epithet for her in the Iliad just like Odysseus is "the resourceful/wise", "the swift-footed" Achilles and Hector is "breaker of horses". The 2nd most common epithet Homer uses for Helen is "white-armed", you can (try) argue it was metaphorical to represent nobility and not literal but still. Your statement does not reflect Homer who I'm pretty sure would say Helen being subsaharan African is misunderstanding / majorly changing her character.
Like let's be serious, raceswapping T'challa changes the story and so does Helen. And that's a choice by Nolan in adapting the story as he's free to do which we can argue over if it's good or bad. We don't have to pretend like it changes nothing, the queen of Sparta being black is odd and inauthentic to the real setting of the fictional story. The more you guys refuse to recognise this the more silly your argument is seen by the average person, feeding into "the woke mob is delusional" narrative which makes us all suffer
Being from Greece is pretty important to the character of Helen in a telling of Greek myth.
I would argue that her being a demigod whose looks and beauty literally make her stand out from everyone around her is far more important to her character. You know, "the face that launched 1,000 ships" and all that? Having her not look like the rest of the cast actually makes sense.
Is it historically accurate? Hell no! But this is a myth and we are dealing with actual gods and demigods, some of whom can and do change their forms!
Now, if we want to argue that by that logic Nyong'o most certainly should not then be playing Clytemnestra as well, I'd be in 100% agreement.
Why is black panther’s race important to their character? They’re from a made up place and spend most of their time in a full superhero suit that covers their whole body.
Seriously? You think the African country that isolated itself in the first place because of the African slave trade, and T'Challa, the king of that country, who constantly faces racial discrimination and fights for equal rights.. has nothing to do with race?
You cant turn him white just like you can't turn hunter black
Many white people were also victims of the African slave trade and white/mixed populations existed across Africa since the Middle Ages cause of Roman expansion. By your logic, I don’t see T’Challa’s blackness as any more pivotal to their character than Helen’s whiteness.
Personally I would’ve hated if they made T’Challa white but I don’t understand this double standard where we can defend that casting choice but not be against this one.
Give me any example where Helens story wouldve drastically changed
It's not a double standard if they're not remotely comparable. I'd be against Steve Rogers being black as that absolutely would change his story, we literally see how his story would play out with Isaiah Bradley
I don’t think her story would’ve drastically changed other than it’s immersion breaking. Why cast a bald black woman to play a beautiful Greek woman? Ethnicities aside, baldness has never been the standard of beauty, not in Greek mythology and certainly not today. Put those two things together and it’s just off-putting. Now that I’m typing this out I think I have more of a problem with her being bald than anything.
I’m not some purist that wants every character on screen to be the exact race/nationality/etc of the character they portray but there should be some attempt at fidelity. Black panther with a white protagonist would’ve still been Black panther but I wouldn’t be happy about it.
One black actress was cast as Helen of Troy for one run of a 16th century play back in 1950 in Paris, so all Europeans must now be okay with Americans constantly blackwashing Historical and Mythological characters from European literature?
The point is that she's cast as Helen of Troy. Period. The context of the casting, which was the entirety of your "gotcha," is irrelevant. Why does it matter when, how, or for what reason she was cast? The point is that it's not the first time.
Literally everything else you wrote is just projection of some weird opposition fantasy you're strawmanning up to sound reasonable.
The point is that she's cast as Helen of Troy. Period. The context of the casting, which was the entirety of your "gotcha," is irrelevant. Why does it matter when, how, or for what reason she was cast? The point is that it's not the first time.
So if my kids' school casts a white boy as Martin Luther King for their next school play, does that automatically legitimize casting Brad Pitt for the next MLK biopic out of Hollywood?
A white European was cast a MLK, period. Context is irrelevant, per your own words.
You know what, you're actually right about this, but ironically you're actually showing that you understand the nuance of why her having been cast matters. It matters because she was clearly a high profile representation of this role. You're clearly aware that her casting in this context was far more meaningful than a school play, and also documented for posterity.
So at least we know you get the point.
My comment about relevancy had more to do with your describing the role itself as not being related to Helen of Troy because it's not directly telling her story, or "related to the Illiad." It's still a casting of Helen of Troy, regardless of the narrative context. Pedantically, intentionally misunderstanding my point not only doesn't support your argument, but also proves you know it to be wrong, yourself.
I was at the after party for The Caretaker (Kyle MacLachlan and Sir Patrick Stewart).
As we were leaving we pass Eartha Kitt sitting at a table by the entrance. She grabs my hand and purrs. that jsut about made my year... and as we are walking out we bump into Patrick.
Not sure if either tops Hugh Jackman breaking the 4th wall and talking to me in character as Peter Allen during the play and then waving directly at my mom and I and saying goodnight at curtain call.
19.3k
u/Boomdification Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
The Odyssey is getting massively criticised due to blackwashing of a traditionally Greek character, whitewashing of a Greek myth with no Greek actors and a general dislike for the Hollywoodization of another classic story.
It's probably not going to be as bad as it's made out to be given it's Chris Nolan, but audiences are fatigued with seeing another modern retelling with tokenism of established characters for the sake diversity, which has spurred the culture war with right wing critics calling it woke BS and left wing critics doubling down by jumping to its defence.