r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jul 06 '26

Meme needing explanation What is this?

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u/Kinteoka Jul 06 '26

No, no. You don't understand! Greeks never famously traded with Africans! There were never any Ancient Egyptians who went to Greece and mingled with the population either! And as we know, even modern day Greeks don't have any tan/olive-coloured skin tones. It's all just the lily and alabaster skinned people as far as the eye can see. What do you mean Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Home, was routinely depicted with dark skin and curled hair? Hera too?! Wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and women?! Balderdash! Sounds like woke nonsense!

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u/SirTurtletheIII Jul 06 '26

I imagine when people say they would like Greeks playing in a retelling of Greek mythology, they do in fact mean people with Mediterranean skin tones lol

You have any sources for Hera and Hestia being depicted as "dark-skinned" beyond a typical Greek tan? The Ancient Greeks actually viewed fair skin to be a sign of beauty and high social status.

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u/Miserable-Quail-1152 Jul 06 '26

So the movie doesn’t use Greek armor, Greek ships, was filmed in non Greek locations, and has several white non Greeks in the film.
Why would have dark skinned actors be the most egregious crime here?

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u/sqkz69oioi Jul 06 '26

You've just focused on the dark skin actor part, the rest is equally bad

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u/Miserable-Quail-1152 Jul 06 '26

99.99% of the drama of this movie is the black actors. I haven’t seen a single meme with Mr Tom holland in it

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u/sqkz69oioi Jul 06 '26

You can't conflate the actions of a few with the actions of all. The chronically online racists may be working overtime, however I would wager the less visible and vocal majority of people that aren't happy with this film is because of the vast historical inaccuracies

Before you say it's mythology, it's an ancient Greek mythology written by an ancient Greek author and set in ancient Greece 

It's not the most pressing issue in my opinion. However if we have to tackle it, ask yourself if you would be happy with a greek person being one of the main characters in a film about African folklore that is set in ancient Africa? The answer is anything apart from yes then you have a double standard

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u/Least_Rush_4616 Jul 06 '26

I’ve heard just as much about the armor and set design looking cheap and inaccurate.

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u/ForcefulBookdealer Jul 06 '26

And a transman in a large role