Boycotting Thor

[Too Much Fun]

I would be mad about this if I had some attachment to the character just because I can be a nitpicky fanboy who likes things to be as close to the source material as possible. That's the only reason to be bothered by this casting (if you're going to be bothered at all) as far as I'm concerned. Regardless, as others have said, I agree it doesn't matter as long as the actor gives a good performance. It's like when Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin. I didn't like it at first because I was used to Kingpin as a white character in the Spider-Man cartoons, but he played the role nicely, so I got over my fanboy irritation.

I also think it's a little ridiculous to get so worked up for lack of fidelity to the source material over such a small role. I mean if Hollywood remade Blade or Shaft with a white actor in the lead, I could understand being annoyed, but this is a relatively minor character in the world of Thor, isn't it? Also, I've only ever seen Elba act in his guest spots on "The Office" U.S. and he was excellent there, so based on that I expect him to do fine in the role.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I can't say I'm surprised. I learned the other day that Idris Elba was cast as Heimdall and noticed in the Wikipedia article for the movie that a bunch of comic book geeks cried foul over the casting choice. That made me roll my eyes and this conservative group has made my eyes roll even more. I love Elba from both The Wire and Luther and has become a major reason for me to check out Thor which I was previously hesitant on.

 

[zakkrusz]

Dumbasses do stupid things constantly, the world still turns.

 

[Kegg]

Filing this under things I don't care about and wouldn't stop me from seeing the movie.

That being said, it is a bit silly to have a Norse God (yes, I know they're aliens in the movie) be black just as it would be silly to have a White Zulu God.

Yeah but we're not dealing with gods. This is an adaption of a comic book bastardization of Thor.

Really I don't get why people are more hung up over the race issue, which is kind of a pittance next to the 'heck with mythology let's draw from a goddamn comic book' angle.

I'm not offended personally, but I'd really prefer it if people who were offended had hangups about something that's actually relevant. Once you turn Thor into a goofy paladin who speaks faux Ye Old Ren Faire English, the race of his companions is sort of moot as far as credibility goes.

It's also kind of the point were we need to abandon comparing the premise to the tenth century because the comic version manifestly has nothing to do with that. Mythological Thor threw around insuls at Odin as they implied each other were homosexuals. Comic book Thor is some squeaky clean guy with diction and punching.

Besides, isn't Stringer Bell the only thing this movie has going for it? Is there anything more promising about this movie other then the Man himself having a bit role? If anything people should be whinging they don't also got Michael K. Williams as Thor.

Because then you might just have a bastardization of Thor I'd watch.

And if you haven't seen Idrs Elba in The Wire, here's a taste (be advised: foul language):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPS9YKGaKQE

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Besides, isn't Stringer Bell the only thing this movie has going for it? Is there anything more promising about this movie other then the Man himself having a bit role? If anything people should be whinging they don't also got Michael K. Williams as Thor.

Because then you might just have a bastardization of Thor I'd watch.

Count me in. I would love to watch that bastardization.

 

[Kegg]

Oh and item:

Idris Elba is British. He's more authentically European then this Concerned Citizesn clap-trap.

 

[Myasishchev]

Even if the characters in the movie were Gods and not aliens, I still don't think I would care. The comic book always played fast and loose with the myths. A blonde Thor and a raven haired Sif arent exactly true to the myths either. No big deal.

Well, if Lee, Lieber, and Kirby had taken a Sandman-esque approach to the gods' creation, with their existence based on the belief of the humans who worship them, the liberties he took wouldn't make much sense, nor would a lily-white group of proto-Germans imagining up a black Heimdall. That would be as bothersome as, I don't know, the deity Ikenga being portrayed by a Chinese guy. (Unless, of course, unlikely skin color was part of the myth itself, an example of which I can't think of offhand, other than the post-conquista accounts of Quetzlcoatl.)

But since Kirby et al. proposed an objectively real species of overdimensional aliens, it doesn't really matter.

I mean, no one cares about the melanin disconnect between Orion and the Black Racer. (Or Destruction and Destiny on one hand, and Dream and Death, for that matter.) Hell, really, shouldn't Orion be made of, like, rock or something?

So of course there's no actual problem. The matter gets more nuanced when dealing with people who were supposed to have grown up in a real-world context, though, like Superman or Luke Cage,* versus beings who were born WHEN THE OLD GODS DIED!

*I never want to imagine a white Luke Cage again.

Besides, isn't Stringer Bell the only thing this movie has going for it? Is there anything more promising about this movie other then the Man himself having a bit role? If anything people should be whinging they don't also got Michael K. Williams as Thor.

It's directed by Kenneth Brannaugh, who is a tremendously talented human being?

 

[Luminus]

And here, from the "Statement of Principles" of the Council of Conservative Citizens - the folks organizing the boycott - is the heart of the issue:

(2) We believe the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people. We believe that the United States derives from and is an integral part of European civilization and the European people and that the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character. We therefore oppose the massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples into the United States that threatens to transform our nation into a non-European majority in our lifetime. We believe that illegal immigration must be stopped, if necessary by military force and placing troops on our national borders; that illegal aliens must be returned to their own countries; and that legal immigration must be severely restricted or halted through appropriate changes in our laws and policies. We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called “affirmative action” and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races.

So, you know, fuck these congenitally syphilitic inbreds.

Thanks. That was useful.

 

[BolianAuthor]

I think we should have a white guy play Martin Luther King in the next film featuring him. That'll even it out.

 

[Luminus]

I would be mad about this if I had some attachment to the character just because I can be a nitpicky fanboy who likes things to be as close to the source material as possible. That's the only reason to be bothered by this casting (if you're going to be bothered at all) as far as I'm concerned. Regardless, as others have said, I agree it doesn't matter as long as the actor gives a good performance. It's like when Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin. I didn't like it at first because I was used to Kingpin as a white character in the Spider-Man cartoons, but he played the role nicely, so I got over my fanboy irritation.

I also think it's a little ridiculous to get so worked up for lack of fidelity to the source material over such a small role. I mean if Hollywood remade Blade or Shaft with a white actor in the lead, I could understand being annoyed, but this is a relatively minor character in the world of Thor, isn't it? Also, I've only ever seen Elba act in his guest spots on "The Office" U.S. and he was excellent there, so based on that I expect him to do fine in the role.

I don't think a white Shaft would be a problem. Blade, on the other hand, is black and needs to be black. The reason for this is that there are not many notable black heroes in the Marvel universe. I can count them all on one hand and still have fingers leftover, Storm being one of them. Blade became noticed because of that first movie and to suddenly change his character to a white guy would be an insult. It's all about context.

Black Panther is boring. The fact that he has the word "Black" in his name is problematic and a relic of the time he was created in. He, too, cannot be white because he's part of a black tribe. There's context, again. But, really, who cares about him?

Same deal with Spider-Man. He cannot be black, because the culture and personal situations would change. His life as a lower class citizen would most likely put him in the ghetto and thus we would get something like Static Shock, which is a good show, I hear.

 

[Luminus]

I think we should have a white guy play Martin Luther King in the next film featuring him. That'll even it out.

No, that would be ridiculous. Again, context. MLK cannot be white, because that would defeat the purpose of the movie. MLK is not fiction; therefore, it cannot be changed and expect to keep it's authenticity. People keep making this fallacious example in these situations, but it just falls flat.

 

[theenglish]

Heimdall is sometimes referred to as "The White God," which is why the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) is planning to boycott the movie when it hits theaters on May 6th.

The group wrote: "Norse mythology gets multi-cultural remake in upcoming movie titled 'Thor.' It's not enough that Marvel attacks conservative 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. An upcoming movie, based on the comic book Thor, will give the Aesir (god) an insulting multi-cultural make-over. One of the Gods will be played by Hip Hop DJ Elba."

Read more: http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=20051&count=0#ixzz18RbtusdV​

Do these people even realize who Stan Lee is

 

[BolianAuthor]

Of course it would be utterly ridiculous. But I was going for the point that because of that, it'd have no value other than the Hollywood obsession with "shaking things up" just for the hell of it, without any substance to base it on or back it up. I don't really care... I'm fine with whoever plays a role... so long as there's a reason based on story and substance behind it, and it's not just out of novelty.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Wow.

A thousand years ago some white idiots met a bunch of aliens and thought they could bribe them into doing shit by killing cattle and giving them the animals "soul".

Vikings.

They raped half the woman on the planet during the hight of their empire.

Good people.

 

[Kegg]

Of course it would be utterly ridiculous. But I was going for the point that because of that, it'd have no value other than the Hollywood obsession with "shaking things up" just for the hell of it, without any substance to base it on or back it up.

Like, for example, turning Odin from Thor's rival into his father. That's really just fucking with the myth for no good reason.

It's also totally what the comic book did. You can't complain that the movie of the comic book is changing around the source material when the comic book pretty much did a number on it first.

It's directed by Kenneth Brannaugh, who is a tremendously talented human being?

Ehhhh.... not a fan. Although knowing Branagh's casting history complaining about Idris Elba would fall on deaf ears.

 

[JarodRussell]

Reminds me of the whole "we need black Hobbits in Middleearth" shit. And this is even worse since it's about norse Gods.

It's also racist against Asians. Why can't we have a Japanese Heimdall?

I think we should have a white guy play Martin Luther King in the next film featuring him. That'll even it out.

No, that would be ridiculous. Again, context. MLK cannot be white, because that would defeat the purpose of the movie. MLK is not fiction; therefore, it cannot be changed and expect to keep it's authenticity. People keep making this fallacious example in these situations, but it just falls flat.

Why would that defeat the purpose of the movie? White MLK against black/red/yellow/blue/magenta oppressors. Same message, just different colors. I mean, who cares what color it is if the story is good, right? Marvel could do a crazy ass comic book series about that, too.

Can't also wait for a black Superman, Batman, and Judge Dredd. And a white Blade.


And - of course - a black James T. Kirk.

 

[Kegg]

Marvel would probably make Malcolm X into Martin Luther King's father, if their approach to Thor is anything to go by.

But y'know, the reason the whole MLK argument is lame (and really why do people always jump on him - the use of context relevant black characters, like black superheroes in this case) is, well, how many MLK movies do you even see made?

I'm sure someone could find me a drama film about Martin Luther King but I can't recall any offhand (and Malcolm X got Denzel Washington...) but I have a suspicion you'll see more blockbusters starring, y'know, white guys then black - and the upcoming Thor is no exception.

Idris Elba is a talented character actor who won broad accolades for his performance on The Wire

Chris Hemsworth is a soap star.

But Chris is white and young and hot so he's the hero. Hollywood, welcome to. The black supporting character is nothing new, after all...

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I think we should have a white guy play Martin Luther King in the next film featuring him. That'll even it out.

nuBSG was clearly a terrible show because a black male character was recast as an asian female, and another black character was recast as an old white dude.

Clearly, such recasting without respect for the source material diminishes the quality of the production. Smash all the DVDs!

These folks are making a movie; what your suggestion amounts to is simply looking for a way to gratuitously insult people.

 

[Lunarflower]

And here, from the "Statement of Principles" of the Council of Conservative Citizens - the folks organizing the boycott - is the heart of the issue:

(2) We believe the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people. We believe that the United States derives from and is an integral part of European civilization and the European people and that the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character. We therefore oppose the massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples into the United States that threatens to transform our nation into a non-European majority in our lifetime. We believe that illegal immigration must be stopped, if necessary by military force and placing troops on our national borders; that illegal aliens must be returned to their own countries; and that legal immigration must be severely restricted or halted through appropriate changes in our laws and policies. We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called “affirmative action” and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races.

So, you know, fuck these congenitally syphilitic inbreds.

Oh man that whole page is just scary.

 

[Australis]

Kegg, Chris Hemsworth was also in a little movie last year. And was pretty good.