Controversy swirls over black actor, Idris Elba, playing role of Norse deity, Heimdall, in upcoming "Thor" movie.
Drama is unfolding with actor Idris Elba playing the role of Norse deity Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh's new film Thor. It seems that Marvel comic book fans have turned against Elba for no other reason but the color of his skin. So, it's okay for whites to dress up in blackface, but all hell breaks loose when the opposite is true. Elba, who starred in the Wire said of the controversy,"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," he said following a press conference for current film The Losers. "I think that’s a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that and I think that’s good.Here's my two cents. If you don't want blacks to play so-called white roles, then please, stop appearing in blackface in movie roles meant for blacks -- Soul Man and Tropic Thunder come to mind.
"There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?" he added to TV Times. "Hang about, Thor's mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That's okay, but the color of my skin is wrong?"
UPDATE#1: According to the U.K. Guardian, white supremacist group, Council of Conservative Citizens is upset that London-born Idris Elba, star of The Wire and BBC detective series Luther as well as a number of Hollywood films, is to play deity Heimdall in the Marvel Studios feature. The group, which opposes inter-racial marriage and gay rights, has set up a website, boycott-thor.com to set out its opposition to what it sees as an example of leftwing social engineering. Oh, so it's okay for whites to play blackface and for Angelina Jolie to play Cleopatra, but it's a cardinal sin for blacks to be cast in a white role?
Read more: Idris Elba defends Thor film role
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire