Skin colour controversy and acting

[Kyriakos]

I'm just going to leave this here

Apparently askari dressed in full victorian uniform

Though going by the pic



maybe the plan was to divert attention from the fact they used a $5 halloween prop as a supposedly archaic era helmet

[Kyriakos]

Anyway, despite the trolling, the end product looks really good:



^^

[mishkin]

And your excuse for so much rage is still that "the tone of the actors is incorrect"?

[Copperknickers II]

Apparently askari dressed in full victorian uniform

Though going by the pic



maybe the plan was to divert attention from the fact they used a $5 halloween prop as a supposedly archaic era helmet

Sorry but this is now just borderline racism. There's nothing wrong with casting black actors in TV shows in a country with a large black minority (especially within the acting profession). If you disagree with black actors in roles you see as 'white', and don't disagree with having a show about Greeks where most actors are clearly Northern European, then you need to ask yourself serious questions about your internal prejudices.

[Kyriakos]

Are you going in circles?
My 'prejudice' is that i find it ridiculous for the bbc to troll by using black actors in roles that don't suit them in the show. They could have used the same black actors, in the same show, as Memnon and other heroes like that, from the Iliad. Instead they chose to present crap, and their trailer also makes it obvious that this show is very low quality.
But since you mean to take a high moral ground, keep in mind that the bbc itself by having black actors as Achilles etc is racist itself, cause it clearly doesn't want to spend money (even the same money spent on this garbage show Troy) to make a cool series about BLACK history/myth. Wouldn't that be nice?
Instead, the bbc spends no time or money on a good show centered on black culture etc, yet wants to troll and then moans (while finding also so-called --i don't agree with the term, and i don't use it with hostility or against you; i use it cause it is the known term for this -- "useful idiots" to defend a bad and trolling option)

TLDR: this show is crap + the bbc should make good shows (or at least funded on the level of this crap show) about black culture instead of trying to troll. ^^

[Sir Adrian]

I would very much like a show about Mansa Musa, Shaka, the nubian conquest of egypt or the kingdom of Zimbabwe. Even a historically authentic show about slavery and the Atlantic triangle would be awesome.

Sorry but this is now just borderline racism. There's nothing wrong with casting black actors in TV shows in a country with a large black minority (especially within the acting profession). If you disagree with black actors in roles you see as 'white', and don't disagree with having a show about Greeks where most actors are clearly Northern European, then you need to ask yourself serious questions about your internal prejudices.

And yet you complain when the reverse happens and "black" roles go to white people. Or is that not racism? Also, note the key word in your argument: minority, as in there's far fewer of them than white actors. Ther casting was purely intentional and mixing politics in entertainment is something I cannot abide.

Use actors appropriate to job. Spartacus also used a black actor for a white role (Oenomaeus was Celtic and white as snow irl) but it was perfectly executed and went off without a hitch because it was believable. This isn't.

[Derpy Hooves]

Anyway, despite the trolling, the end product looks really good:



^^

It looked good until I saw Achilles who looked so out of place

@Copperknickers
"History is literally racist!!!"

[Kyriakos]

I would very much like a show about Mansa Musa, Shaka, the nubian conquest of egypt or the kingdom of Zimbabwe. Even a historically authentic show about slavery and the Atlantic triangle would be awesome.

Indeed it would. You can be sure it won't happen, cause then the bbc would
1) be exposed as being (equally) lazy in presenting black history in such a show
2) lose more money
3) have no trolling card & believers in positive aspects of what to the rest of us is lazyness and trolling.

[mishkin]

the only reason why we still give more importance to skin tone than, for example, the tone of the hair, is racism (and the fight against it). In these times, luckily or unfortunately*, some people have to hide their prejudice or repulsion after concerns about historical rigor, the artistic quality or respect for a dead author whose works have been tainted thousands of times.

*I think It is a pity, actually.

[TheLeft]

Believe it or not the British Broadcasting Company doesn't make TV shows with the Greek ultra-nationalist demographic in mind. I would suggest you address your concerns to the following address:

I don't pay the TV Licence Fee so my race-baiting rants are irrelevant
BBC Television Centre
London
W12

I think you could also email them at IDontUnderstandTheMeaningOfTheWordContext@BBC.co.uk

Or you could ask the Greek TV companies to make a similar series (assuming they can afford it). Besides, the Iliad wasn't a true or accurate account of historical events, it was mythology (as in fictional, spurious, not true, imagined), so the cast is likely to represent modern-day British society. It really isn't that difficult to understand.

[Kyriakos]

TheLeft, you are literally not worth my time.

Have another drink and pay it by using the tv licence fee i paid the bbc in the three years i lived in London

[TheLeft]

TheLeft, you are literally not worth my time.

Have another drink and pay it by using the tv licence fee i paid the bbc in the three years i lived in London

Alright then, let me ask you a question. What race should the actors and actresses be for Omnipotent, immortal deities (all of which appear in the Iliad), Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo and Poseidon? Let me see if I can guess your answer... the intangible, supernatural beings in the Iliad should all be white (preferably blonde with blue eyes).

Did I win a prize?

The Iliad is a work of fiction. It is not real, so the BBC have taken the decision (quite rightly imo) to put the story in the context of Modern Britain to appeal to Modern Britain. You'll also notice they are speaking English not Ancient Greek and they use modern speech patterns not dactylic hexameter verse (another inaccuracy I've noticed nobody here seems to care about, I wonder why?). The actors and actresses playing roles are designed to reflect Modern Britain.

The magic word you all seem not to understand is "context". I really suggest you look it up.

[Kyriakos]

Yes, m8. Because it is highly likely some platitude you'd mention would have eluded those you speak with. Keep at it, cause repeating the same will improve your point.

[Aexodus]

We all know it's a work of fiction, but it still makes no sense to shoehorn in token black characters into roles where they don't fit. It's the same motivation as the one and only Independent makes clear here. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...-a6781681.html

The disappointingly white cast of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them suggests a similar pattern in the next film outing.

JK Rowling has also fallen to empty virtue signalling just like the BBC, posthumously deciding that Hermione is black, despite mentioning Hermione's 'white face' previously in the book series.

So white people in a movie set in England is a problem? Far cry from the unadulterated praise seen of a black cast set in the fictional country of Wakanda. No-one's calling out Black Panther for a lack of diversity, indeed it would make just as little sense.

The BBC is pandering to fervent leftists, and however fictional the story is is academic. Write your own African mythology if you really want. It's not the simple act of having a black actor in a film, indeed I have absolutely no problem with Chadwick Boseman playing Black Panther, nor would I have a problem with David Gyasi (Troy's Achilles) playing King Memnon. It's the motivation behind these panderings that I object to.

Alright then, let me ask you a question. What race should the actors and actresses be for Omnipotent, immortal deities (all of which appear in the Iliad), Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo and Poseidon? Let me see if I can guess your answer... the intangible, supernatural beings in the Iliad should all be white (preferably blonde with blue eyes)

Well as Greek gods they were probably thought to look Greek

[mishkin]

Write your own African mythology if you really want.

Are you saying that Greek mythology is a matter only of the Greeks? Only of whites? That black people should stay on the sidelines and deal only with "African things"? Do you say the same when, for example, whites use Japanese mythology and culture and vice versa?

This has reminded me of people who say that "black people are fine, but they should stay on their continent".

And again, why the hell do you give such importance to the tone of the skin and not, for example, to the color of the hair? Should be equally superficial things.

[Kyriakos]

Maybe the next Achilles should be on a wheelchair, cause it is all myth. Also, make him half-bear. Cause its a myth, what are you, some nazi, it's a myth man /facepalm

[Aexodus]

Are you saying that Greek mythology is a matter only of the Greeks? Only of whites? That black people should stay on the sidelines and deal only with "African things"? Do you say the same when, for example, whites use Japanese mythology and culture and vice versa?

This has reminded me of people who say that "black people are fine, but they should stay on their continent".

And again, why the hell do you give such importance to the tone of the skin and not, for example, to the color of the hair? Should be equally superficial things.

I admit I should have gone on to say 'Make your won mythology- if you really want a black lead character. Also I literally said I'd be fine with, indeed pleased if a black actor was given the role of King Memnon. So no I don't think Greek mythology is unequivocally a matter of whites, having never said such a thing. I do however, believe that adaptions should be done with respect to the Greek people. No disrespect, but you're not making this easy if you're gonna deal in absolutisms.

[Sir Adrian]

Maybe the next Achilles should be on a wheelchair, cause it is all myth. Also, make him half-bear. Cause its a myth, what are you, some nazi, it's a myth man /facepalm

At this point I would like to stop and point out the completely unrepresented Filipino women actors. Why can't Achilles and Hector be Filipino women.

the only reason why we still give more importance to skin tone than, for example, the tone of the hair, is racism (and the fight against it). In these times, luckily or unfortunately*, some people have to hide their prejudice or repulsion after concerns about historical rigor, the artistic quality or respect for a dead author whose works have been tainted thousands of times.

*I think It is a pity, actually.

Not racism, suspension of disbelief. Black Achilles in this context does not make sense. The previously mentioned Oenomaeus was rewritten as a Numidian. It was plausible, made sense even though the historical Oenomaeus was a gaul (the only good gaul actually), nobody had any problem with it - in fact the character was so loved that he was not killed off during season 1, as planned.

[Aexodus]

At this point I would like to stop and point out the completely unrepresented Filipino women actors. Why can't Achilles and Hector be FIlipino women.

Also, 198 posts and no mention of the LGBTQ+ community? How bigoted of us!

[bekiristein]

Maybe the next Achilles should be on a wheelchair, cause it is all myth. Also, make him half-bear. Cause its a myth, what are you, some nazi, it's a myth man /facepalm

Yes actually they could. Its art I dont see the bbc claiming that this is the original context.And art can be "provocative", cause now we are talking about why people are irritated about the color of the actors.Besides dont to need to mention that even in Greece ancient drama is been played without sticking to the original context. Whats the difference?None.