Yet Another Cycling Forum

Off Topic => The Pub => Arts and Entertainment => Topic started by: andrewc on 20 December, 2010, 10:28:20 pm

Title: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andrewc on 20 December, 2010, 10:28:20 pm
 White supremacists urge Thor boycott over casting of black actor as Norse god | Film | guardian.co.uk  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/17/white-supremacists-boycott-thor?showallcomments=true#comment-fold)

Our office BNP nutter is a big Marvel comics fan...... I'm going to take great pleasure in sending him this link tomorrow.. ;D

Only thing I've seen Idris Elba in was the excellent Ultraviolet, many years ago.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Cunobelin on 20 December, 2010, 10:43:42 pm
Sometimes I wonder if this type of casting is simply done to provoke publicity in  this way.

Forgetting the racism for a moment and looking at this logically.

(http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/Images/thor.jpg)

Thor was a white blonde aryan  "Norse" character, and portraying him as a woman, dwarf, or coloured was always going to upset the Marvel fans and anyone else familiar with the character.

Imagine the furore if for instance the Shaft movies were filmed with Bruce Wilis in the lead role?
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 20 December, 2010, 10:49:28 pm
Thor was a bloody redhead.

Marvel Thor is blond.  To quote the best and frankly, only necessary comment on the whole non-issue:

Quote
Thor is not a live-action interpretation of Norse Mythology, DUMMIES. You know how you can tell? Here are some examples: Sif has black hair. There
is a robot that shoots lasers out of its face. Volstagg. EVERYONE IS AN
OUTER-SPACE SCIENCE GOD WEARING GIANT SUITS OF GOLD ROBOT ARMOR.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: David Martin on 20 December, 2010, 10:54:07 pm
Who says he was a redhead? There are three nordic types, the classic blond aryan, the feisty redhead, and the shorter but far more dangerous dark haired ones. hey arise from four major immigration phases. The Irish king Olav was a redheaded viking. The Normans were of the fair haired stock. Native Orcadians/sutherland etc are the dark haired ones from the more northern norwegian territories.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 20 December, 2010, 10:58:16 pm
The bloody myths say he is a redhead.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 December, 2010, 11:59:39 am
He isn't cast as Thor.

He's cast as Heimdall "He is the all-seeing and all-hearing guardian sentry of Asgard"
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: red marley on 21 December, 2010, 12:50:03 pm
I saw a picture of Jesus the other day where they'd cast him as a white man.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 December, 2010, 01:02:13 pm
I saw a picture of Jesus the other day where they'd cast him as white man.

 ;D
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 21 December, 2010, 02:33:47 pm
He isn't cast as Thor.

lol nobody said he was
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: vorsprung on 21 December, 2010, 02:44:32 pm
I saw a picture of Jesus the other day where they'd cast him as white man.

Yeah I was watching one of those nativity things and EVERYONE in Palestine was white.
It's not like that now although the Israeli army are trying their best to make it happen
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 December, 2010, 02:47:44 pm
He isn't cast as Thor.

lol nobody said he was

"Thor was a white blonde aryan  "Norse" character, and portraying him as a woman, dwarf, or coloured was always going to upset the Marvel fans and anyone else familiar with the character."
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 21 December, 2010, 03:59:29 pm
my fu is broken by waves of grunting mammon worshippers, where was that from?
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 December, 2010, 04:06:30 pm
2nd post
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Bledlow on 21 December, 2010, 06:52:42 pm
I saw a picture of Jesus the other day where they'd cast him as a white man.
So? I've met blue-eyed & red-haired Arabs & blond Jews.

Now, if you made a film, say, in which you showed more than a small minority of the population of 1st century Palestine (or 6th century BC Athens or 4th century BC Makedonia or 1st century BC Rome) as fair-haired, blue-eyed, or the like, then you'd be a right pillock. But one individual for who we have no contemporary pictures or descriptions? Entirely possible.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 21 December, 2010, 08:01:09 pm
2nd post
Ah yes. Cuno: RTFA :)

Having said that, Marvel have portrayed Thor as a bloody FROG.  Not a Frenchman, not an anthropomorphic froggy-alien, no, a frog-sized FROG.  I don't remember lightning striking Stan Lee as angry Asgardians blood-eagled him on the steps of Marvel Towers.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Cunobelin on 21 December, 2010, 08:33:02 pm
2nd post
Ah yes. Cuno: RTFA :)

Having said that, Marvel have portrayed Thor as a bloody FROG.  Not a Frenchman, not an anthropomorphic froggy-alien, no, a frog-sized FROG.  I don't remember lightning striking Stan Lee as angry Asgardians blood-eagled him on the steps of Marvel Towers.

Have you seen his friends?
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Cunobelin on 21 December, 2010, 09:02:42 pm
More seriously..

Historically the Norse certainly interacted with Moors and both groups raided each other so a black or Arabic character is not unreasonable

However as I said the Marvel interpretation of Norse mythology is classically Aryan, and the expectation would be to maintain that.

My point is whether the decision over casting was taken to provoke a response such as this and thus garner publicity.

Cynical I admit

Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Manotea on 21 December, 2010, 09:27:59 pm
Yes, but is he Worthy?

More to the point is the actor concerned playing the finder of the Hammer and/or Thor himself? In the latter case one suspects he will be considerably CGI enhanced, possibly acquiring long blond hair and fair skin along with the suit of muscles. That would add a certain edge to the role.

I once had a collection of Fantastic comics starting from issue#1.
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: andygates on 21 December, 2010, 09:53:31 pm
He's a blond stud already.   :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Who'd have Thor't it......
Post by: Mr Larrington on 22 December, 2010, 10:35:51 am
Historically the Norse certainly interacted with Moors and both groups raided each other so a black or Arabic character is not unreasonable

A Norse of a different colour?

IGMC