Racists Totally Freak Out Over Idris Elba Playing Norse God in 'Thor'

Hollywood also kept us from knowing the roll that black cowboys played in the American West. Until relatively recently a black man was never seen in a western movie unless he was in a roll such as a porter or stable boy. Fully 25% of the western cowboys in the late 19th century were freed slaves and among the top hands of the frontier.

LOL, Since I was born before WW-2, I consider 1974 to be "relatively recent." You never saw a black cowboy in a Roy Rogers or Gene Autry movie, at least not in a prominent role.

And I was born just after. Still, at my relatively advanced age, I don't consider 36 years as being recent, not even relatively so. I agree, in the old Westerns, there were no prominent roles for blacks, and most of the Indians were played by Russians (who are for the most part remarkable horsemen), and most of the speech of Indians in calvacades in those old Western movies were Russian swearwords, because few Native Americans got roles in those films either.

Ok enough with the racial bigotry!
These people are stupid!
I like how Idris makes the comment pertaining to fantasy, thus explaining the casting of a black man in the role!
If he read well for the part, I'm sure people will look past the fact he's black for what really should be a a part for a white fellow!

Who cares, its fantasy!

"they are so dumb"

Not even close to being analogous! Now instead of painting Ferrigno green they painted him Pink do you think the comic book purest would be pissed?

The comment wasn't intended to be analogous, it was intended to be humorous!

I want to see Eva Longoria naked what does either have to do with this thread?

In what language does Heimdall mean "white god"?

Ah, I found the etymology of that name at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimdall

The etymology of the name Heimdallr is unclear. Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology (12.1) compares the heim element to himinn "sky, heavens" and the þallr element to þöll (genitive þallar) "pine-tree".[2] The same noun þöll appears also in the sense of "river" in Sn. 43, and Freyja bears the epithet Mardöll (genitive Mardallar, Sn. 37, 154). The original motivation for the name remains unknown, and there is no parallel material from other Germanic languages.

According to Wikipedia; "Heimdall (Old Norse Heimdallr, modern Icelandic Heimdallur) is one of the æsir (gods) in Norse mythology, in the Edda called the "white god" (hvíta ás)." It would probably be more correct to say that "Heimdall was the white god", rather than, "Heimdall means the white god."

Snori's theorising was just plain silly. His main purpose was to remove their divinity in order to further the goals of Christianity, this has always been widely aknowledged. This is why he's not the only source we go to for the mythology. The other is Saxo Grammaticus.

But all that asside. What you should be learning about here is the lore of the comics themselves which is all that matters in this case and that perfectly justifies this casting choice without having to torture the old mythology.

i thought the actor was a white guy and the voice was Jones. but i've got ya man.

rofl

No one in their right mind would any more expect a NORSE God to be black with an Afro than would expect Papa Legba to be white with long flowing golden locks.

Why the heck not? Although there is a larger proportion of blonds in the Scandinavian population than in the southern European population, there are a great many dark-haired and even frizzy-haired Scandinavians, as well as dark-skinned ones. Before I moved to Sweden, I was looking forward to no longer be among the tallest and among the darker-skinned, brown-eyed and brown-haired population. Well, to my disappointment, I was still among the tallest, and my skin was no darker than most, and my brown eyes were still among the most widespread. People who have never lived in Scandinavia have erroneous preconceptions. Who is Papa Legba?

Do you think Jesus was white as he is depicted now? No he was bit brownish.

god would kick ass if he had an afro and a 1979 camaro ss :D

Are the Palestinians White? Jesus would have been brown in the place he was born, but what does that have to do with depicting a SCANDINAVIAN God as Black?

LOL

Gods come in all colours, shapes and sizes. Some are blue, some have dozens of arms, some are black, some are red, some are green, some are white. Since gods are not supposed to be humans, and since not all peoples create gods in their own image, why the heck should a Nordic god not be black?

well my retort, friendly as it may be, would be that the movie is based on a comic, and the character was a fat white guy with a thick red beard in the comic. so not for racism purposes but continuity sake, i would say this was a miscast.

Thor is a God revered by the Norse of yore, but that doesn't make him white or blond. Have you ever been to Scandinavia? Admittedly, more people are blond and blue-eyed there than elsewhere, but there are many dark-skinned people there too, who were there before the arrival of the whites.

Thank you for this Vierotchka...It's nice to actually learn something.

surely you jest? Are you trying to convince us that the Norse of yore or now thought their deities were Black?

The Sami practiced ancestor worship and animal spirit worship more than classic Norse Mythology.

You're welcome, LaMonica - to me, a day is not complete if I haven't learnt something new, and I am 63. :)

Don't try to put words I never uttered in my mouth.

Classic Norse mythology is partly based on Sami sagas of heroes past.

Kinda reminds you of the days that Tony Curtis was cast as the Pima Indian Ira Hayes, doesn't it!

This has absolutely nothing to do with silly theories on extinct cultures (Sami or whatever else). It's a movie based on a comic series. That's as far as it goes and all the justification it needs.
Try learning about the mythology of the actual comic instead.

thor is being played by a white guy. black dude is playing another norse god.

they look Native American... curious. maybe a survival from Pangaea? maybe related to the Iroquois?

I am starting to worry I think this is the fourth time this week I have agreed with you.

Thor is being played by a blue eyed blonde. i'm starting to wonder if you have some kind of tourettes, just unable to not shoot off at the mouth before reading the article.

your missin a tooth there "I-Piss"

word.

AMEN!!!! That is some comic book gospel you just laid down!

I disagree - Thor was originally a god revered by the dark-skinned Sami long before the arrival of the Vikings.

Eeeeeeeeeexactly.

the world wasnt ready for blazing saddles? XD

Exactly. There's nothing wrong with a black actor and it's ridiculous to boycott, but whatever happened to continuity?

Good point!

If it were indeed reverse the NAACP would have a fit, if not them then some other black pride organisation.

This whole reverse racism thing has worked out well for black people.

have u seen idris.the man is built like a norse god.
i mean its either him or that techno nazi guy, and he is no where to be found.

hahaha

good for you and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

OMG - I actually voted you up!

Well said.

they should be. he was a Palestinian Arab wasn't he?

nope.

Great retort dude. Happy Holidays too.

lol.. hell yeah! voted up!

or ahnold portraying Conan the Barbarian. i couldn't think of a worse choice. i think Hugh Jackman would make a good Conan if they were to make a new film though.

too bad that you don't have 20/20 envision.

Most people's perceptions are not based in reality.

That being said, I don't know. It's almost like the "White Jesus" concept that's been handed down to us from generation to generation. A lot of us, unfortunately will only allow ourselves to envision only what we want to see, regardless of what the truth is.

Do you know the truth or are you satisfied with just what you've chosen to accept from what you envision ? Did you have a problem with the roles that Charlton Heston and Yule Brenner played in the 10 Commandments ? If you didn't, you should have no problem whatsoever with this role.

None whatsoever.

silly pagans really

This would be more newsworthy if Thor was being played by a black acter, but its just another Norse god. that being said though i dont think there were many black or mexican portrayals of characters in Norse mythology or the Norse marvel universe. Although this is hollywood so what are we surprised about? just saying if he were jet li or or antonio banderes it wouldnt make sense. The characters make the story if you start picky ing and choosing then its just another alternate story line.

I can see your point.