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This is another first for me. "Thor" is the first film that I ever saw on DVD first, then went to see it in the cinema at a later date. There's a logical reason for it. It was shown today as part of a double bill with "Thor: Dark World". I thought it would be a good idea to catch up, since I missed "Thor" in the cinema when it was first released in 2011. I'm glad that I saw it on the big screen today. It's a visually spectacular film that can't be fully appreciated at home.
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The casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall is disappointing. He bears little resemblance to the character from the comic books, as the above photos make clear. His choice was criticised by fans when the film was first made, and those who agreed with his choice called the other side racists. That's incorrect. I want a white actor to play Heimdall for the simple reason that he's white in the comics. The population of Asgard isn't like Earth. On Earth we have different races and different skin colours, but Asgard is an all-white world. The only way to explain that one person is black in an otherwise 100% white world is to attribute it to a birth defect. Those who fling the racist slur around need to be aware that it was actually racial reasons that led to Idris being chosen. Today films need a black character to make them attractive to black viewers. In the superhero films one of the supporting characters has to be made black. It can't be the main character, because that would alienate the white audience. The maximum is two black characters, a man and a woman, but there should never be more than one of either.
Idris Elba's casting as Heimdall is so wrong it's twisted and insulting.
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking on a general race-changing basis (especially something like figures from religions). If i was making the movie and they told me to use him, i would have cast him as anybody else. (Maybe Baldur?, but they didn't use him.)
Casting him as Heimdall seems like a calculated slap in the face. First, Heimdall was known as "the whitest of the gods" in the old lore.
And second - really? They made him Aesgard's DOORMAN?
"You stand out there - away from the rest of us, and open the door for folks who want to use the Bifrost, 'kay? Good boy!"
Folks don't see a problem there?
When I was young I read all the Norse myths I could lay my hands on. Mostly books in my school library. I didn't remember Heimdall being called the whitest of the Gods. That's an interesting observation. Casting Idris Elba as Heimdall was always a problem for me. The idea of a Norse God having black skin is just wrong. Did the Vikings even know that black men existed? Idris did the best he could with the role, because he's a great actor, probably the best British actor at present.
DeleteAnother problem that I have with Heimdall in the film is that he seems to be Asgard's mightiest warrior, more skilled than even Thor. This was never the case in the comics. What about the Norse legends?