Above we see the Norse God Heimdall, as portrayed by actor Idris Alba, in the upcoming movie Thor, which is based more on the Marvel Comics superhero, not so much on the mythology of Scandinavia. Naturally, a good many people have stridently objected to the casting of a black actor in the role of a Germanic deity, but Marvel has been careful to explain that the Asgardians are not really "gods" in the religious sense. They are actually a bunch of aliens from another dimension. Following is probably the most accurate explanation I've yet read regarding this hair-brained plot line.
the Asgardians in the film are, as they are in the Earth X comics, actually aliens rather than gods. They visited earth in the ancient past, where their culture, language, beliefs and customs influenced the development of certain human civilizations, such as the Vikings
Whew, what a relief. That's a much more realistic view of the ancient gods, isn't it? Much better than actually putting them on the level of a truly religious deity, such as Yawheh, Christ, Allah, or Buddha. After all, that might be a real insult to the adherents of the world's major religions, might it not?
You can see a theme developing here amongst the folks at Marvel. Don't dare to offend anyone. Except, of course, the very people who are the most devoted to the very characters and, yes, gods that you are cravenly exploiting.
At any rate, despite the fact that the Asgardians come from an alien dimension, they are made up of different racial types, somehow strangely identical to those found on earth.
Many of the film's critics are urging a boycott of the movie. Others disagree, and in some cases suggest they are or might be acting out of racist inclination. For example, Jason at the Wild Hunt disingenuously suggests that there is something not only racist but hypocritical at work here. For example, many of the current critics of the film had no problem that Thor, originally red-haired and full bearded, became in the comics a clean-shaven, blond haired hero more similar in appearance to Prince Valiant than to a rugged Norse fighter and slayer of giants.
What makes this argument remarkably disingenuous is that the comic book Thor predates the Asatru movement by probably at least ten years, and the comics creators wanted a handsome, dashing figure that would look good in a tight fitting outfit. This could hardly be considered to be in dire conflict with the traditions and heritage of the original followers of the Norse God. It is probably more a reflection of the fact that the vast majority of the more rabid comic books fans, probably as much as eighty percent of them, are closeted gays. The other twenty percent are so far out of the closet every fucking day is their own personal Gay Pride Parade.
You think I'm exaggerating? One of Thor's better known villains is an indestructible entity created by Thor's father Odin called the Destroyer, who can only come to life when he is animated by the controlling, or controlled, guiding spirit of another. At times he has been portrayed with what looks to be a bulging penis at his crotch. The only problem with this is, he's a magical but EMPTY FUCKING SUIT OF ARMOR!
In other words, in so many ways we see how Marvel has historically manipulated the sensitivities and even the sexuality of its fan base for profit, yet they get a pass from these fanboys, black and white.
This would include now the proprietor of this site which promotes black heroes, who stresses that he is happy Marvel has stood by its decision and is ready to stick it to the racists. The word racist here is doubtless defined as anybody who objects to the casting of a black actor in the role of a Norse God.
As someone who is no longer a fan of comics, this really isn't my fight. As someone who isn't truly an Asatruer or Odinist, it is not my concern. And I am damn sure not a Wotanist, which is in fact a white supremacist religious group devoted to the worship of Wotan (the ancient German spelling of Odin, who was Thor's father). Nevertheless, this leaves me just a little perplexed, and not a little disgusted.
But before I go on, I want to point out, I have no problem with black actors taking on traditionally white roles. For example, when Will Smith took on the role of James West, the role made famous by Robert Conrad in the classic western themed tech-spy series The Wild Wild West, I was intrigued by the concept, and was eager to see it. Unfortunately, the movie itself turned out to be a load of crap, but that's beside the point.
In this case, the whole point of casting Idris Elba as Heimdall, the Norse God and Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, is useless, pretentious, obvious, calculating, and on top of that, silly and unnecessary. And yes, even a little bit insensitive towards people who are, with good reason, prideful of their European heritage and roots, people who are not all racists and bigots, but who nevertheless understandably take exception to their heritage being hi-jacked and subverted for the sake of political correctness, or at least for a wider share of the film audience.
This should also be seen as an insult to the black movie audience. It actually has the temerity to presume that they are incapable of appreciating a film that doesn't feature an African American or black character, which is of course nonsense, and let's face it, fucking racist as all get-out in its own right. If you can even get around to thinking about it seriously, which is to say honestly, you could cut the condescension with a knife, provided you aren't quickly suffocated by the polluting arrogance of sheer elitist gall.
Marvel can spin their wheels all they want about the "true nature" of the Asgardians, and they can certainly give them a multi-cultural history if they want. They own the rights to what characters that they themselves have invented, such as the Enchantress, Karnilla, Volstagg, etc. But no matter how they try to spin it, there's no getting around the undeniable fact that the setting, concept, and for the most part the central characters, are definitely based on the ancient Norse legends and myths. Marvel didn't invent them, they adapted them, and to an extend made them their own.
Let's face it-the Marvel people are free riders who have made possibly tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars from the adapted mythology of an ancient people whose descendants are yet very much alive, and who have a very great degree of reverence and respect for their ancient cultural traditions. This is just as true even if they don't subscribe to any form of religious devotion to their ancestral deities. And in fact this is the case with the vast majority of them.
But they do have the right to object and even to feel offended when their very heritage is disrespected, regardless of the reason or excuse.
If Marvel is determined to change characters from black to white, they could just as easily make Captain America, or Iron Man, or the Fantastic Four, black people. But of course they won't do that, because they know they would never get away with it. People would bitch, and rightly so. On the other hand, they did change Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, into a black man, portrayed by Samuel Jackson. No one complained that I know of, including me.
But Heimdall, an actual cultural icon from centuries ago, in fact from more than a millennium past? A figure from ancient Norse mythology who was one time himself a figure of devotion, and possibly even the center of his own cult of worship? I'm sorry, but that's just a bridge too far.*
It's too late to change things now. The die has been cast, and Marvel should stick to their guns. We don't need any further Rodney King style riots over something as trivial as who portrays a character in a superhero movie. And no, its not racist to suggest that there are some in the black community who would use such a controversy as an excuse to start something like that. If you don't believe me, wait and see what happens in a great many inner cities if Barak Obama is defeated for re-election in 2012. I'm still surprised there weren't celebratory yet destructive riots in some inner city black neighborhoods when he won.
But Marvel needs to drop the disingenuous excuses and start treating the cultural sensitivities of a probably not insignificant portion of their fan base with equal consideration. Respect for the heritage and traditions of all races and religions should be an equal opportunity endeavor. Otherwise, Marvel continues to look like just what they are-just another group of leftist hypocrites.
I'm not expecting any change from this group of creatively challenged funny book creators. As I alluded earlier, I am a great fan of the concept of the comics, the characters and some of their plots and story lines. But it just doesn't translate well on film, due mainly to the obvious time constraints which work in conflict with the generally over-ambitious scope of the majority of movie adaptations. But even the comics themselves have gotten bogged down with overly complicated tie-ins and overarching plots and story lines that are ridiculous to the extreme. Yes, even by comic book standards. It just gets worse and worse. No one ever stays dead for long, there are so many different alternate realities you have to be an autistic savant to even begin to be able to keep track of them, and there are so many god-like entities, some of whom can create and destroy entire universes with little more than a passing thought, its gotten to the point no one can take them seriously even on a creative level. The irony is, the movies might well be their last best chance of survival, and could pave the way for a creative renaissance. But it looks like they are determined to screw that up as well.
The comics industry has just dug itself a hole, but that's the nature of the beast. They are cultural thieves, in addition to free-riders, and that's what thieves do. More often than not, they do not end well.
*Haw Haw Haw see what I did there?
