It would have tanked so hard. Furthermore, we must also remember that, because films and television shows offer very few lead roles for black actors, it is extremely difficult for talented black actors to make names for themselves in the industry. Does he covet that status? Troy: Fall of a City begins on Saturday, February 17 on BBC One at 9.10pm. Rent or Buy. The show had potential, but I didn’t make it past the first couple episodes. This is two videos in one, a split screen video of the two fights between Achilles and Hector. I was just getting in to the show, I had only just managed to get over the poor casting choices of the other characters. It takes place in what is a historically contemporary setting. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything, however, since, in Greek black-figure vase paintings, all men are portrayed with black skin and all women are portrayed with white skin. TV Shows. It means nothing for someone seeking self-worth, greatness and legacy. I am actually more disappointed in the show’s portrayal of Zeus than its portrayal of Achilles because, unlike Achilles, Zeus’s iconography is pretty much universally agreed upon. I can totally understand them making Zeus black, but, come on guys, you’ve got to keep at least some part of the traditional iconography to make him recognizable as Zeus. And should not be assumed! Movies. The fact that an actual black man was named after Memnon strongly suggests that at least whoever named him thought of Memnon as what we would consider black. Roteiro. He is, by myth, half-human, half-god, created by the union of Peleus and Thetis, a sea-nymph. Aside from his son’s interest, his 18-year-old daughter attends a performing arts school. Achilles was most recently played on screen by blond, blue-eyed Brad Pitt in 2004’s Troy. He has long, flowy hair and a long, flowy beard. The second I realised Achilles was black, it ruined all believability for me. Given that in the USA blacks represent 13% of the population, they are at present over represented in most media. Given the lengths TFOAC’s particular adaptation of The Iliad goes to stay true to the minor threads and subplots of the epic, it is hard to ignore the distractingly forced multiracial casting that was so obviously coerced by modern inclusivity agendas. Seja gentil e ajude a fazer do site um ambiente amigável e agradável. He wasn’t sure, but I said, ‘If the President of America can be black, you can be Spider-Man’. “I’d say that’s definitely… out there for getting. They could have put Memnon in played by a Black actor. Aphrodite’s hair in Botticelli’s painting has always looked more blond than red to me personally, but, looking at it again, I could definitely see how someone could see it as red. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). And so he should — he looks in awe-inspiring shape. Troy, Fall of a City. Disappointingly, Memnon is totally absent from nearly all modern adaptations of the story of the Trojan War, perhaps because his story is so similar to Hektor’s. Because of this, the ancient Greeks said their skin was burnt black by the heat of the sun. Neither the Iliad nor Troy: Fall of a City is an accurate representation of the Aegean Bronze Age. Sometimes he doesn’t and walks away. Nestor, Antilochos’s father, begged Achilles to kill Memnon and avenge Antilochos’s death. But if one side insists on playing that game, then let’s be honest and apply it fAirly in all entertainment outlets. Zeus obliged. I did answer the question. f ever there was a role to make a star, it’s the Greek demigod Achilles. Achilles, King of the Myrmidons - played by David Gyasi Achilles is the most feared of all the Greek warriors travelling to Troy. A lot of people have a hard time buying or even understanding the argument why “colorblind casting” is considered good when it benefits black actors than when it benefits white. Personally I am of the opinion that artistic talent isn’t native to any particular culture or race and really dislike the forced diversity quotas. We’re going to have eight episodes of this and no good will come of it.”. Let’s be honestly and deeply appreciative of both past and present truths. I don’t understand what you mean with “myth can change”. Nonetheless, some ancient Greek and Roman depictions of Memnon do clearly show him with African features. ), ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an ancient Greek black-figure vase painting dating to c. 550 – c. 525 BC, showing the Aithiopian warrior Memnon with stereotypically African features. We try to make the characters believable. We have costumes for a reason. I, however, think that Troy: Fall of a City could have perhaps benefited from inclusion of Memnon and his army of Aithiopians. You mention the hair colour could have been misinterpreted but nowhere whas he descibed as African with no hair!! The Memnon shown in the portrait head from the Berlin Antikensammlung is reported to have been an extraordinarily talented student and orator, whom Herodes Atticus loved greatly. Anglo-Saxon are using my culture and the religion of my ancestors for money purpose. When Does United States History Really Begin? Troy: Fall of a City is a British-American miniseries based on the Trojan War and the love affair between Paris and Helen.The show tells the story of the 10-year siege of Troy, set in the 13th century BC. By giving traditionally white roles to Black actors, makers of films and television shows can help give those actors the opportunity for success. No eagle. The visual difference between a white blond Greek and a dark bald African is much more noticeable than the difference between a blond white women and a white woman with red hair, that looks almost blond. He laughs at the irony of a ruptured Achilles forcing him out of his first major lead role three years ago (although BBC One’s The Interceptor turned out to be a dud). r), meaning “fire.” Achilles is supposed to have taken this name because he had fiery red hair. Rasmus, I agree 💯%. Add such big names as Athena, Patroclus, and Nestor among team Greece, to say nothing of notable leaders and allies among team Troy. I am currently a student at Indiana University Bloomington pursuing a double major in classical studies and history. We resume our conversation some months later at BFI Southbank. Content Type. The actor found parallels with our troubled times starring as Achilles in Troy: Fall of a City, he tells Gabriel Tate. Have a Dixie day! I wondered whether it was selfish to act when I felt I couldn’t put a roof over my family’s head. That’s just part of the artistic style and it has nothing to do with race. If the producers of Troy: Fall of a City had portrayed Achilles as a white man with a huge green afro wig, a handlebar mustache, a two-foot-long, bright blue beard, a modern Kevlar vest instead of armor, and an AK-47 instead of a spear, I bet most people would have just shrugged it off and said “You know what, it’s creative license.”. Why Does Donald Trump Like Neoclassical Architecture So Much? I see you fail to address the fact that there is no push to diversify Bollywood ( which is bigger than Hollywood) or any other film industry. Ways to Watch. I do think it is also important that not to assume to many people care too much about these things. Swords and sandals epic in eight parts made in a collaboration with Netflix, written by David Farr (who also wrote The Night Manager). Drama. Because yes, unfortunately we greeks are totally invisible in those shows when it talk particularly about us. ITV and Amazon's remake of William. because of racism? Modern representations of Memnon more consistently show him as a black African. Give him long, curly hair and a beard, a himation, a thunderbolt, and maybe an eagle. So it really shouldn’t come as some surprise that in a primarily white country the roles are cast with mostly white actors. Do you answer the question in the headline? Achilles was most recently played on screen by blond, blue-eyed Brad Pitt in 2004’s Troy. If the makers of the show were trying to make it an accurate portrayal of the Aegean Bronze Age, Black Achilles would be the least of their historical inaccuracies. Neither work even claims to be an accurate representation of the Aegean Bronze Age either. And that idea really makes a lot of people angry because there are, unfortunately, lots of people who do not think black people should be part of the western story. Further racist backlash against “Black Achilles” April 6th, 2018 In January Pharos documented a racist site commenting on the casting of David Gyasi to play Achilles in the BBC’s miniseries Troy: Fall of a City. (For instance, see the depiction of Achilles in the polychromatic vase painting shown below, which is dated to c. 300 BC. And I don’t see any pressure on Bollywood to increase their use of white or non-Indian actors. I suspect if Achilles was played by a white actor with dark hair it wouldn’t be controversial, partly because people wouldn’t know it. Where is the honour? For example: Agamemnon was poorly portrayed. Série Troy - Fall of a City - Legendada Torrent (2018) em 1080p / 720p / FullHD / HD / WEBrip Download nos formatos MKV [BAIXAR GRÁTIS - Lacraia Torrent]. People can portray myths however they like. It is not an adaption of Homer's Iliad or Odyssey but rather an original take on the Greek myths, and covers some ground only alluded to in those works. By giving traditionally Black roles to white actors, though, they would just be promoting the exclusion of Black people from the entertainment industry and denying Black people representation. A bitter dispute erupts between Agamemnon (Johnny Harris) and Achilles. Black storm trooper? Troy: Fall of a City, coprodução épica da Netflix com a BBC, atraiu críticas no Twitter por sua escalação do ator britânico/ganense (I am going on the picture that you posted, I wouldn’t have noticed that she has red hair unless you said). Other than the name, what is there to tell me this guy is supposed to be Zeus? Why not? Scandinavia 1000 years ago had a more homogenenous population than today and pretending otherwise is to my mind silly. This portrayal has triggered a lot of people, who are angry that Achilles is not portrayed as a white man with blond hair. And before you say there aren’t enough roles for actors of different ethnicities, I’ll simply point to Bollywood, or the Hong Kong and Chinese film. You do what you can for the next generation — there’s hope there. David Gyasi, a London-born actor of Ghanaian descent, plays the role of Achilles in the BBC’s and Netflix’ miniseries Troy: Fall of a City. Pretty much the only things that are agreed upon across portrayals are that he is young, clean-shaven, handsome, and muscular. Zeus I can forgive. It is important to remember that Achilles’s appearance has always been open to a certain degree of interpretation. Because we know what they are meant to look like. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. What do you think casting a Black woman as Queen Elisabeth would have done to the ratings? No hair. Even if you know nothing about Greek mythology, you probably know that Zeus looks like this: ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an ancient Greek marble statue of Zeus wielding his thunderbolt from the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor, dating to roughly the third century AD, ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Otricoli Zeus, a Roman marble head of Zeus on display in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum, ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an ancient Roman marble colossal head of Zeus from the British Museum, ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a gold slater of Zeus from Lampsakos dating to c. 360 – c. 340 BC, ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a Roman bronze and marble sculpture of Zeus enthroned with an eagle by his side, probably based on the earlier Greek Statue of Zeus at Olympia by Pheidias, ABOVE: Minerva and the Triumph of Jupiter, painted in 1706 by the French Neoclassical painter René-Antoine Houasse, ABOVE: Modern portrayal of Zeus I found on Google Images. West London born, British Ghanaian actor David Gyasi is one of those quietly talented actors who you don't realise their star power until you see them on your screen. In ancient Greek artistic depictions that attempt to show skin color in an at least vaguely realistic manner, Achilles is not evidently portrayed as having dark skin, nor is he shown with any stereotypically African characteristics. “Achilles has been led to believe he’ll kill some people in battle and put an end to it, but they keep coming and you see him wondering when will it end. The aithiopian of Homer and early Greeks weren’t black but Near Eastern while the Aithiopian from Vth century (and later) were seen as subsaharan african. Things began to roll.”. In the absence of Doctor Foster, Suranne Jones stars as the mother of a missing girl who believes that her ex- (Lennie James, who wrote the show) is guilty of the abduction, forcing him to work to clear his name. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Beyond that, what I find most obnoxious about this sort of casting is that it only works in one direction. We have Actors that change there accent to fit the role. I agree with the others that said they would have prefered Greek actors over “white”. I don’t why people have a problem with with Black actors playing the part of Zeus and Achilles. I am Spencer Alexander McDaniel. Personally, I would have found all the subject characters just as perplexing had they been played by any actors of non-Caucasian/Mediterranean appearance (i.e., the people who the story is about). I think that the reason of the depiction of Achilles is controversial and Aphrodite as are did not is not hypocriticasy. (I suppose this only proves that whitewashing happened even as far back as ancient Greece.). Your email address will not be published. I was pushing my son around in a buggy, and had one of those talks with God: ‘I don’t understand what’s going on, you promised such-and-such…’”, His wife and father-in-law both urged him to persevere. BBC / The Little Drummer Girl Distribution Limited. In all honesty, if I had been in charge of the show, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to portray Achilles as black, but I am not at all angry that the people who did the casting for Troy: Fall of a City chose to make him black. “It was written 10 years ago and is about mythical creatures fleeing a war-torn homeland. The heroes were evenly matched and they fought for a long time before Achilles finally stabbed Memnon through the heart with his spear, killing him. Netflix is becoming a buzzkill like the rest of pandemic 2020. I am obsessed with the ancient world and I write about it constantly. While the community response to the former inspired him — “I was in the gym and wanted to go: ‘That’s my city!’ I lifted heavier and ran longer that day” — he followed the social media response to the latter with mounting horror. The racist backlash against this casting has not, however, been confined to … Any Bollywood movies which are screened in the USA need to have 13% of the cast be black. When I imagine a stereotypical Greek woman I always think of Maria Callas. It asks what happens when different communities are forced together.”, On a lighter note, there’s Hunter Killer, a rollicking thriller with Gerard Butler, which allowed him to observe how a movie star operates. I kept wondering all through the first episode, “Who is the black guy in the cloak with the deep voice?”. My son [Nathaniel, 10] wants to be an actor and he said, ‘Dad, what role should I go for: Spider-Man or Black Panther?’ He’s got this gangly thing going on, so I thought he’d make an amazing Spider-Man. ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an early fourth-century BC Attic polychromatic terra-cotta vessel depicting the birth of Aphrodite, showing her with blond hair, ABOVE: Mural depicting the birth of Aphrodite from the Case di Venus in the Roman city of Pompeii, dating to the first century AD, showing her with black hair, To be clear, I am not saying that I have a problem with Aphrodite being a redhead in the show; I don’t really have a problem with it—just like I don’t really have a problem with Achilles being portrayed as black. “It’s interesting to see Elena finding herself, being so enthused about getting up at 5.30am to get the train in [the Gyasis have lived in Buckinghamshire for seven years] then needing to tell us what she’d learnt in tap-dancing when she got home. Of course not. No beard. Helen seemed a little too old and menelaus did not feel right. In fact, I actually thought David Gyasi’s performance was quite good. I’m sorry, I can’t. White actors have been playing the part of Jesus for decades. ), ABOVE: Ancient Greek polychromatic vase painting dating to c. 300 BC depicting Achilles dressed in armor and a plumed helmet slaying Memnon, the king of the Aithiopians. According to the Aithiopis, the Achaian hero Antilochos, the son of Nestor, killed Memnon’s dear comrade Aisopos on the field of battle, so Memnon killed Antilochos. What must it be like to suck the life out of hundreds of men, to see the light go out of their eyes? He is usually seen holding either a scepter or a thunderbolt. His combination of kick-ass fight skills, arrogant serenity and inner turmoil offers a fabulous showcase for any actor on the rise. And not everyone who takes pause at so many prominent casting deviations is a closet racist (though some may well be). How Was Saturnalia Celebrated in Ancient Rome? Everyone knows what Zeus is “supposed to look like.” The god’s image is instantly iconic. For instance, just to give one example, no one is mad about the fact that this is how they chose to portray Aphrodite: ABOVE: Lex King as Aphrodite in Troy: Fall of a City. Small and weak in demeanor. The same character was played in the 2004 film Troy by Brad Pitt. “Imagine the reaction if they [had] done a doc about Nelson Mandela and … Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. Two offers, back-to-back. The ancient Greeks told plenty of stories about the Aithiopians, or “burnt-faced people,” who lived on the far edge of the world, close to where the sun rises and sets. To be very clear here, I am not mad over this; I was just confused and a little disappointed. Buy. Regarding redhead Aphrodite, they probably take her look from Botticelli’s rendition of Venus, which is rather known. Troy: Fall of a City, coprodução épica da Netflix com a BBC, atraiu críticas no Twitter por sua escalação do ator britânico/ganense David Gyasi como Aquiles, … Hakeem Kae-Kazim (“Black Sails”) … ABOVE: Engraving of a nude Memnon by the French engraver Bernard Picard (lived 1673 – 1733) depicting him as a black man, Hello! Benedict Cumberbatch looks right at home in this adaptation of the Edward St Aubyn novels about an outrageous aristocrat struggling to overcome the damage inflicted by an abusive father. The Ancient Greeks were of a dark hue. But that isn’t really my main point. The 37-year-old fields questions with the same good humour and calm confidence of a man whose career is on track. (The Aithiopian warrior in the vase painting is also portrayed with black skin, while the Amazons on either side of him are portrayed with white skin. All this being said, I think that there is quite a bit of hypocrisy here when it comes to the people complaining about how the producers of Troy: Fall of City chose to portray mythical figures. Thank you. It is a decision productions are free to make as long as they own the reception, good or bad. Get over it. See how ridiculous that is when you apply that sort of logic globally. Sean, that is one seriously lazy and poorly-argued post. M. Thackeray's classic novel starring Olivia Cooke and Tom Bateman, Toni Collette and Steven Mackintosh star in BBC's new raunchy drama, Charlotte Riley and Ben Chaplin go head-to-head as rival newspaper editors in new drama from Doctor Foster creator Mike Barlett, Jamie Dornan, Ann Skelly and Matthew Rhys star in a three-part drama for BBC Two, Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in the limited Netflix series coming September, Matt Groening is back and on Netflix with new adult comedy following Princess Bean and friends, Age Before Beauty on BBC One with Polly Walker, Sue Johnston and Lisa Riley follows a family business with plenty of secrets. We are all humans. I am from Denmark myself and if I saw a portrayal of gods and goddesses from Nordic mythology portrayed by people other than Scandinavians I would it strange and forced to put it mildly. Black Panther worked great. no one said they were all white. He is best known for his roles in Cloud Atlas (2012) and Interstellar (2014), as well as the lead role of Lex Carnahan in The CW miniseries Containment. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. My guess is the majority of people would have preferred a white actor, but don’t see it as important. It sends the message that black people are part of the western story. New role: David Gyasi on his turn as Achilles in Troy: Fall of a City, Cheryl ‘snubs’ ITV to make TV comeback on BBC’s new talent show, Everything you need to know about BBC Two's Generation Gifted, Billie Piper ‘disrespected’ a pizza in Collateral- and fans are angry, Police appeal for witnesses after cyclist badly injured in hit and run, London and South East brace for snow in wake of Storm Bella, London’s Covid case rate rose in every borough in week before Xmas, Scientists call for UK-wide Tier 4 lockdown amid spread of new variant, Oxford jab ‘should work on new strain’ as variant spreads across globe, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Just as strange and forced as if I saw African or South-East Asian gods portrayed by Scandinavians. David Kwaku Asamoah Gyasi (/ ˈdʒæsi /; born 2 January 1980) is a British actor of Ghanaian descent. All the ancient depictions I am aware of show her with either blond hair or black hair. Buy HD $2.99 I agree. I am just tired of the apologists who feel the need to try to diminish or exclude from western culture those who make up the vast majority of the population or vilify those who have made art/media to be consumed by those majorities. Pretty much every depiction of Zeus you can find agrees on the basic details of his appearance: This, on the other hand, is how they chose to portray Zeus in Troy: Fall of a City: ABOVE: Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Zeus in the BBC miniseries Troy: Fall of a City. Confira todos os filmes e séries de David Gyasi. Enough with assuming everything is racist. “Ridiculous [that] Zeus, Achilles and Patriculus [are] all of African descent,” read one message. But not Achilles! Why even bother with any historical accuracy if they will make such huge changes to the very well known characters. After spending half the family’s savings on moving to LA, changing manager and moving in with the in-laws on his return, the outlook was bleak. Firstly they should have tanned all the actors / hired darker skin actors to better represent the hot climate, they should have at least tried to speak with less of an English accent. Achilles' (David Gyasi) shock attack on Troy's ally Cilicia devastates the Trojans and puts the spotlight on Helen (Bella Dayne). “I feel very good about myself,” he laughs. None of this is to say that there is anything wrong per se with cross-racial casting. Nonetheless, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wrong for a modern television series to portray them as black; myths can change and modern storytellers are not bound to portray characters in the same way that the ancients portrayed them. If Genghis Khan was played by a red headed Irishmen or Cleopatra as a blonde haired blue eyed Scandinavian the masses would question the director’s racial thought process. I had to turn it off. Gyasi’s casting was met with lamentable dismay from a tiny, vocal minority, but the actor prefers to ignore the lunatic fringes. Gods are created in the image of those that construct them. Why? https://hollywood.greekreporter.com/2018/01/19/why-is-achilles-never-greek-in-hollywood/. It’s cool that youngsters have a hero that looks a bit like them — I was that young person once and didn’t see myself much.”. Required fields are marked *. Granted, Aphrodite was a somewhat less visible character in the show than Zeus and Achilles were, but you have to consider the fact that people only threw huge temper tantrums over changes to the characters’ appearances in cases of traditionally white characters being portrayed as non-white. That in a predominantly “white” country films produced for primarily “white” audiences will contain mostly “white “ actors? Yes, Public Schools Can Teach About Religion, The Modern World Isn’t Even Remotely Secular, View all posts by Spencer Alexander McDaniel, https://hollywood.greekreporter.com/2018/01/19/why-is-achilles-never-greek-in-hollywood/. In Modern times, the conqueror has painted the faces in their images to control the perception of dominance. This was not the case as most people never travelled further than 50-100 miles away from their birthplace In their entire life. Seems very hypocritical and targeted. As far as anyone can tell, in ancient Greece, Achilles was never envisioned as what we today would call “black.” Nonetheless, in Troy: Fall of a City, he is portrayed by David Gyasi, a British actor of Ghanaian ancestry. Hugh Grant stars in this drama from Doctor Who/Sherlock writer Russell T Davies, which adapts John Preston’s book about the scandal that surrounded Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe. My main area of study is ancient Greece, but I also write about other areas of history as well. I am not aware of a single ancient Greek or Roman depiction of Aphrodite that portrays her with red hair. I am a strong believer of casting as close to the character as it was intended as possible. The term blackwashing makes this clear. These are huge industries and employ almost exclusively non-white actors. That’s why the Norse gods looked like Scandinavian and had Scandinavian values. Memnon’s mother Eos, however, loved Memnon so much that she begged Zeus to bring him back to life and make him an immortal god. Unfortunately, in many cases, these features are exaggerated in what we would consider a racist manner. I found that hard to handle — I wasn’t sure how I would do six months, then I took communion in this amazing church and got talking to a white guy called Henrik. David Farr; Produtores . But it isn’t accurate, or fair, to reflexively presume that anyone who might simply prefer more true-to-life, or at least true-to-source depictions of iconic characters, is racist. Now I saw Zeus too, but had no idea who he was meant to be until I read this article. Any attempt to have a white actor play a role of a prominent black historical figure would likely meet with enough backlash that the production would have to change their choice or be shut down. The next day I got the offer for [BBC drama] White Heat. As usual, you skillfully separate the concerns of people who genuinely *care* about ancient culture and artistic integrity from the popular misconceptions of those who seek to appropriate every cultural artifact they can in the service of contemporary if regressive political power. However I forgave these poor choices in favour of the historical accuracy, the ships, the costumes, the props, I was trying my hardest to get on board up until I saw Achilles. But Achilles? The Aithiopians were supposedly beloved by the gods and they were among the few peoples among whom the gods could walk openly. “How does Achilles hold the weight of his deity and humanity in the same body? Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming … Troy, Fall of a City. “We’ll see,” he laughs, before heading off for a stroll along the Thames, unbothered by selfie-hunters. On the left is the movie (Troy) 2004. His father’s initial resistance — “My choices were lawyer, doctor or engineer” — crumbled after seeing his son play Prospero at college but Gyasi faces a similar dilemma.

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