Ah ok so you were being obtuse. For anyone reading this thread who might see this exchange, here is why it being a mythical story does matter. If you are making a movie about Napoleon, you cant just make Josephine a black women with affecting the historicity of the film. But, a writer, director, and casting director has way more of an artistic license to change parts of a mythical story than they would a historical one. Basically as long as you don't change how the character functions in the story, you are free to make artistic changes. So Helen of Troy can be black, as long as the actress is beautiful, but Helen cant be 450 pounds. It's also why it is acceptable that Brad Pitt's Achilles wasnt a homosexual even though Achilles in the mythical story is very gay. To use a video game example, it's why Loki can be imagined as the son of a god from the greek pantheon. It's why Loki can be Thor's brother in the marvel universe. The story being a myth gives you a lot of room for interpretation as long as your changes do not change the plot or meaning of the story.
There is still a historical basis, since the Trojan war did happen. The odyssey is a myth but based in history, and it's unfair to reduce it by saying it doesn't matter.
It's a Greek story and a strong part of Greek culture, so the people who play in the movie and are part of it should at least look similar to Greek people, which Caucasians do more than black people.
Helen of Troy has also been described as blonde with blue eyes. So while not excluding black, the likelihood of her being subsaharan African are not very high, especially considering how unlikely it is for there to be many Africans in a higher position at all in ancient Greece. Most were probably merchants, traders or slaves.
Not to mention how it's unfair how this is being treated. If you were to make a movie about some subsaharan African myth and casted white people for roles that are important, the uproar would be way louder and the media criticism a lot harsher. The double standard is unfair and it's not right to treat one with disrespect while for the other is carried around with silk gloves.
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u/KeithDavidsVoice 13d ago edited 13d ago
Ah ok so you were being obtuse. For anyone reading this thread who might see this exchange, here is why it being a mythical story does matter. If you are making a movie about Napoleon, you cant just make Josephine a black women with affecting the historicity of the film. But, a writer, director, and casting director has way more of an artistic license to change parts of a mythical story than they would a historical one. Basically as long as you don't change how the character functions in the story, you are free to make artistic changes. So Helen of Troy can be black, as long as the actress is beautiful, but Helen cant be 450 pounds. It's also why it is acceptable that Brad Pitt's Achilles wasnt a homosexual even though Achilles in the mythical story is very gay. To use a video game example, it's why Loki can be imagined as the son of a god from the greek pantheon. It's why Loki can be Thor's brother in the marvel universe. The story being a myth gives you a lot of room for interpretation as long as your changes do not change the plot or meaning of the story.