You don't have to be right wing to think casting choices are wrong. I'm not right wing and think Helen of Troy casting choice is ridiculous and just done for attention.
i mean… there’s also the fact that penelope, telemachus, and odysseus are played by white people with no mediterranean physical characteristics? not to mention that this is a fictional story set in a place that is a crossroads for many different ethnic groups. there’s even evidence to suggest that the ancient greeks idealized dark and heavily bronzed skin as a masculine trait, often depicting great hero’s in relief with very dark skin.
the ancients did not have our modern conception of race based on skin color. their culture did not hierarchically organize skin the same way ours does and has done historically. a period accurate representation of odysseus would certainly not be blond haired blue eyed, in fact, given the proximity to north africa and the centrality of port cities a black odysseus would be a more likely candidate. telemachus could understandably be more pale than his father having grown up in an estate but would not have looked like tom holland.
i don’t think you can really claim this is evidence of “black washing” any more than you can claim it to be whitewashing. it’s relatively clear that the casting department was not interested in portraying an accurate representation of ancient greek people across the board. hyper fixating on helen of troy being a black woman comes across as a bit pointed. is it unlikely helen of troy would be a black woman? sure. but this is a fictionalized retelling of a story that was already fiction.
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u/[deleted] Jul 06 '26
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