Apologies for Heimdall

[Acting like a FOOL]

I'm sorry white folks about your Norse god.

I understand that racism is a two-way street and that it's fucked for anybody to wrong anybody else.

I understand that some of you are very serious about your comics and that some of you are actually neo-pagan and dislike both the comics and the movie, so I just want to say I'm sorry as a black man.

 

[TimeLord]

Awww. I thought we were here to talk about the cool Asgard from Stargate

 

[Palademon]

Ok...
Not sure how this discussion is going to go...
But I was certainly one for accuracy, even though I have no interest in the comics. I understood he was one of the best parts of the movie, but I'm still thinking it's a weird change. >.>

Not a big deal anyway, though.

 

[Verlander]

Seriously, I don't think that anyone really cares, and if they are, there's a racist issue there, and it isn't the film. Yeah, I'm kicking off this discussion again...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I'm one of those people who don't care.

 

[tzimize]

No apology needed!

The real Asgard is not a sci-fi place anyway. Its called artistic freedom, and even though it was a bit wierd I didnt mind at all since he kicked ass.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I... simply cant care enough. I'm sorry if you feel offended due to it being your religion, but not if you're just racist about it.

though really, I'd rather have a good movie with a multiethnic cast then a shitty one with all white people, cause at least now the door's open for more Thor.

 

[Woodsey]

Unless you're mocking them (which I hope you are), then fuck 'em.

 

[Ajna]

It just sorta strikes me as a weird thing to change. I mean, he was white in the comics, and he's not just a Norse god, but is outright described mythically as being "the whitest of the gods", so it seems like an obvious casting choice.

But I also have heard that the actor played the part very well, and by my understanding the character was relatively minor both in the movie and the comic, so it wasn't as large of a deal as it would be if they had, for example, changed the race of Thor himself.

So I suppose the way I feel is that, though it's an odd thing to change, if the movie was better with a black actor playing the part than it would have been with a white actor, it's silly to suggest the actor should have been white.

 

[Lawyer105]

I'm not convinced that it's all racism, to be honest... it's awfully easy to put the brain into neutral and scream racism a) because it's easy, and b) to score easy points.

But there are plenty of other reasons for it. I hated it too... for the sole reason that it broke my sense of immersion. I'd have hated it just as much if they cast, say, Nicholas Cage or something in that role - because it simply breaks with they way I see it in my mind.

I hate most game voice-acting, in-game advertisments (out of context ones, anyways)and a significant number of movie casting decisions for that very reason.

 

[bdcjacko]

How many times to we have to rehash this?

 

[Kahunaburger]

No apology needed. Reasonable people aren't offended by the melanin level of their fictional-comic-book-movie-alien-norse-gods.

 

[similar.squirrel]

If you're that serious about comics, then you've most likely got some medically hilarious problems and probably shouldn't be allowed into a cinema.
And if you're Neo-Pagan, you probably get the piss ripped out of you often enough to have gotten used to disrespect by now.

OP, don't apologise on behalf of your race. It is not a collective entity that decided to infiltrate and corrupt the Caucasian mythos.
It's just a black actor, and a good one at that, playing a role in a film about space-Vikings. No big deal.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I'm sorry white folks about your Norse god.

I understand that racism is a two-way street and that it's fucked for anybody to wrong anybody else.

I understand that some of you are very serious about your comics and that some of you are actually neo-pagan and dislike both the comics and the movie, so I just want to say I'm sorry as a black man.

Huh? I'm a pagan (which I guess is the same as a neopagan?) and I thought Heimdall's actor was really good in the part.

He's a god - he can look like whatever the hell he wants to. **shrug**

Never read the comic, but even if I did, I wouldn't care - more minority actors getting major parts is a great thing, and I'm all for it.

 

[bdcjacko]

Yeah, I felt like an idiot when I rocked up with my Mjolnir pendant and then realised it was "based" on heathen lore. And fuck me black Heimdall pissed me off, if I put a Chinese Mohammad in a movie I'd get my arse kicked.

it would be only fair, Aladdin is a chinese tale.

 

[DarksideFlame]

Living up in Norway and being as white as a snowman, My meaning on this matter is that if he played his role better than any white man in the movie industry then the fact that a black guy played the whitest of all norse gods is something I'd happily overlook as long as he played the role well, which I hear he did multiplied by 10

 

[ZeroMachine]

He's a god - he can look like whatever the hell he wants to. **shrug**

... You know, that's a great point. They should have his character played by a different ethnic minority every movie. "I felt like being an Asian today. Tomorrow, I'm thinking Mexican."

 

[Thespian]

Heimdall's skin colour was not integral to either his character or the comics.
What was important about Heimdall was that he was a watchful unwavering guardian who's presence was demanding and imposing, who ultimately held loyalty to Odin.
Elba captured this perfectly. That's all that matters.

All this coming from the most Die-hard of Thor Comics fans. I don't like continuous comics all that much, but I absolutely adored the Thor comics, and I take no issue with this, because it simply wasn't very important in the storyline that he had white skin.

If they gave Thor brown hair or green eyes, that would have pissed me off. If they made Odin youthful, I would have been pissed off. If they made The Destroyer golden, I would have been pissed off. For a minor character, get the bare details right first. Which they did.