Listen up Tumblr, get ready for my opinions.
So I've heard a lot of discourse recently regarding the casting decisions for The Odyssey. As someone who has read most of the epic and learned quite the significant amount of mythology on my own, I feel qualified to speak on this.
So the main two issues I've heard are concerning the skin colors of the actors of Helen of Troy and Athena. Let me tell you why these issues are, in fact, not issues at all.
Helen of Troy is mostly only described as beautiful, regardless of physical appearance and as we know, beauty is very much subjective. Lupita Nyong'o is beautiful, even if she may not fit everyone's idea of beauty, no one else in this world does either. Additionally, Helen is a fictional character. I repeat, a fictional character. She's a demigod and was conceived through Zeus seducing (possibly raping, I can never remember) her mother in the form of a Swan. I actually saw someone say that both her mother and the Swan was white and therefore she should be too, but I think that point is too stupid to argue with.
Now Zendaya, buckle up because there's going to be a whole lot here. Most people have the same opinion with Zendaya that they had with Lupita, and I disagree with their reasoning for the same exact reasons listed above, however, Zendaya is also playing a goddess who can change her appearance and is actually the first thing that happens in the Odyssey (dont give me any of that shit about her casting an illusion, my point still stands). I've also seen people saying she looks like she's been doing crack or made to look that way, to which I say that she is simply not wearing much, if any makeup and is still pretty anyway. Those who commented that simply aren't used to seeing Zendaya without full glam and are surprised that a woman who has been working as an actress since she was like fifteen looks tired without makeup. And maybe she has done drugs, I certainly wouldn't even blame her, but her personal experiences are completely unrelated to her ability to act. Which is something I will refrain from commenting on as that isn't my area of expertise.
There isn't going to be anything historically accurate with this movie because it isn't a historical movie. It's an adaptation of an epic that was meant to be fantastical. Helen is barely going to be a part of the movie and I doubt we'll see Athena as Athena for very long as she transforms often because people don't listen to women. And they still don't, 3200 years later.
I've also heard a lot about Elliot Page being casted as Achilles, to which I will argue that Achilles didn't actually necessarily need to go through rigorous toning training because he was born with power. Achilles is also gayer than a tree full of monkeys on Nitrous oxide, and if you'd like to dispute that, I'd like to see you try, especially with the already existing historical discussions on who was the top or bottom in their relationship and that whole thing with Alexander the Great which I would like to see someone else explain as I am unfortunately mostly ignorant on that topic. Well that was a runon sentence I don't feel like fixing. Although I am on the side of that guy who would rather they not cast Page because of his poor acting skills (I actually have no opinion on his acting skills I haven't ever been critical of it) rather than because he doesn't look the part.
I personally think that they should have gone with newer actors rather than A-lister after A-lister because that just gets boring after a while (imo, don't come after me).
Oh and another thing I forgot, it isnt completely crazy for any Greek to have African relations because if you haven't looked at a map recently, they are on opposite ends of the Mediterranean. I'm also certain that Ethiopians fought in the Trojan war, if I'm remembering correctly, so it isnt completely crazy to have black actors in a movie set on the Mediterranean. Also if you didnt know, Troy was a real place, and we found it, in Türkiye.
