These are mythological characters, by the way. Meaning fictional.
Mathew Rodriguez at Them:
With all the problems plaguing the world today, why not take some time to complain about Elliot Page in The Odyssey? That’s exactly what Newsmax anchor Rob Finnerty did on a segment that aired this week on the far-right network. In response to rumors that Page may be playing the mythological hero Achilles in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, Finnerty used his platform to lambaste the director's too-woke decision in a transphobic rant. After first saying Elliot Page’s full name, Finnerty then refers to the actor by his deadname, going on to say: “The most famous warrior in all of history, not just Greek history, Achilles, is about to be played by a transgender woman in a brand new movie.”
Continuing to use she/her pronouns to refer to Page, Finnerty then reminds viewers that Page starred in the Academy Award-winning film Juno, for which he received an Oscar nomination, as a prelude to even more misgendering remarks. Finnerty then goes on to discuss Achilles further, emphasizing that he is described “throughout history” as a “superhuman warrior” and “deadly on the battlefield.” Though Achilles is mostly known for his lead role in Homer’s The Iliad, he does appear in The Odyssey as a spirit that speaks with Odysseus when he travels to the underworld. [...]
We should emphasize that while Page’s casting in the film is official, with the actor appearing briefly in the recently released trailer, it is not yet confirmed what role he plays — so this entire screed was based on speculation. Following his anti-Page comments, Finnerty then moves on to the fact that a Black woman, Lupito Nyong’o — whose name Finnerty mispronounces — is playing Helen of Troy.
“The woman whose face launched a thousand ships, whose beauty was unparalleled, a woman who was definitely white is going to be played by Lupita Nyong’o,”he said. “I’ve got nothing against Lupita, but I do have a problem with the complete rewriting of history. Helen of Troy was not Black.”
While Finnerty believes this is a rewriting of history, perhaps he is blithely unaware that Helen of Troy was … not a real person … and that Homer’s epic tales The Iliad and The Odyssey are more mythology than biographical history. Hello, it has Greek gods and goddesses milling about!
Despite Helen being a work of fiction, Nyong’o’s casting in the film has ruffled many conservative feathers besides Finnerty’s. Shortly after Nolan confirmed that Nyong’o would be playing Helen, as well as her sister Clytemnestra, right-wing provocateur Matt Walsh tweeted, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’” He added, “But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave “the most beautiful woman” role to a white woman.” Right-wing billionaire Elon Musk responded, “True.”
Right-wingers crying over non-white males playing major roles in films is old as tale as time, with the dust-up over Elliot Page playing Achilles in The Odyssey.
See Also:
LGBTQ Nation: Elliot Page might play the mythological hero Achilles & the right is losing its mind
