Hollywood has has had a history of casting problems over the years. There was a time, not that long ago really, where film adaptations of stories would change the ethnicities of characters. The 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s infamously had Mickey Rooney playing an Asian man. In 1994’s North, Kathy Bates portrayed an Inuit woman, complete with make-up to change the color of her skin. And that movie mind you, was directed by the famously liberal and progressive, Rob Reiner. Long story short, there’s a long history of whitewashing roles and society is finally coming around to realizing that huge mistakes were made. Leave it to people like Matt Walsh and Elon Musk though to remind us that racist sentiments are still very much alive with their contempt for Lupita Nyong’o.
The Eye of the Beholder
The upcoming film, The Odyssey from Christopher Nolan, recently revealed that Nyong’o will be portraying the mythical Helen of Troy. Now, keep in mind, Helen of Troy is not an actual person. While there probably was a Helen who lived in the city of Troy, the one told about in stories of olde was a mythological figure. Said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, her allure was so powerful that it caused nations to go to war to win her over. Nolan saw fit to cast Nyong’o as Helen.
Beauty is of course, a subjective thing. You might not think she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, or you might think that she is. Again, beauty is subjective and that’s perfectly okay. Matt Walsh however, feels differently. Walsh believes that Nolan only cast her because the director would be called a racist if he cast a white woman in the role of Helen of Troy. He then makes a comparison saying that people would be driven to “murderous violence” if Sydney Sweeney were cast as “the most beautiful woman in Africa.”
Sydney Sweeney? Really?
Well for starters, if Sydney Sweeney were in Africa, she would not be the most beautiful woman in Africa anyway. Apparently Matt Walsh just has a boner for her and maybe this is his way of trying to get her to notice him. Oh, and Elon Musk seems to feel that way as well. Musk replied to Walsh’s comment on X by saying, “Absolutely true. Such hypocrisy in Hollywood.” So, there you go, Musk is sharing that boner with Walsh pretty hard.
Let’s break down what Walsh could possibly have a problem with though. Again, Helen of Troy is fictional. It’s not a misrepresentation to cast somebody of ANY color as Helen of Troy. A fictional character doesn’t need to be any specific race or ethnicity. To that point too, in the world of ancient, mythical Greece, wouldn’t the exotic factor of a black woman potentially make her even more beautiful? But logic doesn’t matter to people who display racist tendencies since racism isn’t logical. Racism is a social construct that is based on negative emotions and has nothing to do with logic.
Casting Problems Exist Beyond Race
Hollywood still has casting issues; make no mistake about that. it’s not just tied to race either. Here’s an example. In the film, Ready Player One, the role of Art3mis is played by Olivia Cooke. Cooke’s a perfectly fine actress. However, the book describes Art3mis as having a “Rubenesque” figure. In other words, full-figured, rotund; a big girl. Olivia Cooke is not Rubenesque. Hollywood routinely avoids casting larger woman in leading roles. Of course, there are some exceptions to that. This was a chance for a voluptuous girl to have a big part in a major motion picture. It was taken away to give it to a more conventionally sized actress.
It’s not fair. There are way more parts for woman with average to smaller figures than woman who are obese. That’s just the way that it is. That’s why it’s much different to take the part of a thinner woman and give it to a bigger actress than it is to take the part of a larger woman and give it to a thinner actress. The same principal applies to roles for people of color as well. But that’s not something that Walsh’s supporters can wrap their heads around either. Hence why you have people responding to him in agreement, saying we should be able to have a white person playing Barack Obama or Nelson Mandela. Not only are they missing the point about the number of opportunities for people, they’re forgetting that Helen of Troy WAS NOT A REAL PERSON!
Healthy Discourse
But, I will say, I also think the term “racist” is thrown around more than it should be in certain circumstances. For example, there was the controversy over casting Emma Stone as a half Asian character in the film Aloha. I don’t think that casting decision was racist; I think it was motivated by money. Emma Stone was big at the time. Putting a big, recognizable name in your movie can draw fans and money. Same motivation behind casting Scarlett Johansson in the Ghost in the Shell adaptation; sometimes you just cast a big name. Ultimately, I think writers and directors should be given creative freedom to cast who they think will be the best person for the job. Audiences can vote with their dollars on whether those choices were good or bad.
There are a lot of debates to be had over who should be able to play what role. Should straight people be able to play gay characters? What if being gay isn’t that character’s defining trait, but something else is that a straight actor embodies in a stronger sense? Should able bodied people be able to play people with disabilities? These are healthy discussion to have because they bring awareness to how we view acting as a profession and how diversity and casting outreaches make for stronger storytelling.
True Cowardice
All that said though, Matt Walsh and Elon Musk are complaining that a black woman is being cast as the most beautiful fictional woman in the world. To me, that sounds racist. Maybe it’s not racism though, maybe they’re just super pissed off that it’s not Sydney Sweeney in the role and all they want is to bang her. Could be possible, they seem terribly simple minded. Walsh calls Nolan a “coward” for not casting a white woman as the most beautiful. Walsh is the coward. He’s the one who is terrified that the world is not revolving around people like him as much as it used to.
“Dunkirk”
Warner Bros. Pictures
So maybe his sentiments aren’t actually racist, maybe they’re just the terrified tantrums of a spoiled man child who can’t think about anybody but himself. Turns out there’s a big world out there. Being a good person means trying to be loving and respectful of others in that beautifully wide and diverse world. If you can’t do that, maybe you’re not really that good a person. Scary thought, isn’t it Matt? And you have every reason to be scared. Not because of “murderous violence” that you think people other than you are capable of. You should be scared because you’re a failure. You fail to see beauty in others and you fail to see courage. Worse than all of that, you fail to be decent. And failures are either not remembered fondly by history or not remembered at all.
Maybe Lupita Nyong’o will not be remembered by history as the most beautiful woman in the world, but she is still beautiful. Maybe Matt Walsh won’t be remembered as the ugliest soul in the world, but his soul is still ugly.
