Thor the Movie, Black Vikings, and Buddha
Why Idris Elba’s role in the Mega Flick is More Important than Box Office Numbers
By J.K. Melki Russell
Like many of us who grew up stacking Marvel Comics, we loved Thor. Although we wished he had a fro’ rather than his blonde hair, we followed his heroics religiously and accepted the fact that beyond Luke Cage, the Black Panther, Falcon, and later Storm of the X-Men-Black super heroes didn’t exist-not even in myth.
When it was announced this past December that Marvel Studios had finally decided to make Thor into a film, even us middle-aged writers got excited and began counting the days. Excitement only increased upon hearing the startling news that Marvel cast Black British actor Idris Elba as Heimdall, guardian of the Bridge to Asgard. Unfortunately, our joy was as short-lived as Donald Trump’s hair gel after a few racists threatened to boycott the movie.
“It’s not enough that Marvel attacks conservatives values…now mythological Gods must be re-invented with Black skin,” the group said reported the Source Magazine.
Thor Director Kenneth Branagh quickly justified his decision to cast Elba arguing it’s all just fantasy, “the idea that there needs to be some kind of rule about how these characters are supposed to look was a real surprise to me.”
A bigger surprise is a Black actor drawing the ire of White racist by playing the role of the “bouncer” responsible for keeping low-class immortals outta Asgard, when the front door and kitchen seem to be two places that White folks-even those in Hollywood are universally comfortable with Black people at.
Ironically, according to many scholars on the topic, a Black Viking is not as far-fetched as some might assume. In actuality, it is more realistic and historically true than making the mega movie Troy minus any of the Black characters included in the legendary story of the Iliad.
Don Luke in African Presence in The Early History of the British Isles and Scandinavia, said “there is indisputable evidence that Africans were present, and played significant roles, in the development of early European culture. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AT: http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-baltimore/thor-the-movie-black-vikings-and-buddha
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