No hair. His father’s initial resistance — “My choices were lawyer, doctor or engineer” — crumbled after seeing his son play Prospero at college but Gyasi faces a similar dilemma. In ancient Greek artistic depictions that attempt to show skin color in an at least vaguely realistic manner, Achilles is not evidently portrayed as having dark skin, nor is he shown with any stereotypically African characteristics. Sometimes he doesn’t and walks away. But not Achilles! The visual difference between a white blond Greek and a dark bald African is much more noticeable than the difference between a blond white women and a white woman with red hair, that looks almost blond. Beyond that, what I find most obnoxious about this sort of casting is that it only works in one direction. It is, I think potentially dangerous to dismiss all who found the criticized the casting as racist. TV Shows. And not everyone who takes pause at so many prominent casting deviations is a closet racist (though some may well be). Which is the push for diversity in casting really only seems to work one way. Thank you. In any case, this still proves my point that myths can change and that the iconography of mythical figures can change as well. Implicitly racist reactions to this casting have appeared on social media and in the comments sections of press about the show. A more realistic Roman marble portrait head of a young man with African features dated to around 170 AD was discovered in the ruined villa of the wealthy Athenian philosopher Herodes Atticus, which is located in the region of Arkadia in the central Peloponnesos. Memnon’s mother Eos, however, loved Memnon so much that she begged Zeus to bring him back to life and make him an immortal god. We’re going to have eight episodes of this and no good will come of it.”. “It was written 10 years ago and is about mythical creatures fleeing a war-torn homeland. An engraving by the French engraver Bernard Picart (lived 1673 – 1733), for instance, clearly depicts him as such. In the Troy: Fall of a City, an eight-part series that chronicles the Greek siege of the city of Troy, Achilles is played by Interstellar, Cloud Atlas and Man in an Orange Shirt star David Gyasi. I am merely pointing out the hypocrisy of the fact that people are getting all upset that Achilles and Zeus are portrayed as black and there are tons of people throwing winy temper tantrums about “black Achilles,” but not a single person that I am aware of has thrown even the slightest temper tantrum over “redhead Aphrodite.”. All the ancient depictions I am aware of show her with either blond hair or black hair. Likewise, Troy: Fall of a City is a fictional television series. Where Does the Idea of a “Saint” Come From? Why Does Donald Trump Like Neoclassical Architecture So Much? Personally I don’t care what nationality the actors are as long as the can “ACT” Greek. On the left is the movie (Troy) 2004. Aside from his son’s interest, his 18-year-old daughter attends a performing arts school. We have Actors that change there accent to fit the role. Troy: Fall of a City begins on Saturday, February 17 on BBC One at 9.10pm. This portrayal has triggered a lot of people, who are angry that Achilles is not portrayed as a white man with blond hair. The bust is currently on display in the Antikensammlung Berlin. As far as anyone can tell, in ancient Greece, Achilles was never envisioned as what we today would call “black.” Nonetheless, in Troy: Fall of a City, he is portrayed by David Gyasi, a British actor of Ghanaian ancestry. No scepter. Rasmus, I agree 💯%. Série Troia - A Queda de Uma Cidade Dublada / Dual Áudio Torrent (2018) em 1080p / 720p / Bluray / FullHD / HD / WEB-DL Download nos formatos MKV [BAIXAR GRÁTIS - Lacraia Torrent]. Notice the “Ethiopians” living in the far south of Africa. Any Bollywood movies which are screened in the USA need to have 13% of the cast be black. But accent can be forgiven as it would be impossible to know how the Ancient Greeks sounded. Do you answer the question in the headline? We try to make the characters believable. Furthermore, we must also remember that, because films and television shows offer very few lead roles for black actors, it is extremely difficult for talented black actors to make names for themselves in the industry. Assuming everything is racist is in it’s self racist in my eyes as it’s drawing clear lines in the sand where there aught not be. Yes, Public Schools Can Teach About Religion, The Modern World Isn’t Even Remotely Secular, View all posts by Spencer Alexander McDaniel, https://hollywood.greekreporter.com/2018/01/19/why-is-achilles-never-greek-in-hollywood/. Zeus obliged. The fact that an actual black man was named after Memnon strongly suggests that at least whoever named him thought of Memnon as what we would consider black. Despite there continues to be a push to be more inclusive. Required fields are marked *. I agree. It would have tanked so hard. I kept wondering all through the first episode, “Who is the black guy in the cloak with the deep voice?”. No thunderbolt. “It was very emotional. See how ridiculous that is when you apply that sort of logic globally. My son [Nathaniel, 10] wants to be an actor and he said, ‘Dad, what role should I go for: Spider-Man or Black Panther?’ He’s got this gangly thing going on, so I thought he’d make an amazing Spider-Man. Any time you look up an ancient person and their date of birth only has AD or BC, but no month or day, means they did not exists. Modern representations of Memnon more consistently show him as a black African. An epic story of love and war, intrigue and betrayal. Bella Dayne Helena de Tróia; Louis Hunter Paris; Aimee-Ffion Edwards Cassandra; Alex Lanipekun Pândaro; Amy Louise Wilson Briseis; Carl Beukes Diomedes; Chloe Pirrie Andrómaca; Chris Fisher Deiphobus; Chris Fisher Dêifobo; Christiaan Schoombie Troillus; David Avery Xanthius; David Gyasi Achilles; Garion Dowds … I don’t why people have a problem with with Black actors playing the part of Zeus and Achilles. Two offers, back-to-back. Because of this, the ancient Greeks said their skin was burnt black by the heat of the sun. Comentários com insultos ou que podem gerar brigas são deletados. The show had potential, but I didn’t make it past the first couple episodes. No himation. After spending half the family’s savings on moving to LA, changing manager and moving in with the in-laws on his return, the outlook was bleak. Gyasi’s casting was met with lamentable dismay from a tiny, vocal minority, but the actor prefers to ignore the lunatic fringes. Why would they change a character so completely but try to mimic the rest? Genre. Because yes, unfortunately we greeks are totally invisible in those shows when it talk particularly about us. Nestor, Antilochos’s father, begged Achilles to kill Memnon and avenge Antilochos’s death. There is, in fact, a very good reason why the push for diversity in casting only goes one way; it’s because people of color have long been oppressed in the English-speaking world, and films and television shows made in the English-speaking world are overwhelmingly reserved for white people. That was at 3.45pm, and I got the call at 5.10pm saying Christopher Nolan wanted me to do The Dark Knight Rises. He was renowned as one of the greatest warriors who ever fought and was on par with Achilles. Carey Mulligan plays Detective Inspector Kip Glaspie, who investigates. “It’s interesting to see Elena finding herself, being so enthused about getting up at 5.30am to get the train in [the Gyasis have lived in Buckinghamshire for seven years] then needing to tell us what she’d learnt in tap-dancing when she got home. But if one side insists on playing that game, then let’s be honest and apply it fAirly in all entertainment outlets. I think that is something different than thinking that black people shouldn’t be in a story seen as western. He is, by myth, half-human, half-god, created by the union of Peleus and Thetis, a sea-nymph. ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an early fourth-century BC Attic polychromatic terra-cotta vessel depicting the birth of Aphrodite, showing her with blond hair, ABOVE: Mural depicting the birth of Aphrodite from the Case di Venus in the Roman city of Pompeii, dating to the first century AD, showing her with black hair, To be clear, I am not saying that I have a problem with Aphrodite being a redhead in the show; I don’t really have a problem with it—just like I don’t really have a problem with Achilles being portrayed as black. And I don’t see any pressure on Bollywood to increase their use of white or non-Indian actors. Given the lengths TFOAC’s particular adaptation of The Iliad goes to stay true to the minor threads and subplots of the epic, it is hard to ignore the distractingly forced multiracial casting that was so obviously coerced by modern inclusivity agendas. Rent or Buy. They also had to create a history for themselves because they have none. The ever-reliable Sarah Lancashire is unconventional social worker Miriam, who finds herself being blamed. Why not just get Greek actors, or at least those with a stereotypical ‘Mediterranean’ physical appearance? It’s a very lonely existence.”, For Gyasi, the Greek legends remain relevant today. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. And so he should — he looks in awe-inspiring shape. Movies. Do you think it unusual They would have looked like Greek people. The central Greek warrior Achilles in the 2004 Hollywood production was played by Brad Pitt.This time the part of Achilles is played by Black British actor David Gyasi. In fact, I actually thought David Gyasi’s performance was quite good. David Gyasi ... Achilles 8 episodes, 2018 Johnny Harris ... Agamemnon 8 episodes, 2018 Lex King ... Aphrodite Comentários. No beard. No eagle. Confira todos os filmes e séries de David Gyasi. “Ridiculous [that] Zeus, Achilles and Patriculus [are] all of African descent,” read one message. You must have at least the decency to respect the original material. Born to a Ghanaian cab driver and cook in Hammersmith, his path was set when a cameo in a school production of Gypsy brought the house down. I was just getting in to the show, I had only just managed to get over the poor casting choices of the other characters. My main area of study is ancient Greece, but I also write about other areas of history as well. He is best known for his roles in Cloud Atlas (2012) and Interstellar (2014), as well as the lead role of Lex Carnahan in The CW miniseries Containment. The second I realised Achilles was black, it ruined all believability for me. Ways to Watch. “This, ‘How dare you do this to me, I’m going to bring this down on you’, was heartbreaking. Achilles' (David Gyasi) shock attack on Troy's ally Cilicia devastates the Trojans and puts the spotlight on Helen (Bella Dayne). Troy, Fall of a City. Pretty much the only things that are agreed upon across portrayals are that he is young, clean-shaven, handsome, and muscular. None of this is to say that there is anything wrong per se with cross-racial casting. The 37-year-old fields questions with the same good humour and calm confidence of a man whose career is on track. Granted, Aphrodite was a somewhat less visible character in the show than Zeus and Achilles were, but you have to consider the fact that people only threw huge temper tantrums over changes to the characters’ appearances in cases of traditionally white characters being portrayed as non-white. People can portray myths however they like. When I imagine a stereotypical Greek woman I always think of Maria Callas. It is important to remember that Achilles’s appearance has always been open to a certain degree of interpretation. It's where your interests connect you with your people. Just as strange and forced as if I saw African or South-East Asian gods portrayed by Scandinavians. The next day I got the offer for [BBC drama] White Heat. What must it be like to suck the life out of hundreds of men, to see the light go out of their eyes? His combination of kick-ass fight skills, arrogant serenity and inner turmoil offers a fabulous showcase for any actor on the rise. In my view Brad Pitt as Achilles is as stupid as David Gyasi. I can totally understand them making Zeus black, but, come on guys, you’ve got to keep at least some part of the traditional iconography to make him recognizable as Zeus. Memnon was such an epic warrior that the ancient Greeks actually had an epic poem about him (well, partly about him at least) called the Aithiopis, which was five books in length and part of the so-called “Epic Cycle.” Unfortunately, the poem itself has now been lost, but several summaries of its contents have survived. Drama. This strongly signals to me that all the outrage online over Zeus and Achilles being portrayed as black is not really outrage over the fact that the characters look different from how they are traditionally portrayed, but rather outrage over the fact that traditionally white characters are being portrayed specifically as black. According to the Aithiopis, the Achaian hero Antilochos, the son of Nestor, killed Memnon’s dear comrade Aisopos on the field of battle, so Memnon killed Antilochos. It takes place in what is a historically contemporary setting. Again don’t speak about things you don’t understand yourself (books exist). Similarly, Achilles’s son Neoptolemos was also known as Πύρρος (Pýrrhos), which is the masculine form of Πύρρα. Filmed in Wales and Prague, Jez Butterworth’s historical drama is set in 43AD, when Roman General Aulus (David Morrissey) is attempting to conquer the Celts. Andromache (Chloe Pirrie) receives both good news and bad. “It was nice to have time to breathe on a film set, to allow creativity and text to do the work.”, Next up there’s Amazon’s Carnival Row with Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, a prescient, allegorical fantasia executive-produced by Guillermo del Toro. It is not for example set in a fictional place or an imagined time but what was considered contemporary time in known locations for much of the story. Troy: Fall of a City, coprodução épica da Netflix com a BBC, atraiu críticas no Twitter por sua escalação do ator britânico/ganense I agree with the others that said they would have prefered Greek actors over “white”. r), meaning “fire.” Achilles is supposed to have taken this name because he had fiery red hair. “How does Achilles hold the weight of his deity and humanity in the same body? That’s why the Norse gods looked like Scandinavian and had Scandinavian values. And that idea really makes a lot of people angry because there are, unfortunately, lots of people who do not think black people should be part of the western story. Keep up the excellent work. Why did they bother to try to make Actors look like their character counterparts in the Crown? The aithiopian of Homer and early Greeks weren’t black but Near Eastern while the Aithiopian from Vth century (and later) were seen as subsaharan african. My guess is the majority of people would have preferred a white actor, but don’t see it as important. The heroes were evenly matched and they fought for a long time before Achilles finally stabbed Memnon through the heart with his spear, killing him. Subtitles & Closed Captioning. But it isn’t accurate, or fair, to reflexively presume that anyone who might simply prefer more true-to-life, or at least true-to-source depictions of iconic characters, is racist. The answer is that we currently have no evidence to indicate that the ancient Greeks imagined Achilles or Zeus as black. Does he covet that status? Your email address will not be published. ABOVE: David Gyasi as Achilles in the 2018 BBC One miniseries Troy: Fall of a City. He could change to mimic any form, why he would choose African when approaching Greeks is beyond me but still, it’s plausable. And before you say there aren’t enough roles for actors of different ethnicities, I’ll simply point to Bollywood, or the Hong Kong and Chinese film. Get over it. Enough with assuming everything is racist. He wasn’t sure, but I said, ‘If the President of America can be black, you can be Spider-Man’. He did not look at all like the King of Kings he was meant to be. Troy, Fall of a City. As far as anyone can tell, in ancient Greece, Achilles was never envisioned as what we today would call “black.” Nonetheless, in Troy: Fall of a City, he is portrayed by David Gyasi, a British actor of Ghanaian ancestry. Sean, that is one seriously lazy and poorly-argued post. I understand historical movies/series can’t always be 100% accurate, but It’s gotta be somewhat believable to carry any validity. Troy: Fall of a City (TV Series 2018– ) David Gyasi as Achilles. It sends the message that black people are part of the western story. Achilles was most recently played on screen by blond, blue-eyed Brad Pitt in 2004’s Troy. Because we know what they are meant to look like. If the makers of the show were trying to make it an accurate portrayal of the Aegean Bronze Age, Black Achilles would be the least of their historical inaccuracies. I had just finished reading the great book “Song of Achilles” and built up a mental picture of what Achillies may have looked like. David Gyasi (“Interstellar”) plays Achilles in the series, which, unusually, takes the perspective of the Trojans. By giving traditionally white roles to Black actors, makers of films and television shows can help give those actors the opportunity for success. He is usually seen holding either a scepter or a thunderbolt. BBC / The Little Drummer Girl Distribution Limited. I did not even realize this guy was supposed to be Zeus until the second episode. I don’t understand what you mean with “myth can change”. Seems very hypocritical and targeted. If Genghis Khan was played by a red headed Irishmen or Cleopatra as a blonde haired blue eyed Scandinavian the masses would question the director’s racial thought process. Firstly they should have tanned all the actors / hired darker skin actors to better represent the hot climate, they should have at least tried to speak with less of an English accent. When Containment, an American thriller series which he led, wasn’t recommissioned, he flew straight back to London for Alex Garland’s Ex Machina follow-up, Annihilation, feeling positive. When I think of the stories I want to tell and responsibility I want to have, I have to acknowledge it’s possible, although I like that I’m still able to walk about and observe.”. Why? What do you think casting a Black woman as Queen Elisabeth would have done to the ratings? As anyone who has studied history, or has at least looked at a book, will know that Homers ‘Iliad’ would not have had a Black god. David Gyasi is arguably all of those things. With Netflix releasing Troy globally after its BBC One debut, stardom could come his way sooner than he thinks. Let’s be honestly and deeply appreciative of both past and present truths. Benedict Cumberbatch looks right at home in this adaptation of the Edward St Aubyn novels about an outrageous aristocrat struggling to overcome the damage inflicted by an abusive father. If anything, Gyasi is even more chilled out — perhaps because of confidence in the show, but also the simple familiarity of home. Pretty much every depiction of Zeus you can find agrees on the basic details of his appearance: This, on the other hand, is how they chose to portray Zeus in Troy: Fall of a City: ABOVE: Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Zeus in the BBC miniseries Troy: Fall of a City. That isn’t oppression, that’s marketing. In giving the role of Achilles to David Gyasi, the casting executives gave a talented black actor the opportunity to get ahead. ABOVE: Engraving of a nude Memnon by the French engraver Bernard Picard (lived 1673 – 1733) depicting him as a black man, Hello! The Memnon shown in the portrait head from the Berlin Antikensammlung is reported to have been an extraordinarily talented student and orator, whom Herodes Atticus loved greatly. You mention the hair colour could have been misinterpreted but nowhere whas he descibed as African with no hair!! The same character was played in the 2004 film Troy by Brad Pitt. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything, however, since, in Greek black-figure vase paintings, all men are portrayed with black skin and all women are portrayed with white skin. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. David Gyasi Achilles is the most feared of all the Greek warriors travelling to Troy. I am obsessed with the ancient world and I write about it constantly. ), ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an ancient Greek black-figure vase painting dating to c. 550 – c. 525 BC, showing the Aithiopian warrior Memnon with stereotypically African features. Interpretations can change and in our world it seems to be about sending a political signal which is okay, because that is how it works. … Menu. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. I, however, think that Troy: Fall of a City could have perhaps benefited from inclusion of Memnon and his army of Aithiopians. Given that in the USA blacks represent 13% of the population, they are at present over represented in most media. “I’m all for discussion, but it’s hard to change hearts. “I’ve been going to the gym six days a week, eating every three hours, protein shakes, no rice or bread… Achilles is a graceful, elegant killer, so I was doing my wife’s [Emma, a dance teacher] class in preparation.”. It's where your interests connect you with your people. Or have I missed it? Netflix is becoming a buzzkill like the rest of pandemic 2020. For Memnon, there are no clear sources if he was considered as “white” or “black”. But it would not have any inherent value by itself. Neither work even claims to be an accurate representation of the Aegean Bronze Age either. Even ancient Greek depictions of Achilles have a fair bit of variation. Now I saw Zeus too, but had no idea who he was meant to be until I read this article. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming … Descubra toda a elenco da 1ª temporada da série Troy: Fall of a City: elenco, diretores e cenógrafos. It’s called ACTING. no one said they were all white. So there is over representation in most major media categories and have been for at least the past ten years. He laughs at the irony of a ruptured Achilles forcing him out of his first major lead role three years ago (although BBC One’s The Interceptor turned out to be a dud). ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a Roman marble portrait head of Memnon, the black adoptive son of the Athenian philosopher Herodes Atticus, who was named after the famous Aithiopian king Memnon. Season 1 2018 TV-NR. His interest in people and ease with diversity was nurtured in the capital, so perhaps it’s no surprise that filming in South Africa sometimes felt uncomfortable. This certainly needs to be viewed in context of the general controversy over the roll of race in casting. It would be just as strange to see, say, Genghis Khan played by a white actor, or Henry VIII played by an Asian actor, just as it would be bizarre to see Shaka Zulu played by someone who isn’t Black, or Pocahontas played by someone who isn’t at least passingly Native American. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). I am from Denmark myself and if I saw a portrayal of gods and goddesses from Nordic mythology portrayed by people other than Scandinavians I would it strange and forced to put it mildly.