Still Free
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Exodus Gods and Kings: Yet Another White Wash of Ancient Black Folks
So I go to sit through the latest Ape installment when my senses and tranquility are disturbed and perturbed by yet another white wash "Bible movie". It took me a minute to figure out that it was supposed to be Egypt I was supposed to be seeing because the characters were straight out of northern Europe.
Rameses? Did someone say Rameses?
Wait! Is this supposed to be Exodus? Are they serious? The fuck is going on here? Egypt in in Africa. Egypt existed as a black country before Arabs and Greeks overran it. Who are these white people playing Egyptians?
Why are these Hollywood people doing yet another "lets disappear the black folks" move?
I'm gonna say this again. Moses and Rameses and the rest of the Egyptians ought to be looking at the very least like this fellow:
No. Seriously. To not have cast this fellow or anyone who resembles him, at the bare minimum, as Moses is a slap in the face of black people. Now there are a lot of black people who are too uninformed to realize they are being pimped slapped yet again, but that doesn't mean at least 4 fingers haven't been laid to face.
Now someone reading this is saying to themselves: "Oh what does it matter?"
Fine. If it didn't matter, then why not have the entire cast black? Why not? If it doesn't matter, how come no one has thought to ask Djimon Honsou to play Abraham Lincoln? Why is it when I see the BBC show about revolutionary America the cast isn't black? Or Arab? Or Indio? No seriously. The race of the cast doesn't matter right? I know.. How about the next Avenger movie have all the cast members black? No one should be bothered by that and I'm sure the actors could use the gigs.
Give me a break. Accuracy matters. historical facts (Biblical mythology aside) matter.