story

What's funny to me is I have good friends who aren't thrilled at a painting of a black or brown or olive Jesus even if they know that's more historically and culturally accurate. They're just more comfortable with the white Jesus they grew up with, instead. At least one friend says he relates more to a white Jesus, he knows it and knows that doesn't help things for minorities. But he also acknowledged he can see how a black man can relate to black Jesus more and he wants to get on board but it will take him time. One person told me their ideas of what it is to "be black" are different than what it means to be Jesus, to which I said I'm not sure there's one way to "be black," even in the face of some dominant black culture.

That's a scenario of black-to-white (image controlled by white people) over hundreds of years and then back-to-black (image controlled by many kinds of people, including white) over the last 20 or so, in terms of depiction and control. The "modern take" is the inaccurate white Jesus and the "source material" is the olive-skinned Jesus.

Hey, wasn't there controversy over Daniel Craig being the first blonde Bond? That Bond is and always has been brunette? I thought that was a thing when he was announced.

Edris Alba does look mighty good in a suit. Is he Bond? Maybe, but I'm more concerned with his age than his race. Unless he stays while he's an old man like Roger Moore. He also strikes me as one who would have a really serious interpretation of the character, so it would be more a Craig or Dalton vibe than the other Bonds who were a little playful. I think the two who balanced that the best were Connery and Brosnan.

windom

Why do people like Elba so much? I've seen him in Pacific Rim, the Thor movies, and The Dark Tower and he wasn't really that memorable. He doesn't really strike me as someone that can carry a big action movie like Bond. A better choice, IMO, would be the guy that plays Strand on Fear The Walking Dead.

hdnmickey

What? So he didn't defeat Goldfinger?

DaveyJoe

Jay G.

The idea that James Bond is just a code name goes back to the original Casino Royale film, from 1967. There end up being about a dozen James Bonds in the film, including a female James Bond!
https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff...nt-agents.html

Of course, the original Casino Royale isn't considered "canon," as it's not part of the Eon Productions films.

hdnmickey

Because even in his voice work (The Jungle Book) he comes of as ultra cool like a great Bond should.

B5Erik

It's not even remotely considered to be a, "Real," Bond movie by most fans since it's a spoof.

Thus, really, the code name theory is part of the spoof. It's a joke.

Jay G.

Wait, are you suggesting people sometimes may not understand when something is a joke and take it too far?

I understand it's a spoof, but I was pointing out that the "code name" theory isn't just a "fan wank" pulled out of thin air, but something a movie featuring a number of James Bond actually used as a plot point.

B5Erik

Yeah, it's just that movie is a sore spot with a lot of Bond fans.

I only own the DVD for the 1950's TV version of Casino Royale that's on it as a bonus feature. I tried watching the 1967 movie, but couldn't get more than 15 minutes into it before turning it off. Awful movie.

At least the 2006 version made up for that.

Draven

I’ve been watching Bond movies my whole life and I’ve never thought it was supposed to be the same person. I mean fuck, the character is played by a different actor so often that “who will be the next Bond” is a common national discussion.

The idea that it couldn’t be a black guy is ridiculous. All Bond needs to be is a suave cool super spy who says his last name first and drinks martinis and has gadgets. Elba could easily fit the bill.

rw2516

Score's good though. The poster design and title logo are also pretty neat.

Supermallet

Dwayne Johnson would be an amazing Superman! His smile man, it warms my heart.

maxfisher

If a series of films are telling a cohesive story, I’d prefer no recasting ideally, or matching the look of the original actor as closely as possible if he/she has to be replaced. Otherwise, I don’t care and tend to think the more diversity the better. So having Superman turn black between DC universe flicks or Bruce Wayne turn black between Batman Begins and Dark Knight? That would throw my suspension of disbelief a bit (though it’s certainly not something I’d get up in arms about). But a new series of Batman flicks with a black Bruce Wayne? Sure, go for it. I only really care about the talent of the people working on it and if they tell a compelling and/or entertaining story.

Draven

Seriously, I’d take “a good Superman movie” no matter who they cast.

Kurt D

Vin Diesel?

Hokeyboy

The fundamental problem with this theory -- and why it's patently untrue and would never work -- is that then the entire espionage community/world governments/criminal underworld would know anyone introducing themselves as "James Bond" is an undercover British agent.

Mike86

The thing is though he spans decades and different locations around the world. I wouldn’t think that would blow his cover all that fast necessarily. I just think that makes a lot more sense than to think that Bond just magically never ages despite being around fifty plus years. Either that or just that each iteration of the character reboots the timeline. Which in that case is why I don’t have a big problem with someone of another ethnic background playing him.

Hokeyboy

I'd go even further and suggest each film reboots the timeline, more or less, as much as the story requires it.

Josh-da-man

Yes, you can look a James Bond the same way you do Marvel Comics.

The way Marvel's timeline works is that the events of Fantastic Four #1 took place seven years ago, even though the comic was released in 1961.

It's sort of a sliding timescale where everything that has happened in six decades the stories have been around, though in a vaguer and vaguer way the further back you get. (So Reed Richards was a military pilot, just not during WWII as the old comics stated, etc.). Though you can go back and read the old comics, and still read them as 60s stories, too.

It's fairly easy to apply this to Bond as well. You can watch Dr. No as a standalone movie set in the 60s, but also watch 80s or 90s Bond films with Dalton and Brosnan with the understanding that the Conner/Lazenby stories are part of the backstory, even if you sort of have to fudge some details.

devilshalo

rw2516

Try this on for size.

Watched Infinity War last night. Elba plays Heimdall. I never gave this any thought before, but because of this thread I thought, "How could a Norse god be black".
If a scene appeared in a Marvel movie showing drawings of the Norse gods from the middle ages, Heimdall would be black in the 1000 year old drawings.
Wouldn't that create the question of why a blonde haired, blue eyed culture would make one of their gods black?
That's a valid question. Possible answers:

Since the gods are real in the Marvel universe. A mortal actually saw Heimdall, word got around, so he was depicted as black in the mythology.

Since the norse gods don't exist in our reality, a real world answer would be that ancient Scandinavians had never seen a black person so they assumed all the gods resembled themselves.

Either answer would work. It's deconstructing the movie more than the average 2018 movie goer cares about, but it's not invalid, or racist, to raise the question.

hdnmickey

The racism becomes apparent when somebody only questions Heimdall when so many others cast also do not fit.

Draven

Would 1960s Bond have a female boss? No, that’s a product of more modern times.
Would 1960s James Bond flirt with a black Moneypenny? No, that’s a product of more modern times.

That’s why Bond can easily be recast with a black actor today. Because this movie and this character are no longer set in the 1960s.

Jay G.

This came up when the first Thor movie came out.


https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/12/20

http://comicsalliance.com/racists-th...s-ebla-racism/


Another possible theory:
Heimdall has always been black. However, since the gods visited Norway way way back, and the stories humans told about those events were originally oral tales passed down, the Norse just started assuming all the gods looked like them, because they didn't remember the truth. It's like White Jesus.

DaveyJoe

But we won't fudge the details for a darker complexion, that's breaking reality too much.