But why should he be played by a black actor. Yes he is a fictional character but clearly written as a white heterosexual male. Should Uncle Tom be played by a white woman?
Personally, Im a white English person who thinks it would be great to have these renowned fictional characters of great British do-daring played by actors of other races. Can't be a bad thing can it and potentially could be really cool.
The real reason I think Black Bond has to happen one day is when you see the outrage the proposition can invoke in some. Now if it was for an American actor fair enough but if you are British it doesn't matter the colour of you skin.
I thought Elba was great in The Wire too but have since come to the conclusion he's a bit one dimensional. I like the guy and enjoy a lot of what he does, just not convinced he could do much more than being suave and maybe a bit cocky. Which would've been fine for 70s era Bond.
Personally, Im a white English person who thinks it would be great to have these renowned fictional characters of great British do-daring played by actors of other races. Can't be a bad thing can it and potentially could be really cool.
The real reason I think Black Bond has to happen one day is when you see the outrage the proposition can invoke in some. Now if it was for an American actor fair enough but if you are British it doesn't matter the colour of you skin.
It's a film, it's 2014, move on.
So, would it be ok if Uncle Tom was played by a white man?
Personally, Im a white English person who thinks it would be great to have these renowned fictional characters of great British do-daring played by actors of other races. Can't be a bad thing can it and potentially could be really cool.
The real reason I think Black Bond has to happen one day is when you see the outrage the proposition can invoke in some. Now if it was for an American actor fair enough but if you are British it doesn't matter the colour of you skin.
It's a film, it's 2014, move on.
So, would it be ok if Uncle Tom was played by a white man?
I thought Elba was great in The Wire too but have since come to the conclusion he's a bit one dimensional. I like the guy and enjoy a lot of what he does, just not convinced he could do much more than being suave and maybe a bit cocky. Which would've been fine for 70s era Bond.
Personally, Im a white English person who thinks it would be great to have these renowned fictional characters of great British do-daring played by actors of other races. Can't be a bad thing can it and potentially could be really cool.
The real reason I think Black Bond has to happen one day is when you see the outrage the proposition can invoke in some. Now if it was for an American actor fair enough but if you are British it doesn't matter the colour of you skin.
It's a film, it's 2014, move on.
So, would it be ok if Uncle Tom was played by a white man?
Behave it's Christmas
What's Christmas got to do with it? Be PC if you want but you have to have it both ways but cannot accept it. You can call me racist if you want but I'm very good friends with Pork Pie.
Whilst I never fail to find it amusing when Daily Mail readers start foaming at the mouth and falling over backwards in shock-horror at the mere mention of anything progressive, I must confess I would find it odd to see a black James Bond.
This doesn't make me racist, it simply means that I have a certain preconceived image of who "Bond" is. He's a white, misogynist, gambling addicted alcoholic with a lucky streak a mile wide inasmuch as everybody who has ever tried to kill him has either been a completely rotten shot or has overcomplicated the process to such a degree that the plan was doomed to failure from conception. OK... so much for stereotypes.
I can imagine a black Prime Minister, or even a black Doctor Who. Both of those would work for me. But Bond has become more than a role. He is a very specific fantasy character whose character only 'works' within a very narrow corridor of variation. Being black would be too far outside of that margin to maintain credibility.... even for a fantasy figure.
Idris Elba is a fine actor and would no doubt do a sterling job, but it simply wouldn't 'work'.
Whilst I never fail to find it amusing when Daily Mail readers start foaming at the mouth and falling over backwards in shock-horror at the mere mention of anything progressive, I must confess I would find it odd to see a black James Bond.
This doesn't make me racist, it simply means that I have a certain preconceived image of who "Bond" is. He's a white, misogynist, gambling addicted alcoholic with a lucky streak a mile wide inasmuch as everybody who has ever tried to kill him has either been a completely rotten shot or has overcomplicated the process to such a degree that the plan was doomed to failure from conception. OK... so much for stereotypes.
I can imagine a black Prime Minister, or even a black Doctor Who. Both of those would work for me. But Bond has become more than a role. He is a very specific fantasy character whose character only 'works' within a very narrow corridor of variation. Being black would be too far outside of that margin to maintain credibility.... even for a fantasy figure.
Idris Elba is a fine actor and would no doubt do a sterling job, but it simply wouldn't 'work'.
In my opinion.
If you were to list his defining traits that were essential to the character being in a narratively and stylistically successful movie, skin colour would be pretty low down the list if not at the bottom. The tuxedo represents status, as does the voice, the car etc. so if you were to dress a white man in a potato sack driving a mini, he wouldn't be much of a Bond. But to change the colour of his skin? As long as he represents a decadent posh womanising git, well skin colour is irrelevant, is it not?
Whilst I never fail to find it amusing when Daily Mail readers start foaming at the mouth and falling over backwards in shock-horror at the mere mention of anything progressive, I must confess I would find it odd to see a black James Bond.
This doesn't make me racist, it simply means that I have a certain preconceived image of who "Bond" is. He's a white, misogynist, gambling addicted alcoholic with a lucky streak a mile wide inasmuch as everybody who has ever tried to kill him has either been a completely rotten shot or has overcomplicated the process to such a degree that the plan was doomed to failure from conception. OK... so much for stereotypes.
I can imagine a black Prime Minister, or even a black Doctor Who. Both of those would work for me. But Bond has become more than a role. He is a very specific fantasy character whose character only 'works' within a very narrow corridor of variation. Being black would be too far outside of that margin to maintain credibility.... even for a fantasy figure.
Idris Elba is a fine actor and would no doubt do a sterling job, but it simply wouldn't 'work'.
In my opinion.
If you were to list his defining traits that were essential to the character being in a narratively and stylistically successful movie, skin colour would be pretty low down the list if not at the bottom. The tuxedo represents status, as does the voice, the car etc. so if you were to dress a white man in a potato sack driving a mini, he wouldn't be much of a Bond. But to change the colour of his skin? As long as he represents a decadent posh womanising git, well skin colour is irrelevant, is it not?
Whilst I never fail to find it amusing when Daily Mail readers start foaming at the mouth and falling over backwards in shock-horror at the mere mention of anything progressive, I must confess I would find it odd to see a black James Bond.
This doesn't make me racist, it simply means that I have a certain preconceived image of who "Bond" is. He's a white, misogynist, gambling addicted alcoholic with a lucky streak a mile wide inasmuch as everybody who has ever tried to kill him has either been a completely rotten shot or has overcomplicated the process to such a degree that the plan was doomed to failure from conception. OK... so much for stereotypes.
I can imagine a black Prime Minister, or even a black Doctor Who. Both of those would work for me. But Bond has become more than a role. He is a very specific fantasy character whose character only 'works' within a very narrow corridor of variation. Being black would be too far outside of that margin to maintain credibility.... even for a fantasy figure.
Idris Elba is a fine actor and would no doubt do a sterling job, but it simply wouldn't 'work'.
In my opinion.
If you were to list his defining traits that were essential to the character being in a narratively and stylistically successful movie, skin colour would be pretty low down the list if not at the bottom. The tuxedo represents status, as does the voice, the car etc. so if you were to dress a white man in a potato sack driving a mini, he wouldn't be much of a Bond. But to change the colour of his skin? As long as he represents a decadent posh womanising git, well skin colour is irrelevant, is it not?
So we ignore the writing of Ian Fleming?
Should we remove all laptops etc from the bond films because they weren't in the books?
Comments
Also Stephen K.Amos as Doctor Who
Personally, Im a white English person who thinks it would be great to have these renowned fictional characters of great British do-daring played by actors of other races. Can't be a bad thing can it and potentially could be really cool.
The real reason I think Black Bond has to happen one day is when you see the outrage the proposition can invoke in some. Now if it was for an American actor fair enough
It's a film, it's 2014, move on.
http://zachseemayer.com/2014/08/20/mind-blowing-hidden-relationships-you-never-noticed-in-disneys-mary-poppins/
This doesn't make me racist, it simply means that I have a certain preconceived image of who "Bond" is. He's a white, misogynist, gambling addicted alcoholic with a lucky streak a mile wide inasmuch as everybody who has ever tried to kill him has either been a completely rotten shot or has overcomplicated the process to such a degree that the plan was doomed to failure from conception. OK... so much for stereotypes.
I can imagine a black Prime Minister, or even a black Doctor Who. Both of those would work for me. But Bond has become more than a role. He is a very specific fantasy character whose character only 'works' within a very narrow corridor of variation. Being black would be too far outside of that margin to maintain credibility.... even for a fantasy figure.
Idris Elba is a fine actor and would no doubt do a sterling job, but it simply wouldn't 'work'.
In my opinion.
Would you care to enlighten me as to which of my subsequent posts made you wonder whether I am racist.
There is only one thing worse than racism, and that is being accused of racism.
Perhaps, Algarve, you should redirect your sense of humour failure comment to ol' SE9 here
Brooke Bond. (as long as she's not an old bag)