Posted on 02/11/2023 6:27:16 AM PST by Rummyfan
Actor Idris Elba said that he’s no longer interested in being defined by the color of his skin during an interview published Wednesday.
The 50-year-old British star discussed his feelings on the subject during an interview with Esquire U.K.
“If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other,” the “Beast” actor told the publication. “As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.”
While Elba believes that racism is still a problem, he went on to say that obsessing over skin color was limiting for him.
“Racism is very real,” the actor continued. “But, from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that. It’s just skin. Rant over.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailywire.com ...
Sounds like a reasonable person. He’ll either be forced to retract or he’ll do something supremely woke to atone.
If not, I will be impressed. His sentiment is closer to Christian thought than what I hear from some who claim to be believers.
I watched “Beast” on Amazon Prime last night. It was a good movie. Scary lion.
When he comes out and says “you can’t be James Bond and black”, then you’ll know for sure....
He’s good in some flicks, especially the show The Wire.
My one beef is casting him as Heimdall, the Nordic God.
It’s like if they made the Black Panther with French Stewart…
Interesting move
Always was just an Actor
He is about to find out that Black Listed is not about color.
But in San Fiasco, Cauliphonya, that “skin” is going to make you a multi-millionaire at the cost of your ancestors’ suffering.
1) There will always be social justice warriors pulling them back in line.
2) The welfare state will guarantee an ongoing supply of angry recruits in the war.
3) Success stories will be presented out on ‘their’ terms.
What do I mean by ‘their’ terms?
Answer-most every form of black entertainment have elements of an ongoing minstrel show.
In Germany, they’re more into sound than color. A person sounds German, more than looks German. Charles Huber was elected to the German Bundestag as a Christian Democrat (the center-right party of the country). He became one of the first two African Germans in the Bundestag. In his case, his father was African and his mother German. So, he speaks German without an accent. His counterpart (a Social Democrat) has an African mother and a German father. So, he speaks German with an accent. Germans pick up on accents. They can tell where you’re from within Germany, or if you are a foreigner who has learned German. (And they really appreciate that you’ve can speak some German, even though they all speak English.) In the following clip, you can hear Charles Huber speak English with a German accent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83a-wo4KcJE
Get where you are coming from, but Heimdall was one of the MCU characters I actually cared about.
Very strong actor.
I think it was Morgan Freeman who said something similar quite a while ago (years, I think) during an interview.
There’s no shortage of blonde haired, blue eyed decent actors.
Idris is a good actor, but he is black. Nobody can act their way out of a physical characteristic.
It’s similar to many devout fans of Jack Reacher being pissed it was Tom Cruise in the movies. The character is supposed to be a built 6’5” former MP.
I liked the movies, but understand the complaint.
Understood. I respect where you are coming from.
Except in the Marvel universe they aren’t really gods. They’re aliens with super tech, magic, and immortality, that somewhere along the lines had contact with the Nordic people and began to be worshiped. They have no actual relationship with the Nordic people and no reason at all to look like them. So might as well put in the best actors. Who happen to be mostly British, yet another “not Nordic”.
“If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other,” the “Beast” actor told the publication. “As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.”
I have colleagues around the world as part of my job. We may have different skin tone, may pray differently from each other, etc. but we have much more in common. Raising kids, being a spouse, paying bills, taking care of homes, politics....
Obviously this is a small sample and we’re in the confines of a work environment, and the larger world has far too many who prefer to divide and hate. Still I agree with this actor, and believe a more peaceful world is possible.
Race is a set of definitions created by humans in their minds — like many major aspects of our lives, it doesn’t exist objectively. From the 18th and 19th century scientific obsession with categorizing, race has evolved into an immensely effective divide and control tactic that keeps our eyes off the ball. Good on Idris Elba for seeing through it.
Avery Brooks commented similarly when he was asked about being the first Black actor to anchor a Star Trek series. He said he doesn’t know how to play a color and that playing a widower, a father, etc. were interesting elements to his character.
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