[Opinionated Blowhard]

I don’t care about “race swapping” of actors into roles of characters who aren’t the same race or ethnic group as long as it isn’t in a documentary (such as Netflix’s laughable Cleopatra). Movies and TV shows are fiction. There are going to be a million things in this show that aren’t historically accurate, including characters speaking in modern English, or the ideas that they are purported to hold (for example, the characters in Gladiator who wanted to turn the Roman Empire back into a republic). If the show is good, it is good. IF its bad, its bad.

[Reily]

A movie, TV show and theatrical play add a visual component to the storytelling. When doing a historical based story we know roughly what the look and race of the historical characters are. To do it right means to create illusion for the viewer you are there watching it unfold. However Netflix and BBC choose to cast the characters as something radically different. Aren't they then destroying that necessary illusion. Destroying that visual component of the storytelling? Might as well make it a radio drama.

There are two goals.

1. Give work to minority actors even if it destroys the storytelling. Giving them work (handout\welfare!) is more important! There are plenty of non-European stories out there. Tell them! Unfortunately that's too hard for those production companies. They're afraid that can't make any money doing that. Isn't that a racist attitude? Non-European stories just aren't good enough to make us money! I find that attitude to be pretty racist! Find a good non-European story. Do a good job writing the screen play. Find good actors to present it. Do that and I'd watch it no matter where the story originated!

2. This is the real goal! Destroy the European, UK and American sense and understanding\appreciation uniqueness of their own history and literature. My use of the word “uniqueness” does not in anyway compromise the “uniqueness” of any non-European stories.