I come from Norwegian decent, born Canadian. My dad always reminded me about our Scandinavian decent, which is why I love Astrid who is Scandinavian and frozen which take place in Norway. TRUE representation is important, not forced diversity by taking over others heritage to meet quota. Maybe if they race swapped a smaller role I wouldn’t be so disappointed. But Astrid is the lead female role in a movie that focuses on Viking/Scandinavian culture/heritage
I respect your perspective. I have super mixed feelings about all of it. I will ask myself specific situational questions that contradict a certain perspective I have, but that situation doesn’t apply across the board. I’m glad you are strong in your convictions and are assured in what you believe. Do you still plan on seeing the film anyway, or is it a pass for you?
I would be understanding if ya'll questioned Mason Thames' viking/Scandinavian ancestry and went as far as to say they should have casted the MAIN character with a Scandinavian, but that seems to be concern only placed on Nico.
Let me get this straight, you felt that your Scandinavian decent was under threat because they cast a white British women to play a fictional role as a Viking? But somehow didn't voice any issues over the non-Scandinavian male lead that they got, or the various non Nordic people they've repeatedly gotten to play Vikings? Hmm I wonder why
@@myfirelsjourney947 He physically resembles people of that culture. If a movie were made about an Ethiopian man, would you be OK with somebody of East Asian, Pacific Islander, or European descent portraying him? I know I would not. But I would be fine with somebody of West African descent portraying him.
@@No1Knows I honestly would not care, black characters have been portrayed by biracial people and non-black people for as long as Hollywood has been around. The bottom line is that Nico Parker is white and it is not a race swap as many are trying to say. You even tried to use a race swap example in your post, so please explain to me how this is a race swap? I am sure they can make Nico Parker look the part like they have done with other white actresses who have played fictional characters, but didn't naturally look exactly like the character. BTW Nico Parker was born with Blond hair, it just darkened as she got older.
I’m not a fan of who the cast to play the twins! Casting is always a major part of why remakes & live action adaptations fail! You can never recapture the magic the original has & you just can’t cast people to pull off animated characters! The tv shows of HTTYD have the best voice cast & the voice of Ruffnut fits what’s his name voicing Tuffnut! They fit perfectly with the animated characters! Trying to capture that magic with live action & 95% CGI just is not going to work! I’m not looking forward to seeing Toothless either! Just feel they will take the key cuteness away from him & his corky charm & antics!
I hate anyone who thinks they can just erase the OG established character's entire character design. And then expect fans to like it??? Never worked, never will.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesIm with lilo, the butchering they are doing in all these live action movies based of animated content the last few years is annoying and I am sick of the entertainment industry butchering absolutely everything we grew up with to please a very small minority with big mouths. Also Dinklage can kiss my fat ass as well for ruining snow white, he climbed the ladder to fame with all sorts of rolls good and bad but once he got there suddenly its demeaning for dwarfs to play dwarfs, give me a break, guy climbed the ladder and just wants to kick everyone off that is like him. Even other people like him hate his guts.
why the hell can't they respect the appearance of a character was it so difficult to get an actress that looks like Astrid's character I don't think there isn't an actress that looks like her I have already expressed my opinion and I do not care if you like it or not, I do not retract it and I support what I say
I think it’s out of disrespect, but rather because they thought she was the best actress for the role. People can always watch the old animated films if they want that version of Astrid. This is just a different take. I’m not sure I’ll even go see it myself. What is it about Nico Parker’s appearance that bothers you?
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies because it's a story in a viking setting and Nordic setting weren't diverse. So forcing the diversity in a setting which ain't diverse causes the lack of believability for that setting. And yes a certain degree of believability is necessary even for fantasy stories. As the great Japanese director, Hayao Miyazaki said, realism is necessary even in fantasy. Fantasy settings should not represent modern day California. They should represent isolated settings full of people with the same accents, similar looks, same clothing and other stuff to be believable. Because fantasy settings are typically isolated. There ain't much chance for diversity in a viking setting which is constantly being attacked by dragons. Besides she doesn't look Anything like the character she's supposed to look like. You're srsly telling me that there ain't a single good blonde teen actress in Hollywood and they are so out of choices that they need a person of colour (which has a résumé as empty as a white paper) to play the role? Or They needed more representation to check some boxes? And the argument of "well you always have the original version to watch" is wrong. It's basically like saying: "shut up and consume the product or let people enjoy the product" It devalues any form of criticism. Casting choices based on diversity boxes and not caring about the setting which the story takes place in, the ability of the actor, the resemblance to the source material and... Is wrong and needs to be stopped. And it's not limited to fantasy characters either. The black Achilles, the black female viking leader (which was a white man in real life) and recently a black Cleopatra are to name a few
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies this is an L take, dude. You know they’re being lazy and disingenuous by trying to pander to weakminded audiences. There is NO reason to cast Astrid as anything other than a blonde woman when she’s had a certain look for three movies and several tv spin offs.
@@alariaaurora8456 Nico Parker is 75% British. She's white. Y'all don't complain when other British people play Vikings. They can always dye her hair blond and straighten it. That's all they gotta do. She's just as white as Astrid in every other way.
@@jbb8261 I respectfully disagree. No need to throw any shade. Everyone just gets so polarized and nobody is willing to discuss anything without coming in at a level 10. I don't know that they are being lazy and disingenuous. I may check out the film and see if it's good, but everyone seems to get so butt hurt about everything these days. The piece was more about outrage culture on both sides and the inability for people to have respectful conversations any more. Like telling someone that something they worked hard on is an L, rather than just saying, again, respectfully...Hey Lonely Guy, here's a different take that you may not have considered. People typically aren't won over when you are rude to them. You obviously have your mind made up about a lot of this stuff, which is great, but you may win more people over to the merits of what you have to say with a little bit of honey.
That’s the problem with people now a days. You can’t say or do anything without be called racist. Seriously it is a Scandinavian based show. Burk is based off the coast of Norway and Scotland. Majority white, it just makes no sense to put someone who is not white as a Scandinavian based character.
Yeah, I am hearing that sentiment echoed by a lot of people. I think it is a valid point. The point of the video, at least from my point of view was to share the casting news, but also to discuss what you pointed out. No one is listening to each other and both sides are very quick to jump down each other's throat. Everything is super polarized right now, and I likely won't be doing any videos like this in the future, but rather just focus on movies and movie reviews. Cheers.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesit has nothing to do with “listening” to each others points of views! The only reason Astrid & Fishlegs are different races is to fit the PC crap of today’s world! In the movies & shows Astrid was voiced by the ever talented America & it worked because she didn’t sound different! Let’s say they decided to make a movie about MLK & cast an Asian or Indian to play the roll of MLK. Do you not think that would get serious backlash? You are damn right it would & it would be 100% justified! The same with the abomination Cleopatra on Netflix deserved the backlash! She was of Greek descent not black! We have to put an end to race swapping for the sack of being politically correct! Also, Hamilton play is another that has to go! I have never paid a single cent to see a remake & never will!
a movie studios milking a franchise isn't new plus this is only live action so they don't confuse the average audience member when they do the zelda movie if rumor is to be believed
5:19 🤦🏾♂️No, the reason nobody cared is because the actor was good, and the character was unknown to the general public because nobody reads the comics. The same thing happened with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, who was originally white, but nobody gave a damn because most people didn’t even know who Nick Fury was. They got to know him through the movies. Now, with Ariel and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, everyone already knows what the characters look like because general audiences are familiar with the originals. Especially Ariel 🤡 and it didn’t help that DDG’s girlfriend fits the divisive social media stereotype.🤡 And don’t even get me started on Berk. It’s not diverse, and it shouldn't be at the start. It’s clear they’re Vikings. Only in the third movie could you argue that people might have started migrating to Berk due to the town’s development. 🙎🏼♂️🙎🏻♂️🙎🏻♀️🙎🏼♀️👩🏻🦰🧑🏻🦰
Yet another example of False Equivalency. You playing a current over 7 foot black athlete (a real life historical person) is not the same as them casting a light skinned POC to play a fictional character in a fantasy world with dragons flying around. It’s a corny rebuttal that holds no water.
Actually it is. There is no difference. A fictional character has representation and has just as much cemented race and ecstatic. By your logic a fictional character is just an amorphous blob. You have to use some logic @LonelyGuyLovesMovies
Nico parker mom is biracial(half white half black) and her dad is white that would mean she's 75% white that makes her a white girl.If you complained about her not being scandanaviam the i would agree with you.
For me the probablem is that as a nordic descendent I would like to see a movie that made my childhood I know that its a hot take and will be labeld as racist Heimdall was not z problem for me because I hadn't seen a marvel film where he was white But astrid was from the very start a a blond blue eyed caractère. And it make me think about on thing, there is so much stories, books or possibilities for movies with a black lead so why changes something that will have backlash because people are sick of role that doesn't match the actors, when you can create something new And we need new things in the movie industrie So here is my take on this contreversie Niko is a good actress I have a lot of respect for her But her role for astrid isnt suited. I would love to see her in other lead roles Sorry for my bad english, its not my first langage
Hope my responce is not taken bad, I just want to say my way to think I feel like diversity isnt made in a good way and more puched down our throat But an exemple of diversity that I loved house of the dragon Where they mzde a whole new dinasty, without changing wath was allready made
Your English is great and I really appreciate your respectfulness in how you are staying your opinion. It is quite refreshing as so many people just want to yell, state their argument, and call the other side a nasty name. With that said, I can’t really argue with your perspective. It makes sense. What hasn’t made sense to me is how wildly triggered people get about it and why it is such a hit button issue. You have definitely given me more clarity than the many other folks in here who are attacking me. I appreciate your comment. Cheers.
It's not inconceivable for her to dye her hair to the blonde color she already had as a child as well as wear contacts. These are modifications that all actors have made in the past
Didn't Hollywood also whitewash historical figures? This is not a new concept. Black people have been played by biracial people for DECADES...remember who implemented the "one drop rule." Nico Parker is predominately white, she has 1 black grandparent and here you are with your comment saying she is blackwashing Astrid.
To all blonde and redhead actresses out there, let me be the first black woman to apologize that y’all are getting every role taken from you in the name of WOKENESS
Nico Parker is white. Her dad is white. 3 out of 4 of her grandparents are white. She's 75% English. If these dumb ass people think that's black, then you know they're on some racist ass bullshit, cause what the fuck? How is a whole-ass 3/4th white person not white enough to be white? But she's only 1/4th African and that's black enough to be black? Make that make sense. The math ain't mathing. What kind of Jim Crow bullshit is that on? Anybody calling this girl black and saying she's not white enough to be white is on some one drop rule, on some white racial purity bullshit. They can't pretend to not be racist when they literally using racist ideology and white racial purity to say this girl is not white enough to play this character when she's genetically more white than anything else. She has a whole white father and a mother who is half white. There are more white people in her immediate family, in her ancestry than anything else. They better not come with some bullshit about this girl being black. What next, she's not Scandinavian? They never complained when all these other British actors- and she is British- played Vikings before on tv. British people are part Scandinavian anyway. Angles and Saxons literally came from Denmark. Also your statement is stupid, cause I bet you can pull 100 movies that came out this past year and see white women playing white characters. Which Nico Parker is going to do just that too, cause she is also white. And y'all weren't complaining when all these non-natural blonds and redheads were playing red-headed characters. The actress who played Sansa Stark wasn't a natural redhead for example. Y'all didn't have shit to say about that. Nobody steals roles from natural redheads more than a blond white woman. And Margot Robbie is playing Barbie and she's not a natural blond. She's a brunette too like Nico. Complain about that.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies no it isn’t, respectfully. This is part of a cheap ploy to get woke money. It isn’t about who is more talented. These companies are happy to erase white roles to get a sick sense of camaraderie from people who get off on this stuff.
I'm more upset about hiccup's actor lol He doesn't really give off hiccup vibes to me In the cartoon and the original books he's ment to look dorky and kinda awkward and the actor they chose doesn't look like that to me Who knows maybe the makeup and costume departments will work some magic
I could definitely see it working. He was incredible in The Black Phone. He kind of reminds me of a younger Timothy Chalamet. I do hope he’s able to nail that dorky awkward vibe of Hiccup. Cheers.
You have to remember the 2 characters that you are referencing that have been raced swapped to be black are for very insignificant rolls that don't matter to the story. For example in last of us she replaced his daughter that was only in the game for the 1st opening so she was a very minor character.same with Edith Alba that is a very minor character in the Marvel franchise. But we are talking about Astrid who is the main female lead of this franchise which would be a major change. At this point why can't we cast a white person to play MLK? Or Rosa Parks? Or if we're gonna keep it on the movie level black panther. Also white people have been shamed out of rolls because they were the wrong color. Remember the white actor they cast to play Michael Jackson after all of the skin bleaching? He had to drop out even though he looked exactly like Michael Jackson after all of the plastic surgeries just because he was a white man. I am just saying let's keep it even. Also remember during all of this recasting (disney) the villains have remained white. Even Ursula who has been cast as a black woman in Broadway live action was casted as a white woman. Queen Latifah has played Ursula already and she would be a great actress who we know could dance and sing due to her experience in the movie Chicago.
This is where you lose me. "At this point why can't we cast a white person to play MLK? Or Rosa Parks?" You are comparing white actors playing real life historically black humans that existed to people of color playing a character in a fictional world with dragons. Nah.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies my literal next line was black panther, then Michael Jackson, and lastly Ursula. I had a 50-50 argument and you thought that was too extreme? Ok 👍 👌
@@inudbz12 I didn't think the entirety of what you said was too extreme. I just thought the comparison to Rosa Parks and MLK was pretty off base. No big deal. You do you.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies true these are fictional characters. You are right this is over blown and people are just yelling at each other but this casting felt really off. this one was so steeped in viking lore/location and it felt so forced. I have seen all 3 movies plus the 2 christmas specials, and the 2 t.v shows so I kinda took this casting personal. Plus dragon movies are so hard to pull off so why make it harder then you have to? Oh well such as life I just hope she doesn't over take hiccup in screen time or kill the main villain. Good luck on your channel
@@inudbz12 I understand where you are coming from. As fans we create attachments to the characters we know and love. With the current fan culture and political climate, I thought about not even releasing this piece of content because of how divisive it can be. I did not mean to shut down your point or perspective, but rather sought to share my perspective. I kept getting some pretty nasty comments in here and grew a bit tired of some of the talking points. I respect your perspective. I understand people not liking a thing when they totally change a character (i.e. for me Galadriel in The Rings of Power). I hated what they did to the wise and solemn elf Galadriel, but I also waited for the show to come out, watched it, and made my judgement based on that. I want people to stop pre-judging things before they've even come out or even started production for that matter. I understand what many are saying about nordic culture and Nico Parker not reflecting that. I guess I just think, these are actors. They are acting and I believe with a few exceptions that any actor can take on any role. I don't care if gay actors play straight characters, if straight actors play gay characters, if skinny actors play a fat character, if King Triton is from Spain, or if Ariel is bi-racial. I just don't care. Is it a good movie? With your love of HTTYD, I hope you are able to enjoy the film and it's inevitable sequels when they come out. Cheers inudbz.
Only 2% of our current world looks like Astrid naturally. Having natural platinum blonde hair and blue eyes is extremely rare. Most of the world has dark hair and brown eyes like Nico Parker. Unfortunately, a towhead blonde can't play an indigenous person from almost all places around the world. The Nordic countries is it. There are a lot more roles for indigenous characters for actors with dark hair and brown eyes. I oppose Steven Spielberg and Bob Igor's erasure of Scandinavian looking characters. They should know better.
I think it’s already done. I mean they haven’t started filming principal photography yet, but I think that it’s pretty much a done deal with Nico as Astrid.
Vikings are from sweden, norway and denmark. Stop saying just becouse we are a multicultural country now "I am from Sweden and close to Norway" we need to just live with how hollywood and other big industries ignore that vikings was white and just try to change history some times to, like documentry series like cleopatra and some more.
Im gonna be real with you. I dont care how they cast this shit. It doesn't matter. For me just the idea of a live action remake is Garbage. Regardless if they race swap or not. Im just strongly opposed to live action remakes. It would be nice if ppl just stop falling for nostalgia bait trash cash grab
I feel like that too. But as long as Dreamworks proceeds on making animated masterpieces the likes of Puss in Boots, I'm not complaining. I prob won't watch live-action remakes in cinema like ever, but if it gets them money for more uinque works, then its a win for everyone.
@@alchemy5750 Thank you for bringing some positivity into the conversation!! Puss In Boots was fantastic! One of the biggest surprises of 2022 for me. Cheers.
How do you go from a blond haired, blue eyed nordic chick to this. First off, im nordic and it pisses me off that they dropped the ball like this. I grew up loving how 2 train your dragon. You want to talk about people needing representation? How about dont steal mine. ALSO, I have a black brother in law and he says he wishes that hollewood would make original black characters and stop race swapping characters because he thinks is lazy and more offensive that they tather swap an already well thought out character rather then putting in actual effort to make an original character.
httyd was an art master piece on its own but with this its just making it look bad, but i wouldve appretiated it if they made a new story line where Hiccup and Astrid were older, that wouldve been nice to see. but if their gonna get the cast so completely wrong, they can just leave it or make another animation. And i really dont care for their quotas they have to meet, but atleast get it right and accurate with the characters. i grew up with httyd and they go and dissapoint me like this. So dont tell me i have to apperiatate the character and not their skin color, because Astrid is white, and Nico Parker isnt. Utter disapointment and i just recently heard about the news of a live action, so im still mad and shocked
I keep saying this, if aliens come to earth and see how petty we are, they'd go back and report that there's not intelligent life on Earth, and I agree...
Here's a thing: Astrid, although she was portrayed as white in the animated movie, she was played by America Ferrera who is Latina. And most of the actresses who played Astrid in Live Action medium (theme parks for example) weren't white (one of them was asian) with only one exception. So basically, Astrid's race and ethnicity was always interchangeable. Which is cool in my opinion. Also, there have been theories that vikings were the first European origin civilization to step on the American continent. So yeah... Not an impossibility for them to be able to meet African tribes. It is unlikely that they would have accepted a black person between them, but it is not an impossibility. Now, I'm not a Scandinavian (or from any nordic European countries) so I can't talk for that culture, but, as a Romanian, I had no problem seeing black villagers in Transylvania (or it was Wallachia?) in the Netflix's Castlevania show. And that makes even less sense from a historical point of view. So no, Astrid being black isn't implausible to happen, neither is a disgrace to the character since Dean DeBlois is involved (from what I've heard) As for the actresses, I feel so sorry for her. Nico Parker also played Sarah Miller in The Last Of Us show and people were more focused on her playing an original white character rather than if she is good enough for the role. So far, her acting career has been defined by people as her playing originally white characters. I don't think she can learn ANYTHING constructive from this. If the Percy Jackson and The Olympians fandom accepted Leah Sava as Annabeth Case, HTTYD fandom shouldn't have a problem with that as well. Heck, most of the criticisms came from people who found out that an originally white character will be played by a black actor, not people who are genuinely fans of the franchise. But I guess we can all agree that this movie will NOT be as bad as the Nine Realms show...
So question.. if there was an animated movie with darker skin characters, say like the Princess and the Frog, and they made a live action and the main character was white would people still be ok with that? It's not meant to be a baited question but im genuinely curious.
I appreciate the question. It seems like regardless of what people do these days, it ends up upsetting half of the population. Outrage culture is the fuel of the 2020's. With that said, I think that looking at the history of Disney animation is somewhat important for this specific example. In essentially a century of animated princesses starting with Snow White, Tiana is the first ever black princess. I think a goal for Disney was to add some diversity to the roster. It would definitely offend people if the first ever black princess was played by a white actress. I personally think it would offend a different set of people (more left leaning folks). I think right leaning people tend to dislike the live action films casting black actors in traditionally white roles (Ariel and now Astrid). A year after making this video, I kinda don't really give a shit about any of it, and I think it's people just being outraged because it gets clicks. Identity politics and politics in general have invaded almost every facet of our lives from movies, music, comedy, sports, and everything in between. It's pretty exhausting. I'm sure the machine will continue raging, but I'm kind of tired of being a cog. Kind of a nihilistic take, but here we are. Let me know your thoughts.
@LonelyGuyLovesMovies I appreciate you responding to me. I agree with you that people would be outraged in the case of Tiana and I think there would be a reason to be bothered by it. That being said I fall somewhere in the middle of things. I do understand wanting to keep things culturally accurate but I also feel like if the actor or actress does justice to the whatever the role is and really makes the character their own as well as believable then I won't have a hard time just simply enjoying the movie. I think the main thing people are bothered by is that Disney, as well as other companies, are very clearly picking actors to play certain roles with the main objective being diversity. Which means they care more about selling the film than making it worth watching. When they pick an actor because they do a great job then even those who object tend to quiet down one they've seen the movie. You pointed out a good example in your video with Idris Elba in the Thor movies. Almost no one cared because he did a great job in that role. But really agree with your comment that people are going to be angry no matter what so I don't really know the solution either. I just hope How To Train Your Dragon ends up being as good as the animated version.
I'm reading all these comments complaining how the actress looks nothing like Astrid because she isn't blond or blue-eyed but why isn't anyone complaining about the young actor playing Hiccup? Is everyone blind to the fact that this boy is very handsome and even androgynously pretty, in a way? Viewers have empathy for loveable Hiccup because he's an awkward, runty outcast whose outward appearance played an important role in his character arc because his wimpy appearance was mentioned many times by other characters, as a negative trait to have when trying to be a strong, fearless Viking. This Mason kid playing him is way too goodlooking to believably portray that sensitive part in Hiccup where he felt insecure about his looks and felt like an outcast. All I can say is, they better play down this kid's good looks and straighten his thick curly hair because Hiccup had straight, shaggy hair and Hiccup also had green eyes that matched Toothless' green eyes. That was another important part of the movie. This kid has dark brown eyes, so while all you people are dragging the actress for not looking like her character, this actor should be dragged too for the same thing.
The only think that can may be critized about Hiccup is his eyes not being green. He is brunette like Hiccup. Light skinned. I haven’t seen him act yet so I can’t know about how he plays Hiccup. Hiccup looks atleast somewhat close to Hiccup. There’s lots of bad cast in the show but Astrid is the face of the show beside Hiccup. And she’s very diffrent from Astrid. Tho they chould fix it with giving her a good blonde wig and even better blue contacts but If they give her contacts I whould like Hiccup to get green contacts aswell as the others in the cast. Stoic WILL need a wig for his hair AND beard. So wigs is a must in this show.
Crazy thing, Nico is only 25% black and 75% white… the casting call could’ve easily said white for Astrid and she could’ve showed up to the auditioned.. 🤷🏾♀️ or it could’ve easily been a color blind casting where they didn’t do it off of skin color or hair color.. but instead off of who is the best for the role despite those things
Yeah so much of it is speculation because none of us are in the room, right? I would love for people to temper their expectations of what a thing should be based on what it was. I appreciate your perspective and candor, Wynter. Cheers.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies These conversations would go further if people were actually honest about the REAL motivations underlying their anger regarding this casting: The need to maintain White Racial Purity. Despite this Nico Parker being almost entirely white (with 75% of her ancestry coming from Britain alone), having blonde hair as a child, AND similar features to the character she's playing, somehow she's too 'contaminated' to allegedly represent a Scandinavian character, despite real live Vikings not even fitting into the near Aryan fantasy that many of these people seem to have. Even having a drop of non-white ancestry is enough for them to start accusing people of "race swapping" while in the same vein accusing people of being woke and fixated on race. When in reality their entire mindset is based on obsessing analyzing the "true" whiteness of people.
@@rocksteady6945 I think this is definitely getting to the heart of a component of at play and what you've described definitely has happened and continues to. It is confusing and slightly curious however when people of color even in this thread are making thing same arguments about black characters playing white characters (and how they disagree with it). I think it can be very situational, at least from my own perspective. People want to paint with super broad brushes and say it's all racism or it's all woke race swapping. I think it all exists to varying degrees. It is frustrating though how many present their arguments. Thanks for your perspective Rocksteady. Cheers.
@@rocksteady6945 I’d say my problem isn’t that she’s white cuz biologically she is, but white passing and white is different. Most mixed people would know this, that you can pass for either race. Even if she is predominantly white, her traits very much show her mixed ancestry
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies when you said "black characters playing white charactersa" did you mean black actors playing white characters? If so that's not the case here she has 3 white grandparents.
it happened to L in the death note movie and I can assure you it was bad. The little mermaid is gonna be black -> she lives “deep in the see” where there’s no light. Evolution doesn’t work that way. at the same time black characters don’t become white because of all the backlash
How are they not questioning the male lead without knowing his background, but they are questioning Nico Parker because she appears to be not fully white. She is predominately white and is European.
Race is not the problem, Nico just dosn’t look like Astrid. Many fully White people don’t look like Astrid either. Saying ”she can be Astrid cos she’s white” is racist. Tho Nico has similar face shape. So giving her a Blonde wig (even better give everyone right color contacts also) is a easy fix. If they don’t give her ATLEAST a blonde wig That’s just asking for backlash. Ofc they NEED to style Hiccup right too but atleast he has similar hair/hair color, face is also enough close. I see problem in the other cast too but Astrid is the front face beside Hiccup. They are more important to get like their characters.
I honestly don’t know, as I wasn’t a part of the casting process. I agree diversity is important. They might have been trying to have representation and diversity, but missed the mark. I look at something like the upcoming Snow White and genuinely wonder why they didn’t cast actual actors with dwarfism. Some of the decisions are mind boggling.
Not sure. It’s often easier for studios to green light known successful IP because it is a safer bet for the audience. It’s a proven entity. That’s why we get so many remakes, because they know it’s worked before and studios want to play it safe.
White this white that, scandinavian this scandinavian that. White or scandinavian people don’t look the same. A brunette white or scandinavian whould still need a blonde wig. White and scandinavian people can be brown eyed too. Then they whould have to have blue contacts for Astrid. Astrid is not just a Viking. She’s a blonde, blue eyed Viking with round/sqare head and thinn body. I HATE THIS ”öh she’s half white so she can be Astrid” ”öh they are white so they can be this character” just sounds racist to me. Just cos the ”race” is right dosn’t make one fit a character. That’s why wigs and contacts are GOLD for movies and they should use them more. Like Nico and the other cast. Rufnut’s actress looks NOTHING like Rufnut. Nico has familiar head shape to Astrid, Rufnut’s actress has a round face while Rufnut has a thinn long face.
I am Scandinavian. You don’t have to have scandinavian actors. Scotish, Irish, British, German, American whatever just make them look like their characters. Give Nico a good blonde wig and blue contacts. Nothing racist about that. Black people can be blue eyed and blonde hair. It’s not about ”she has to be white” a white brunette whould have to have a wig too. It’s not race okey, it’s the combo of how Astrid looks. Astrid has a big round/sqare face, blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Nico has kinda pale skin, face shape kinda same so that leader the easiest parts to fix. Give her a good blonde wig and blue contacts. Same with Hiccup, give him green contacts If his eyes are not green. I know lots of Scandinavian blonde people who can get pretty tan. If Nico really is the perfect Astrid acting wise just do the things I mentioned.
So support erasing scandinavian history and ethnicity. The casting in the Thor movies are ridiculous. Modern super hero movies should be diverse. When you base something on not only the real world, but something created, you should not make it look like modern new york city central.
Fair point. I think it’s all situational and most people are painting with way too broad a brush. “It’s all bad, it’s all racist, it’s all woke.” No it’s not. Is there racism at play, yes. Is wokeness at play, surely, but no one can have a god damn conversation any more without being entirely one sided and it’s a bit obnoxious and has become pretty toxic.
Kinda ridiculous like people complained that the girl who did Moana was too white when she was actually an islander. You’re either too white or too black. The only thing that throws me off is that they made sure the guy playing hiccup really looks like him. Just hoping she will be blonde tbh
Bro use Heimdall from Marvel the same movie that made thor and loki Brothers I don't think they were trying to go off the mythology in any way more then the names
Yeah, My Dude. It was to illustrate the point that people aren’t consistent with what they are outraged about. They get mad about these young mixed females, but not about men typically. Just found it odd. I think you illustrated my point too in that this shit is all fiction, so why is everyone in an uproar every time someone is cast in a role. It’s Bizarre.
@@williamwoodside5223 Okay. Just because something is based off of something doesn't mean we have to strictly adhere to what the thing was before. It's kinda corny. If people want it to look exactly like the original, just go watch the original.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies i mean it is a norse story, majority of "vikings," had blue eyes and blonde hair with some variations in hair color. She looks like the animation, but got to go blonde and change eye color which is easy. Lots of people are in a uproar because POC deserve to have their own stories and leads without having to only get them in movies like this. POC have fought to hard to have to be thrown into this mess. Just like why is there Chinese people playing Korean parts just because they are Asian? Or Latino or Latina people playing Native American roles (albeit the natives in Mexico and South America share traits). It isn't stupid for people to be somewhat upset. POC deserve their own stand alone movies to shine in. Just my opinion as a POC who grew up in a Nordic/Icelandic and German family
@@jayleon89 I appreciate your perspective. I think you have hit the crux of where things get jumbled for many people and something that I did not address in the video. I think more people seem to be upset about exactly what you are describing. I am trying to find and understand the more nuanced reasons as to why people are so upset. I don't think it's dumb for people to feel upset. What I think is dumb is the extremes on both sides yelling at each other. I do think people of color do deserve their own characters and stories. I feel like we are getting that slowly. Thanks for adding to the conversation and not attacking me. Cheers.
I don't really mind it. I love Jason Momoa's Aquaman but It would still be awesome if we ever get casting choices like the live action adaptations of Rurouni Kenshin, Alice in Borderland & Blade of the immortal.
Thank goodness for you Peter. If I got one more comment about "blackwashing" or race swapping, I felt like I was going to gouge my eyes out. Momoa is great as Aquaman and most everything he is doing these days is great. There is so much talent out there and it really doesn't matter to me who gets what role, as long as the end product is good. Alice in Borderland would be sic! Cheers Peter.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Np, another great example is Oldboy 2003. A Korean crime thriller that's loosely adapted from a Japanese manga. Final product is a masterpiece. Imo it mostly depends on the people behind it & how they choose to translate something. Hire an incompetent film maker & you might get a bad final product like the live action Resident evil films so far.
@@peterfrost377 Yeah, it's too bad about about the Resident Evil live action stuff because it is such great IP and they have been doing such a great job with the games recently including going back and remaking the older ones. You are right though, if they don't have a competent director or a director that really cares about getting the material right, then it goes south quickly.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies I liked him in the first one but the movie itself was pretty meh, not sure if ill bother with the second though, first one seemed to drag on quite a bit for my pace.
Hate race swapping in established characters regardless of which way its going. But what I hate the most is the complete and utter blatant hypocrisy of it all. Everyone knows beyond any shadow of a doubt if they take even a fictious POC character and make them white the outrage would be/always is massive, hell there was a huge backlash for Whitewashing the Great Wall movie with Matt Damon. And the fact is that forced diversity is becoming more and more prevalent and if you say anything against it you're automatically a racist. Its always been my belief if a character has been established as one race in the source material/there is an explicit description of that character then future adaptations should make an effort to get as close to that description as possible, historical people should always be portrayed as close to their appearance as possible without fail especially if the show/film is supposed a documentary. Now I have nothing against POC whatsoever, but I have been told several times by different POC that I should be ashamed for being white. And that is a PROBLEM, no one should be ashamed about being whatever ethnicity they are.
I agree with much of what you’ve said. No one should make you feel ashamed for being white or for having an opinion about complex issues. I also agree with your take on historical figures being as accurate as possible. I think where I diverge a bit is in the absolutes, because I don’t think that there is a specific blanket answer across the board to most things. Everything is situational and many rules have exceptions. For instance, historical accuracy is important, but what about something like Hamilton. It’s clearly hip hop/rap meets history and it’s a mostly poc cast because that is what makes up the majority of hip hop. It’s a cool fusion of one culture with another. I’d be interested in your take on that example or other grey areas.
@Lonely Guy Loves Movies if it's inspired by history but not sold as a documentary, historical inspired fiction I guess you could say I'm not as strict on it. If it's done as parody or satire or just inspired by I'm okay with it. I think its the hypocrisy that gets me most of all. That double standard where its okay to make a white character black but not a black character white. I just wish that instead of race swapping they'd make new characters in new movies. Not a fan of the current trend of just remaking every old movie/show either though with how long humans have been telling stories I know coming up with something original is difficult to say the least. Really wish race just wasn't an issue at all, like I hate the term African American to my eyes they're just Americans that's all that really matters to me.
@@shamrock3957 I can definitely get behind that sentiment. I love that last line you wrote. This is exactly the civil discourse I was hoping to have with people, but many on both sides of the argument jumped down my throat. I really appreciate your perspective. It seems far more reasonable and nuanced than much of what I've been getting. I fully agree with you on the remakes. The Lion King remake made over a billion at the box office so they know it's an easy cash grab for many of these projects. Unless we as film fans quit going to see these types of movies. Cheers Shamrock.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Speaking as an Asian woman… no I disagree. Race swapping an established character feels like someone is trying to shove an ‘inclusivity narrative’ in my face, which makes me very uncomfortable. I adore original Asian characters, but casting a non-Asian character as an Asian? Nobody wants that, nobody needs that. I would be extremely angry if Mulan was casted as a non-Asian woman, and I would feel the same if Tiana was casted as a non-Black woman. Is that not a valid viewpoint to have? I’m really trying to understand the people who think race swapping *established, well known* characters is okay, but like how is that okay? It’s not. Period.
@@esthercho6249 Hey Esther. So I think a lot of this entirely situational and many people are painting with too broad of a brush. The examples of Mulan and Tiana make perfect sense and I don't think they should be race swapped. It took 72 years from Snow White to The Princess and the Frog for there to be a black princess represented by Disney and 61 years for Mulan. Historically much of American culture has been represented by white people, white ideas, white princesses. It's why I just don't care that much when a character who on the page has been thought of as white (Ariel from the Little Mermaid), and then is played by a different colored actress. I'd be interested in your thoughts on Ariel specifically, because like i said, I think it's situational and nuanced. Ariel doesn't represent a specific culture, it's merpeople, it's made up. I don't think historical figures should be "race swapped" either. It wouldn't make sense for a white woman to play Rosa Parks or a black man to play Abe Lincoln. But, I think when it comes to fantasy and works of fiction, it just doesn't bother me as much. When a person's race has no bearing on the actual story being told, it doesn't matter to me who is playing the role as long as the story is compelling. If it bothers some that Astrid if from a Nordic culture and that Nico Parker isn't Nordic I get that. But, the kid playing Hiccup isn't Nordic either and no one cares. It's because he's "the right color."
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Its funny how you mention color is this comment because in the thumbnail Nico and Mason are practically the same color just in different lighting/angles. Those who are referring to this casting as a race swap are throwing out 75% of her parentage to follow the one drop rule.
Please just give Nico a good blonde wig and contacts. Like it’s so easy to fix, If they don’t they had the backlash coming. It’s also not about race. Rufnut’s actress is white and don’t look like her character at all. Nico has atleast similar face shape with Astrid. As a Scandinavian myself I know how tan some blondes can get in the sun okey. Just give her a wig and contacts and it’s fine. Rufnut on the otherhand has compleatly diffrent face shape than the actress. Rufnut has a thinn long face, looks like her twin brother and her actress has a round face.
Let’s get real. It comes down to established character representation. Hymdal from thor worked because there was no mainstream visual representation. Ariel does not, her red hair and white skin is a defining characteristic. Same with Astrid, her accent and fair complexion are visually defining and part of the characters identity. You can appropriate any race, it’s bad no matter what. Personally I would have liked the entire cast to be Scandinavian. Regardless of fictional universe, the heritage is real. What’s next, princess Merida from Brave going to be race swapped as well?
It's like they tried to copy MCU's Spiderman. They could get away with making MJ black because its NYC and there's a character in the comics named Michelle. You can't get away with that here. It's just a box check which just makes the casting feel cheap and doesn't do service to the actress.
Fair enough. I’m not really too upset either way. I know people have strong opinions on it, so I’m happy to just let people feel the way they need to feel about it. My thoughts have evolved somewhat on the subject matter. Cheers Airbender!
I just want to say, I think Nico parker is a great choice for Astrid, mainly because Astrid's race isn't an important factor to the movie, ok sure she's "blonde with blue eyes" in the movie, but her race isn't part of the plot, she's a fictional character and the movie is abt dragons, and b4 you ppl get all stirred up and say "Ohh what would happen if a white person played miles morales, or black panter, etc" Then things would be different, because these charaters race is part of the plot. What makes miles, miles is his race which separates him from, the other spidermen (tom holland, andrew, tobey), same for black panther and the whole of wakanda, its their race thats part of the plot. Astrid can be portrayed by a one, as her race isnt part of the plot. If anything the actress who voiced astrid is a women of colour. So stop all this hate against this new casting, just watch it and move on, bc its not that deep. Plus nico" looks white enough" if that helps. 💀💀
No no no. This is good. Let them make that live action! And while they’re at it, they can make a live action shrek to completely ruin themselves and add some lgbt characters! It’s time for Deamworks to suffer as Disney has! Edit: Btw I’m actually serious. Not sarcastic!
Man of Steel wasn’t good because it made Superman a character who tries to be a hero but has no care about his fight against the villains hurting the innocent. He puts catching the bad guys first ahead of the people. It feels like Might equals right which is very un-Superman. The exact opposite of Truth and Justice. A Justice Lord.
It would be interesting to see how people react if there would be a movie about martin luther king with an white actor as luther (I wanna see if the same people who defend blackwashing would also defend whitewashing)
This is what’s called False Equivalency. Having a white actor play MLK (a real life historical figure) is not the same as having a mixed race POC actor play a fictional fantasy character.
When you know every movie is going to be remade, and you know its coming it feels so awful. Last film I watched in a theater was in 2007. That's how bad we have fallen. I know 2070 they will remake the Fast and the Furious. I think by 2100 is when they will say Ok. We have remade everything what do we do now? Hmmmm....Computer I need an idea for a movie. I am sorry Dave. All the data I have looked into has been done already. May I help you with anything else?
Actually it isn't ridiculous on both sides. It's only ridiculous on the side crying racism. There is nothing ridiculous about pointing out that woke race swapping is stupid and runs movies.
every race swap is wrong, its the same as blackfacing the character, yes its fictional, but that its part of the story itself. why if what you want is a black/lgbtq/trans hero dont you write your own black/lgbtq/trans hero novel and make it a good product instead of transforming every existing content to fit another message than the one that its already given? are those writers/producers/directors not creative enought to do it? or is it better to mess with what other ppl like just to screw it up for them... its like the Cleopatra race swap its Hystorical fact that she was Greek descendant... Fringilla Vigo on The Witcher books its described literally as a white almost transparent that cant hide when she was upset by Geralt because she blushed. and the list goes on. stop this bullshit and create better woke content, do not race swap the existing...
I feel like the South Park episode that addressed this did a wonderful job at poking fun of both sides. “Put a chick in it and make her gay,” does seem to be the sentiment in Hollywood as of late and the line is hilarious. The episode goes on to equally point out how lazy it is to continue incessantly whining about how everything is woke. “I guess wailing on woke stuff all the time is pretty lazy too.”
That's a hot take. You're the first person I've heard to have anything negative to say about that show. Definitely understand someone not liking something, but to call that show "garbage" is a pretty daft blanket statement.
I come from Norwegian decent, born Canadian. My dad always reminded me about our Scandinavian decent, which is why I love Astrid who is Scandinavian and frozen which take place in Norway. TRUE representation is important, not forced diversity by taking over others heritage to meet quota. Maybe if they race swapped a smaller role I wouldn’t be so disappointed. But Astrid is the lead female role in a movie that focuses on Viking/Scandinavian culture/heritage
I respect your perspective. I have super mixed feelings about all of it. I will ask myself specific situational questions that contradict a certain perspective I have, but that situation doesn’t apply across the board. I’m glad you are strong in your convictions and are assured in what you believe. Do you still plan on seeing the film anyway, or is it a pass for you?
I would be understanding if ya'll questioned Mason Thames' viking/Scandinavian ancestry and went as far as to say they should have casted the MAIN character with a Scandinavian, but that seems to be concern only placed on Nico.
Let me get this straight, you felt that your Scandinavian decent was under threat because they cast a white British women to play a fictional role as a Viking? But somehow didn't voice any issues over the non-Scandinavian male lead that they got, or the various non Nordic people they've repeatedly gotten to play Vikings? Hmm I wonder why
@@myfirelsjourney947 He physically resembles people of that culture. If a movie were made about an Ethiopian man, would you be OK with somebody of East Asian, Pacific Islander, or European descent portraying him? I know I would not. But I would be fine with somebody of West African descent portraying him.
@@No1Knows I honestly would not care, black characters have been portrayed by biracial people and non-black people for as long as Hollywood has been around. The bottom line is that Nico Parker is white and it is not a race swap as many are trying to say. You even tried to use a race swap example in your post, so please explain to me how this is a race swap? I am sure they can make Nico Parker look the part like they have done with other white actresses who have played fictional characters, but didn't naturally look exactly like the character. BTW Nico Parker was born with Blond hair, it just darkened as she got older.
It simply needed to look like the characters. That’s so simple.
Yeah, Simple Jack.
I’m not a fan of who the cast to play the twins! Casting is always a major part of why remakes & live action adaptations fail! You can never recapture the magic the original has & you just can’t cast people to pull off animated characters! The tv shows of HTTYD have the best voice cast & the voice of Ruffnut fits what’s his name voicing Tuffnut! They fit perfectly with the animated characters! Trying to capture that magic with live action & 95% CGI just is not going to work!
I’m not looking forward to seeing Toothless either! Just feel they will take the key cuteness away from him & his corky charm & antics!
I hate anyone who thinks they can just erase the OG established character's entire character design. And then expect fans to like it??? Never worked, never will.
Maybe pump the brakes on the hate. It’s cool if you think it doesn’t work, but do we really need to put that much energy towards hate?
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesIm with lilo, the butchering they are doing in all these live action movies based of animated content the last few years is annoying and I am sick of the entertainment industry butchering absolutely everything we grew up with to please a very small minority with big mouths.
Also Dinklage can kiss my fat ass as well for ruining snow white, he climbed the ladder to fame with all sorts of rolls good and bad but once he got there suddenly its demeaning for dwarfs to play dwarfs, give me a break, guy climbed the ladder and just wants to kick everyone off that is like him. Even other people like him hate his guts.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Only if they make Black Panther White and Tiana because race doesn't matter.
why the hell can't they respect the appearance of a character was it so difficult to get an actress that looks like Astrid's character I don't think there isn't an actress that looks like her
I have already expressed my opinion and I do not care if you like it or not, I do not retract it and I support what I say
I think it’s out of disrespect, but rather because they thought she was the best actress for the role. People can always watch the old animated films if they want that version of Astrid. This is just a different take. I’m not sure I’ll even go see it myself. What is it about Nico Parker’s appearance that bothers you?
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies because it's a story in a viking setting and Nordic setting weren't diverse. So forcing the diversity in a setting which ain't diverse causes the lack of believability for that setting. And yes a certain degree of believability is necessary even for fantasy stories. As the great Japanese director, Hayao Miyazaki said, realism is necessary even in fantasy.
Fantasy settings should not represent modern day California. They should represent isolated settings full of people with the same accents, similar looks, same clothing and other stuff to be believable. Because fantasy settings are typically isolated. There ain't much chance for diversity in a viking setting which is constantly being attacked by dragons.
Besides she doesn't look Anything like the character she's supposed to look like.
You're srsly telling me that there ain't a single good blonde teen actress in Hollywood and they are so out of choices that they need a person of colour (which has a résumé as empty as a white paper) to play the role?
Or
They needed more representation to check some boxes?
And the argument of "well you always have the original version to watch" is wrong.
It's basically like saying: "shut up and consume the product or let people enjoy the product"
It devalues any form of criticism. Casting choices based on diversity boxes and not caring about the setting which the story takes place in, the ability of the actor, the resemblance to the source material and... Is wrong and needs to be stopped.
And it's not limited to fantasy characters either. The black Achilles, the black female viking leader (which was a white man in real life) and recently a black Cleopatra are to name a few
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies this is an L take, dude. You know they’re being lazy and disingenuous by trying to pander to weakminded audiences. There is NO reason to cast Astrid as anything other than a blonde woman when she’s had a certain look for three movies and several tv spin offs.
@@alariaaurora8456 Nico Parker is 75% British. She's white. Y'all don't complain when other British people play Vikings. They can always dye her hair blond and straighten it. That's all they gotta do. She's just as white as Astrid in every other way.
@@jbb8261 I respectfully disagree. No need to throw any shade. Everyone just gets so polarized and nobody is willing to discuss anything without coming in at a level 10. I don't know that they are being lazy and disingenuous. I may check out the film and see if it's good, but everyone seems to get so butt hurt about everything these days. The piece was more about outrage culture on both sides and the inability for people to have respectful conversations any more. Like telling someone that something they worked hard on is an L, rather than just saying, again, respectfully...Hey Lonely Guy, here's a different take that you may not have considered. People typically aren't won over when you are rude to them. You obviously have your mind made up about a lot of this stuff, which is great, but you may win more people over to the merits of what you have to say with a little bit of honey.
That’s the problem with people now a days. You can’t say or do anything without be called racist. Seriously it is a Scandinavian based show. Burk is based off the coast of Norway and Scotland. Majority white, it just makes no sense to put someone who is not white as a Scandinavian based character.
Yeah, I am hearing that sentiment echoed by a lot of people. I think it is a valid point. The point of the video, at least from my point of view was to share the casting news, but also to discuss what you pointed out. No one is listening to each other and both sides are very quick to jump down each other's throat. Everything is super polarized right now, and I likely won't be doing any videos like this in the future, but rather just focus on movies and movie reviews. Cheers.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesit has nothing to do with “listening” to each others points of views! The only reason Astrid & Fishlegs are different races is to fit the PC crap of today’s world! In the movies & shows Astrid was voiced by the ever talented America & it worked because she didn’t sound different!
Let’s say they decided to make a movie about MLK & cast an Asian or Indian to play the roll of MLK. Do you not think that would get serious backlash? You are damn right it would & it would be 100% justified! The same with the abomination Cleopatra on Netflix deserved the backlash! She was of Greek descent not black!
We have to put an end to race swapping for the sack of being politically correct! Also, Hamilton play is another that has to go!
I have never paid a single cent to see a remake & never will!
Is that hard to make new stories or character? Money talks and companies are gonna suffer!
a movie studios milking a franchise isn't new plus this is only live action so they don't confuse the average audience member when they do the zelda movie if rumor is to be believed
I agree there is a lot of recycling that happens in Hollywood.
5:19 🤦🏾♂️No, the reason nobody cared is because the actor was good, and the character was unknown to the general public because nobody reads the comics. The same thing happened with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, who was originally white, but nobody gave a damn because most people didn’t even know who Nick Fury was. They got to know him through the movies.
Now, with Ariel and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, everyone already knows what the characters look like because general audiences are familiar with the originals. Especially Ariel 🤡 and it didn’t help that DDG’s girlfriend fits the divisive social media stereotype.🤡
And don’t even get me started on Berk. It’s not diverse, and it shouldn't be at the start. It’s clear they’re Vikings. Only in the third movie could you argue that people might have started migrating to Berk due to the town’s development. 🙎🏼♂️🙎🏻♂️🙎🏻♀️🙎🏼♀️👩🏻🦰🧑🏻🦰
As a 4'2 asian, I am confident that I can take the role of lebron james if they're gonna make a movie about him
Yet another example of False Equivalency. You playing a current over 7 foot black athlete (a real life historical person) is not the same as them casting a light skinned POC to play a fictional character in a fantasy world with dragons flying around. It’s a corny rebuttal that holds no water.
Actually it is. There is no difference. A fictional character has representation and has just as much cemented race and ecstatic. By your logic a fictional character is just an amorphous blob. You have to use some logic @LonelyGuyLovesMovies
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesBy your logic Harry Potter could have been played by a Mexican. 😂😂😂😂😂
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesSo Wrong ! Thatz why you is LONELY !
tbh i would definitely watch that movie 😅
Here's the thing though if a white girl played a black character, it'll be a problem
Hypotheticals aren’t very helpful to proving a point. If this, then that.
Nico parker mom is biracial(half white half black) and her dad is white that would mean she's 75% white that makes her a white girl.If you complained about her not being scandanaviam the i would agree with you.
For me the probablem is that as a nordic descendent I would like to see a movie that made my childhood
I know that its a hot take and will be labeld as racist
Heimdall was not z problem for me because I hadn't seen a marvel film where he was white
But astrid was from the very start a a blond blue eyed caractère. And it make me think about on thing, there is so much stories, books or possibilities for movies with a black lead so why changes something that will have backlash because people are sick of role that doesn't match the actors, when you can create something new
And we need new things in the movie industrie
So here is my take on this contreversie
Niko is a good actress I have a lot of respect for her
But her role for astrid isnt suited. I would love to see her in other lead roles
Sorry for my bad english, its not my first langage
Also why milk a movi that had such a good ending
Make something new and give the role to niko
Hope my responce is not taken bad, I just want to say my way to think
I feel like diversity isnt made in a good way and more puched down our throat
But an exemple of diversity that I loved house of the dragon
Where they mzde a whole new dinasty, without changing wath was allready made
Your English is great and I really appreciate your respectfulness in how you are staying your opinion. It is quite refreshing as so many people just want to yell, state their argument, and call the other side a nasty name. With that said, I can’t really argue with your perspective. It makes sense. What hasn’t made sense to me is how wildly triggered people get about it and why it is such a hit button issue. You have definitely given me more clarity than the many other folks in here who are attacking me. I appreciate your comment. Cheers.
@@rastacmufassa9113 an african one
It's not inconceivable for her to dye her hair to the blonde color she already had as a child as well as wear contacts. These are modifications that all actors have made in the past
It's not about Racism it's about Black washing..The Little Mermaid, Cleopatra and now Astrid?
Oh, that clears everything up. Thank you.
I mean, they black washed waaaaaay more characters and historical figures than this.
If you look into it, you will be shocked.
@@dnaseb9214 I'm kinda busy, please enlighten me.
Didn't Hollywood also whitewash historical figures? This is not a new concept. Black people have been played by biracial people for DECADES...remember who implemented the "one drop rule." Nico Parker is predominately white, she has 1 black grandparent and here you are with your comment saying she is blackwashing Astrid.
Annabeth in the new PJO and Tinkerbell too.
To all blonde and redhead actresses out there, let me be the first black woman to apologize that y’all are getting every role taken from you in the name of WOKENESS
Nico Parker is white. Her dad is white. 3 out of 4 of her grandparents are white. She's 75% English. If these dumb ass people think that's black, then you know they're on some racist ass bullshit, cause what the fuck? How is a whole-ass 3/4th white person not white enough to be white? But she's only 1/4th African and that's black enough to be black? Make that make sense. The math ain't mathing. What kind of Jim Crow bullshit is that on? Anybody calling this girl black and saying she's not white enough to be white is on some one drop rule, on some white racial purity bullshit. They can't pretend to not be racist when they literally using racist ideology and white racial purity to say this girl is not white enough to play this character when she's genetically more white than anything else. She has a whole white father and a mother who is half white. There are more white people in her immediate family, in her ancestry than anything else. They better not come with some bullshit about this girl being black. What next, she's not Scandinavian? They never complained when all these other British actors- and she is British- played Vikings before on tv. British people are part Scandinavian anyway. Angles and Saxons literally came from Denmark.
Also your statement is stupid, cause I bet you can pull 100 movies that came out this past year and see white women playing white characters. Which Nico Parker is going to do just that too, cause she is also white. And y'all weren't complaining when all these non-natural blonds and redheads were playing red-headed characters. The actress who played Sansa Stark wasn't a natural redhead for example. Y'all didn't have shit to say about that. Nobody steals roles from natural redheads more than a blond white woman. And Margot Robbie is playing Barbie and she's not a natural blond. She's a brunette too like Nico. Complain about that.
Fr preach louder
This is such an oversimplification of a very complex topic.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies no it isn’t, respectfully. This is part of a cheap ploy to get woke money. It isn’t about who is more talented. These companies are happy to erase white roles to get a sick sense of camaraderie from people who get off on this stuff.
@Lonely Guy Loves Movies totally a black woman you are. Let's ignore the actress being 75 percent white unless you go by the one drop rule
I'm more upset about hiccup's actor lol
He doesn't really give off hiccup vibes to me
In the cartoon and the original books he's ment to look dorky and kinda awkward and the actor they chose doesn't look like that to me
Who knows maybe the makeup and costume departments will work some magic
I could definitely see it working. He was incredible in The Black Phone. He kind of reminds me of a younger Timothy Chalamet. I do hope he’s able to nail that dorky awkward vibe of Hiccup. Cheers.
You have to remember the 2 characters that you are referencing that have been raced swapped to be black are for very insignificant rolls that don't matter to the story. For example in last of us she replaced his daughter that was only in the game for the 1st opening so she was a very minor character.same with Edith Alba that is a very minor character in the Marvel franchise. But we are talking about Astrid who is the main female lead of this franchise which would be a major change. At this point why can't we cast a white person to play MLK? Or Rosa Parks? Or if we're gonna keep it on the movie level black panther. Also white people have been shamed out of rolls because they were the wrong color. Remember the white actor they cast to play Michael Jackson after all of the skin bleaching? He had to drop out even though he looked exactly like Michael Jackson after all of the plastic surgeries just because he was a white man. I am just saying let's keep it even. Also remember during all of this recasting (disney) the villains have remained white. Even Ursula who has been cast as a black woman in Broadway live action was casted as a white woman. Queen Latifah has played Ursula already and she would be a great actress who we know could dance and sing due to her experience in the movie Chicago.
This is where you lose me. "At this point why can't we cast a white person to play MLK? Or Rosa Parks?" You are comparing white actors playing real life historically black humans that existed to people of color playing a character in a fictional world with dragons. Nah.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies my literal next line was black panther, then Michael Jackson, and lastly Ursula. I had a 50-50 argument and you thought that was too extreme? Ok 👍 👌
@@inudbz12 I didn't think the entirety of what you said was too extreme. I just thought the comparison to Rosa Parks and MLK was pretty off base. No big deal. You do you.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies true these are fictional characters. You are right this is over blown and people are just yelling at each other but this casting felt really off. this one was so steeped in viking lore/location and it felt so forced. I have seen all 3 movies plus the 2 christmas specials, and the 2 t.v shows so I kinda took this casting personal. Plus dragon movies are so hard to pull off so why make it harder then you have to? Oh well such as life I just hope she doesn't over take hiccup in screen time or kill the main villain. Good luck on your channel
@@inudbz12 I understand where you are coming from. As fans we create attachments to the characters we know and love. With the current fan culture and political climate, I thought about not even releasing this piece of content because of how divisive it can be. I did not mean to shut down your point or perspective, but rather sought to share my perspective. I kept getting some pretty nasty comments in here and grew a bit tired of some of the talking points. I respect your perspective. I understand people not liking a thing when they totally change a character (i.e. for me Galadriel in The Rings of Power). I hated what they did to the wise and solemn elf Galadriel, but I also waited for the show to come out, watched it, and made my judgement based on that. I want people to stop pre-judging things before they've even come out or even started production for that matter. I understand what many are saying about nordic culture and Nico Parker not reflecting that. I guess I just think, these are actors. They are acting and I believe with a few exceptions that any actor can take on any role. I don't care if gay actors play straight characters, if straight actors play gay characters, if skinny actors play a fat character, if King Triton is from Spain, or if Ariel is bi-racial. I just don't care. Is it a good movie? With your love of HTTYD, I hope you are able to enjoy the film and it's inevitable sequels when they come out. Cheers inudbz.
Only 2% of our current world looks like Astrid naturally. Having natural platinum blonde hair and blue eyes is extremely rare. Most of the world has dark hair and brown eyes like Nico Parker. Unfortunately, a towhead blonde can't play an indigenous person from almost all places around the world. The Nordic countries is it. There are a lot more roles for indigenous characters for actors with dark hair and brown eyes. I oppose Steven Spielberg and Bob Igor's erasure of Scandinavian looking characters. They should know better.
Thank you for your perspective. Cheers.
You're right there's no Swedish actresses out there...
They better hires Nordic Actor with Viking Culture, DreamWorks plz don't end up like Disney. 😭
I think it’s already done. I mean they haven’t started filming principal photography yet, but I think that it’s pretty much a done deal with Nico as Astrid.
Vikings are from sweden, norway and denmark. Stop saying just becouse we are a multicultural country now "I am from Sweden and close to Norway" we need to just live with how hollywood and other big industries ignore that vikings was white and just try to change history some times to, like documentry series like cleopatra and some more.
Im gonna be real with you. I dont care how they cast this shit.
It doesn't matter.
For me just the idea of a live action remake is Garbage.
Regardless if they race swap or not.
Im just strongly opposed to live action remakes.
It would be nice if ppl just stop falling for nostalgia bait trash cash grab
Alright. Well you've always got the originals to fall back on. No one is stopping you from watching those.
I feel like that too. But as long as Dreamworks proceeds on making animated masterpieces the likes of Puss in Boots, I'm not complaining. I prob won't watch live-action remakes in cinema like ever, but if it gets them money for more uinque works, then its a win for everyone.
@@alchemy5750 Thank you for bringing some positivity into the conversation!! Puss In Boots was fantastic! One of the biggest surprises of 2022 for me. Cheers.
Scandinavian character should look Scandinavian.
Be alot different take if white European woman was cast as Pocahontas.
okay
How do you go from a blond haired, blue eyed nordic chick to this. First off, im nordic and it pisses me off that they dropped the ball like this. I grew up loving how 2 train your dragon. You want to talk about people needing representation? How about dont steal mine. ALSO, I have a black brother in law and he says he wishes that hollewood would make original black characters and stop race swapping characters because he thinks is lazy and more offensive that they tather swap an already well thought out character rather then putting in actual effort to make an original character.
httyd was an art master piece on its own but with this its just making it look bad, but i wouldve appretiated it if they made a new story line where Hiccup and Astrid were older, that wouldve been nice to see. but if their gonna get the cast so completely wrong, they can just leave it or make another animation. And i really dont care for their quotas they have to meet, but atleast get it right and accurate with the characters. i grew up with httyd and they go and dissapoint me like this. So dont tell me i have to apperiatate the character and not their skin color, because Astrid is white, and Nico Parker isnt. Utter disapointment
and i just recently heard about the news of a live action, so im still mad and shocked
I keep saying this, if aliens come to earth and see how petty we are, they'd go back and report that there's not intelligent life on Earth, and I agree...
haha, for sure.
Here's a thing: Astrid, although she was portrayed as white in the animated movie, she was played by America Ferrera who is Latina. And most of the actresses who played Astrid in Live Action medium (theme parks for example) weren't white (one of them was asian) with only one exception. So basically, Astrid's race and ethnicity was always interchangeable. Which is cool in my opinion.
Also, there have been theories that vikings were the first European origin civilization to step on the American continent. So yeah... Not an impossibility for them to be able to meet African tribes. It is unlikely that they would have accepted a black person between them, but it is not an impossibility. Now, I'm not a Scandinavian (or from any nordic European countries) so I can't talk for that culture, but, as a Romanian, I had no problem seeing black villagers in Transylvania (or it was Wallachia?) in the Netflix's Castlevania show. And that makes even less sense from a historical point of view.
So no, Astrid being black isn't implausible to happen, neither is a disgrace to the character since Dean DeBlois is involved (from what I've heard)
As for the actresses, I feel so sorry for her. Nico Parker also played Sarah Miller in The Last Of Us show and people were more focused on her playing an original white character rather than if she is good enough for the role. So far, her acting career has been defined by people as her playing originally white characters. I don't think she can learn ANYTHING constructive from this.
If the Percy Jackson and The Olympians fandom accepted Leah Sava as Annabeth Case, HTTYD fandom shouldn't have a problem with that as well. Heck, most of the criticisms came from people who found out that an originally white character will be played by a black actor, not people who are genuinely fans of the franchise.
But I guess we can all agree that this movie will NOT be as bad as the Nine Realms show...
So question.. if there was an animated movie with darker skin characters, say like the Princess and the Frog, and they made a live action and the main character was white would people still be ok with that? It's not meant to be a baited question but im genuinely curious.
I appreciate the question. It seems like regardless of what people do these days, it ends up upsetting half of the population. Outrage culture is the fuel of the 2020's. With that said, I think that looking at the history of Disney animation is somewhat important for this specific example. In essentially a century of animated princesses starting with Snow White, Tiana is the first ever black princess. I think a goal for Disney was to add some diversity to the roster. It would definitely offend people if the first ever black princess was played by a white actress. I personally think it would offend a different set of people (more left leaning folks). I think right leaning people tend to dislike the live action films casting black actors in traditionally white roles (Ariel and now Astrid). A year after making this video, I kinda don't really give a shit about any of it, and I think it's people just being outraged because it gets clicks. Identity politics and politics in general have invaded almost every facet of our lives from movies, music, comedy, sports, and everything in between. It's pretty exhausting. I'm sure the machine will continue raging, but I'm kind of tired of being a cog. Kind of a nihilistic take, but here we are. Let me know your thoughts.
@LonelyGuyLovesMovies I appreciate you responding to me. I agree with you that people would be outraged in the case of Tiana and I think there would be a reason to be bothered by it. That being said I fall somewhere in the middle of things. I do understand wanting to keep things culturally accurate but I also feel like if the actor or actress does justice to the whatever the role is and really makes the character their own as well as believable then I won't have a hard time just simply enjoying the movie. I think the main thing people are bothered by is that Disney, as well as other companies, are very clearly picking actors to play certain roles with the main objective being diversity. Which means they care more about selling the film than making it worth watching. When they pick an actor because they do a great job then even those who object tend to quiet down one they've seen the movie. You pointed out a good example in your video with Idris Elba in the Thor movies. Almost no one cared because he did a great job in that role. But really agree with your comment that people are going to be angry no matter what so I don't really know the solution either. I just hope How To Train Your Dragon ends up being as good as the animated version.
I'm reading all these comments complaining how the actress looks nothing like Astrid because she isn't blond or blue-eyed but why isn't anyone complaining about the young actor playing Hiccup? Is everyone blind to the fact that this boy is very handsome and even androgynously pretty, in a way? Viewers have empathy for loveable Hiccup because he's an awkward, runty outcast whose outward appearance played an important role in his character arc because his wimpy appearance was mentioned many times by other characters, as a negative trait to have when trying to be a strong, fearless Viking. This Mason kid playing him is way too goodlooking to believably portray that sensitive part in Hiccup where he felt insecure about his looks and felt like an outcast. All I can say is, they better play down this kid's good looks and straighten his thick curly hair because Hiccup had straight, shaggy hair and Hiccup also had green eyes that matched Toothless' green eyes. That was another important part of the movie. This kid has dark brown eyes, so while all you people are dragging the actress for not looking like her character, this actor should be dragged too for the same thing.
The only think that can may be critized about Hiccup is his eyes not being green. He is brunette like Hiccup. Light skinned. I haven’t seen him act yet so I can’t know about how he plays Hiccup. Hiccup looks atleast somewhat close to Hiccup. There’s lots of bad cast in the show but Astrid is the face of the show beside Hiccup. And she’s very diffrent from Astrid. Tho they chould fix it with giving her a good blonde wig and even better blue contacts but If they give her contacts I whould like Hiccup to get green contacts aswell as the others in the cast. Stoic WILL need a wig for his hair AND beard. So wigs is a must in this show.
Also way too good looking for Hiccup? Excuse me Hiccup is handsome and cute.
Crazy thing, Nico is only 25% black and 75% white… the casting call could’ve easily said white for Astrid and she could’ve showed up to the auditioned.. 🤷🏾♀️ or it could’ve easily been a color blind casting where they didn’t do it off of skin color or hair color.. but instead off of who is the best for the role despite those things
Yeah so much of it is speculation because none of us are in the room, right? I would love for people to temper their expectations of what a thing should be based on what it was. I appreciate your perspective and candor, Wynter. Cheers.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies These conversations would go further if people were actually honest about the REAL motivations underlying their anger regarding this casting: The need to maintain White Racial Purity. Despite this Nico Parker being almost entirely white (with 75% of her ancestry coming from Britain alone), having blonde hair as a child, AND similar features to the character she's playing, somehow she's too 'contaminated' to allegedly represent a Scandinavian character, despite real live Vikings not even fitting into the near Aryan fantasy that many of these people seem to have.
Even having a drop of non-white ancestry is enough for them to start accusing people of "race swapping" while in the same vein accusing people of being woke and fixated on race. When in reality their entire mindset is based on obsessing analyzing the "true" whiteness of people.
@@rocksteady6945 I think this is definitely getting to the heart of a component of at play and what you've described definitely has happened and continues to. It is confusing and slightly curious however when people of color even in this thread are making thing same arguments about black characters playing white characters (and how they disagree with it). I think it can be very situational, at least from my own perspective. People want to paint with super broad brushes and say it's all racism or it's all woke race swapping. I think it all exists to varying degrees. It is frustrating though how many present their arguments. Thanks for your perspective Rocksteady. Cheers.
@@rocksteady6945 I’d say my problem isn’t that she’s white cuz biologically she is, but white passing and white is different. Most mixed people would know this, that you can pass for either race. Even if she is predominantly white, her traits very much show her mixed ancestry
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies when you said "black characters playing white charactersa" did you mean black actors playing white characters? If so that's not the case here she has 3 white grandparents.
it happened to L in the death note movie and I can assure you it was bad. The little mermaid is gonna be black -> she lives “deep in the see” where there’s no light. Evolution doesn’t work that way. at the same time black characters don’t become white because of all the backlash
Haven't heard the "deep in the sea" one yet. That's hilarious.
People are hating this movie for these two reasons:
1. It's a live action remake to a beloved cartoon.
2. Astrid is blackwashed.
Thanks for the clarification. Cheers.
and Ruffnut is fat and i can tell you, that this will not be the last dumb change
How are they not questioning the male lead without knowing his background, but they are questioning Nico Parker because she appears to be not fully white. She is predominately white and is European.
Not sure. Everyone loves to get all butt hurt when these types of announcements are made. I'm more of a wait and see kinda guy. Cheers.
Race is not the problem, Nico just dosn’t look like Astrid. Many fully White people don’t look like Astrid either. Saying ”she can be Astrid cos she’s white” is racist. Tho Nico has similar face shape. So giving her a Blonde wig (even better give everyone right color contacts also) is a easy fix. If they don’t give her ATLEAST a blonde wig That’s just asking for backlash. Ofc they NEED to style Hiccup right too but atleast he has similar hair/hair color, face is also enough close. I see problem in the other cast too but Astrid is the front face beside Hiccup. They are more important to get like their characters.
Was there no Scandinavian(Nordic) actors they could fine? Diversity is now so important that were offending entire cultures apparently.
I honestly don’t know, as I wasn’t a part of the casting process. I agree diversity is important. They might have been trying to have representation and diversity, but missed the mark.
I look at something like the upcoming Snow White and genuinely wonder why they didn’t cast actual actors with dwarfism. Some of the decisions are mind boggling.
why just make new movie diffence name
Not sure. It’s often easier for studios to green light known successful IP because it is a safer bet for the audience. It’s a proven entity. That’s why we get so many remakes, because they know it’s worked before and studios want to play it safe.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMoviesThey want to play it safe yet are gonna fuck up the casting? Doesn't seem that safe
All I am saying is, if it doesnt matter to people, why not just stay true to the original
White this white that, scandinavian this scandinavian that. White or scandinavian people don’t look the same. A brunette white or scandinavian whould still need a blonde wig. White and scandinavian people can be brown eyed too. Then they whould have to have blue contacts for Astrid. Astrid is not just a Viking. She’s a blonde, blue eyed Viking with round/sqare head and thinn body.
I HATE THIS ”öh she’s half white so she can be Astrid” ”öh they are white so they can be this character” just sounds racist to me. Just cos the ”race” is right dosn’t make one fit a character. That’s why wigs and contacts are GOLD for movies and they should use them more. Like Nico and the other cast.
Rufnut’s actress looks NOTHING like Rufnut. Nico has familiar head shape to Astrid, Rufnut’s actress has a round face while Rufnut has a thinn long face.
Preach it! I don't give a frick what her race is as long as she can act and LOOK like Astrid then good job, they better be putting in some work
I am Scandinavian. You don’t have to have scandinavian actors. Scotish, Irish, British, German, American whatever just make them look like their characters. Give Nico a good blonde wig and blue contacts. Nothing racist about that. Black people can be blue eyed and blonde hair. It’s not about ”she has to be white” a white brunette whould have to have a wig too. It’s not race okey, it’s the combo of how Astrid looks. Astrid has a big round/sqare face, blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Nico has kinda pale skin, face shape kinda same so that leader the easiest parts to fix. Give her a good blonde wig and blue contacts. Same with Hiccup, give him green contacts If his eyes are not green. I know lots of Scandinavian blonde people who can get pretty tan. If Nico really is the perfect Astrid acting wise just do the things I mentioned.
They announced the next BLACK PANTHER MOVIE will cast Travis Kelce in the leading role.
So support erasing scandinavian history and ethnicity. The casting in the Thor movies are ridiculous. Modern super hero movies should be diverse. When you base something on not only the real world, but something created, you should not make it look like modern new york city central.
Fair point. I think it’s all situational and most people are painting with way too broad a brush. “It’s all bad, it’s all racist, it’s all woke.” No it’s not. Is there racism at play, yes. Is wokeness at play, surely, but no one can have a god damn conversation any more without being entirely one sided and it’s a bit obnoxious and has become pretty toxic.
Kinda ridiculous like people complained that the girl who did Moana was too white when she was actually an islander. You’re either too white or too black. The only thing that throws me off is that they made sure the guy playing hiccup really looks like him. Just hoping she will be blonde tbh
Bro use Heimdall from Marvel the same movie that made thor and loki Brothers I don't think they were trying to go off the mythology in any way more then the names
Yeah, My Dude. It was to illustrate the point that people aren’t consistent with what they are outraged about. They get mad about these young mixed females, but not about men typically. Just found it odd. I think you illustrated my point too in that this shit is all fiction, so why is everyone in an uproar every time someone is cast in a role. It’s Bizarre.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies cause this is base off the original movie
@@williamwoodside5223 Okay. Just because something is based off of something doesn't mean we have to strictly adhere to what the thing was before. It's kinda corny. If people want it to look exactly like the original, just go watch the original.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies i mean it is a norse story, majority of "vikings," had blue eyes and blonde hair with some variations in hair color. She looks like the animation, but got to go blonde and change eye color which is easy. Lots of people are in a uproar because POC deserve to have their own stories and leads without having to only get them in movies like this. POC have fought to hard to have to be thrown into this mess. Just like why is there Chinese people playing Korean parts just because they are Asian? Or Latino or Latina people playing Native American roles (albeit the natives in Mexico and South America share traits). It isn't stupid for people to be somewhat upset. POC deserve their own stand alone movies to shine in. Just my opinion as a POC who grew up in a Nordic/Icelandic and German family
@@jayleon89 I appreciate your perspective. I think you have hit the crux of where things get jumbled for many people and something that I did not address in the video. I think more people seem to be upset about exactly what you are describing. I am trying to find and understand the more nuanced reasons as to why people are so upset. I don't think it's dumb for people to feel upset. What I think is dumb is the extremes on both sides yelling at each other. I do think people of color do deserve their own characters and stories. I feel like we are getting that slowly. Thanks for adding to the conversation and not attacking me. Cheers.
I don't really mind it. I love Jason Momoa's Aquaman but It would still be awesome if we ever get casting choices like the live action adaptations of Rurouni Kenshin, Alice in Borderland & Blade of the immortal.
Thank goodness for you Peter. If I got one more comment about "blackwashing" or race swapping, I felt like I was going to gouge my eyes out. Momoa is great as Aquaman and most everything he is doing these days is great. There is so much talent out there and it really doesn't matter to me who gets what role, as long as the end product is good. Alice in Borderland would be sic! Cheers Peter.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Np, another great example is Oldboy 2003. A Korean crime thriller that's loosely adapted from a Japanese manga. Final product is a masterpiece. Imo it mostly depends on the people behind it & how they choose to translate something. Hire an incompetent film maker & you might get a bad final product like the live action Resident evil films so far.
@@peterfrost377 Yeah, it's too bad about about the Resident Evil live action stuff because it is such great IP and they have been doing such a great job with the games recently including going back and remaking the older ones. You are right though, if they don't have a competent director or a director that really cares about getting the material right, then it goes south quickly.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies I liked him in the first one but the movie itself was pretty meh, not sure if ill bother with the second though, first one seemed to drag on quite a bit for my pace.
Hate race swapping in established characters regardless of which way its going. But what I hate the most is the complete and utter blatant hypocrisy of it all. Everyone knows beyond any shadow of a doubt if they take even a fictious POC character and make them white the outrage would be/always is massive, hell there was a huge backlash for Whitewashing the Great Wall movie with Matt Damon. And the fact is that forced diversity is becoming more and more prevalent and if you say anything against it you're automatically a racist. Its always been my belief if a character has been established as one race in the source material/there is an explicit description of that character then future adaptations should make an effort to get as close to that description as possible, historical people should always be portrayed as close to their appearance as possible without fail especially if the show/film is supposed a documentary. Now I have nothing against POC whatsoever, but I have been told several times by different POC that I should be ashamed for being white. And that is a PROBLEM, no one should be ashamed about being whatever ethnicity they are.
I agree with much of what you’ve said. No one should make you feel ashamed for being white or for having an opinion about complex issues. I also agree with your take on historical figures being as accurate as possible. I think where I diverge a bit is in the absolutes, because I don’t think that there is a specific blanket answer across the board to most things. Everything is situational and many rules have exceptions. For instance, historical accuracy is important, but what about something like Hamilton. It’s clearly hip hop/rap meets history and it’s a mostly poc cast because that is what makes up the majority of hip hop. It’s a cool fusion of one culture with another. I’d be interested in your take on that example or other grey areas.
@Lonely Guy Loves Movies if it's inspired by history but not sold as a documentary, historical inspired fiction I guess you could say I'm not as strict on it. If it's done as parody or satire or just inspired by I'm okay with it. I think its the hypocrisy that gets me most of all. That double standard where its okay to make a white character black but not a black character white. I just wish that instead of race swapping they'd make new characters in new movies. Not a fan of the current trend of just remaking every old movie/show either though with how long humans have been telling stories I know coming up with something original is difficult to say the least. Really wish race just wasn't an issue at all, like I hate the term African American to my eyes they're just Americans that's all that really matters to me.
@@shamrock3957 I can definitely get behind that sentiment. I love that last line you wrote. This is exactly the civil discourse I was hoping to have with people, but many on both sides of the argument jumped down my throat. I really appreciate your perspective. It seems far more reasonable and nuanced than much of what I've been getting. I fully agree with you on the remakes. The Lion King remake made over a billion at the box office so they know it's an easy cash grab for many of these projects. Unless we as film fans quit going to see these types of movies. Cheers Shamrock.
@Lonely Guy Loves Movies Cheers bro!🙂
This will not be for me I will stick with the animated movies if ain’t broke don’t fix it
Yep, we always have those to go back and watch. Thanks for keeping it civil. Cheers.
If you say it this way, why not cast an asian actress or actor playing as Astrid? There's many talented asians out there too
That’s a great idea 👍🏻
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Speaking as an Asian woman… no I disagree. Race swapping an established character feels like someone is trying to shove an ‘inclusivity narrative’ in my face, which makes me very uncomfortable. I adore original Asian characters, but casting a non-Asian character as an Asian? Nobody wants that, nobody needs that. I would be extremely angry if Mulan was casted as a non-Asian woman, and I would feel the same if Tiana was casted as a non-Black woman. Is that not a valid viewpoint to have? I’m really trying to understand the people who think race swapping *established, well known* characters is okay, but like how is that okay? It’s not. Period.
@@esthercho6249 Hey Esther. So I think a lot of this entirely situational and many people are painting with too broad of a brush. The examples of Mulan and Tiana make perfect sense and I don't think they should be race swapped. It took 72 years from Snow White to The Princess and the Frog for there to be a black princess represented by Disney and 61 years for Mulan. Historically much of American culture has been represented by white people, white ideas, white princesses. It's why I just don't care that much when a character who on the page has been thought of as white (Ariel from the Little Mermaid), and then is played by a different colored actress. I'd be interested in your thoughts on Ariel specifically, because like i said, I think it's situational and nuanced. Ariel doesn't represent a specific culture, it's merpeople, it's made up. I don't think historical figures should be "race swapped" either. It wouldn't make sense for a white woman to play Rosa Parks or a black man to play Abe Lincoln. But, I think when it comes to fantasy and works of fiction, it just doesn't bother me as much. When a person's race has no bearing on the actual story being told, it doesn't matter to me who is playing the role as long as the story is compelling. If it bothers some that Astrid if from a Nordic culture and that Nico Parker isn't Nordic I get that. But, the kid playing Hiccup isn't Nordic either and no one cares. It's because he's "the right color."
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies Its funny how you mention color is this comment because in the thumbnail Nico and Mason are practically the same color just in different lighting/angles. Those who are referring to this casting as a race swap are throwing out 75% of her parentage to follow the one drop rule.
I will not watch. I will not pay money for this movie. Raceswapping, genderswapping, woke swapping is not ok.
Yawn 🥱
🙄🙄
Please just give Nico a good blonde wig and contacts. Like it’s so easy to fix, If they don’t they had the backlash coming. It’s also not about race. Rufnut’s actress is white and don’t look like her character at all. Nico has atleast similar face shape with Astrid. As a Scandinavian myself I know how tan some blondes can get in the sun okey. Just give her a wig and contacts and it’s fine. Rufnut on the otherhand has compleatly diffrent face shape than the actress. Rufnut has a thinn long face, looks like her twin brother and her actress has a round face.
Let’s get real. It comes down to established character representation. Hymdal from thor worked because there was no mainstream visual representation. Ariel does not, her red hair and white skin is a defining characteristic. Same with Astrid, her accent and fair complexion are visually defining and part of the characters identity. You can appropriate any race, it’s bad no matter what. Personally I would have liked the entire cast to be Scandinavian. Regardless of fictional universe, the heritage is real. What’s next, princess Merida from Brave going to be race swapped as well?
It's like they tried to copy MCU's Spiderman. They could get away with making MJ black because its NYC and there's a character in the comics named Michelle. You can't get away with that here. It's just a box check which just makes the casting feel cheap and doesn't do service to the actress.
Fair enough. I’m not really too upset either way. I know people have strong opinions on it, so I’m happy to just let people feel the way they need to feel about it. My thoughts have evolved somewhat on the subject matter. Cheers Airbender!
I just want to say, I think Nico parker is a great choice for Astrid, mainly because Astrid's race isn't an important factor to the movie, ok sure she's "blonde with blue eyes" in the movie, but her race isn't part of the plot, she's a fictional character and the movie is abt dragons, and b4 you ppl get all stirred up and say "Ohh what would happen if a white person played miles morales, or black panter, etc" Then things would be different, because these charaters race is part of the plot. What makes miles, miles is his race which separates him from, the other spidermen (tom holland, andrew, tobey), same for black panther and the whole of wakanda, its their race thats part of the plot. Astrid can be portrayed by a one, as her race isnt part of the plot. If anything the actress who voiced astrid is a women of colour. So stop all this hate against this new casting, just watch it and move on, bc its not that deep. Plus nico" looks white enough" if that helps. 💀💀
No no no. This is good. Let them make that live action! And while they’re at it, they can make a live action shrek to completely ruin themselves and add some lgbt characters! It’s time for Deamworks to suffer as Disney has!
Edit: Btw I’m actually serious. Not sarcastic!
Put a chick in it, and make her gay.
Man of Steel wasn’t good because it made Superman a character who tries to be a hero but has no care about his fight against the villains hurting the innocent. He puts catching the bad guys first ahead of the people. It feels like Might equals right which is very un-Superman. The exact opposite of Truth and Justice. A Justice Lord.
Well, maybe James Gunn will be able to rectify it.
It would be interesting to see how people react if there would be a movie about martin luther king with an white actor as luther (I wanna see if the same people who defend blackwashing would also defend whitewashing)
This is what’s called False Equivalency. Having a white actor play MLK (a real life historical figure) is not the same as having a mixed race POC actor play a fictional fantasy character.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovieswere you angry about Anne Boleyn and Queen Charlotte being played by black women.
They are both historical figures and white.
It's not ridiculous and there's no reason for air quotes.
cool
Why not we cast Tom Cruise at Tchalla ? in Wakanda ?
Because this is yet another dumb false equivalency argument.
If it's not a big deal, why did Scarlett Johnson get some much backlash for ghost in the shell? Race swapping is only acceptable one way.
People get mad on both sides. Everyone is super angry and triggered about any and everything these days.
@50:25 of the first movie "MONSTER FUCKING!" is said. Shame on them for leaving it in.
I’ll have to look 👀 into it.
When you know every movie is going to be remade, and you know its coming it feels so awful. Last film I watched in a theater was in 2007. That's how bad we have fallen. I know 2070 they will remake the Fast and the Furious. I think by 2100 is when they will say Ok. We have remade everything what do we do now? Hmmmm....Computer I need an idea for a movie. I am sorry Dave. All the data I have looked into has been done already. May I help you with anything else?
I have to see more and how she does and if she got job because she portray charter Im okay
Actually it isn't ridiculous on both sides. It's only ridiculous on the side crying racism. There is nothing ridiculous about pointing out that woke race swapping is stupid and runs movies.
I'm from South America and we here are also tired of all this woke shit!
Okay 👌🏻
every race swap is wrong, its the same as blackfacing the character, yes its fictional, but that its part of the story itself. why if what you want is a black/lgbtq/trans hero dont you write your own black/lgbtq/trans hero novel and make it a good product instead of transforming every existing content to fit another message than the one that its already given? are those writers/producers/directors not creative enought to do it? or is it better to mess with what other ppl like just to screw it up for them... its like the Cleopatra race swap its Hystorical fact that she was Greek descendant... Fringilla Vigo on The Witcher books its described literally as a white almost transparent that cant hide when she was upset by Geralt because she blushed. and the list goes on. stop this bullshit and create better woke content, do not race swap the existing...
I feel like the South Park episode that addressed this did a wonderful job at poking fun of both sides. “Put a chick in it and make her gay,” does seem to be the sentiment in Hollywood as of late and the line is hilarious. The episode goes on to equally point out how lazy it is to continue incessantly whining about how everything is woke. “I guess wailing on woke stuff all the time is pretty lazy too.”
The last of us show was terrible
I'm not watching it
The Last of Us (HBO) was garbage.
That's a hot take. You're the first person I've heard to have anything negative to say about that show. Definitely understand someone not liking something, but to call that show "garbage" is a pretty daft blanket statement.