Cognitive dissonance is defined as the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds conflicting beliefs, values or attitudes. I’d describe lefty rags like Variety as cognitively dissonant, were it not for the obvious fact that they aren’t in the least uncomfortable with holding wildly conflicting beliefs all at the same time. After all, this is the same fish-wrapper that defends ‘Helen of Detroit’ at the same time as it bellows about the overwhelming necessity of respecting the culture of non-whites.
Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey has come under fire for casting not a single Greek actor or actress in the lead roles. Not just ‘not-Greek’, but about as non-Greek as they could get, short of shaving an orang-utan, giving it a wig and stuffing it into a peplos. Variety’s response has been to sneer at critics and declare their concerns “irrelevant”. The film is, after all, just a “mythological story”. Pointing out that the foundational epic of Western civilisation might deserve some connection to the people who created it is apparently racist.
Just this week the same outlet ran another puff piece shielding Nolan from the backlash. Cultural fidelity, respect for the originating civilisation, even basic demographic accuracy in a story that has shaped European identity for three millennia: all of it was dismissed as beside the point.
Then, Variety proceeded to pivot faster than a Muslim seeing a particularly fetching goat go past. Writing about Disney’s live-action Moana remake, Variety can’t genuflect at the altar of ‘cultural authenticity’ hard enough.
Aspects such as traditional Māori tribal tattoos, known as Tā moko, the rich expression of history through dance, and generations of Polynesian traditions are the beating heart of Thomas Kail’s adaptation. That left the film’s cast and creatives feeling a sense of pride at seeing their culture represented on screen.
Proud of their culture? What are they? Racists?
Remember, too, we’re not talking about a millennia-old cultural treasure that was once considered essential reading for any Greek. Instead, it’s a piece of Disney puff made up by a white guy in Maryland just a decade ago. What can we say, but, ‘You’re welcome, brown people’.
The plot about restoring the heart of Te Fiti is modern Disney invention. Maui exists in Polynesian myth, but the story, the songs, the emotional arc and the specific adventure are 21st-century American corporate product. Yet Variety treats the film as a sacred vessel of living Polynesian tradition that demands meticulous respect and ‘representation’. So much so that consultants, artisans, experts and a cultural trust were apparently essential to avoid offence. Even though being created out of nothing by a pasty, blond guy with a Harvard degree is just jim-dandy with the ‘cultural sensitivity’ mob.
Either fidelity to the originating culture matters in mythological or legendary stories, or it does not. If it is acceptable to cast a Kenyan actress as Helen of Troy in a Greek epic because ‘it’s just a myth’, then it must be equally acceptable to cast whomever Hollywood fancies in Moana.
On the other hand, if cultural respect and demographic accuracy are sacred principles, then they apply to The Odyssey as much as to Moana. You cannot coherently argue that one ancient story belongs to everyone while a modern one belongs exclusively to the people whose culture it was appropriated from.
So if Hollywood and Variety want to play this stupid game...
Then I won’t rest until Moana has black, queer, Hispanic, and trans representation!
The selective application is not principle: it is racism dressed up as sensitivity.
The brain rot on display is not subtle. The only consistent thread is that European civilisation may be appropriated at will, while every other group’s stories are ring-fenced. That is not anti-racism. It is anti-white racism with extra steps and better PR.
Either race and culture matter in casting or they don’t. Pick one.
