MovieChat Forums > The Green Knight (2021) Discussion > Indian knight in medieval England? serio...

Indian knight in medieval England? seriously?


nothing against Indians or India but why cast an Indian to play the role of an English knight from the middle ages?

what if a white guy was cast to play Martin Luther King or Bruce Lee or Gandhi??

ridiculous.

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what if a white guy was cast to play Martin Luther King or Bruce Lee or Gandhi??

Just saying didnt:
Ben Kingsley play Gandhi in the 1982 film
Christopher Lee play Jinnah in the 1993 film
John Wayne play Temujin/Genghis Khan in the conqueror in 1956 movie
Yul Brynner play a Siamese King in the King and I in the 1956 movie
Fisher Stevens play Ben the Indian nerd in Short Circuit 1986 & 2nd part 1988

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A) there was a notable shortage of non-white actors at the time.
B) those actors actually bothered to look the part.
C) why is it that “white-washing” is bad but “color-washing” is not? These people just need to come out and admit they’re doing this for spite, not equality.

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A) there was a notable shortage of non-white actors at the time.
that's because no one wanted asian actors for the parts - they liked using white people for any roles.

B) those actors actually bothered to look the part.
you mean they took time to put on some extra shoe polish

C) why is it that “white-washing” is bad but “color-washing” is not? These people just need to come out and admit they’re doing this for spite, not equality.
That's because white washing has been happening for 60 years or more and colour washing has been happening for the last 5/6 years - maybe in 2066 it should be considered bad then.

Seriously I'm kidding i agree colour washing is bad, not because its wrong to do, its just they choose crappy actors like dev patel to head up these awfully scripted movies.

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that's because no one wanted asian actors for the parts - they liked using white people for any roles.


Any proof of that? Was it racially motivated, or done out of convenience? There's a difference.

you mean they took time to put on some extra shoe polish


Regardless with what they did or used, they still bothered to look the part, which is more than I can say when White characters are color-washed. Even characters like DC's Starfire who have lightly tanned skin apparently quality as black with these people, but the black actress they got for her in Titans looks nothing like her. They could've at least used make-up like with Gamora in the MCU.

maybe in 2066 it should be considered bad then


The length of time doesn't make a difference; if one is bad, so is the other. Again, this is out of spite than anything else.
At least you admitted to some degree that you agree color washing is bad.

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I immediately thought of Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi but it turns out Ben Kingsley's dad is from India. His mom is white but his real name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. He does look mixed but it's hard to distinguish his ethnicity. He did darken his skin for the role of Gandhi.

Christopher Lee actually received death threats after playing Jinnah and protesters in Pakistan were threatening to burn down cinemas that were planning on showing the film.

John Wayne playing Genghis Khan is bad casting. John Wayne had limited acting range. The King and I with Yul Brynner is a little different since that's a song and dance musical. Brynner has a diverse ethnic background so I'm not sure if he should be considered white. The Fisher Stevens role is unfortunate and let's hope they don't do that in the future.

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I immediately thought of Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi but it turns out Ben Kingsley's dad is from India. His mom is white but his real name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. He does look mixed but it's hard to distinguish his ethnicity. He did darken his skin for the role of Gandhi.


Why do people keep using Ben Kingsley as an example of white washing when he actually looked almost like a dead ringer for the real life Ghandi at times?

No one would care what ethnicity Dave Patel is if he actually LOOKED like a white European from the medieval era.

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Too be honest i was just messing - I don't real care who plays the role as long as they look and act the part black or white or asian.

I'm no fan of Dev Patel as he seems to be pushed by powers to be an asian superstar but honestly he is crap and doesn't look good in any of the roles he's been in.

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Yeah I caught your sarcasm in the previous post, but it seems others are using Kinglsey as an example of white-washing which makes ZERO sense to me.

I'm no fan of Dev Patel as he seems to be pushed by powers to be an asian superstar but honestly he is crap and doesn't look good in any of the roles he's been in.


I'm not really familiar with him at all and when I originally saw the A24 trailer for Green Knight like a year or two ago, I remember thinking how atmospheric it looked. It didn't originally dawn on me that it was THAT Green Knight tale and when it finished and I finally realized what it was I was pretty disgusted at the race/culture-swapping taking place.

As usual, Lefties and Centrists were quick to say "hurr durr, race-swapping doesn't matter. It's based on a fictional tale!".

At least some of the Lefties in this thread are being honest about their racism and simply saying that the current trend of black-washing traditional white characters is essentially revenge racism.

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it was just funny that the OP said what if a white guy was cast to play Gandhi and it was like well you didn't hear about Ben Kinglsey playing him.

I know Kinglsey is mixed but he looks too white to even looked mixed, but i thought he played the role good.

Dev made his name with breakout movie role in Slumdog Millionaire and anyone asian could have played that role and then he was airbender which was a shite movie and then he was in the best exotic marigold hotel movies and chappie and to me he isn't a good actor.

The real problem with this movie is that it looks like a bad syfy movie, crap acting, poor props and it seems like a tv movie rather then having that movie cinematography.

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I never saw Kingsley as a "white guy". I never realized he's only half Indian until a few years ago.

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The same Ben Kingsley whose birth name was Krishna Bhanji?

If that's the best list you can come up with, you've already lost the argument.

Cultural appropriation gone mad to appeal to liberal white guilt and the brown pound.

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so lame. can take this movie off my bucketlist after hearing it is a sjw circle jerk

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First David Copperfield, now this?

Dev Patel just steals roles from white guys now huh?

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It's deliberate and it's going to happen with increasing frequency. We're going to have more and more films and TV shows with non-white actors in lead roles, playing white historical figures or characters from historical literature that would naturally have been white.

They call it 'colour blind' casting but it's the opposite. Meet it with anything other than faux naivety or fawning enthusiasm and you'll be branded racist.

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Yep, and it's sad that so many people seem to be okay with this.

At least when these films get woke I absolutely enjoy seeing them go broke.

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It has already begun with Anne Boleyn played by a black actress.

The mother Of Elizabeth 1st is now black. Who knew lol.

If colour blind casting is ok. Why did Hank Azaria have to step down, how about the creator of Cleveland, why did scarlett johansson get so much hate for Ghosts in the Shell and the movie accused of white washing. I thought colour didn't matter. I guess it only matters if the actor is white.

If you live by the new modern rules everything becomes simpler.

White to any other race/colour is fine, encouraged and celebrated.
Any race/color to white is racist

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Yep, it's one-way racism against whites.

It's clear as day. If you point out that this woke-casting is racist, a bunch of libtards and brainwashed people will attempt to make excuses for it.

The question is, how long will whites continue to let this racism go on?

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The next thing you know, they'll be casting an Egyptian Arab guy as a white European doctor. Oh wait... that actually happened 56 years ago in Doctor Zhivago, and nobody complained about that aspect of the movie at all.

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That's because it didn't place in medieval England.

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Common sense was actually common 56 years ago.

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The people in this thread would have a fit once they've figured out that Red from Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption wasn't black.

Incidentally, I’ve always loved the little joke when Andy asks him why they call him “Red” and he says “maybe it’s cause I’m Irish”. It’s the perfect little nod to those who have read the novella and doesn’t beat you over the head with the reference.

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People don't "have a fit" because Red being black isn't as utterly ridiculous.

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Neither is an actor of Indian ancestry playing Gawain, but look at all the whining.

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"Neither is an actor of Indian ancestry playing Gawain"

Uhm, yes, it is.

And no, pointing out its ridiculousness is not "whining". Unlike you responding to every single comment in this thread that you disagree with.

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Indian knights were very popular in medieval England.

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Gawain is a Cymric (Welsh) / Brythonic Celtic name, not English, by the way...

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