“Gods of Egypt” bowed to the gods of political correctness when its producers apologized for making the film “too white.”
A fantasy movie about mythical Egyptian gods at war, starring Scotsman Gerard Butler (from the movie “300”) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, a Danish actor who played Jaime Lannister on “Game of Thrones,” the film is certainly not based on any semblance of reality.
Yet liberals demanded historical accuracy.
Bette Midler tweeted that Egyptians have never been white (does that include Egyptian gods?).
Movie, #GodsOfEgypt in which everyone is white? Egyptians, in history and today, have NEVER been white. BRING BACK GEOGRAPHY!! It’s Africa!
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) November 12, 2015
Filmmaker and former NFL player Matthew Cherry complained that Hollywood is “gentrifying African countries.” Cherry might want to consult a dictionary, because the word “gentrify” has nothing to do with skin color.
Dear Hollywood, Egypt is in Africa. Northern to be exact. Why is that so hard to grasp? Stop gentrifying African countries. #GodsOfEgypt — Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) November 12, 2015
Director Alex Proyas responded to the uproar over the longtime practice of casting white actors in films set in other places and times.
“The process of casting a movie has many complicated variables, but it is clear that our casting choices should have been more diverse,” Proyas told Forbes, according to a Saturday CNN report. “I sincerely apologize to those who are offended by the decisions we made.”
Proyas is certainly not guilty of preferring white actors: His biggest hit, “I, Robot” starred Will Smith. The director, whose other credits include “Dark City” and “Knowing” was, ironically, born in Egypt, although he is of Greek ethnicity.
But the PC gods of Hollywood must be appeased. Lionsgate, the film’s production company, also apologized and vowed to do better.
“We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize.”
Just how sincere that apology really is depends on how the movie does at the box office. Because everyone knows that Hollywood’s only responsibility is to make entertaining films—even liberals won’t spend $15 to see a bad movie just because its actors are racially diverse.
The hypocrisy was not lost on Twitter users, who also correctly noted that most Egyptians are not black.
@MatthewACherry You’re the same people who want the next James Bond (an irishman from the 50’s) to be black. Hypocrites.
— Steve (@Anon12105550) November 15, 2015
Cairo today. It seems that representation is accurate. You have mistaken Egypt with Sudan. #Geography @BetteMidler pic.twitter.com/HsBgHn56fj — ▲ Lady Ana ▲ (@AnaBlackFyre) November 17, 2015
@MatthewACherry You know its a fantasy movie about gods that heads of animals right?
— Remmington_Steele (@Rango_Bronson) November 14, 2015
@BetteMidler @FLitz i swear most egyptians are white i have been born in egypt all my family were born in egypt we are all white — Hazem Sameh (@hazemsameh14) November 16, 2015
@BetteMidler @tiffmc1013 Oh for Pete’s sake it’s Hollywood. Stop it!
— NYerInFL (@NyerinFl) November 28, 2015
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