Christopher Nolan’s movie “The Odyssey” is not in theaters yet, but it has already created much controversy. The reason is the famous filmmaker’s casting of Lupita Nyong’o, a black actress, for the dual role of Helen of Troy (Beautiful Helen to us Greeks) and Clytemnestra. There has been pushback especially among Greeks, but also others who object to the portrayal of Helen as a black woman; others counter that Helen is a mythological figure. Homer (or whoever wrote the two epics) never really describes her so she could have been black. They also note that film is an art form and there is such a thing as artistic license.
I am neither a film critic nor a classical scholar but if a well-known trillionaire like Elon Musk can have an opinion on the matter so can I. There is of course artistic license; Picasso, among others, painted people green and no one thinks he was trying to misrepresent reality. My question for Nolan has to do with his decision-making process. If he held auditions and chose this particular actress from among others, what motivated his choice? Was he looking for a black actress from the start or maybe he even had Ms Nyong’o in mind all along? If that was the case why did he seek an actress of color for this particular role?
