#Casting Controversy

[sem24]

The whole discourse over the casting of Astrid in the How to Train Your Dragon remake is insane.

What do you mean you’re upset because she’s Black? The argument of “I’m not racist, it’s just that it’s not historically accurate to have a Black woman in a movie about Vikings” is absurd.

Let’s pretend for a moment I’m actually taking the argument about historical accuracy seriously. Looking at it in good faith, the argument is still just as obviously a a thinly veiled excuse to be a bigot.

First of all, the HTTYD movies are as “historically accurate” as Lord of the Rings is to real medieval Europe, Mulan (the Disney movie, obviously not the real Chinese legend it’s based on.) is to ancient China, or Bridgerton is to the Regency period. In other words, not even close.

And that’s fine! HTTYD isn’t even trying for historical accuracy, just as those other projects aren’t. They all take a justifiable amount of artistic license, aiming more for the general vibe of the period than for actual historical realism. It’s a broad-strokes interpretation.

I’m no historian, but even a quick search will show you that Viking women didn’t dress anything like Astrid does in the movies anyway.

What they actually wore:

Here’s where I found this image—it includes more information on how Vikings dressed. (And for the pedantic history nerds out there, yes, I know “Viking” is technically a verb, not a noun. I’m just using it because it’s the general term most people associate with what I’m talking about.) The article describes layers of long, cotton dresses and covered hair—styles that are a far cry from this:

Shockingly, Viking women weren’t actually wearing mini-skirts and skin-tight leather. And again, that’s okay! For the most part, I actually like Astrid’s designs—they suit her character and fit the unique Viking-inspired aesthetic of the movies.

Plus, the skull belt is admittedly a slay, both literally and fashion-wise.

But let’s not pretend for a second that these movies were meticulously accurate to the (vague) time period they drew inspiration from.

Also, if I’m remembering correctly (I think the creators mentioned this in a featurette I saw a few years ago), they were fully aware that Vikings didn’t actually wear helmets with horns on them, as depicted in the movies.

But they used it anyway as shorthand since horned helmets have become such a staple of Vikings in pop culture. It was simply economical storytelling. Even the creators admit that historical accuracy wasn’t their main priority. The How to Train Your Dragon movies aren’t trying to be historically accurate at all. I haven’t even brought up the most obvious argument… the fucking DRAGONS.

The entire “historical accuracy” argument also falls apart when you consider evidence of the Vikings’ far-reaching explorations and interactions with other cultures. Scholars suggest that Vikings traveled widely, interacting with people across Europe, the Middle East, and even parts of Africa. So while HTTYD isn’t grounded in reality, a more diverse Viking community wouldn’t even be ahistorical.

What’s more improbable: someone of a darker complexion getting on a boat and sailing to Scandinavia, or fire-breathing lizards? And yet no one’s complaining about the dragons. I wonder why.

(Even the books How to Train Your Dragon is based on—yes, if you didn’t know, the movies are based on a series of children’s books—aren’t historically accurate, (or even trying to be). I haven’t read them, but I hear that in the books, Hiccup can actually speak to dragons in their own language, and they have steam-powered machinery centuries before it existed.)

But we all know why they’re making such a fuss about this casting—it’s the same reason they whined about Halle Bailey as Ariel. They’re just looking for an excuse to be racist. This poor actress is simply a casualty of their bigotry, and it’s both disgusting and awful.

I wasn’t actually planning on seeing the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. The franchise is one of my all-time favorites. I distinctly remember watching the first movie in theaters when it came out. And, honestly? I didn’t like it—because child me was an idiot. Let’s all boo younger me, the dumbass.

A few years later, though, I walked in on my younger siblings watching Race to the Edge (a spin-off show set between the first two movies). At first, I tried to play it cool and act like I wasn’t interested—that I was too cool for a “silly little cartoon.” But by the end, I was fully engrossed. (Race to the Edge holds up, by the way—highly recommend. It’s on Netflix and has six seasons.) I binged all the seasons that were out at the time, rewatched the first two movies (the third one wasn’t out yet), and inhaled every spin-off show and short I could find.

(For the record, while I think Race to the Edge is the best spin-off, the others are fun, too—the quality is pretty consistent across the whole franchise.) Look, I’m a completionist. Once I get into a fandom, I can’t stop until I’ve consumed everything. (What I wouldn’t give to have that kind of free time now!) My hyper-fixation with How to Train Your Dragon was strong.

All this to say, I really care about this franchise, and while I was sad to see it end, I was okay with how it concluded. And then they had to go and announce a live-action remake. It’s not exactly a hot take to say that a lot of the original’s charm came from its incredible animation and expressive designs. Why would I want to watch the exact same story, just less creative and slightly worse? I wasn’t about to spend money on the reheated leftovers of what was once How to Train Your Dragon. Honestly, I’ve been secretly hoping it would get canceled this whole time.

Until this controversy. Maybe this is exactly the kind of attention the marketing team wanted, but you know what? I’ll buy a ticket—if only to spite the racist assholes. I am nothing if not extremely, extremely petty. If your life is so empty that you’re on the internet complaining about the casting of a Black actress to play a CGI blonde woman riding a dragon, voiced by a Latina actress, I have only one thing to say to you:

In the wise words of Tuffnut, “The chicken is not amused.”

[campbellzc]

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[hellspawnmotel]

epsilons

[kstarvibes]

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[bruciemilf]

Battinson looks like a drowned hamster but don’t let that fool you. You’ll need a cervix transplant when he’s done

[zappedbyzabka]

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I used to despise Eridan and think he was the absolute worst character (barring Cronus ig) but you have shown me the light and completely turned my opinion around and now I think he is such an endearing little freak <3 I read your whole blog already but if you've got any more thoughts on eri or anyone else then I hope you post them bc I'd love to hear more abt it!

i have sooo many controversial opinions about the dancestors you have noooooo idea

[beatle-07]

Slightly controversial hxh opinion n°2 but I hate that a significant part of the fandom treats Leorio like he is "the normal one" of the main 4 in terms of potential power levels, imo it's just canonically not true.

Ging (a top 5 nen user who directly received an attack from him) describes him as having "huge potential". Hisoka not only spares him but remarks multiple time on the fact that he is an "unripe fruit" and carries him directly to the next exam site to insure that he will pass.

Like come on, he is not just "some guy" with a big heart who lucked out during the hunter exam, a lot of signs point out that he will become a powerful nen user with a big heart!

[bixels]

What did/do you like about Pharah?

Uh, gameplay-wise, I really love characters in shooters who rely on three-dimensional movement techs. Chaining together hover and jump to stay in the air for as long as possible and keep momentum is so satisfying, and picking enemies off from the sky made me feel like a bird of prey. I was a good Pharah main.

Story-wise, there unfortunately isn't much to canonically go off because Pharah is so underutilized and neglected. Her personality's pretty boilerplate "heroic hero" (she's literally inspired by Captain America).

But it's the crumbs/bits and pieces that I really latched onto. Pharah's a confirmed lesbian; her short story with Baptiste implies she harbors a crush on Mercy (fucking thank you.). She's biracial Egyptian/First Nations. She has major mommy issues, having grown up both admiring and resenting Ana. She's the bridge between Old Overwatch, inspired by the idealized heroes who surrounded her childhood, and New Overwatch. She's one of the only inter-generational characters in the cast; someone whose experiences span the gap, which is why I seriously believe Pharah would make a great main character.

There isn't much to go off of, though; she's a very uncomplicated character (she's a soldier for a private military corporation, lol.). But that just means she's a blank slate character, so I've seen fanfic writers run wild and create some really interesting takes on her. My favorite interpretation of her's a dense, herbo gym-bro type (a lot of her liens are about work outs, exercising, and playing sports) who's easily excitable under her seemingly self-serious, armored visage. We see how she tends to gloat and hype herself up when she's on a streak too, so Pharah definitely has a competitive and boastful side under her more professional and militant performance.

Now Mercy? Mercy is a real complex character.

[vanpalmerenthusiast]

guys taissa turner is not butch…

[bluephoenixgirl]

Um not going to lie 👉🏼👈🏼 I kinda miss this hairstyle…..

[ivytwines]

I’m going to have a conniption holy shit

[aroaceleovaldez]

i would like to say my ideal PJO adaptation (if i was being physically forced against my will to have to pick a live action adaptation over an animated one for some reason) would be a combo like writing of the musical + casting of the show + visuals of the movies

BUT the show actually does have the playwright for the musical as one of the major writers for like three episodes and that did nothing for it. so...

[chanse-mccrary]

just gonna leave this here

[heartz4shauna]

[evergreensounds]

drew my favourite gay little elf (celebrimbor ofc)