Gasp Alert: Daniel Craig Said “Coloured”
Posted by Dirty Harry on Sunday, November 9th, 2008
Cinematical, a left wing site with the added advantage of being uninteresting, has come up with a doozy of a post this morning that perfectly lays out the Leftist approach to race:
1. Utter and complete immaturity, with a side order of holier-than-thou:After the historic election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, naturally everyone’s mind turned to the next logical step: Does this mean a black man could play James Bond, too?
Yeah, we’re ready for a black president but maybe not a black James Bond.
Honestly, this is the question a six year old asks after tugging your pants leg a half dozen times in the grocery store.
2. Always, always, always flack for the stars, and if you can do so while condescending to your readership, all the better:
Daniel Craig said, “After Barack Obama’s victory I think we might have reached the moment for a [black]* 007. I think the role could easily be played by a black actor, because the character created by Ian Fleming in the ’50s has undergone a great deal of evolution and continues to be updated.”
Eric D. Snider, the author of this post, actually edited out Craig’s use of the word “coloured,” because, you know, we can’t handle or understand that in a different culture different words are acceptable. Worse, after the redaction we get the soft landing of Snider’s patronizing explanation that only fails in achieving perfect sanctimony by not opening with the words, “Now, children…”:
*The word he actually used was “coloured,” which apparently isn’t quite as offensive and outdated in Europe as it is in America, as none of the news outlets covering the press conference expressed surprise over Craig’s usage of it. He obviously didn’t mean it with racist intent, anyway, so let’s not dwell on it, mmkay?
Gotta love the choice to end with a ”mmkay?” That doesn’t make me want to slash his tires, or anything.
Oh, and Eric, you used “black” when the accepted term today is, “African-American.” No doubt Cinematical has regular, uhm, re-education opportunities. Might want to enroll … or wait for the unmarked van to snatch you off the street. Whatever.
3. At every opportunity, trash a legend:
Fleming was considered by many to be racist — just Google the words Ian Fleming racist to find plenty of people making that assertion — and the U.K. Telegraph observes that his Bond novels “were laced with the racial prejudices of his era.”
That’s right, “racial prejudices of his era” and Google searches are now enough to hurl the vicious charge of racist.
Who knew it was so easy? Because if you Google “Eric D. Snider Sanctimonious Unthinking Leftist Butt Boy To The Stars” you’ll find 164 matches.
Mmkay.
UPDATE: I should add that as long as Bond’s killing indiscriminately and treating women like they were bred for playthings, I don’t really care what color his skin is.
Filed in General |
trzupron 09 Nov 2008 at 11:42 am 1Yeah, and the 16th President of the United States was a racist by those standards too. And we all know how THAT turned out.
rrpjron 09 Nov 2008 at 11:43 am 2In addition to the inanities you point out, notice the sloppy, self-serving tautology: Ian Fleming is a racist because if you google him as a racist you’ll find plenty of people saying so.
Incidentally, Fleming’s novels are indeed laced with the racial idioms of his time, but this is quite different from proving he was a racist. Of course, such a case would require a little rigor, and it is so much easier just to call him one.
Stickwick Staperson 09 Nov 2008 at 11:43 am 3One can only imagine what would’ve happened if he’d used the term “negro.”
My step-mother is Jamaican, and several years ago became a Canadian citizen. So besides the fact that she hates the term “African-American” with a white-hot (how racist)passion, it’s not even accurate — she’s Jamaican-Canadian.
And thank you, Harry, for lambasting the use of “mmkay.” It’s the one thing besides the overuse of “issue” that pushes me to the edge.
David123456on 09 Nov 2008 at 11:51 am 4Shorter pontificating leftist: “coloured”, bad. “People of color”, good.
These people are idiotic whack jobs. It’s going to be a long 4 years.
wfon 09 Nov 2008 at 11:56 am 5Could Jet Li play Shaft? I guess he could but why bother?
Kiton 09 Nov 2008 at 11:57 am 6“Eric D. Snider Sanctimonious Unthinking Leftist Butt Boy To The Stars”
You’ve raised it to 166!
Flemming was raised in a different era. Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories could be charged with racism too. Just read the first chapter of the HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and you can find a discussion comparing the skull of a black man to a skull to that of an . . . erm . . . primate.
Jack Marinoon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:04 pm 7Today, everyone is a racist by the standards out on us by the left wing racist.
StevefromMKEon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:11 pm 8I was with a few liberals yesterday and they commented about You Only Live Twice being racist…yet they still were watching it on Spike TV.
Faux indignation is really funny.
Kiton 09 Nov 2008 at 12:21 pm 9StevefromMKE,
Maybe they were watching it for that cool Paul McCartney song.
JohnLockeon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:22 pm 10It’s actually very presumptuous for the white Mr. Snider to imply that “colored” is offensive to black people. Shouldn’t that be up to them? Although, I guess you can’t really blame him. It’s not like they have an organization with “colored people” in the name or anyth…
Oh, wait.
Thomas Talionison 09 Nov 2008 at 12:22 pm 11A black man played Kingpin in Daredevil. A momentous triumph for the civil rights movement.
(sarcasm)
Emilyon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:23 pm 12Agh! I can’t take this anymore! It’s even worse than freakin Beyonce saying she wants to play Wonder Woman!
I for one…DO NOT WANT - you heard me lefties - a black James Bond! Why…? Because James Bond is WHITE. Like Wonder Woman is WHITE.
It would be just like a white guy saying he wanted to play Spawn or John Stewart or Black Lightning or Cyborg!
Okay rant over.
StevefromMKEon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:40 pm 13Kit, I think that one is Live and Let Die…
JohnJon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:46 pm 14I think a big part of the problem is that too many people see the President as some kind of holy figure. So I think that’s why so many people see this as a victory for open-mindedness, because apparently until now they thought Americans didn’t believe that blacks were capable of being holy.
R. Dittmaron 09 Nov 2008 at 12:52 pm 15This reminds me of the star-crossed announcer a few years back that was calling an event in (I believe) the winter olympics. A Jamaican lady won either a skiing or skating event. Since Jamaica really isn’t known for it’s winter sporting, you’d probably not be surprised to learn that she was the first black in history to win the event. The best the poor announcer could come up with to state this fact was to say that she was the first African-American from any country to win the event!
Danielon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:52 pm 16Watching the Left twist themselves in pretzels for the next four years in order to maintain the fiction that “Typical White Folks” are, now and forever, and to the ages of ages, a bunch or racist rednecks will present plenty of opportunities for comedy.
jmcon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:52 pm 17So the guy who edited out the word “coloured” says the word is no big deal? Then why didn’t he just leave it in?
sauropodon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:53 pm 18I read all of Fleming’s Bond books years ago. They’re entertaining, though quite dated, and certainly they reflect the various prejudices of their era - not just racial prejudice, but prejudice against gays, a condescending attitude toward women (usually described as “girls,” regardless of age), a reliance on ethnic stereotypes, etc.
In particular I remember one scene in which a black hotel porter is compared to a gorilla in highly unflattering terms. It kind of shocked me - not that Fleming would write it, but that this kind of thing was so casually accepted in those days.
JohnJon 09 Nov 2008 at 12:54 pm 19However, I still think those people are vastly outnumbered by those who are more concerned about actual issues than making a personal statement. In other words, I think it’s mostly true that we elected Obama because we support his policies. But his premature deification by some for the virtue of being black is still wrong.
jsoon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:09 pm 20maybe obama can be portrayed by a white man in the movie about his life
not sure why anyone would want to consider that in the first place, but I guess that’s why I’m not a big time actor like daniel craig
PerfectTommyon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:13 pm 21Is the general public ready for a white man to play XXX?
Growltigeron 09 Nov 2008 at 1:13 pm 22Why not? Laurence Fishburne played HENRY II on Broadway. If we can color (pun intended) true historical characters, why not fictional ones?
PerfectTommyon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:14 pm 23jso - a white man plays Obama on SNL
Stephanieon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:16 pm 24I pick Robert Downey Jr. to play The ONE!
And oohhhhhh he said coloured..ohhhhhhhh MUSTN’T EVER SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wfon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:16 pm 25Emily,
I agree. It would be like Jet Li playing Shaft - it´s possible, it might even be good, but what´s the point? Just to prove you can do it?
But watch out, that Daria gal will pop up any minute and tell you that you just don´t like black people.
T.S.Benchon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:24 pm 26I hope Cinematical never has to do a retrospective which includes the Brit cut of The Dam Busters. They’ll probably go into cardiac arrest while rushing to call the ASPCA.
Regards,
TSB
wfon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:24 pm 27A black Bond would do one thing though. Movies and tv are still very coy when it comes to interracial relationships. There are exceptions, but notice how black guys usually end up with black gals? It´s frankly contrived sometimes. Not Bond. He would bed all kinds of women. I think that would be progress.
L Nettleson 09 Nov 2008 at 1:32 pm 28There is just a chance that to a speaker of English as opposed to American English, coloured is a more accurate term for an person of bi-racial heritage.
In case anyone had any doubts, there is a chance that Fleming might just have been a bit sexist also. Glad we got that out of the way.
Chris E.on 09 Nov 2008 at 1:34 pm 29Why not make Bond a woman. Or an American for that matter. Is there any reason Bond couldn’t be a midget?
David123456on 09 Nov 2008 at 1:43 pm 30Why not make Bond a woman. Or an American for that matter. Is there any reason Bond couldn’t be a midget?
Why not make Bond a single, pregnant woman of colour from Jamaica in a wheel chair. That should cover all the Liberal bases.
wfon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:50 pm 31TSB,
those Dam Busters clips are on Youtube. Quite bizarre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgePEO7GUtE
It was a different time, you understand.
wfon 09 Nov 2008 at 1:51 pm 32I forgot: That clip up there - NOT safe for work if you have sound on!!
Zsuzsaon 09 Nov 2008 at 2:02 pm 33As I recall, they already considered making 007 a woman. I’m not sure if they would have called her Jamie Bond or what. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed.
And James Bond cannot be an African-American. James Bond, in case everyone has forgotten, is BRITISH and has no ties to either Africa or America. Daniel Craig was right to refer to a would be dark-skinned James Bond as “colored” or “black.”
maatkareon 09 Nov 2008 at 2:20 pm 34Zsuzsa, please be sure to tell Chewitel Ejiofor, Naomi Campbell, Eammon Walker and the above mentioned Idris Elba they’re not British. England has ties to every country it colonized and started making babies with. In any case, I agree there’s no need for a black Bond, but I think the writer was just speculating, no need for everyone’s knickers to get in such a twist! I could see if we’re talking about an ethnic actor playing Patton or Reagan or Jesus or something but James Bond isn’t even real.
But speaking of the One True Bond, anyone else been running into this awesome ad?
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/10/sean_connerys_new_louis_vuitto.html
Bridgeton 09 Nov 2008 at 2:21 pm 35Just find another reason to run that smokin’ Daniel Craig pic…
maatkareon 09 Nov 2008 at 2:34 pm 36Bridget: Heh. Indeed. He smokes.
whiskeyon 09 Nov 2008 at 4:03 pm 37Typical PC twaddle.
Stephanieon 09 Nov 2008 at 4:06 pm 38Daniel Craig not my cuppa…like mine tall dark and handsome…growr……..Gerard Butler, Jon Hamm, so many so little time…
RESon 09 Nov 2008 at 4:19 pm 39Who is the “many” guy and where do we go to void his reality check?
I just Googled the words “Hitler was right” and found “plenty of people making that assertion” so by Eric Snider’s logic it must be true.
Of course, if I write a defense of Mr. Fleming against the charge of racism, that defense will show up in Mr. Snider’s Google-search and be used to support his thesis, proving Snider’s Google-fu is as weak as his logic.
Templaron 09 Nov 2008 at 4:39 pm 40Thomas Talionis:
A black man played Kingpin in Daredevil. A momentous triumph for the civil rights movement.
(sarcasm)
The interesting thing about Michael Clarke Duncan’s playing Kingpin is that the character actually was supposed to be black when first envisioned, but editors were afraid a black criminal mastermind would be too offensive, hence Wilson Fisk was made a white man.
wf:
A black Bond would do one thing though. Movies and tv are still very coy when it comes to interracial relationships. There are exceptions, but notice how black guys usually end up with black gals?
No, actually, I haven’t. Seems like the majority of media I see involving models/actors of more than one race will have a black male and a white female.
It´s frankly contrived sometimes.
Is it? Aren’t the majority of America’s black males involved with black females?
soulpileon 09 Nov 2008 at 4:56 pm 41A black Bond is as wrong as a female Starbuck. I’m a purist - if the character was created as one thing, they should stay that way.
If someone wants to create a black Bond, go for it. Just don’t try to take over the Bond series doing it. Create something original, for goodness sake!
I’m trying to remember what movie I just saw turned the main character of a book series from a white guy to a black guy… The Bone Collector, I think. It worked, but it’s still not true to the book.
Stephanieon 09 Nov 2008 at 5:09 pm 42A black Bond is like saying Eric Bana should play Mitch Rapp……..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
Why? Baby faced, and Munich ruined him for a role like that fo-EVA!
Jon Hamm, or an unknown…..but someone who when he smiles makes a girl SWOON and not want to go…I need asprin…now……….
Kiton 09 Nov 2008 at 5:10 pm 43Growltiger,
re Fishbourne, I think in theatre, you can -sometimes- cast regardless of race. There are exceptions, of course (see Othello). I remember watching a college performance of GREASE which featured a multi-racial cast. Of course, this was caused by necessity more than intent.
Films, however, call for a more realistic approach.
Bennett Marcoon 09 Nov 2008 at 5:13 pm 44I’d like to see a remake with Denzel Washington as Atticus Finch.
Kiton 09 Nov 2008 at 5:16 pm 45RES,
“hitler was right” gave me 454,000 matches.
I then googled:
“Fascism Works” 3,120,000
“Whites Rule” 4,830,000
“George Bush is a hero” 2,910,000
“Obama is evil” 17,200,000
So using Snider’s logic, take what you will.
Charles Delacroixon 09 Nov 2008 at 5:29 pm 46Good points all, DH, and good comments. I don’t have anything to add except to pass a raspberry in the direction of Cinematical …
Sharpshinyon 09 Nov 2008 at 5:40 pm 47I’ve been depressed, but this post really put a smile on my face. I was laughing so hard at the photos alone that it took me a while to calm down and read what the post was actually about. And that line about the six-year-old tugging at your pant leg… Priceless.
Thanks, DH. I needed that.
Thomas Talionison 09 Nov 2008 at 5:58 pm 48Thank you, Templar.
A fun fact for the rest of you. Adam West turned down the role of Bond because he felt only a British man should portray him.
Zsuzsaon 09 Nov 2008 at 6:13 pm 49maatkare,
Not arguing that there are not black British people, or for that matter that there couldn’t be a black James Bond. Just that such a character, as a British subject, could not possibly be described as an “African-American.”
WadeZon 09 Nov 2008 at 6:44 pm 50Didn’t they already change Felix Leiter from a white guy to a black guy. No problems with that, but that being said James Bond should stay true to the character Fleming created, a white British MI-6 agent with a licence to kill. (I’m a traditionalist).
Jack Marinoon 09 Nov 2008 at 7:18 pm 51Ian Fleming own an estate down in Jamaica right next to the property owned by Errol Flynn. Ian was a drinking buddy of Errol and he was best friends of Wild Bill Donovan who was a spy and head of the OSS which as we all know became the CIA. Ian being a writer and hearing the stories of both of these real life adventures. He use Errol Flynn and Bill Donovan and came up with James Bond. Sean Connery was the best bond and captured the suave, debonair, drinking and womanizing Errol Flynn and the tough super spy of Wild Bill Donovan.
A lot of young people today have no idea who Errol Flynn or Bill Donovan is or what they did.
Bennett Marcoon 09 Nov 2008 at 7:22 pm 52Jack:
Imagine killing a bottle or two with those three guys!
Emilyon 09 Nov 2008 at 7:34 pm 53wf,
She already did in another thread. xD
Emilyon 09 Nov 2008 at 7:38 pm 54I would also like to add that I don’t think the world is ready for a black Bond. I mean, the whole world freaked out just because he was going to be blonde, for Pete’s sake.
Rabidwolfeon 09 Nov 2008 at 8:09 pm 55Too bad.
Eric Snider is actually one of my favorite movie critics (DH, of course, is my favorite). However, he is quite liberal, and though he usually avoids being too liberal in his movie reviews, he occasionally does go off on a lefty rant in his reviews. I forgive him for that because his reviews are generally pretty good.
(his website is ericdsnider.com if anyone is willing to give him a chance).
maatkareon 09 Nov 2008 at 8:13 pm 56Zsuzsa, I dig ya, but hte article did say “black” Bond, not A/A so no worries. There are black brits, some are in the armed services I assume, so a black 00 agent is “possible,” but I agree–Bond is like Superman–he’s a white dude, get over it.
Reminds me of my sainted mother’s amusement when we saw black Santas in Harlem window displays when I was a kid.
jicon 09 Nov 2008 at 8:35 pm 57It isn’t. “Coloured” is less outdated in the UK than in America (although I haven’t heard anybody use it for close to 15 years), but it is outdated and would be offensive to some. It was a strange choice of word for Craig to use. I would say that it’s really considered more outdated than truly offensive in America, too. Otherwise, as JohnLocke pointed out, the NAACP would have changed its name.
jicon 09 Nov 2008 at 8:40 pm 58I forgot to add: The usual term for “a person of bi-racial heritage” in the UK is ‘mixed race’.
sauropodon 09 Nov 2008 at 11:23 pm 59I thought this review of Fleming’s “Live and Let Die” was pretty much on the money:
http://snipurl.com/5a05o
People who express outrage at the idea that Fleming had racist tendencies apparently haven’t read his books.
Jack Marinoon 10 Nov 2008 at 12:50 am 60Bennet, It would be incredible to hang out with a guy like Errol and hear all the stories. I know a guy who did and he has written a book on his days in Hollywood called GOOGIES the Coffee Shop if the Stars by Steve Hayes.
Here is a link to see the book and read the reviews
http://www.warriorfilmmakers.com/errolflynn/flynn/index.html
You can order the books from this site and they both are a great read of Steve’s adventures with Errol, James Dean, Ava Gardner you name the star he ran with them.
wfon 10 Nov 2008 at 2:16 am 61Templar,
I do not have ready examples right now, but it is my impression that when female characters are cast with black actresses, you know she is the one the black hero ends up with. I think Hollywood is being “unprogressive” here.
One example that comes to mind is Collateral. I liked it, but it would have been so much more interesting dramatically if the attorney that Jamie Foxx goes saving had been a white woman and perhaps older and not a potential love interest (because that is such a cliche and it diminishes the decison he makes). It is not a perfect example in that it´s more of an age thing. But the cowards were never going to cast a non-black woman in that role.
beartoothon 10 Nov 2008 at 3:30 am 62Can’t recall hearing ‘coloured’ from anyone under 60 for a very long time. My parents will happily use it with no bad intent, but it sounds very strange coming from someone of Craig’s age.
The point above seems to be that Fleming used racial language considered unremarkable at his time, is uncool and can’t answer back - so he’s a racist. Craig uses language that makes people of his time rather uncomfortable, and is a cool movie star - so he can’t possibly be a racist. I’m prepared to accept that Fleming probably was and Craig probably isn’t, but there’s nothing here to support either assumption.
Incidentally, ‘Dambusters’ is shown in bowdlerized form on UK TV but I recently saw it uncut in a cinema. The massed cheer that greeted the appearance of the doggie was extraordinary, and I don’t think for a minute it meant we were all confirmed racists.
I’ve only ever known ‘coloured’ to mean black in Brit English: the bi-racial meaning was, I think, South African usage in the bad old days.
Sijoon 10 Nov 2008 at 5:14 am 63If they want a black guy to play Bond, hopefully it wont be Puffy Douche or Will Smith, cause that is just lazy. Idalis Elba of the Wire, and now we can talk.
T.S.Benchon 10 Nov 2008 at 8:41 am 64……Ian Fleming own an estate down in Jamaica right next to the property owned by Errol Flynn……
IIRC, Flynn’s digs in Jamaica were in Port Antonio, which is a pretty fair distance (40-50 miles) from Oracabessa, where Goldeneye is located.
,,,,,,,Ian being a writer and hearing the stories of both of these real life adventures. He use Errol Flynn and Bill Donovan and came up with James Bond.,,,,,
Fleming himself is on record as saying that Bond was based on a highly fictionized William Stephenson, with a lot of the Bond backstory based on Fleming’s own life.
…..A lot of young people today have no idea who Errol Flynn or Bill Donovan is or what they did……
Yep. Or old people, for that matter.
Regards,
TSB