MovieChat Forums > The Dark Tower (2017) Discussion > As a Dark Tower Fan...

As a Dark Tower Fan...

posted 8 years ago by Frequency270
44 replies | jump to latest

...I'm putting my whole two cents on the Roland-as-a-black-man opinion in the mix

Nikolaj Arcel has a small, if relatively competent filmography, so there's that.

The novel itself features Roland unquestionably as a white male, and in fact makes it a key dynamic in the story.

So let's say we decide to go Percy White on Roland based on the value of the actor. Idris has a high TV rating. The shows featuring him, The Wire and Luther, feature episodes with very high scores.

BUT...you put him in the cinematic universe where he is playing primary protagonist or antagonist and is not represented by an animated character, he peaks out at 7.8(not bad, honestly), but tends to hover more in the 7.0 or lower, with a heavy bible in the mid-6's and mid 5's.

This is nothing other than stunt casting, which didn't help the recent Fantastic Four at all, and helped eviscerate The Last Airbender. There is the idea in most minds that if the directors and writers will make a major change in the characters, they will disrespect more of the original author's vision of story and I suspect that here myself.

So, my forecast, even with heavy buzz and a huge fanbase, peak IMDB scoring will not have a sustained(week long) score of 6.7, and will(optimistically) settle in at a score in the low 6's.

Damion Crowley
Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you.--R.E.

[–] joannatn 8 years ago

Gogo... Making Detta white changes so much more than making Roland black. Detta comes from a world where she was punished for her skin color. Roland does not. As a matter of fact, he comes from a world where the color of one's skin has absolutely no bearing on one's treatment or social status.

Roland was more than "Clint Eastwood." Would you rather have a Clint Eastwood clone that can't act, or a black man who can embody the man Roland was best?

And yes, Detta calls him a honky mahfah a bunch of times for one or two or (heck, maybe even three) chapters of a SEVEN novel series. It was hardly a resounding theme throughout The Dark Tower as a whole. We'll still have at least one honky mahfah (presumably), and even still, her hatred was going to be a factor no matter what. We'll lose a little bit of the "white oppression" in Roland, but we can still have it in Eddie. And Hell, having a black oppressor will be a new dynamic that could be very interesting.

Likewise, I'm very sorry he doesn't resemble Sai King. But I'm pretty sure the author himself will be too old to portray the same role he did in the novels anyway. That will be a non-issue for the movie franchise.

I mean, at this point it's pretty clear our view are too conflicting to reach a happy median. Again, at least you can save your money when the movie comes out. I don't know for a fact I'll be happy to have spent mine, but until the end credits have rolled, I'll still have my hope.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] MatthewKeen 8 years ago

An adaptation need not be faithful to still be good. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Adaptation, and The Thin Man all deviate wildly from the source material, yet all are highly regarded films.

Why not wait for the finished product before judging?

--
Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] joannatn 8 years ago

White women in the south in the 60's were not treated the way black women were. A lot of her backstory was regarding her race, Gogo. Odetta was an affluent woman living in a place that was dominated by white people, and they hated her for it. While she's shopping in a store, the saleswoman regards her distastefully, not because she's a strong woman with money, but because she is a black woman with money. She was targeted by a hate crime as a black child, resulting in her mental problems in the first place. White women were not put in cells for hours, forcing them to pee themselves before being let go. Making her a women's rights activist doesn't equate. Not by a long shot.

[–] MaximusGrandimus 8 years ago

Are you really just going to ignore the argument that Roland comes from a place/time/reality where skin color doesn't matter? Please, at least comment on this point...

And then, back to the Detta/Odetta argument, are you really that unable to see how Roland having a change of skin tone - because of where he comes from, that it really really REALLY doesn't matter as much as Detta/Susannah's story because of the fact that she came from a time and place where skin color was VERY important to one's identity? Can you at least attempt to see the distinction between those two character backgrounds?

I don't know if you're aware of this but I've already changed things. I killed Ben Linus.
--Sayid

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Captain_Wesker 8 years ago

Given that minority roles usually get shafted, you're not arguing from a level playing field...and you know it.

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It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Frequency270 8 years ago

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for their thoughts on my O.P. I haven't been providing more feedback because my internet access is currently limited by not having ready access to a computer, and the devices I'm using in substitution are unwieldy for typing longer messages.

I will write what I can, as I can. In the mean whence, thankee-sai, and see ya'll in the nether.

Damion Crowley
Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you.--R.E.

[–] Captain_Wesker 8 years ago

Bump.

---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .