Elon Musk is Mad Mythological Creatures Aren't White

Director Christopher Nolan is coming under fire from conservatives after the trailer debuted for his upcoming film, “The Odyssey,” based on the classic mythological poem by Homer. Nolan’s apparent crime in the eyes of the right-wing is the decision to cast Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o (who is Black) as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page (who is transgender) as Achilles.

Elon Musk, who also happens to be the most high-profile political donor to the Republican Party, is leading the hate brigade via his social media account. Musk  was on a tear amplifying bigoted posts about the movie while he accompanied President Donald Trump on a trip to China onboard Air Force One.

For instance, Musk amplified a post by conservative pundit Matt Walsh, who whined, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’ But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman.” In response, Musk wrote “true.”

Musk labeled another post that went after Page’s gender with a crude sexist joke about women purportedly not being able to open jars as a “banger.”  The right-wing network Newsmax is also a part of the hate campaign. Conservative host Rob Finnerty complained on his program about Nyong’o’s casting, insisting that Helen of Troy “was definitely white.”

Of course, Helen of Troy wasn’t “definitely” anything because she did not exist. The entire epic poem is a myth involving Greek gods, the Cyclops, sirens, the underworld, and other things that are not real. Conservatives have a habit of getting upset about diversity in fiction, particularly decisions to swap the race or gender of made-up characters.

The right was also up in arms when Black actress Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in Disney’s live action “The Little Mermaid.”  Like Helen of Troy, mermaids are not real either.  But at the highest levels of conservative punditry and activism, diversity must be stamped out. The richest man in the world and right-wing television hosts agree that mythology is the domain of only straight, white people.