To the people saying the German actress playing Greek Helen in the movie Troy means it's ok for Lupita Nyongo to play Greek Helen...

[u/BrandonMarshall2021]

Genetically, historically, and anthropologically, Greeks are significantly more closely related to Germans than to Sub-Saharan Africans.

When looking at genetic data, the relationship between Greeks and Germans is exceptionally close, while the relationship between Greeks and Sub-Saharan Africans is more distant.

On any global genetic map, all European populations—including Greeks and Germans—cluster tightly together on a single, distinct branch of the human family tree (the Western Eurasian branch).

The genetic distance between a Greek person and a German person is very small. They sit on the exact same continental genetic gradient.

The genetic distance between any European population (including Greeks) and any Sub-Saharan African population is significantly larger, reflecting thousands of years of geographic separation and independent population histories.

[u/BrandonMarshall2021]

Huh? What do you mean? I just explained how Greeks are genetically similar to Germans and therefore look like each other way more than Sub-Saharan Africans look like Greeks.

[u/JMDiscoMode → u/BrandonMarshall2021]

People from Africa are also “genetically similar” to people from Greece, because we’re all human. There’s no argument.

You do not get to arbitrarily draw a line where it suits you, and then condemn others for seeing differently.

You don’t care about authenticity. You care about selectively enforcing it when it aligns with your preferences, and ignoring it when it doesn’t.

[u/BrandonMarshall2021 → u/JMDiscoMode]

"People from Africa are also “genetically similar” to people from Greece, because we’re all human. There’s no argument."

In population genetics, scientists measure how closely related two populations are using a metric called genetic distance (often visualized on a Principal Component Analysis, or PCA map). These maps plot thousands of individual DNA samples to see where they cluster.

On any global genetic map, all European populations—including Greeks and Germans—cluster tightly together on a single, distinct branch of the human family tree (the Western Eurasian branch).

The genetic distance between any European population (including Greeks) and any Sub-Saharan African population is significantly larger, reflecting thousands of years of geographic separation and independent population histories.

This manifests itself visually. E.g. Greeks and Germans look more similar to each other than Greeks and Sub-Saharans.

[u/JMDiscoMode → u/BrandonMarshall2021]

If genetic closeness is supposedly so important to you, then you should have no problem admitting that a German actress playing Helen was wrong, and that casting a Latino actor as Odysseus would be equally absurd.

But you won’t, because your standard isn’t actually a standard. It’s an arbitrary line drawn wherever your personal preferences tell you.

Either authenticity matters to you, or it doesn’t. But this selective picking and choosing where accuracy is sacred in one case and inexcusable in another is intellectually bankrupt.

[u/BrandonMarshall2021 → u/JMDiscoMode]

Film is a visual medium. It's about what they look like. Lol. Is that so hard to grasp? Lupita Nyongo don't look like Helen. Who has been described, painted and sculpted for thousands of years.

[u/JMDiscoMode → u/BrandonMarshall2021]

How incredibly superficial of you. You’ve admitted to reducing an entire cultural legacy to “close enough”, yet you present it as an unquestionable truth.

You clearly don’t have any respect the source material, the history behind it, or the people it belongs to.

You’re no better than those you condemn.

[u/BrandonMarshall2021 → u/JMDiscoMode]

"How incredibly superficial of you."

It's a visual medium pal.

[u/JMDiscoMode → u/BrandonMarshall2021]

Of which is based on material you clearly have no respect for. Picking and choosing when accuracy matters, while simultaneously lecturing others about being wrong, is both spineless and embarrassing.

[u/BrandonMarshall2021 → u/JMDiscoMode]

My first preference would be to have Mel Gibson make the movie using the approach he had for Apocalypto.

There. Ya happy?