Oh you didn't like Helen played by a black woman because you're racist and can't empathize with other creeds or races.

A bit like how people didn't see that Doctor Who COULD be a black man because he transforms every now and then, and could also have been a woman, and polysexual and if you're going that far, um, you get upset about that but not that a phone box is bigger on the inside? And yeah, he does have a face. I grew up on Doctor Who and when my son was younger we would watch it all the time. Good wholesome space time FUN.

I was talking to the librarian at lunchtime loved the Odyssey and was deeply irritated that Helen was cast as black. So was the entire staffroom - history and English teachers too - because Helen was meant to be fair. No one was annoyed about race exactly, even though Australians CAN be racist, just that it was so damn jarringly inaccurate and was nothing like their vision of Helen from everything they'd read and studied about her. Overall, they loved the film, and thought it well executed, but black Helen? Nfw.

I LIKE seeing more LGBTQI on the screen, and I know people get upset about that. I wonder why, exactly. Perhaps they feel threatened, or that they got some kind of free pass or token. I like that casting is more diverse - I mean it SHOULD be, because power is not just white and hetero male. I can see why people get grumpy about it, but perhaps they should consider what it felt like to never see a version of themselves represented on screen.

Look I don't mind Matt Damon. He's been around a long time. I just don't see him as epic. I haven't seen it yet so maybe I'm wrong. I think I'd rather an unknown than Good Will Hunting or The Martian. Anne Hathaway, meh anyway. At least it wasn't Margot Robbie - the entire staffroom was also disgusted by Wuthering Heights, and they wished Heathcliff was black, haha, which he could well have been.

It's absolutely ridiculous that we think these are hills we should die on. It's a fucking story. Find your identity in many things that make up your culture, right, and learn some history. Identity politics has got completely out of hand - divisive, and lacking complexity. As you know. It's one thing to dismiss as woke, right, and another to truly understand how we got to this point where inclusiveness is worth action ie casting decisions. Because, yes, empathy, but also realism - because our cultures are not pure and never have been. Even out myths across continents and time are similar. Also, as you say, equAlly valid to argue Helen didn't look at all like that - what if they'd made her disfigured, plump, short, AND black, god forbid?? Then we would be in a right pickle. You'd be offending people left right and centre.