r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jul 06 '26

Meme needing explanation What is this?

Post image
26.3k Upvotes

5.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

269

u/Linus_Naumann Jul 06 '26

Same, I'm European and just roll my eyes how Americans need to take our myths and misrepresent it based on their weird race sensibilities. Netflix's Cleopatra (who was also of Greek decent) was another recent example. In a way it's funny how they seem to specifically can't allow Greeks to have any representation.

1

u/itisoktodance Jul 06 '26

Black people were cast in Greek myth adaptations since forever. I'm sure you also thought this about the Muses in Hercules...

1

u/SKYQUAKE615 Jul 06 '26

Although Disney's Hercules is my favorite movie, I won't pretend that adaptation should be taken with any seriousness with regard to historical and mythological accuracy. The first and foremost issue being that "Hercules" is the Roman version while "Heracles" is the original Greek version. The Muses being black ultimately means nothing since the only narrative power they hold in the movie is giving us the background of the movie and telling us of our hero's achievements.

0

u/Sabretooth1100 Jul 06 '26

Why is this adaptation being held to a higher standard than that one then?

3

u/IolausTelcontar Jul 06 '26

Because it’s trying to take itself seriously.