The Importance of Astrid Being White

The first teaser and behind-the-scenes clips just dropped for the new live-action "How to Train Your Dragon". I deeply question this choice, especially since it looks to be an almost perfect recreation of the animated version. But that's not the point of this post.

No, I want to discuss the most controversial casting choice in the film- choosing a black girl to play Astrid. I've seen some discourse around this online, even the comments from the director, and I'd like to share my two cents because I think Astrid's race is important.

The Setting

The movies make a very big deal about the fact that these guys are Vikings. They live in a Northern European based society.

The fact is that most Scandinavians (the area the Vikings were from) are white, fair skinned, and blonde. Astrid is not only traditionally pretty, she's accurate to the area.

Not only that, but there's no evidence of there being any black Vikings. If there were, I would bet they would be fairly ostracized, not the "popular girl" or considered appropriate for a chieftain's wife.

It's Fantasy?

The director's big defense about casting a black actress is 1) She was perfect and 2) It's a fantasy world.

To the first, I say okay, maybe she was perfect in auditions. But due to my other points, maybe you shouldn't have been auditioning black actresses in the first place.

It's the second point that really bothers me, especially as a fantasy author. Having a fantasy world does not give you free reign to do whatever you want. You have to follow the rules of your world or risk breaking the suspension of disbelief.

That's what casting a black actress does for me. As I said, this is a Viking inspired world. Yes, I understand there are dragons and magic and historical inaccuracies. If they'd already established black people in this world, I wouldn't be so thrown off, but they haven't. Her casting moves away from the previous aesthetic of the world (and not in a good way).

But What About the Voice Actress?

Another argument I've seen points out that the voice actress for Astrid, America Ferrera, is a Latina. Why is casting a black girl any different?

Frankly, because we can see her. Voice actors aren't cast for their looks. They're chosen for the way they voice the character (or, in modern movies, for being a celebrity, but that's another post for another day).

America Ferrara voiced Astrid to perfection. I love that although Astrid is the traditional blonde haired, blue eyed girl, she's not ultra-feminine. America's huskier voice fit that perfectly.

But because this new actress isn't simply voicing the character but portraying her, she needs to look and sound the point. And sadly, she does neither from the clips I've seen. No hate to her, she's just not who I would have picked for the role.

Astrid's Appearance

Astrid is what all Strong Female Characters wish they were. She's brave, strong, and good with an ax. But she's also a romantic, loving girl. Her outfits are practical, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like pretty things. (She proudly wears the necklace Hiccup gives her in Race to the Edge, for example.)

They could have gone either way with Astrid. Made her a traditional dumb blonde or a stereotypical "I don't need no man" feminist. Instead, she lands perfectly between the two.

Making her black takes away from the character, like when they made Annabeth black even though a huge part of her personality was working against the dumb blonde stereotype. Astrid does the same thing, although not as vocally as Annabeth.

Just Stop Race Swapping

I get that modern entertainment wants to show more people of different backgrounds on screen. I'm all for that, in a God-honoring way. He made all people of all types and they should all be respected because of that.

But that does not mean that you should put more POCs in media by taking white characters and making them black. Think of the horror if it happened the other way. There would be outrage.

However, if you take a white character like Snow White, Annabeth, or Astrid and make them black, you're progressive. If you speak out against this decision, you're a racist. It's so frustrating.

Just write new stories with black characters instead of race swapping old ones. Yes, black girls want to see themselves on screen. So give them fresh stories that do just that. Little white girls want to see themselves on screen too, and you're taking that from them.

Race is not everything. I've seen some amazing cosplays of characters as a different race, or even a different gender.

But it's also important to stop ret-conning characters to be black. It won't solve your problems. Get out there and create stories with black characters instead.

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This has been a rather longer ramble than I anticipated, but I wanted to get these thoughts out there. Astrid is one of my favorite female characters on screen and I hate to see her disrespected like this. If you don't agree, well, I'm sorry. Don't leave hate comments because they will be deleted.