Shakespeare was writing less than a century after the Reconquista. It seems highly likely, despite the purges of Jews and Muslims from Spain, that everyone there would have been white as we think of it today, given that North Africans had been living in the Iberian peninsula for hundreds of years, if not longer at that point.
Plus, our modern constructs about race was not remotely in place yet. Categories like class or religious affiliation would have been far more important in thinking about inclusion and exclusion within Spanish (or other European) societies.
That’s actually a really good point. (I’m assuming you made a typo when you said “highly likely” and meant to say “unlikely.”)
So yeah, I stand corrected and concede that it’s possible that the character Don Pedro could have been of African descent. I’m still thinking we’ll be better off if we don’t sweat diverse characters playing other roles such as Henry V who we’re relatively certain were of pale complexion.
I don’t have a problem with non-white characters playing people we’d expect to be white, generally speaking in modern film or TV. Pretty much the people who get really put out by it have other agendas and it tends not be “historical accuracy.” I think there are more important things to “get right”… but also, people should probably not get their actual understanding of history from modern fiction. Of course, it’s important to note that Shakespeare’s plays were themselves not historically accurate, but were of their time in the Tudor/Stuart period and were speaking to the issues of that time, not of the time they were often set. He was trying to flatter his monarchs and to entertain the English.
Generally speaking, when historians are concerned with projecting our modern concepts onto the past, they are talking about issues such as this.
But generally speaking, there was plenty of pre-modern contact and exchanges with the rest of the world by Europeans, though northern Europe was a backwater until pretty recently - for example, Roman soldiers would have been drawn from all over the empire and would have moved all over the empire - same with administrators and other bureaucrats. The Mediterranean was always diverse, and people were oriented towards it because it was a source of travel, of wealth, of power pretty much right up to the early modern period where Northern Europeans began to look to the Atlantic Ocean. It took a while for the Atlantic to become the source of wealth and power it became by the 18th and early 19th, and the Mediterranean was never fully supplanted (still, today, it’s a critical trade route thanks to the Suez).
And of course, people just didn’t think in terms of race like we do today. Class and religion was far more important. The Portuguese for example were aligned with Ethiopia, I think in the 15th (maybe 16th?) century, who were fighting off attacks from the Ottomans, specifically because they were a Christian empire (the second oldest). That mattered more than the skin color of the Ethiopians at the time.
I thought this was a delight and i expected going into it that the setup would last about 10 minutes into the episode but they really stuck with it so i’m intrigued to see where this weirdness is going.
I powered through The Expanse 4 and 5 but honestly I was so bored I barely recall what happened. I was there for the space goop and exploring the portals which have endless possibilities and then they wasted most of the time on yet more local solar system politics jerking off. After the last 4 years I need my escapism to politically free. And honestly I am never thrilled with galactic space politics.
The one impressive moment in 5 was the Belter attack on Earth.
I did like the “Bewitched”-style intro to Episode 2.
If they’re going to continue this concept of carrying the characters through sitcom formats of the 20th Century then things are really going to get postmodern when they catch up with That 70s Show given Debra Jo Rupp is already involved.
I think it’s the kind of stunt you can only really get away with for a couple of episodes before it starts to grate but i don’t suspect that’s what they’re doing, it already seems to be unravelling. There’s also a nice bit of old school Twilight Zone in there which i appreciated. I’m only vaguely aware of the sitcoms they are referencing so far, plus being a Brit and not old enough, though it’d be interesting to know the thoughts of those who watched them originally.
Yes, this exactly. I loved her story. It was interesting, focused and had nice momentum. Everything since then lacks focus and has poor pacing. Like we get to that distant and there is the alien structures but they spent most of the time with those 2 local human factions bickering and finger pointing about the accident during a past landing. If I want to watch people bicker I will go look at Nextdoor (not recommended but you get the idea)
The first episode was very much in the vein of 1950s sitcoms like I Love Lucy or Ozzie and Harriet. The latter show was one example of a period sitcom in which the nature of the male lead’s career was never really clarified on the show, a theme they hinted at when Vision paused to ponder what exactly his company did.
The second episode was modeled on mid-1960s sitcoms like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Both of those sitcoms had cartoon title sequences and were based on the premise that the wife had magical powers that the couple took pains to keep secret from their friends and neighbors. Also, both those series started their runs in black & white but later seasons were broadcast in color.
There’s a good article over on Tor where Emmet Asher-Perrin points to The Dick Van Dyke Show as being another reference point and looking at set pics from that show also seems to fit, especially the kitchen. Also pointing out the subtle playing with tropes and how the cast is certainly a lot more diverse than those whitewashed sitcoms, but if this is all coming from Wanda’s mind that’d make sense. Although it leaves the question of how this is a cultural memory for her as she’d be way too young to have watched them originally, unless Sokovia has a particular penchant for old American sitcoms.
1st: yes it is good.
2nd: while I am a huge animation/anime fan, I confess I have never seen Lupin III. it is my understanding that those are stories about the grandson of the oeiginal character Arséne Lupin from the old 19th/early 20th century.
This show is a different take, based on that character with a modern twist.
overall, it is great fun and the protagonist is just gorgeous and a joy to watch!
ETA: requires a great deal of belief suspension… think James Bond meets Sherlock.
