How racist is Prometheus?

There needs to be a re-make; "Blackmetheus" in which the engineers are black and the Deacon is white. The Hammerpede can also be black... getting more offensive by the minute. Seriously though, I think if the film had been more popular, making the 'original man' a neo-classical David may have attracted some criticism. My money's on some black Engineers turning up in the sequel...

I reckon they are all gay - I dont see no women engis omg hes being sexist maaaaaan.....

some people just have zero perspective on life/the human experience etc. @whatisthematrix: i have "skin pigmentation"; may i proceed to bitch and moan at will??? Again, give me a break.

Whatisthematrix, is expressing an opinion, passionately! Although i think it is a little too passionate! Yeah, the colour of the Engineers shouldn't be an issue!

Don't be so quick to write Chthon off... While I wouldn't say necessarily that 'Prometheus is racist', i.e. espouses racism, there are some racist themes in the subtext of the film. It was partly based on ideas from Graham Hancock and Erich von Daniken, historians/archaeoastronomers who talked about the abiogenesis/'mother culture' idea. Their ideas (and others) are still seen as some kind of 'proof' of superiority by some supporting fascist, racist ideas, such as in South Africa and Chile (after apartheid and Pinochet). These writers weren't necessarily racist, but their ideas are still an influence in these places...as were those of others (Julius Evola, Mircea Eliade, Miguel Serrano and even Nazi German thinkers) during Apartheid, Chilean dictatorship, Third Reich etc. There are also references in the film e.g. to Africa (as mentioned, with the image of the globe), to interracial relationships (Theron/Elba), the social dynamic e.g. white engineers... Also, and maybe a stretch, but the idea of 'Prometheanism' (i.e. that there are some 'great people' who move the 'motor of history') has been espoused by e.g. some on the right in the U.S.A., who've developed their own modern form of libertarianism/Ayn Randianism. None of this is to say that the film is racist, I don't think it is...but in this kind of theme dealing with 'human origins', it may be that racism is a common theme and ideas will make their way into a story...

maybe OP was hoping Engineers would look like [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=5CVEG-qbEFE]BAPHOMET[/url] from Clive Barker's Nightbreed - you know, obviously without all the crappy handdrawn fx gunk all over it, the BLACK GOO of a MAN. But if you look at DEEP SEA SHRIMPS, they're generally white because of lack of light miles down in the depth of the ocean - I'd apply this to the Engineers, too - they've been deprived of light (my summary is they spend almost all their time in cryo) [img]http://files.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/giant-shrimp-like-sea-creatures-2.jpg[/img]

Looks like my post was edited. I wouldn't want to offend anyone, so apologies if I did. Anyway, so I think it's still a problem for the Western movie canon to integrate mankind's African origins into films that touch on ancient man. Of course the topic is sensitive due to the sorry history of racism, going back ancient scripts in which the Romans ridiculed the Carthaginians, and Normans ridiculing the Irish etc etc. I suggest it's very easy to see the opening scene as some kind of Norse, white-God creation myth. Which I'm sure the Stormfront crowd would love.

Gonna re-post my comment and image I responded with awhile back on this thread. The continent of Africa shows whenever the Earth is depicted in the movie. [i]Please don't make a race issue where there isn't one. There are at least three shots of earth in the movie, and each time the continent of Africa is highlighted. This more than anything, indicates that Ridley DOES think Africa is the cradle of life.[/i] [IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/23h98nl.jpg[/IMG]

Did you notice that the 3D Fox "statue" at the intro to the movie shared the same colour cast as the Engineers / Hammerpedes? A lovely design element in my opinion. Nothing racist about it. For one thing, there's no race on Earth with skin like that.

Janek didn't die first...

How does showing Africa indicate the film is not subliminally racist? By that measure, showing man's creation as a Neo-classical Roman god in a nordic setting shows the film IS racist. I'm sure RS would simply say ' the film's not F-ing racist' and that's fine. I'm just discussing the aesthetic qualities of a film he made. Maybe I'm being racist by insisting the first humans were black? Arguably all humans are African, regardless of their 'race' ? Perhaps the Engineers emigrated from Earth many years ago because too many 'darkies' moved into their area? Intergalactic white flight?

So, because the Engineers (whom in this film are inferred to have created the human race) are white that is racist, yet if they had been black then that too would have been seen as racist for their actions later in the movie. Door swings both ways. Take into account that despite a largely white crew the black and oriental members of said crew do not die until just before the end of the movie. I suppose the next statement will be that the Xenomorph is racist, because it is a black colored antagonist, that in the first movie was acted by a black actor. IMO opinion any statement that uses the word "racist" is by its very nature racist in and of itself. But in reality by asking if Prometheus is racist, you are not in fact asking if Prometheus is racist, you are asking if Prometheus is anti-black, which is not only inflammatory, but is also a more racist statement than the question you are asking. Because, remember one can be racist towards any creed and color, not just blacks.

On the contrary to most comments here, I believe chthon has a point! Although it may not be wholly intentional by the entire crew of PROMETHEUS, it does seem to be avoiding the actual fact that Africa is the origin of man. Maybe PROMETHEUS is making a statement on modern day concepts??? Idk, its just a movie, don't take it serious...

 

" I mean, look, if you're willing to discount three centuries of Darwinism, that's…wooh!"

 

@Gavin Singleton

By the way, that's a damn fine comment, man. Great points made, I agree with you!