Somewhere in the family tree I have Anglo Saxon and Viking ancestors. I can't necessarily prove it without some sort of DNA test but I'm prepared to bet large sums of money that I have both there simply because of where I know some of my ancestors originate (East Anglia). As a result I'm insulted and were I a member of anything other than the White Anglo-Saxon community I'm sure I could get acres of media coverage and probably $quillion$ in compen$ation if I complained of racism.
My first target is this short cartoon by the perfidious French, which is a crude insult to my Viking ancestors and I demand an apology (what do you mean I laughed continuously? I deny that completely it is a serious insult!!!).
Slightly more seriously I am also forced to complain about "Beowulf - the Movie". According to this dedicated blog Hollywood is completely wrecking some rather key elements of the story due to some rather odd casting decisions.
Beowolf in case you were not aware is a tale set in Denmark (or possibly Sweden) in approximately AD600 and the Old/Middle English tale dating from c1000AD is generally acknowledged as a key piece of English Literature. Furthermore Beowulf is identified in the tale as the nephew of a historically attested Germanic king which is what helps us place the date that the tale originated and the result is that the tale helps us understand the politics and everyday life of that time in an area whence various waves of settlers and raiders came to East Anglia. One thing to recall about the entire area is that it is not Africa, nor is it a place where Africans were known. You may be saying "Duh" at this point but it key to recall that although by AD600 N Germany and Scandinavia had provided Franks, Goths etc. to sack the Western Roman Empire there is no evidence that they sailed across to Africa and cetainly no evidence that they visited or traded even indirectly with Sub-Saharan Africa where you find black people. This is important to bear in mind when you look at the cast and see that Beowulf, Ecglac and Dakarai appear to be of African ancestry.
Given that the film is called "Beowulf: Prince of the Geats" it is clearly intended to be a retelling of the original tale. It would therefore seem appropriate if the Geats were white. In fact I'd hope to see a boatload of large blond types but I understand that Hollywood can't always produce the ideal actors so I'd not be too surprised to see a few more mediterranean complexions in some roles. What I do not for the life of me understand is how it is possible to claim that Beowulf should be played by a black. It would be like say, casting Keanu Reeeves as Frederick Douglass. If Holywood can be so sensitive to ethnic sensibilities that they change Islamic terrorists to neo-Nazis then shouldn't they be a triffle sensitive about the sensitivities of us poor Vikings and Anglo-Saxons?