Odysseus Meets Calypso
@WolfStrife, May 10, 2025
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents some information about "The Odyssey" Greek epic poem with a focus on Helen of Troy and The goddess Calypso..
This post showcases a YouTube video that features African American beauty pageant winner and actress Vanessa Williams as the Greek goddess Calypso in a 1997 American television series adaptation of The Odyssey.
Selected comments from the discussion thread of that video. A number of those comments refer to the casting of Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's 2026 movie adaptation of The Odyssey.
Vanessa Williams is a light skinned Black woman and Lupita Ngong'o is a dark skinned Black woman.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
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Click the tags below for additional upcoming pancocojams posts about "The Odyssey" or about race and Greek mythology and/or ancient Greek culture.
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SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE GREEK POEM KNOWN AS "THE ODYSSEY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey
"The Odyssey ... Ancient Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, romanized: Odýsseia [odýsseːa])[2] is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year-long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage.
The Odyssey was first composed in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently, as part of long oral traditions. Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed for an audience by an aoidos or rhapsode.
Key themes in the epic include the ideas of nostos (νόστος; 'return', homecoming), wandering, xenia (ξενία; 'guest-friendship'), testing, and omens. Scholars discuss the narrative prominence of certain groups within the poem, such as women and slaves, who have larger roles than in other works of ancient literature. This focus is especially remarkable when contrasted with the Iliad, which centers upon the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon. The first complete English translation of the Odyssey was in 1616. Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of media. In 2018, when BBC Culture polled experts around the world to find literature's most enduring narrative, the Odyssey topped the list."...
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Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey_(2026_film) for information about the 2026 American movie The Odyssey that was written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
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INFORMATION ABOUT HELEN OF TROY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_of_Troy
"Helen ... commonly known as Helen of Troy[3][4] and sometimes as Helen of Sparta,[5] is a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus by Leda or Nemesis, and the sister of Clytemnestra, Castor, Pollux, Philonoe, Phoebe and Timandra. She was first married to King Menelaus of Sparta....[2] Her subsequent marriage[c] to Paris of Troy was the most immediate cause of the Trojan War."...
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Helen of Troy is a fictional character.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE GREEK GODDESS CALYPSO
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_(mythology)
"In Greek mythology, Calypso ... Ancient Greek: Καλυψώ, romanized: Kalypsṓ, lit. 'she who conceals')[1] was a nymph who lived on the island of Ogygia, where, according to Homer's Odyssey, she detained Odysseus for seven years against his will. She promised Odysseus immortality if he would stay with her, but Odysseus preferred to return home. Eventually, after the intervention of the other gods, Calypso was forced to let Odysseus go.
Etymology
The name Calypso derives from the Greek καλύπτω (kalyptō),[2][3] meaning 'to cover', 'to conceal', or 'to hide';[3][4] as such, her name translates to 'she who conceals'.[5]"...
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The goddess Calypso is a fictional character.
The Greek name "Calypso" has a different etymology (origin and meaning) than the Calypso Caribbean music genre.
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THIS VIDEO
(All of these comments were published in July 2026 after Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey movie was released.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)
https://youtube.com/shorts/bQDGOT3_jxs?si=cpgzyyGY-9WeeVC6
1. @christophertorak
"Now THAT's my Calypso❣️😍"
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2. @WolfStrife
"💯"
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3. @RosaHuchin-d9y
"Totalmente de acuerdo y por milllllll🍷🍷🍷"
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Google translate from Spanish to English
"Totally agree, and a million times over! 🍷🍷🍷"
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3. @Heydude-u8w
"Are you nuts? Charlize is top"
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Charlize Theron is a White South African actress who is casted as Calypso in Christopher Nolan's 2026 movie The Odyssey.
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4. @matthix2678
"Now if Vanessa played Helen we can have a conversation."
5. @blackswanrevelations
"Isn’t Vanessa Williams black? Wasn’t that the whole thing actors couldn’t act like other races? Very silly to me. Troy is still my fav movie."
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6. @IfyOgwude
"@blackswanrevelations she is ambigous enough for their sensibilities apparently"
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7. @pamelajudithrwanyarare8429
"@blackswanrevelations Helen of Troy is fiction. It's mythology meaning there was never a person in real life called Helen of Troy just like there was never an Odysseus or Andromeda or Apollo etc. All these are fantasies. And if it's fantancy anyone can play it."
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8. @Xxd414
"@pamelajudithrwanyarare8429 why does it matter that it's fictional? It's part of Greek culture and history. It seems like European stories are allowed to be anything but other races it's a problem. Respect others cultures as you want for yours."
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9. @akarus451
" @pamelajudithrwanyarare8429 is a fiction story from a real life culture and country. Imagine doing a Nordic Mythology and Thor, Loki are asian lol that is disrepectful af "
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10. @pamelajudithrwanyarare8429
"@akarus451 No it's not. White people or Europeans don't own the copyright to fantasy, human beings do. Secondly things like mermaids have existed in all cultures of the world especially where those cultures are surrounded by water, so Ariel as a mermaid can be any skin colour you want because it's all made up. You have white Tarzan in an African jungle, a white China queen of the jungle, a blonde blue eyed kid in the middle of east Africa. Did you hear Africans complain or quarell? No because Sheena, Tarzan are works of Fiction. They can be white, black Asian and anyone in between. What would be wrong is if you got Brad Pitt to play Nelson Mandela or got Denzel Washington to play Winston Churchill(which would be a massive upgrade for Churchill considering he was physically unattractive)"
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11. @SeanTheDon-r1u
"@pamelajudithrwanyarare8429 Right, so let's cast Timothee Chalamet as Black Panther and watch all hell break loose...😱"
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12. @WilliamGarrow
"@Xxd414 So like the fact that Andromedea is a Princess of Ethiopia. But Hollywood made her and all her subjects in movies look like a place in Scandinavia?"
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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_(mythology)
"Andromédē) is the daughter of Cepheus, the king of Aethiopia, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she (or Andromeda) is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Aethiopia as divine punishment. Queen Cassiopeia understands that chaining Andromeda to a rock as a human sacrifice is what will appease Poseidon. Perseus finds her as he is coming back from his quest to decapitate Medusa, and brings her back to Greece to marry her and let her reign as his queen. With the head of Medusa, Perseus petrifies Cetus to stop it from terrorizing the coast any longer.
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Notice that in this story a Greek king has no problem about marrying an Aethiopian (Ethiopian, meaning Black) woman. This suggests that there were other intermarriages between Greek and Ethiopian people during that time.
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13.
"@SeanTheDon-r1u Go ahead who has stopped you?"
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14.
"@blackswanrevelations Here’s the thing, they could’ve gotten away with Vanessa because she’s just that beautiful, no one would question the entire thing because of how stunning she is. Lupita is beautiful, yes, but not stunning enough to excuse the casting. Also, if hers was the only inaccurate casting then people wouldn’t have been quite so upset but being given a trans man as an actual man and then the other random races as Greeks (like the Indian guy) it all became very clear it was just checking race boxes rather than hiring the best actors for the characters"
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15. @FranciscoAldereteE
" @Catherine.Dorian. is Matt Damon Greek?"
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16. @dutoitkotze4812
"@FranciscoAldereteE he’s closer to Greek than Lupita is"
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17. @nodinitiative
"@blackswanrevelations the real issue is that the Black woman potraying Helen was not as hot as many other Black actresses, although beauty is subjective, there are much more attractive Black actresses to play as Helen."
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18. @malafakka8530
"So, it isn't about race but beauty then. Not sure that's any better. Not that I would complain"
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19. @VictoriaThompson-h5u5f
"Lucky our beauty comes in different hues..and don't need your approval. White view does not define what beauty is..so who cares"
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20. @arabaotoo4080
"I agree. Her beauty merits that role n yes she is a black goddess"
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21. @thefranken-thing
"@arabaotoo4080 *Mixed goddess"
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22. @liltinyoutlaw1
"@thefranken-thing no she is not. thx for playing"
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23.
"@VictoriaThompson-h5u5f it's not the point. It's a European cultural part of our history. It should be respected. Why when it's white stories y'all think it can just be washed over? But your stories are respected? Huh. Greeks aren't black. Greek mythology is Greek. The end."
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24. @cassidyanne2
"@X @Xxd414 imagine thinking the odyssey is a “white” story. Begging ppl to read a book"
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25. @devalyngolliday4652
"@Xxd414 what color are the Cyclops or sirens or the Minotaur? It's Mythology and Greek people tend to have darker features ( hair, eyes, olive skin) but no one would care about a blond haired, blue-eyed person in the role would they?? Stop the cap please!"
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In the context of this comment, the word "cap" is an African American Vernacular English word that means "lies"/"lying".
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26. @Suseau
" @devalyngolliday4652 are you suggesting a Greek with brown hair and tan skin wasn't still ethnically white? Or that there were no blonde Greeks?
Americans are so obsessed with rewriting and organizing everything by skin colour, it's a joke!
You would look at someone like Mbappé and tell him what his identity was. You tell off Latinas, if they dare to be dark, but not consider themselves to be black. All this pretentious ethical correctness while feeling so damn entitled to other cultures and people's whole identities. Tyla - who is mixed, largely Indian, gets backlash if she doesn't bow down to your rules of colour. Stop the cap!"
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In the context of this comment, the word "cap" is an African American Vernacular English word that means "lies"/"lying".
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27. @Privatesectorzero292
"No, you would still be arguing with the colorist aka bigots and racist trying to tell you that there were no black people in Ancient Rome or Greece. But there were. The Mediterranean Sea borders the entire northern edge of North Africa, stretching about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from the Strait of Gibraltar in the west to the coast of Egypt in the east. Five African nations touch this sea. In Homer, they didn’t have colorism or anything of the sort. A-poem re written over thousands of years and translations would. HOWEVER, in Greek mythology, there are Ethiopians. YES. The word comes from GREEK! It means burnt from the sun, cause black wasn’t a thing. it wasn’t called Africa YET. Ancient Rome had black soldiers etc., Ancient Greeks knew about them, and wrote extensively about the “Aithiopia” land of the sun burnt face. The ancient Greeks believed their gods frequently interacted with "Ethiopia." In Greek literature, it was considered a sacred, utopian land where the gods went to relax and receive sacrifices. In Iliad, Homer writes that Zeus and the 12 olympians, left Greece for twelve days to feast with the "blameless Ethiopians," delaying divine intervention in the Trojan War. Poseidon too! In the Odyssey, he receives sacrifices there for mount Olympus. How do I know, I’m a classicist. 🤣. A classics major. LOOK IT UP. 😁"
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28. @Suseau
"@Privatesectorzero292 every teenager at grammar school reads these things in Latin and Greek. Interaction with and presence of Africans is common knowledge and not questioned. Calm down - especially on those capitals."
29.
"Well, we all know why we are watching this... Thank you mr Nolan for reminding us of this epic mini series."
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30.
"Which mini series is that?"
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31. @SeanTheDon-r1u
"@lindamartin-dm3nt The Odyssey TV miniseries (from 1997)"
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32. @clusterfoxtrot4462
"The only film version so far that matters to me."
33.
"Today I learned that there are different versions of 'The Odissey' depending on the language it was translated to originally. They say, that version, which this mini series was based on, was translated from Homer with some depths that Nolan's version lacks, not because of his artistic way of seeing, but literally because it was quite another book. Nevertheless he might have wanted to make himself some homework, similar to what Mel Gibson did for 'The Passion of the Christ' or 'Apocalypto'"
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34. @rohinimoon16
"I haven’t seen this movie but this bit I’ve seen made me cringe hard lol. I love Nolan’s Odyssey."
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35. @andrearlieth2711
"Now that´s a face that could launch a thousand ships"
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36. @peter455sd
"The whole 6th fleet"
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37. @andrearlieth2711
"@peter455sd 😅 Ohoy navy men"
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38. @Darkness-ie2yl
"This is Not Helen so why do you guys keep making this reference?"
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39. @00ghostcobra
"@Darkness-ie2yl She definitely could have played Helen, with that face.."
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40. @a.h.2667
"@00ghostcobra Vanessa is black, I thought that was the whole debate of who should play Helen."
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41. @Darkness-ie2yl
"@00ghostcobra So could Lupita. Shes beautiful enough."
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42. @longin-b6f
" @a.h.2667 IF Helena has to be black ( for the purpose of the DEI) THEN she must look like Vanessa Williams. 10/10. That's what the people mean."
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43. @Leolaglamour
"@longin-b6f He didn't pick Luputa for DEI. 🙄 He picked her for her talent. Its amazing how your "I'm colorblind" bullcrap goes away when it comes to movies. Per usual your lies are exposed."
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44. @voiceover2191
" @Darkness-ie2yl American education system that when you mention Homer, they hear the Simpsons' theme in their mind."
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45. @SynnJynn
"@voiceover2191 at least the Simpsons was more entertaining"
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46. @voiceover2191
" @SynnJynn Thank you for proving my point"
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47. @michaelbaker8633
" @Darkness-ie2yl Probably for the same reason you keep missing the point entirely.
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48.
"@michaelbaker8633 And you somehow think Christopher Nolan was unaware that the small minded would be whining and complaining? That some of you think everyone needs to look like Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa to be beautiful according to your standards? He wanted to hear your screams. We like it."
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49. @esthervieira6141
"That calypso makes sense that he stayed so long, not Charlize doing nothing at the beach"
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50. @christopherIronGreek7472
"That’s what they needed in the new Odyssey"
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51. @Shilohs_System
"Meh"
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52. @SeanTheDon-r1u
"@Shilohs_System That was pretty much the reaction when viewers saw Helen's face in Nolan's version...."
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53. @Shilohs_System
"Getting mad about a fictional character being played by a real person is mental illness. Plus the "real" Helen would have been from Turkey, so no promise her skin would have been white ANYWAYS"
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54. @SeanTheDon-r1u
"@Shilohs_System And getting mad over people's opinions/criticism about a fictional movie is a form of mental gymnastics worthy of a 1st place prize...🥇"
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55. @christopherIronGreek7472
"@Shilohs_System 😂 not mad about anything. Just voicing an opinion. Sounds like you’re the one getting mad. Last time I checked, people are allowed to have their own opinions. 😂"
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56. @francescapowell1538
"Why cos she’s light skinned and got recessive genes that have lightened her eyes, proving her family lineage was marred by the traces of slavery?"
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57. @eddisontollett8845
"I'll be blunt and honest: no, nobody would complain because Vanessa Williams is widely seen as beautiful and desirable, whereas Lupita Nyong'o was cast primarily for her acting talent. Christopher Nolan also likes working with actors who have won Oscars."
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58. @oksana818
" @eddisontollett8845 I’d be blunt and honest - the role of Nolan’s Helen didn’t require any extraordinary or unique acting talents. Plenty of actresses could’ve done part just as successfully"
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59. @eddisontollett8845
" @oksana818 Sydney Sweeney fits the traditional image of Helen of Troy far better than most actresses people have suggested.
In Greek mythology, Helen isn't just an attractive woman she is described as the most beautiful woman in the world. Her beauty is so extraordinary that kings, princes, and legendary heroes are willing to cross the sea, risk their lives, and fight a war that lasts ten years.
For that story to feel believable on screen, the actress needs to have a level of beauty and sex appeal that instantly makes the audience understand why so many men would lose their minds over her.
In my opinion, Sydney Sweeney would have been a much stronger choice. Her appearance aligns far more closely with the timeless image of a woman whose beauty is powerful enough to launch a thousand ships and become the catalyst for one of the greatest wars in mythology."
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60. @Fraughtech-7
"@eddisontollett8845 Thank god you are not the casting director then."
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61. @Alan-a-Dale484
"@eddisontollett8845 most of the people complaining would still complain. It's not about Lupita's beauty."
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62. @Fraughtech-7
"@e @eddisontollett8845 Lupita is beautiful aswell. People would definitely complain either way, because they don’t want a black actress in the role.
They would say it’s woke."
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63. @kbobdixie1829
"@Fraughtech-7 yes bc it is woke"
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64. @Fraughtech-7
"@kbobdixie1829 you don’t know what that word means."
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65.
"@Fraughtech-7 😂 and you don't know how it's colloquially used..do u realize words are often used in a common everyday way that isn't a textbook definition? 😂"
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66. @Fraughtech-7
"Lupita was named people magazine most beautiful person so no beauty is not the issue."
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67. @tsopmocful1958
"@Fraughtech-7 She's not even cute.
VW in this vid would have been a great choice and she is a better Calypso than Nolan's choice too.
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68.
"@Fraughtech-7 please dare to tell us Lupita is more beautiful than Vanessa .
We don't care about what magazines saif its bullcrap"
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69. @Fraughtech-7
"@rijusnar1994 Where did I say that. Do you not have reading comprehension. I’m saying both of them are beautiful."
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70. @Fraughtech-7
"@tsopmocful1958 Lupita is good looking and I don’t think you read my comment at all. People will still complain if either of them are casted, because they are BLACK. Have you not seen the discourse online, they are complaining about not just beauty, but RACE. There are no Greek people casted in the odyssey and people want accuracy not just eye candy. People would still be annoyed if they casted Vanessa."
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