It used to be that high-profile Hollywood World War II movies got called out for taking liberties with the facts. These days, they’re getting in trouble for being too historically accurate.
Take The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan’s new movie Dunkirk, which recreates the defense and evacuation of British and Allied forces from Northern France in May-June 1940 during the early stages of the World War II.
The blockbuster stars Jack Lowden, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy and, er, Harry Styles. It is set to be released July 21.
Plenty of people have taken to social media to express why they won’t be seeing it, and it’s all to do with the movie being “too white.” (Not sure if they’re aware, but the vast majority of British and Allied forces were white.)
Here’s just a selection of the Dunkirk diversity social media sentiment :
Dunkirk or: let’s put all the attractive, white, British males in one movie
— Yasmin Salahuddin (@iamfindingmeeno) May 9, 2017
What comes to mind when I see the trailer for Dunkirk? A boring war movie with a bunch of white dudes. #nothanks
— Steph | Runs Trails (@stephrunstrails) June 5, 2017
I assume the guys bitching about a female-directed female-driven film will be first in line for Dunkirk, a movie starring only white guys.
— Mike Eisenberg (@Eisentower30) June 4, 2017
Dunkirk trailer: plays
Me: stop showing these unimportant white men, where’s harry the only man who matters— how much i love you (@thmyscira) June 2, 2017
Dunkirk: more proof Hollywood will never run out of movies about white guys doing stuff in WWII
— dolly (@loather) May 26, 2017
White Hollywood is all about accuracy when it’s making white movie like Dunkirk but is “idk an Asian/Hawaiian” when it come to their story
— Zucy 🌧 (@MaisonDeLucy) May 10, 2017
We doubt the unflappable Christopher Nolan will be too bothered with this particular conflict.
But God help us if any of these tweeters ever end up being historians.