Entertainment
Outrage Over Helen Of Troy Casting In The Odyssey, Accusations Of Screenwashing
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
Christopher Nolan’s extravaganza version of The Odyssey has already met with some derision over some of the choices made by production. The costumes have been compared to bad Batman villains, and the dark aesthetic of the scenes that have been released to the public has been criticized for not reflecting the colorful style of classic Greek culture. The ships, an important part of a story about a sea voyage, look awful.
The casting has also caused a lot of controversy, especially now that there is a rumor going around that Lupita Nyong’O, known for Black Panther and Twelve Years a Slave, has been cast as Helen of Troy. The outcry over her is, of course, about her race, and defenders of a more classical Helen are being attacked as “racist” for supposedly not finding Nyong’O attractive.
The defense of Nyong’O’s alleged casting has been varied. One tactic has been to point out that nobody in the rest of the cast is Greek. That’s true, but it’s not like there weren’t complaints about, for example, Jon Berenthal being cast as Menelaus, King of Sparta and husband of Helen of Troy, or even Matt Damon in the lead as Odysseus. Just about every aspect of the ensemble casting of this movie has been complained about, from John Leguizamo to Anne Hathaway, not just Lupita Nyong’O.
Another angle of defense has been that it’s just fiction, so why should anyone care? Sure, it might be a fictionalized story, but there is a lot of history backing it up. Troy existed and was the site of many wars with various Greek city-states, most of which, including Helen’s hometown of Sparta, survive today. Homer wrote The Odyssey alongside The Iliad, which was the story of one such war. The mythic elements of the story, like interference from the gods and the various monsters Odysseus encounters, overlay specific historical, cultural, political, and even geographical narratives.
How Helen Of Troy Is Described In The Illiad And Why It Matters
Helen of Troy was one of those narratives. There is no evidence that she existed, but her beauty and supposedly divine origins were so highly prized that a war uniting much of Greece was said to have been waged over her. There were also political ramifications for kidnapping the Queen of Sparta that were deeply embedded in Greek notions of honor and lineage. Abducting Menelaus’s wife and mother of his child was a major humiliation that if left unanswered would have subjected Sparta to derision and attack. Greeks would not have gone to war over her if she wasn’t one of their own.
But Helen was also prized because she was the epitome of the Greek standards of beauty. Homer describes her carefully as fair, glowing skin, honey-colored hair, and deep blue eyes. This was so important to Greek culture that Homer noted it, as well as fellow classical Greek poets Euripides and Sappho. Greek art and sculpture depict her with classic Greek features based on these descriptions. We know what George Washington looks like, and paintings of him have only been around for 250 years. Physical depictions of Helen of Troy have been around for thousands of years and established an image of what her beauty represented to the Greeks.
Arguments that decry objections to Nyong’O’s casting thus fall flat when racism is invoked. The problem isn’t that Nyong’O isn’t attractive; it’s that she isn’t what the Greeks considered attractive. It imposes today’s standards of beauty not on an arbitrary work of narrative fiction, but on an epic that represented a cultural identity. Helen of Troy was more than just a character in a story, she was something like a national symbol. To this day, Greece is also called “Hellas.”
Another Example Of Screenwashing?
That, of course, has not stopped Nyong’O’s defenders from accusing detractors of racism; if anything, it’s supported the notion because who else likes blonde-haired, fair-skinned, blue-eyed people?
It’s not that black people didn’t exist in Greece. They called them “Ethiopians” and treated them very fairly, because they didn’t have the notions of race that have developed over the past two decades. However, they also considered them an exotic curiosity. They were very aware black people existed, even accepted them as beautiful, and still didn’t depict Helen of Troy as one. That was a matter of cultural values, not racism. If inclusivity was the goal, there were plenty of other characters from Homer’s epicthey could have chosen.
Finally, there is the argument that “Helen of Troy was hatched from an egg. Why does it matter what race she is?” This is a little different from the “it’s fictional” argument because it questions the very roots of Greek culture, the gods. Helen’s parents were supposedly Leda, Queen of Sparta, and Zeus, King of Olympus and the Greek pantheon. If she was a real person, her real father would have been King Tyndareus, and a mythic layer of folklore (the egg) was added to her story to represent why she was blessed with such ethereal beauty.
But let’s go with the idea that she was hatched from an egg and Zeus is her father: either Sparta was ruled by an Ethiopian queen, which is very against Spartan and Greek character (and Homer’s era), or people handwaving the egg story are ignoring that it implies that the entire Greek culture is actually black. In Greek mythology, Zeus was the template Prometheus used when creating the Greek people. That Zendaya, another black actress, was cast as Athena, who is also Zeus’s offspring, makes you wonder what it’s really trying to say.
Maybe I’m defensive because half my heritage is not only Greek, but Spartan in particular. Maybe it’s the literature major in me that is annoyed that Christopher Nolan is treating a classic text of Greek literature like it’s nothing more than a Michael Bay action blockbuster.
But I can’t help but feeling that the oddly specific casting of Helen of Troy, which has yet to be debunked, is yet another attempt at subversion of Western culture and values through screenwashing. Nolan and his backers are trying to redefine concepts of beauty that have existed for thousands of years. And this time, rather than attacking through modern popular culture like video games and Star Trek, they’re “making a statement” by going after its honey-haired, fair-skinned roots.
screenwashed (adjective) — When something seen on a screen completely changes how someone thinks or feels, as if their old beliefs were erased and replaced by what they just saw.
I’m sure The Odyssey will have an audience who will pay for the fancy $250 million spectacle of effects or to see their favorites in some roles. Homer’s classic work will be absorbed into the blob of pop culture, while the Greek people it truly represented will barely merit a second glance because it was part of the foundation of a way of life many people think should cease to exist. I hope I’m not catastrophizing, but I expect that even if it’s bad, its failure will be blamed on “internet Nazis” and not on justified complaints about the vandalism of a staple of Western civilization.
We’ll find out this summer on July 17, 2026, when The Odyssey is released in theaters.
Entertainment
6 AdultFriendFinder features other hookup sites lack
For 30 years now, AdultFriendFinder has quietly positioned itself as the internet’s premier adult dating site and a go-to destination for singles chasing casual flings and hookups. Their success hasn’t been an accident. They’ve stayed on top of the game, and even survived the emergence of dating apps, by forging a unique identity to help them stand out in an incredibly crowded and competitive field.
If you’re looking to let your freak flag fly, AFF offers you the greatest variety of ways to do it — here are six features AdultFriendFinder has that you won’t find on any other dating site.
Credit: AdultFriendFinder
Naked content
One of the first things you’ll discover after creating an AFF account is that the site doesn’t shy away from hosting nudity, nor is it hard to come by. In fact, it’s extremely common for people’s profile photos to contain genitalia or full-frontal nudity rather than the typical headshot you’re likely to find on most other dating sites.
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Hinge
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popular choice for regular meetups
The nudity isn’t confined to photos, either. You can host videos on your profile, including explicit videos, and there are webcam feeds live at any given time that feature amateur and professional models in various states of undress.
If you find yourself distracted by all of the nudity or just want to browse the site in public without getting arrested, you can turn on the adult content filter by navigating to your profile settings in the top right of the screen, scrolling down to Content Filter and then selecting either No Nudity, Some Nudity or Everything (the default setting, naturally).
Live webcam feeds
There’s certainly no shortage of webcam sites on the internet, but it’s rare to find a dating site that hosts live webcam feeds, not only of professional models but also of regular men and women looking for connection.
Navigate to the Live Action menu at the top of your AFF window and choose between either Member Webcams or Pro Models. Once you’ve made this choice, you’ll be able to create even more specific search filters, including by gender (Men, Women or Trans), Nude or Non-Nude, and even by proximity to you.
The Looksmaxxing Glossary: Every term you need to understand the internet’s most unhinged subculture
One thing to note, however: while free members can view webcam feeds (including more than one at a time), only Gold members and above can actually chat with models.
Discussion forums, blogs, and group chats
Unlike traditional dating sites, which only seek to match people in one-on-one interactions, AdultFriendFinder encourages group dynamics, especially in their Community section. Here you’ll find not only personal blog posts by AFF users commenting on their experience, sharing stories or posting queries, but also group discussion boards organized around literally hundreds of interesting topics.
Many of these are sexual in nature (there’s a polyamory group, for example, and a “women who like older men” group), but many are organized around interests and hobbies, including politics, tech, travel, movies and music.
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Best of all, you can participate in these communal discussions without having to subscribe to AFF’s Gold membership, which helps to keep these places more lively than they would otherwise be if only paying members could access these spaces.
Erotic stories
Fun fact: erotic fiction now accounts for approximately 25 percent of all fiction sold in the United States, so it’s hardly surprising that erotic writing (“literotica” for those in the know) would be a major draw. What is surprising, however, is how few online dating sites take advantage of it.
AdultFriendFinder members who wish to read or write sexy stories, real or imagined, can navigate to the Community menu and select Stories, where they’ll uncover a near-unlimited array of stories, novels, fan fiction and even erotic poetry.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can explore the stories at random, but AFF also deploys a clever tagging system that allows you to search by topic, with popular options including First Time, Sci-Fi, TSTV (trans and transvestite), and Voyeur.
Popular stories achieve higher ratings and greater on-site visibility, and popular authors can actually build a large following on the site, so whether you’re eager to read more erotic fiction or aspire to write some, AFF has you covered.
Contests
One of the more fun aspects of AdultFriendFinder is that it genuinely seeks to cultivate a sense of community and actively encourages its users to spend more time on the site, especially in the public-facing sections. Their on-site contests are a fantastic example of this in action.
About once a month, the site hosts a themed photo contest, asking members to submit photos and then allowing the rest of the site to vote on which submissions best reflect or embody the contest caption.
The most recent photo contest theme was “Velvet Secrets: Valentine’s Masquerade,” while prior contests include “Naughty & Nice” for the holidays and “Midnight Mischief.” Winners get a special badge they can display on their profile, as well as tons more profile visibility, so there’s a strong incentive to participate.
To enter, scroll to the Community menu and then find Contests at the very bottom of the options list. If there’s an active contest and you are logged in to your account, you’ll be given the option of participating.
Kink-based profile search
Every online dating site or app has a profile section, where you can fill out pertinent personal information such as your sexual orientation, level of education, and whatever hobbies, interests or special skills you have that might make you stand out from the crowd, but AdultFriendFinder takes things a step further by offering members the opportunity to list their kinks.
If you navigate to your profile name in the top right of your AFF screen and then select Dating Profile and Edit Profile, you’ll have the opportunity to add to your My Kinks section. Popular options here include BDSM, voyeurism and cross dressing, but the full list is far more extensive.
Best of all, these kink lists aren’t merely decorative. If you have a premium account, you can actually search out other members by their chosen kinks, allowing you to find the people in your area who like exhibitionism or have a foot fetish, for example.
There’s no shortage of online dating sites, and even no shortage of hookup-first sites, but when it comes to adult dating, AFF clearly separates itself from the competition with its wide array of kink-friendly features and accommodations.
Entertainment
Netflix's Hit Fantasy Series Turned A Fan-Favorite Storyline Into Pure Nightmare Fuel
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Netflix’s smash hit One Piece live-action adaptation was always going to be compared to the record-setting anime series, but in some ways, it’s improved on the anime. The most obvious improvement is in the pacing, which has been all killer, and no filler. Less obvious is that going live-action provides a sense of weight and realism to even the most absurd action scenes. Then there was Season 2, Episode 5, “Wax On, Wax Off,” when the murderous Mr. 3 took the spotlight and went from an over-the-top supervillain in the original to a disturbing serial killer. Turns out, watching people be encased in wax is a lot more terrifying in live action.
One Piece’s Villains Steal The Show
Mr. 3 is brought to life by David Dastmalchian, who you might recognize from The Suicide Squad, Late Night with the Devil, Murderbot, or Ant-Man. His casting as the Baroque Works agent powered by the Wax-Wax Devil Fruit, which, as the name implies, gives him the ability to generate wax harder than steel, was an inspired pick by the manga’s creator, Oda. Dastmalchian was on fan’s wish lists for the role, and when given the chance, he owned every single second spent on screen.
One Piece’s colorful cast of characters revolves around taking a personality trait and amplifying it to a cartoonish level. Mr. 3’s murderous desire to turn people into artwork that immortalizes their suffering, anguish, and terror over slowly dying encased in wax is straight out of classic horror movies. In the anime, he’s off-putting, but in the series, Dastmalchian’s line delivery, coupled with his creepy smile, turns the absurdity of a giant wax candle covering Nami, Vivi, and Zoro with hardening wax flakes from cartoonish buffoonery into a nightmare.
His Baroque Works partner, Miss Golden Week (Sophia Anne Caruso, from The School for Good and Evil), also has a horrifying power, utilizing different colors of paint to force her victims to experience emotions. She uses yellow to force Zoro to be cheerful, and blue to make Luffy feel the saddest he has in his life (to that point). Mind control is a common superpower but, then you think about it in the context of the real world, it’s one of the most terrifying experiences you can think of. Trapped inside your body, acting against your will as you’re forced to move, think, and feel a certain way? That’s pure Hell.
One Piece Keeps Proving It’s The Best Anime Adaptation
Netflix’s One Piece didn’t bring over Mr. 3’s candle champion ability, but what it does keep intact is that the killer is a complete coward. Mr. 3’s running away at the first sign of an equal fight is a hilarious moment topped only by the very satisfying hammerpunch that Luffy lands on him to put an end to the nightmare. For now, as in the original story, he comes back later with his real name, Galdino, and while he’s not quite an ally to the Straw Hat Pirates, he does recognize when there’s a larger, much more dangerous enemy that needs to be taken down, and Luffy is the only one who can do it.
Thanks to the inclusion of the manga’s author Oda, Netflix’s One Piece adaptation is not only faithful to the source material, it’s the perfect entry point for those curious about the Straw Hat Pirates but scared to tackle the 1000+ episodes of the anime. And sometimes, it might even be a little bit better.
Entertainment
How to contact Amazon customer service during your Big Spring Sale shopping spree
Table of Contents
Another Amazon sale is upon us. The Big Spring Sale returns for its third year in a row in 2026 and runs from March 25-31.
With new deals dropping all week long, shopping can get pretty overwhelming. We know all too well that it’s easy to get caught up in the sales, indulge in some impulse purchasing, and experience a little buyer’s remorse. No judgment.
As with every major Amazon sale, deals started popping off ahead of the official event kickoff, and there are lots more to come. If you run into some questions or concerns during your shopping journey — from classic cases of buyer’s remorse to damaged packages to Prime membership questions — it’s good to know that you can actually speak to customer service.
Since contacting Amazon can be tricky at times, here are all the ways you can get in touch with customer service for a smoother online shopping experience before, during, and after the Big Spring Sale:
Amazon customer service help page
This is probably the most common and easiest way to look for answers to common queries, such as those about Amazon’s return policies or information about international shipping. The page contains a whole library of questions that users can get answers to, including how to track packages, cancel orders, or start a return. Your most recent purchases will pop up at the top of the page for easy navigation.
To access Amazon’s Customer Service Help Page, go to the website landing page and click on “Customer Service” in the top left of the screen.
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Amazon customer service email
Sometimes customer queries need to be worked through on a case-by-case basis, and the answers on the official website need to be more specific to offer any help to shoppers. In these cases, users can email [email protected] and explain their issues. Remember that contacting Amazon’s customer service via email might not be the best solution if you have an urgent question regarding your purchases, since customers are unlikely to get a prompt response.
Amazon customer service phone number
Need a quicker reply? Call Amazon at 1-888-280-4331. When customers call this number, a bot picks up the phone and eventually connects them to Amazon staff, depending on the type of query that needs to be answered. It’s important to note that customers should have a cell phone number connected to their Amazon account. Customers must enter verification codes that will be messaged to their linked contact information before using this service. In other words, things can get a bit tricky if you’re sharing an account with someone else.
Amazon online chat service
Real-time chatting with Amazon representatives is the most convenient way to get all your questions answered. To use the live chat feature, return to the Customer Service help page and click on “Help with something else.” When the list pops up underneath, choose “something else” once again. Another page opens with a list of more help options. Select “I need help with something else.”
Now you’ve officially entered the chat. Type “Talk to associate” in the chat box. Amazon’s messaging assistant might prompt you to give more info on your issue, which you can, but if you’d rather get to a real person ASAP, you can select “I need more help” from the pre-written responses.
From there, you can choose if you’d prefer to talk via chat or call. If you’re looking for immediate help with a Prime Day purchase — be it due to buyer’s remorse, a damaged package, an address change, etc. — this is your best bet to get your needs met.
For simple questions, Amazon’s AI chat feature (launched in 2024) called “Rufus” can help customers solve some problems and make more informed purchase decisions.
If your questions aren’t that urgent, you can contact Amazon Customer Service at @amazonhelp on X, @amazon on Instagram, and www.facebook.com/Amazon on Facebook.
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