Race in Epic: Black Men

For the purposes of this, I'm going to be discussing Eurylochus, Ares, and Antinous.

**Edit, corrected Antinous's name

Obvious disclaimer that the characters don't 100% have canon races, some other characters (Perimedes) are also voiced by black VAs, race is somewhat socially constructed, both Jorge and Armando are Puerto Rican, etc.

Also disclaimer: I am not calling any of the writers/cast/crew/animators involved with the project of Epic the Musical "racist."

See my post about the role of Calypso as a black woman here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Epicthemusical/s/DYqRzBuEAn

The three black male characters in Epic, are, generally speaking, portrayed as more aggressive, less intelligent, and more in the wrong than their lighter-skinned counterparts (LSCs). They are also all, at least once, "put in their place" by their LSCs.

Antinous is an obvious example of this as a villan, where he's a bully, misogynistic, bloodthirsty, lecherous, and a would-be rapist and murdererer. He's arguably "put in his place" by Telemachus and Athena, even if he ultimately wins the fight, and unceremoniously killed by Odysseus. He also could have been played as more strategic and scheming, with his (I'm going to be blunt here) rape of Penelope being a tactical move to claim the queen and produce heirs, or even as an overtly vengeful act, but although it IS both those things, the lyrics and visuals play far more into the sexual element, as he talks about opening things, getting a taste, spoils, etc. all of this is also reinforced by making what was in the OG Odyssey, a rape as marriage, into a brutal and "savage" gang-rape plot.

Ares is different than the other two, both in that he is a god, and in that he is widely regarded in a very positive way. However, undeniably, the God of war is portrayed as aggressive, mean-spirited (calling Telemachus weak) and arguably stupid (Odysseus should have fought Scylla). He's firmly put in his place by his LSC Athena, who literally defeats him in combat, despite him being painted as more agressive. (This just is a common racialized trope, "our enemies are both strong and weak") One thing I would "push back on" a little, is which roles the majority of people are comfortable seeing black people in. I would be willing to bet, that as a rule, people would be more comfortable with Ares, Hephaestus and Hades being black, than Apollo, Hermes and Zeus.

To paraphrase from a conversation that I had with another user on this sub, they felt it made logical sense for Aelous, as a personification on the wind to be white, and Calypso, an island goddess out in the sun to be black. Pushing back there, I would point out that racially homogenized cultures with no white people still have wind/cloud/sky deities, and they aren't magically white. I would say similar things about the gods.

Eurylochus. Such a controversial figure. I want to use this final member of the trio to talk about how I really don't find his characterization by Jorge and Armando to be racist, but I do find it suspicious how I see him talked about in the fandom.

Eurylochus is cautious, if cowardly. He's impulsive in thought, but rarely action (he prompts Odysseus that they should run in the cyclops cave, he doesn't take off running). He is loving, and loyal, and cares for the men under his command. He's strategic, and even if sometimes wrong, he does a good job at talking through things, and there's a lot of evidence that he and Odysseus do well when they take each other's council.

But that's not how I see fans talking about him. Things commonly said about Eurylochus: he's stupid. He's greedy. He's gluttonous (his opening and closing scene is about food). His insubordinate and disloyal. He's a hypocrite. He's quick to violence and slow to reason. He doesn't care about others.

It makes me feel a little crazy to see people so quick to talk about how greedy/stupid/agressive a black character is, especially when I don't think he is portrayed that way. It gets under my skin to see people endlessly harp on the audacity of a black man being disobedient to his LSC who is explicitly "his better."

I don't think anything with Eurylochus is as simple as the way in which he's portrayed, or something silly like "the fans are racist" but I do think that there's a lack of care for how Eurylochus discourse can arrive in some objectively racist places that is pretty far removed from how the character is written. Is it that it's easy to lock a character who looks and sounds like Eurylochus into certain roles and situations? Is it that a few things went underdeveloped and its random chance that people filled in the gaps with things that could unintentionally be racist? I don't know, but this feels like there's too much there for it to just be random.

This post is already much too long, so please remember that I engage with analysis because I enjoy it, not to attack anyone, or "cancel" anything. Please also note that I'm limited by this format, so be curious before you assume I'm stupid for not addressing something. I'm happy to talk more on the subject, I just had to end the body text eventually.