'Noah' co-screenwriter defends lack of blacks in Biblical film

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The hit melodrama Noah has been subject to widespread criticism for its departures from Biblical text but also for its lack of racial diversity.

Recently, Ari Handel, a co-screenwriter of the film addressed the latter complaint about the Darren Aronofsky film.

“From the beginning, we were concerned about casting, the issue of race. What we realized is that this story is functioning at the level of myth, and as a mythical story, the race of the individuals doesn’t matter. They’re supposed to be stand-ins for all people. Either you end up with a Bennetton ad or the crew of the Starship Enterprise,” Handel told website The High Calling.

“You either try to put everything in there, which just calls attention to it, or you just say, “Let’s make that not a factor, because we’re trying to deal with everyman.” Looking at this story through that kind of lens is the same as saying, “Would the ark float and is it big enough to get all the species in there?” That’s irrelevant to the questions because the questions are operating on a different plane than that; they’re operating on the mythical plane,” he added.

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