THE
DARK TOWER
by: Naleighna Kai
T
ruthfully, they wanted to hate it long before it hit the silver screen. Why? When Idris Elba was
announced as the lead for Stephen King’s unique and expertly delivered Gunslinger series, it turned
the literary world on its ear.
In the book, the main character was written as a kind of “Clint Eastwood” type, a far cry from the chocolate
heartthrob that sends panties rolling to the nearest floor. No matter how big of a star Idris is, critics, fans
of Stephen King, were already taking the movie to task simply because Hollywood flipped the script and
did the reverse of what they’ve always done. This time instead of “white washing” a movie by putting a
well-known White actor or actress in a role that was clearly, either historically or by the author and/or
scriptwriter’s design, made for a Person of Color. That has, and always been, the norm. People, especially
People of Color, have talked about it for years. Nothing changed.
Now the reviews are in for The Dark Tower, and they are coming at the movie with both barrels, guns
blazing. Pun intended. They never wanted to give it chance in the first place. Here’s the thing, Stephen
King has been no stranger to casting strong Black female leads in his novels. Think The Stand and The
Dark Tower. In the Stand, a woman, later played by the late Ruby Dee, pulled the people from all over the
country to take a stand against evil. She was the one to encourage, give them truth, and give them hope.
In the Dark Tower Series, King pulled a woman from 60’s, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
This woman carries a strength only some people could imagine. If no other White man wants to write about
that Black Girl Magic, Stephen King isn’t afraid to go there. So why is it so hard to believe that he wouldn’t
have a problem with having Idris as a gunslinger?
Well, despite what the critics have put out there, I’m going to mosey on down to theatre and give
the movie a whirl myself. Afterall, critics have been known to be wrong. And
they’ve definitely tipped their hand that they’re already biased.
Naleighna
Kai
Literary
Cafe
Magazine
July/August
2017
Naleighna
Kai
Literary
Cafe
Magazine
July/August
2017 27
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