A black face and a thousand ships, by Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

We read Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ when we were in school, about King Odysseus of Ithaca who joined other Kings in the Trojan war. It took King Odysseus ten long years to make it back home to Ithaca. We remember the captivating, epic story of love, honour, betrayal, loyalty and redemption. The adventures of King Odysseus began with the narrative of ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’. Helen of Troy was known in Greek mythology as the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the daughter of the God Zeus and Leda. Many Greek Kings wanted her, and she ended up with King Menelaus of Sparta. The myth was not clear if Helen fell in love with the visiting Trojan Prince Paris and eloped with him, or if he kidnapped her. 

What is without doubt is the rage of her husband and his determination to get her back. A massive Greek fleet was assembled by King Menelaus and his allies, and they proceeded to lay siege on Troy. Reading Homer’s ‘The lliad’, as a child who was being educated in a post-colonial, commonwealth country, it is no surprise that right from the time I learnt about these characters, the image of Helen of Troy was one of a white woman. Who else would have a face that could launch a thousand ships? When Hollywood produced the Cleopatra epic in 1963, there was no outrage, when Elizabeth Taylor was cast as Cleopatra. Cleopatra existed for real, she was not a mythical character like Helen of Troy, yet the most acceptable face to portray her was a Caucasian actress.

In 2004, Wolfgang Peterson produced Troy, which was an all-star mega production. According to reports, famous actresses such as Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman were considered for the role of Helen. Wolfgang Peterson, who was also the Director, insisted on throwing it open to a global search that involved thousands of candidates. He settled for the German actress Diane Kruger who met all the boxes he had in mind. Knowing Hollywood standard operating procedures, it was clear that whether famous or unknown, the ‘face that launched a thousand ships’ would be a white one. Till Christopher Nolan came along.

In July 2026, The Odyssey was released to mixed reviews. While many acclaim the story-telling, cinematography and acting, the film is going to be best known for the casting choices of the Director, Christopher Nolan.  The casting of Lupita Nyong’O as Helen of Troy has inspired reactions ranging from shock to disbelief and even disgust. Helen of Troy was the daughter of a God, her beauty was incomparable, she was so desirable that Kings fought for her and over her for years. Her face placed a thousand ships on the sea. That face, as literature, history, popular culture and convention has tried to tell us over the years, was definitely one that met global beauty standards. A face with the right skin tone, cheek bones, eyes, nose, neck. A body with all the right proportions. A woman who could be described as a Goddess. The image that Helen Kruger famously embodied when she played the role in 2004. In essence, what the reactions to Lupita Nyong’O’s casting as Helen of Troy tells us is that a black woman can never be beautiful enough to force Kings to go to war. 

Christopher Nolan could have chosen to cast any other actress of colour. He had many choices which included Latina, Asian and light skinned black women, with famous names from all those communities. Yet, he chose Lupita Nyong’O, a woman who is ‘unarguably black’. An Oscar and Daytime Emmy award winner. A woman from the African continent, who has distinguished herself as a film and stage actress. A model, producer, philanthropist and social justice advocate.

What was Christopher Nolan trying to say with his casting of Lupita? He has not said why, he does not need to defend his choice. His attitude seems to be ‘Why not?’ We can attempt to read between the lines. Christopher Nolan’s agenda might have been to generate controversy. Controversy means attention and it is all good for ticket sales. However, the meaning I choose to give his choice is, ‘Who defines what beauty is? Who sets the standards? Who makes the rules?’ Too many times, we have been told and shown, what ‘beauty’ looks like. Beauty is tall, fair-skinned, slim, straight nose, long and wavy hair.  There was a time when I thought we had overcome this narrative and had started to affirm the wholistic beauty of black women. Sadly, looking at the reactions to Lupita’s role as Helen of Troy, and seeing what is happening with many young women of colour, particularly African women, this battle is far from over. Right from the times of slavery when the shade of your skin determined if you would spend your life working in the fields or in the Master’s house, black women have suffered the consequences of falling within or without the established beauty standards.

In some of our communities, being plump with ‘front and back endowments’ were acceptable beauty norms. Trust patriarchy to capitalize on this. For those born without, the savvy producers of artificial breasts, hips and backsides now do brisk business. What the manufacturers of these contraptions cannot do, medical procedures can take it from there. We now even have artificial pubic hair! So, we see young women struggling to invest resources trying to live up to these questionable standards of beauty. In the process, they not only endanger their health, they internalise all the negative stereotypes about how low black women are on the beauty hierarchy.

The beauty industry has lived off our insecurities for too long. Fixations on skinny bodies, large, firm breasts, small waists, firm behinds, skin bleaching, expensive wigs, make-up that is unsuitable for all skintones, dubious skin-care products, we have had too much of this shoved down our throats. Beauty is universal, and so it makes sense that expressions of beauty are everywhere, regardless of race, ethnicity, body size, hair texture and skin tone. Recently, Naomie Pilula, a Lawyer from Zambia, posted a selfie of herself. It went viral, with astonishing comments about how ugly she was, the level of cyber-bullying was terrible. Naomie, however, proceeded to teach her detractors a powerful lesson. She not only refused to take her photograph down, she stated that she knows she might not fit conventional beauty standards, but she loves herself and embraces her unique appearance. Naomie went from being a laughingstock because of her ‘lack of beauty’ to commanding respect due to her integrity.

In 2026, thanks to Christopher Nolan, when we think about ‘a face that launched a thousand ships’, the image that comes to mind should not automatically be that of a blue-eyed, blond, model-thin Caucasian woman. Who is a beautiful woman? Lupita Nyong’O is a resilient, dignified, well-educated, award-winning, talented woman. A worthy role model, whose beauty is internal as well as external. Let us encourage our daughters to seek self-love like Lupita and Naomie, and support them to make affirming choices. Let them grow to be proud of whatever size or shade they are. They should know that they are worthy and they are enough. 

They should have power and control over their image on their own terms, and not because they believe this is what men want. Many men don’t even know what they want. People should stop calling light-skinned women ‘clean’ and dark-skinned women, ‘dirty’. It is appalling and makes us no better than our then slave masters. No woman should be made to feel that she is too ugly or unattractive for the world she lives in. Who determines that? Is itthe men she will come across, many of who will likely look like they got run over by a bus? Not every man is a Denzel Washington, Idris Elba, Jude Bellingham or Maduka Okoye. Black women are beautiful. African women are beautiful. And Lupita Nyong’O? She is a Goddess whose face and body can launch a thousand missiles.

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