In an interview with NewNowNext, Haaz Sleiman, who’s a supporting cast member on The Eternals discussed his character’s relationship with the superhero Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry). Now, I’m pretty sure some people in the comment section will say something along the lines of “Urgh! Just make good movies instead of SJW nonsense.” Here’s the thing. Including an LGBT character in the film (or centring it around women and people of colour) will not automatically make it good. This could very well be a horrendous movie. But diversity and representation itself is never a bad thing. Some of my favourite superheroes are white, heterosexual males — I love Batman, Iron Man, Wolverine, etc — but I also want to see people of all walks of life, people of different creed, colour and sexuality. Having said that, there’s a very real possibility that The Eternals could be banned in Malaysia given that our government does not allow the portrayal of LGBT characters on screen (unless said character is a dipsh*t who “repents” or dies by the end of the film). Even if it isn’t banned, expect heavy censorship. Which of course, sucks as censorship is a form of oppression.
