Michael Caine Movie That Made Him A Star Targeted As Favorite Of White Nationalists, Actor Responds With An Incredible Snapback
Michael Caine hates that white nationalists consider his film, Zulu, to be essential viewing for their cause and thinks it's a "load of bulls**t."
Michael Caine’s 1964 film Zulu has been tagged as a key text for white nationalists during a recent study on the continuing rise of the harmful and hateful ideology. According to a report from Sky News, independent groups have found that the UK government is not doing enough to combat the disturbing rise in white nationalism in society and politics, a growing trend seen across many parts of the world in recent years. Michael Caine clapped back at the allegations of the film’s themes and messages, stating, “That is the biggest load of bull*** I have ever heard.”
Two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine has had a long and illustrious career, spanning nearly 200 film and television appearances over 8 decades. In the year 2000, the Dark Knight star received a BAFTA award and his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to cinema. As he claims, Caine’s historic career success can be traced back to his 1964 leading appearance in Zulu.
The British war epic depicts the real-life battle of Rork’s Drift, in which the British royal army fought against the Zulu Kingdom, a group of warriors from a Southern African nation known as KwaZulu or the Kingdom of Zululand. The 1879 battle depicted shows how 150 British soldiers, 30 of whom were previously injured, successfully faced off against the forces of over 4,000 Zulu warriors. Michael Caine stars as Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, an inexperienced and arrogant officer who comes to be a great soldier through the humbling events of this battle.
The Michael Caine epic may be considered essential for white nationalists due to its subject matter, in which a team of outnumbered British soldiers defends themselves successfully from an enormous army of Africans. Obviously, the film doesn’t intend to convey a racist message or a message that any one race is inherently better or more powerful than any other and intends to be a dramatization of true events. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time white nationalists have connected themselves to media that doesn’t seek to affirm their views.
Of course, the Now You See Me star can barely stand the very thought of this harmful practice, slamming those who view his films through such a lens as insincere. Caine reiterated that his political stance is largely fluid and that he finds himself voting his conscience across both sides of the political spectrum per his own individual thoughts and feelings. He’s in good company, following James Gunn recently having to go on the attack against MCU fans making racist attacks against his Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 villain.
In today’s increasingly polarized political climate, it becomes increasingly difficult to create a welcoming environment where art can be genuinely critiqued on its own merit, without one group or another deriding or praising a film beyond the creator’s original intent. Perhaps Zulu does strike a chord with white nationalists, much to the chagrin of the film’s creators, but those ideologically inconsistent fringe groups will find anything to latch onto if given a chance. Of course, as Michael Caine very plainly stated, it’s all just a big load of bull****.
