The Roma Roots of Pop Culture Icons

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Published on Friday, 05 August 2016 13:45
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How Hollywood whitewashed the Roma heritage of some of its most beloved characters.
Open Society Foundations When 20th Century Fox released the movie X-Men 16 years ago, it whitewashed the background of one of its central characters.

Magneto, after all, is Sinto-Roma.

Many of our most beloved comic book characters, in fact, have Roma roots—roots which, were they more visible, could help bolster the self-perceptions of young Roma people.

Demonstrators holding a sign © Markus Heine/Newscom Facebook Twitter

Today, on Roma Genocide Remembrance Day, learn about which pop culture icons were originally conceived as Roma, and why Hollywood scrubbed away their true heritage.

Also:

Roma Holocaust survivors
Learn More
Two survivors of the Roma genocide share their stories.

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