Fan Art Friday: Depp as Che

Oh my. Someone went there.

Here's the iconic photo of Che himself:

And of course, we all know about Johnny's Che necklace:

Well, I suppose if someone were to do an American remake of The Motorcycle Diaries, Johnny could play Che. Even though he's going to be 50 this coming June, he's fortunate enough to have maintained his youthful looks, so he could pass for the 39 years old that Che was when he was executed in 1967. I wonder if anyone has ever approached Johnny about this.

Now, as a way of maintaining balance, have a look at this article which does describe some of the darker aspects of Che's ways and the Cuban world he lived in, including this excerpt:

In a famous speech in 1961 Che Guevara denounced the very “spirit of rebellion” as “reprehensible.” “Youth must refrain from ungrateful questioning of governmental mandates” commanded Guevara. “Instead they must dedicate themselves to study, work and military service.”

And woe to those youths “who stayed up late at might and thus reported to work (government forced-labor) tardily.” Youth, wrote Guevara, ” should learn to think and act as a mass.” “Those who chose their own path” (as in growing long hair and listening to Yankee-Imperialist Rock & Roll) were denounced as worthless “lumpen” and “delinquents.” In his famous speech Che Guevara even vowed, “to make individualism disappear from Cuba! It is criminal to think of individuals!”

Tens of thousands of Cuban youths learned that Che Guevara’s admonitions were more than idle bombast. In Che Guevara the hundreds of Soviet KGB and East German secret police STASI “consultants” who flooded Cuba in the early 60′s, found an extremely eager acolyte. By the mid 60′s the crime of a “rocker” lifestyle or effeminate behavior got thousands of youths yanked off Cuba’s streets and parks by secret police and dumped in prison camps with “Work Will Make Men Out of You” in bold letters above the gate (the one at Auschwitz’ gate read: “Work Will Set You Free) and with machine gunners posted on the watchtowers. The initials for these camps were UMAP, not GULAG, but the conditions were much the same.

Hmmmm. Had JD taken this into consideration when he bought his Che necklace? Considering that Johnny himself is a high school dropout - he never served in the military - he likes to wear his hair long - he plays rock music - he's rather an individualist - he has chosen his own path in life and his acting career - it seems Johnny himself is exactly what would have given Che serious heartburn; if Che could see Johnny right now, Che would be reaching for the Tums. I wonder if Johnny is aware of this?