Reminds me of Doctor Strange.
"We're going to fix this asian character by turning them into a white person. That won't cause any controversy at all."
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Ghost in the Shell's ending spurs new accusations of even worse whitewashing
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"We're going to fix this asian character by turning them into a white person. That won't cause any controversy at all."
Megalosaro
Banned
That wS done to appease the Chinese government.
ClosingADoor
Member
Maybe I'm just not getting it or something, but what is the issue? Is the way it is presented in the movie bad?
I get the issue with not casting a Japanese actress when the character in the original was Japanese. But now that she is white, I don't really get why this makes it somehow worse (or better).
I get the issue with not casting a Japanese actress when the character in the original was Japanese. But now that she is white, I don't really get why this makes it somehow worse (or better).
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I'm glad I decoded not to watch this movie out of principle
You don't think it's insane that the studio
transplanted japanese brains into white bodies
She is not white.
She is literally the brain of a Japanese woman called Motoko Kusanagai transplanted into a white woman body. She is AN ASIAN PERSON INSIDE A WHITE BODY.
I guess they thought they were being clever or something.
I'm guessing
Kuze,
He was also Asian in the second season of the series (Stand Alone Complex) where the original character, Hideo Kuze, is from
EDIT: Ah, edit to the OP confirms my suspicion.
I mean, inherent whitewashing that was already there aside, I don't see how moving someones conciseness from one body of one race to another is that big a deal. It just seems like a pretty dumb way to avoid controversy that backfired.
They should have hired an Asian actor in the first place, IMO. But we're here now, sooo...
They should have hired an Asian actor in the first place, IMO. But we're here now, sooo...
Lol how can anyone know whether or not they've seen the movie you're talking about unless they click the spoiler to see what the movie is?
Dash_Riprock
Member
The film is bombing because WoM bad and the trailers sucked at selling the premise. You really think the average viewer gives a fuck about the controversy?
Doctor Strange had the exact same problems but the film made bank cause bullshit casting aside it was a decent film.
Because if they hadn't explained that she was really "Asian" all along, it would've just been another Hollywood thing, Asian roles getting erased, whatever. Par for the course unfortunately.
In this movie, an Asian person's role is LITERALLY erased.
funkystudent
Member
Yeah. Once I heard about this "twist" I had to laugh. Literally purposefully stepping on a mine when they could have just avoided it all together.
I want to meet the person involved in this movie that thought this was the right thing to do.
I want to meet the person involved in this movie that thought this was the right thing to do.
Why do people always use this bullshit excuse in these kinds of situations?
"Yeah, they white-washed, but at least they got a multicultural cast to play second fiddle and be in the background to the white actor."
Silver Arrows
Banned
This film is going to be remembered for how white washed it is.
As it should be.
As it should be.
I'm going to try and guess their race
Sweeney Tom
Banned
Getting the popcorn ready for that bomba box office announcement tomorrow
ultracal31
You don't get to bring friends.
I honestly think what it is no one wants to admit they made a mistake after the money has been spent so they basically double down on it.
Like him or not, Max Landis touches upon this
ShironRedshift
Member
Because
there is an Asian Major in the movie. She just couldn't be cast in the main starring role as the Major because ???. It just makes the whole thing even dumber. Either make the Major white the whole time, or not. The movie instead says that she was Asian in the past, but just not during the majority of the film, so why not just give an Asian the role to begin with instead of only giving them a few minutes of screen-time? It just literally hitting the audience in the face with how "yeah, we totally whitewashed this role, and look, we could have had this character playing the role of the Major the entire movie instead of ScarJo and there was literally nothing stopping us from doing that (especially since "star power" is a fuckin' myth at this point for the by and large part that Hollywood just desperately clings to), but decided not to, because lol fuck you!". It just makes the whole thing even more hilariously tone-deaf.
This is like if The Last Samurai inserted some pseudo-mystical nonsense about how Tom Cruise is the reincarnation of a historical samurai warrior. Not only is it unnecessary, but it just exacerbates any criticism of "whitewashing" by being remarkably tone deaf.
The guy screaming in horror will never get old
parrotbeak
Member
Diversity is what you do in the background of the story of the film, not in the casting of the show.
As a Japanese American I was still on the fence on whether i'd see it cuz I honestly liked the trailer. Maybe I'll watch Get Out again and then sneak into it after.
As a Japanese American I was still on the fence on whether i'd see it cuz I honestly liked the trailer. Maybe I'll watch Get Out again and then sneak into it after.
Honestly you'd have to some kind of moron. It's like a GAF post making fun of the movie's whitewashing, but made real.
People moaning about the non-existant whitewashing in Iron Fist and wanting the character to be Asian because it's apparently impossible for a kung-fu master to be non-Asian while failing to see the irony will never not be funny.
Going to see this on Wednesday, not sure what to expect. I saw the original a few weeks ago when it got a cinema release here in the UK for one night only.
What did he mean by this?
Member
Shouldnt spoil other films in this thread!
Dash_Riprock
Member
Or like if they made a movie about the 47 Ronin, Japan's national fable, and inserted a half-white guy with no bearing to the actual plot and made HIM the main focus-- oh wait...
Whoa whoa whoa, hold up.
The only people in the movie that are talking like this process is the path to perfection are white rich corporation heads who were kidnapping dozens of children off the street to be experimented on. The MOVIE, if anything, is saying the opposite, that such a process is a horrific thing to witness and the people who are responsible for it are deplorable, being haunted endlessly by guilt at best and being straight up evil at worse.
If you missed that, you missed the entire subplot of the movie
If you missed that, you missed the entire subplot of the movie
Kinda, yeah. Same moral and resolution.
The stupid thing is... why should the major having supressed memories of being a japanese woman even be a major plot point? The only hook is the tie in to the whitewashing meta-controversy. She's not a white supremacist. She doesn't have a grudge against japanese people.
It comes off as a huge, tone deaf "Fuck you" because it is
It comes off as a huge, tone deaf "Fuck you" because it is
Only watch the first film. The sequels aren't really good films. Fuck Andy Lau.
On topic, I'm not even surprised anymore. And people say it's the BEST anime to film adaption. Like it means anything.
DrunkShogun
Member
Glad I decided not to watch the movie. Will make my friends watch the original if they bring it up. What a dumb plot that can only offend.
Yeah they have the best summary and reaction I've seen. I'm glad I'm not the only one that see's something wrong with this.
It boggles my mind how they couldn't realise, that it makes it worse, how did they fuck that up?
I could have tolerated it if they'd just not mentioned it but not like this, they did the worst possible thing.
Maintenance
Member
Only a thousand times shittier.
Everyone on the development team at Hanka Robotics is either naturally white or so much of a cyborg that their race doesn't really factor into things anymore.
Let's not get crazy, white people are the badguys of this movie. It's not that the villains happen to be white, it's that white people are the villains.
hipsterpants
Member
Yeah I just saw this today and was amazed by how hilariously stupid it was. It doesn't even make sense because the rest of the film is pretty diverse! It's not like it wouldn't make sense for her to be white in the first place.
ultracal31
You don't get to bring friends.
Best one is still Speed Racer and I'm fully aware that it's not a best movie in the world by a long shot but people want to give Ghost a pass cause its insanely visually pretty which I credit more to the original (and the VFX studios) than the live action movie.
You don't get a pass in my opinion for just copy and paste the original imagery
I mean, it is...But you're right, that means nothing.
Get ready though, Death Note is coming, and if you're mad about white washing here, you will be LIVID on that one.
mortal
Gold Member
The justification of whitewashing by pleading "wider market appeal" is so pathetic. It's essentially appeasing to those with racial and cultural prejudice, and legitimizing their ideals in exchange for profit. That shit is incredibly harmful for art, as well as humanity as a species.
My empathy and ability to relate to a character (real or fictional) starts at them being a human being, simple as that. Whether male, female, transgender, of this ethnicity or of another.
My only job is to try to be even a little open minded to the story be told. Hell, people seem to have no problem being able to enjoy movies with lead characters that aren't even human.
It's always a half measure with Hollywood. You either have a unconventional female protagonist, but she needs to be caucasian. Can't have both because "reasons".
It's even more of shame when they have such an amazing world and concept to draw from, and make some really interesting and thought provoking ideas and statements about humanity and culture in reference to technology how of much a game changer it is for civilization.
Forget leaving this planet and colonizing any planet, if things like this persist.
My empathy and ability to relate to a character (real or fictional) starts at them being a human being, simple as that. Whether male, female, transgender, of this ethnicity or of another.
My only job is to try to be even a little open minded to the story be told. Hell, people seem to have no problem being able to enjoy movies with lead characters that aren't even human.
It's always a half measure with Hollywood. You either have a unconventional female protagonist, but she needs to be caucasian. Can't have both because "reasons".
It's even more of shame when they have such an amazing world and concept to draw from, and make some really interesting and thought provoking ideas and statements about humanity and culture in reference to technology how of much a game changer it is for civilization.
Forget leaving this planet and colonizing any planet, if things like this persist.
You could make that point a lot better if the protagonist being Asian "inside" was dealt with throughout the film and not via twist ending.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Double Toasted humorously put me onto this (watch last 10 minutes or so of their review), saving me time and money.
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