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Asian-GAF: We're all the same, like Stormtroopers |OT| |AT|

So, uh, ABC Australia, TVNZ and Netflix are adapting Journey to the West.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/20...ing-begins-on-the-legend-of-monke_a_22047201/

WHITEWASH ALERT. (⊙_⊙)
8458314-3x2-940x627.jpg

Netflix has quite a lot of Asian "original" content lately so I thought they could have done some better casting production.
 

hirokazu

Member
I wonder if they'll even go as far to set the story in Europe instead of Asia too.
Going by that monk, that might be what they're doing with it. Except the ABC are trying to drum up hype for it by calling it a reboot of Monkey, which it doesn't seem to be (they aired Monkey here in the 80s and 90s).
 

wandering

Banned
So, uh, ABC Australia, TVNZ and Netflix are adapting Journey to the West.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/20...ing-begins-on-the-legend-of-monke_a_22047201/

WHITEWASH ALERT. (⊙_⊙)
8458314-3x2-940x627.jpg

Well that looks pretty dumb, but those three actors on the left look like Pacific Islanders.

edit:

Aight, did some digging. Pigsy's Maori, Tripitaka's Tongan, and Monkey King's Thai. Doesn't mean anything as to the cultural accuracy or quality of the adaptation, but I wouldn't call it whitewashing per se.
 

hirokazu

Member
Well that looks pretty dumb, but those three actors on the left look like Pacific Islanders.

edit:
Aight, did some digging. Pigsy's Maori, Tripitaka's Tongan, and Monkey King's Thai. Doesn't mean anything as to the cultural accuracy or quality of the adaptation, but I wouldn't call it whitewashing per se.
I went and looked up the synopsis as well and it really does have nothing to do with the original Monkey. I'm disappointed because ABC calling it reboot so I expected an Asian cast, but it's not.

But yeah, it seems all of them have Pacific Island heritage except Monkey, who is part Thai. None of them look Asian, but I guess it doesn't matter if they're not even setting it in Asia anymore.
 

Llyranor

Member
I'll let it go if it's just an adaptation. Like Shakespeare in feudal Japan or whatever. I'm also fine​ with Pacific Islander actors getting opportunities.
 

SRG01

Member
Three of four of those characters are clearly not white, so I don't understand where the whitewashing comment came from?
 

Cybit

FGC Waterboy
Three of four of those characters are clearly not white, so I don't understand where the whitewashing comment came from?

People need internet clicks and money; and stirring up the outrage machine is a great way to do so. We haven't figured out / admitted to ourselves that we're the new easy moral marks for corporations / writers to make money off of by twisting facts and getting us all outraged.

(AKA, the story of whole foods)
 

MikeMyers

Member
I actually hope it's as blatant as possible so it can be mercilessly mocked.

Going by that monk, that might be what they're doing with it. Except the ABC are trying to drum up hype for it by calling it a reboot of Monkey, which it doesn't seem to be (they aired Monkey here in the 80s and 90s).

Hmm, now that I think about it. I've never read Journey to the West, just seen loose adaptations of it. Maybe I should look into it.
 

Goofalo

Member

Jamie Chung had a really shitty take on Henry Golding being cast as Nick Young. She more or less called it whitewashing. Its only remarkable because, she's a bad actress criticizing the casting choices of better actors than her, and she fucking played Mulan and is not Chinese.
 
I keep forgetting just how huge Awkwafina is compared to a few years ago. Mildly salty that she is getting more famous compared to her buddy, Dumbfoundead :p

But both are just chasing something different though 👍

I've also been hoping that David So blows up. The dude is hilarious.
 

milkham

Member
How do you guys feel about Asian actors and actresses being cast as characters with totally non-asian names?

I was watching Gotham and Jaimie Chung was playing a character named Valerie Vale. On the Netflix show 13 reasons Why, the two East Asian actors were playing characters named Zach Dempsey and Courtney Crimsen. The guy who plays Dempsey is also Reggie Mantle on Riverdale.

I get that this happens in real life, adoptions, marriage etc, and this is good in the sense that open casting is giving more actors chances, but I can't help feeling that this is also in part perpetuating the invisibility of Asian Americans.
 

Zoe

Member
There's also Felix Lutz played by Leonardo Nam in Westworld.

(Who I totally didn't recognize as one of the baddies in Tokyo Drift)
 

Goofalo

Member
I think its nice Asian-American actors are given roles which don't pigeon hole them into being exclusively Asian-American. There was a time when an Asian-American would never even be looked at for a role named "Zach Dempsey" or "Valerie Vale."

I think just because we as Asian-Americans, have a story to tell, doesn't mean we always have to tell it. Sometimes, its just nice to be an American, and not have to explain it or justify it.
 
How do you guys feel about Asian actors and actresses being cast as characters with totally non-asian names?

I was watching Gotham and Jaimie Chung was playing a character named Valerie Vale. On the Netflix show 13 reasons Why, the two East Asian actors were playing characters named Zach Dempsey and Courtney Crimsen. The guy who plays Dempsey is also Reggie Mantle on Riverdale.

I get that this happens in real life, adoptions, marriage etc, and this is good in the sense that open casting is giving more actors chances, but I can't help feeling that this is also in part perpetuating the invisibility of Asian Americans.

It sort of bothers me while sometimes it doesn't. I don't know.
 

SystemBug

Member
I think its nice Asian-American actors are given roles which don't pigeon hole them into being exclusively Asian-American. There was a time when an Asian-American would never even be looked at for a role named "Zach Dempsey" or "Valerie Vale."

I think just because we as Asian-Americans, have a story to tell, doesn't mean we always have to tell it. Sometimes, its just nice to be an American, and not have to explain it or justify it.

I think Tom Haverford is a good example of this. Has a white name, but that was due to him changing it to be more appealing in politics.
 

robox

Member
my cousin is half white half chinese. he's marrying a taiwanese girl. kids are gonna look asian with a non-asian last name.
met a dude last name hassan, from one of his grandfathers. dude gets double takes on profiling.

it happens for reals, but prob not in the numbers that can be reflected on screen yet
 

cdyhybrid

Member
How do you guys feel about Asian actors and actresses being cast as characters with totally non-asian names?

I was watching Gotham and Jaimie Chung was playing a character named Valerie Vale. On the Netflix show 13 reasons Why, the two East Asian actors were playing characters named Zach Dempsey and Courtney Crimsen. The guy who plays Dempsey is also Reggie Mantle on Riverdale.

I get that this happens in real life, adoptions, marriage etc, and this is good in the sense that open casting is giving more actors chances, but I can't help feeling that this is also in part perpetuating the invisibility of Asian Americans.

I don't have an issue with it in a vacuum. There are people of Asian descent with white/European names. There just needs to be representation of Asian people with Asian names as well.
 
How do you guys feel about Asian actors and actresses being cast as characters with totally non-asian names?

I was watching Gotham and Jaimie Chung was playing a character named Valerie Vale. On the Netflix show 13 reasons Why, the two East Asian actors were playing characters named Zach Dempsey and Courtney Crimsen. The guy who plays Dempsey is also Reggie Mantle on Riverdale.

I get that this happens in real life, adoptions, marriage etc, and this is good in the sense that open casting is giving more actors chances, but I can't help feeling that this is also in part perpetuating the invisibility of Asian Americans.
It doesn't bother me at all. It's not like the opposite, where a white person plays someone with an Asian name.
 

MsKrisp

Member
I know quite a few people with anglo names so I don't see an issue. Some people changed it when they came over, others came from adoption, and some of us are mixed.
 

firelogic

Member
Yeah Asians with non-Asian names happen in the real world but would it have made a big difference to the material if his name was Zack Kim instead of Dempsey? Courtney's name was significant because of her parents but the Dempsey family could easily have an Asian last name. Yes it's good that Asian actors can get "white" roles and this may seem like nitpicking but Asians with Asian last names are way more prevalent.
 

Dongs Macabre

aka Daedalos42
How do you guys feel about Asian actors and actresses being cast as characters with totally non-asian names?

I was watching Gotham and Jaimie Chung was playing a character named Valerie Vale. On the Netflix show 13 reasons Why, the two East Asian actors were playing characters named Zach Dempsey and Courtney Crimsen. The guy who plays Dempsey is also Reggie Mantle on Riverdale.

I get that this happens in real life, adoptions, marriage etc, and this is good in the sense that open casting is giving more actors chances, but I can't help feeling that this is also in part perpetuating the invisibility of Asian Americans.

It makes sense when it's an existing character like B.D. Wong playing Hugo Strange (especially with that kind of comic book-y name), but yeah, I can see that being a bit iffy.
 

Goofalo

Member
Yeah Asians with non-Asian names happen in the real world but would it have made a big difference to the material if his name was Zack Kim instead of Dempsey? Courtney's name was significant because of her parents but the Dempsey family could easily have an Asian last name. Yes it's good that Asian actors can get "white" roles and this may seem like nitpicking but Asians with Asian last names are way more prevalent.

I'm of the generation where all of the Korean-American kids had the same group of like, 12 names. Everyone knows a David Kim or Susan Park, etc. Now we are having kids, and I see names like Parker Lee and Addison Cho. Which is fine, but if I ever met a Zack Kim my age I would have wondered what was up with his parents.
 

Goofalo

Member
Anyone watch Let It Fall? It's about the LA Riots.

I'm wondering jut because, from reading the reviews, it seems like there's nothing on the people whose property ended up being destroyed after the police abandoned them to protect the rich white folks.

I hope more Asian American filmmakers can start doing projects like this. I'd like to see a mainstream, "for white people" kind of film that looks into how the LA Riots forever changed the Korean American diaspora.

Have you seen Gook by Justin Chon? It was pretty good.

And it bothers me that Roof Koreans have become this weird mascot for conservatives who want to play the people of color against each other.
 
What I'm interested in is the part where no one talks about how and why the Korean diaspora ended up in the ghetto in the first place, especially since people looooove throwing around this idea that Asian Americans are sooooo privileged and model minority, etc.

The common argument I hear is that Asians do business in the ghetto but don't contribute anything to it (only hire their own...or don't actually live in the area). Of course we all know this why this is a misconception.
 

Moonkid

Member
Double post but I'm getting my New Zealand citizenship tonight. Wish I had a hanbok to rock but I'm pretty anglicanised anyway so it's accurate I suppose lol. Bit overdue since I've been living here for 18 years now but my parents expected dual citizenship to open up by now.
 

Llyranor

Member
Double post but I'm getting my New Zealand citizenship tonight. Wish I had a hanbok to rock but I'm pretty anglicanised anyway so it's accurate I suppose lol. Bit overdue since I've been living here for 18 years now but my parents expected dual citizenship to open up by now.
How is NZ in terms of openness towards Asians?
 

Moonkid

Member
How is NZ in terms of openness towards Asians?
Pretty open I'd say. NZ prides itself on being multicultural and tolerant given its history and to an extent this is true. With that said, it is a white, Christian hegemony so you still have the usual insidious stuff like the model minority myth.
 

zeemumu

Member
But do Asian men who marry white women poll worse than Asian men who marry Asian women? Does the perspective of it change among Asian men, Asian women, white women, white men? What about vice versa?

And on a more personal note, does your perception of other Asians change if they have nomAsian spouses? Does it diminish someone's Asianness (pretending that it's a quantifiable measure).

Probably. I think it'd poll the worst among Asian women.

And I've had to deal with people telling me I sound white so I've developed a bitter hatred of people attempting to diminish how much you belong to a group based on how they think that minority should act.
 
Off topic but that President Obama and his white ex thread got me thinking.



If an Asian person talked shit on other Asians, married a white person, and tried to then run as a leader for liberal causes, I would definitely slap them down. This includes Asian women who don't like Asian men because "not manly enough," Asian men who talk shit on Asian women for "being too materialistic," or other Asians who say things like "Asians are all so <whatever>."

I don't think marrying a white person automatically disqualifies you from being able to championing social issues around race, but I do think it makes it look more suspect whether or not that's fair. I'll have to look at the other actions.

But do Asian men who marry white women poll worse than Asian men who marry Asian women? Does the perspective of it change among Asian men, Asian women, white women, white men? What about vice versa?

And on a more personal note, does your perception of other Asians change if they have nomAsian spouses? Does it diminish someone's Asianness (pretending that it's a quantifiable measure).
You mean like Tammy Duckworth? My overall impression of her is quite good.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone would bat an eye that she's married to a white guy (I had to look it up, actually), and I have to wonder if it's because it's actually inconsequential to her politics&#8212;as it should be&#8212;or if it's because an Asian woman marrying a white man is seen as normal.
 
I've never really cared about who people be fucking/dating. If you like him/her, then more power to you but don't come at your own race as to why you don't fuck your own race. Also don't come at other races/ethnicities as to why you don't date them anymore because that's just not cool and do you wanna be cool?

I wanna dive into their minds and see why they never ever found their own race attractive when it comes to the opposite sex.

But I do catch myself giving people the side-eye when they talk about race issues when they themselves are dating a person who isn't in the race conversation. I try my best not to judge people on their 'Asianness' though because what the fuck do I know? Maybe they are heavily involved in racial issues and know more about their own background than I do.

How Asian are you though? Lol, I'm probably not even Asian enough to have this conversation!
 

Goofalo

Member
Depends. Most of the time, I think as long as you can share the same experiences, its not an issue. On the other hand...

Example, I know a white guy, hipster wanna be, goes out of his way to be progressive. Moved into a historically Chicano neighborhood that is being gentrified. Has a half-Latina girlfriend who can pass. (But I kinda feel he uses her as his "key.")

His Facebook posts:

Save Neighborhood from Gentrification!
Punch a Nazi! 100 Nazi Scalps!
I bought so much vinyl!

He's a good guy, and I think his heart is in the right place. But...much eye rolling.
 

SystemBug

Member
Depends. Most of the time, I think as long as you can share the same experiences, its not an issue. On the other hand...

Example, I know a white guy, hipster wanna be, goes out of his way to be progressive. Moved into a historically Chicano neighborhood that is being gentrified. Has a half-Latina girlfriend who can pass. (But I kinda feel he uses her as his "key.")

His Facebook posts:

Save Neighborhood from Gentrification!
Punch a Nazi! 100 Nazi Scalps!
I bought so much vinyl!

He's a good guy, and I think his heart is in the right place. But...much eye rolling.
that doesnt seem too bad really. don't really see it as going out of his way
 
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