By SCOTT YUNKER JR.
The western film industry has long been criticized for its depiction of Asian characters, but two upcoming Asian-American co-productions have brought the issue of Asian misrepresentation to a new level of prominence, as critics, pundits and Ramapo students accuse both “The Great Wall” and “Ghost in the Shell” of whitewashing.
Whitewashing refers to the practice of casting a white actor as a character of another race, or the use of a prominent white character in an incongruous setting. “Ghost in the Shell” and “The Great Wall” are prime examples of this phenomenon: the former stars Scarlett Johansson as Japanese policewoman Major Motoko Kusangi, and the latter features Matt Damon as a white soldier in ancient China.
“It makes me so mad,” said sophomore Adeline Tao, a member of the on-campus chapter of the United Asian Association, referring to the casting of Johansson. “I get it. Scarlett Johansson is beautiful, she’s popular — but to cast her as an Asian woman? The idea’s so wrong, I can’t believe it was thought up. I can’t believe they went through with it. It’s infuriating that such racism can exist.”
Scheduled for release in 2017, “Ghost in the Shell” focuses upon Johansson’s character, a cyborg hunting down a criminal in a futuristic world.
Not much is known about “The Great Wall,” which is also set for a 2017 release: advertisements reveal the film to be an action-adventure fantasy featuring monsters, and little else. In a statement released through Entertainment Weekly, director of the film Zhang Yimou defended his latest work, addressing the accusations of racism:
“In many ways ‘The Great Wall’ is the opposite of what is being suggested. For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience…Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor. The arrival of his character in our story is an important plot point. There are five major heroes in our story and he is one of them — the other four are all Chinese.”
When asked if a meaningful discussion regarding race and “The Great Wall” could only be held once audiences have seen the film, Tao disagreed: “They’re presenting Americans with an ad campaign entirely different to the one shown in China. The fact they’re focusing exclusively on Matt Damon, the white guy, needs to be addressed.”
But in China, backlash to the casting of Matt Damon in “The Great Wall” has been nearly nonexistent: in an article for IndieWire, reporter Aaron Fox-Lerner writes Chinese movie-goers are far more interested in Damon’s costars Luhan and Andy Lau, two Chinese celebrities who share equal billing with Damon in Asian advertisements for “The Great Wall.”
However, “Ghost in the Shell” has received a criticism from both Asian and American film-goers due its casting decision, according to a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter, which notes a number of fans have endorsed Johansson’s casting, citing the practice of “racebending” in eastern film adaptations of manga, in which western characters are portrayed by Asian actors.
Senior Michele Tanigaki, the president of Ramapo’s UAA and member of the Japanese-American Association, believes actors like Damon and Johansson should not be blamed for whitewashing found in their respective films; rather, the producers and directors of such pieces must be.
“We need to focus more on Asians being represented in producing, directing. The people who write the scripts, direct them and produce them.”
Tanigaki pointed out racism in television, as well, using her childhood afternoons spent watching the Disney Channel as an example:
“The only time an Asian gets a significant part in any show is if it’s a very stereotypical role. They’re very nerdy, they’re not seen as attractive as their white counterparts. They seem very busy and anxious, and that’s not true,” Tanigaki said. “It’s a little tiring to see the same stereotype presented, even in kids’ shows. Growing up, it makes you think, ‘is that what people think of me?'”
Tanigaki blames Hollywood studios’ emphasis upon profit for continued whitewashing and racial misrepresentation in mainstream films: “Film business is a business. They think of making the most money, and a lot of it through a famous, A-list actor, actors who are predominantly white.”
Tao doubts the effectiveness of such a strategy. When asked if she would see either “Ghost in the Shell” or “The Great Wall,” she responded with a firm “no.”
“My friends and I will make it a point to not go and see these films in theaters,” she said.
LINK: See the controversial “The Great Wall” trailer here.
As a person who isn’t into the whole movie scene, I really did learn a lot from your article. What stuck out most to me was the whole topic of whitewashing and how prominent of an issue it is. While I do know that there typically are issues of heteronormativity and other issues in the movie industry, I had never stumbled across this issue.