To take stories originating in other languages and cultures and erase their contexts to Westernize and whitewash them has long been the way of Hollywood. The lengths American film studios go to in order to prioritize which famous names will draw audiences to the theater is both shocking and unsurprising, most recently in the case of a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime classic, “Ghost in the Shell”, which is currently in production by Paramount Productions and DreamWorks Studios.
To adapt an animated production into live-action is unnecessary; it ignores the relevance of animation as a craft and art form. Personally, I think the conversation between Paramount and DreamWorks should have stopped there.
Alas, the movie giants are going ahead with their despicable version of “Ghost in the Shell”, which will star Scarlett Johansson as the culturally iconic Major Motoko Kusangi, according to the huffingtonpost.com article, “Scarlett Johansson’s First ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Look Revealed — But Fans Aren’t Thrilled” by Dominique Mosbergen.
The simple act of reading the above sentence is enough to send chills down one’s spine. A white woman cast as a Japanese cyborg – with a Japanese name, in Japan. I’m led to assume there were several Hollywood executives without adequate critical thinking skills making this decision.
“Ghost in the Shell” is a story precious to Japan; not only that, but the original film, along with countless other Japanese animated series, remain wildly popular with Western audiences.
If studios aren’t aware by now that these fans aren’t interested in watching white actors and are expected to take them seriously while participating in such an absurd circumstance, then they may be lost causes.
According to the inquisitr.com article, “Fans of anime outraged over Scarlett Johansson, white as a ‘Ghost in the Shell’” by Nancy Bailey, you don’t have to look far to understand why the concepts of identity are crucial to constructing the well-known 90s sci-fi story.
“‘Ghost in the Shell’, a 1995 film by Mamoru Oshii about a female cyborg police officer tracking a dangerous hacker, is often considered one of the best anime films of all time,” according to the inqusitr.com article. “The notion of identity plays a key role in the film, resounding as one of its primary themes.”
Casting a white woman in the role of a Japanese character wasn’t enough for Dreamworks, as they reportedly ran digital effect tests to make Johansson appear “more Asian,” according to thebusinessinsider.com article, “Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’ reportedly tested effects to make actors look more Asian” by Jason Guerrasio. Dreamworks scrapped the test results but the plan stands as further evidence of the lengths people at the helm of film projects are willing to go.
If the new adaptation is brought to completion with a lack of a connection between the script, casting and the story’s origins, I can’t imagine the final product will be more than another dimly lit hour and a half big-budget feature devoid of the feeling of the original.
The same criticisms apply to Marvel’s latest film in a seemingly never-ending series of comic book stories tailored to the big screen, “Dr. Strange”. The trailer displays several white actors, some of whom appear in yellowface, running around learning with “oriental magic” all in the name of a superhero movie.
The character receiving the most negative attention is that of Tilda Swinton’s “the Ancient One”, who is now a genderless white character instead of an Asian male, according to the mic.comarticle, “Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton Got Cast in Asian Roles and People Are Pissed” by Matthew Rodriguez.
Gender diversity is all well and good but ultimately meaningless when a character is whitewashed as well; that’s not progress. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Perhaps if the concern maintained by big-budget studios is which established names will attract viewers, interest and funding, studios need to choose to make a film which does not center around Japanese proficiency in technology populated by none other than Japanese people telling a Japanese story, as in “The Ghost in the Shell”. It’s not that hard.
These sorts of racist movies have been frequent since the inception of cinema and almost always lead to a box office flop. The process repeats itself and for what, to attract famous white actors to your project? If they did a bit of research, they would immediately find doing so would not be a good investment.
In the end, money and racism often go hand in hand.
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