There are probably many top shelf actors of the Asian persuasion. But these actors are going to have be preternaturally good to compete against three times as many white actors who are advantaged if only because they are “more relatable” to the casting Director. Or to the majority demographic, as assumed by the producers.
Because if a small number of racial minorities manage to overcome all the barriers against them that’s proof that the barriers didn’t exist in the first place and everyone else who can’t manage to beat the deck stacked against them was just a loser after all.
That’s not the writer of this movie. That’s just a writer of movies.
Asians make up a small percentage of the US population. So I don’t see their small numbers as necessarily indicative of a problem.
Even if they are underrepresented, that doesn’t mean Hollywood is racist or the deck is stacked against them. 75% of Asian adults in this country are immigrants and half say they speak English very well. Those two statistics would lead me to believe that the percentage of Asians seeking work as an actor would be well below their percentage of the US population.
I don’t think anyone’s arguing that Asian actors are under represented in Asian cinema.
What’s this “digital yellowface” bull? It sounds expensive. The Mickey Rooney method is totally free!
My god. With all due respect, this is the dumbest idea I think I’ve ever heard.
You think turning white is the solution to Asian and Black representation?
I think the plan is to use motion capture technology to avoid any sort of connotations of racism. Unfortunately, that means in the future, the only actor will be Andy Serkis.
I think that turning whatever the race of the role is is going to be key for actors of all races. The day will come when an actor playing a role of a different race will be no more remarkable than an actor dying their hair is today.
And yes, of course there will be fewer minorities cast, just by virtue of their numbers. Are you saying that “fairness” would somehow require equal numbers of all races?
I guess I’m a little unclear.
Is this new version of Ghost in the Shell still set in Japan? Will all the supporting actors still be Japanese, and are they going to try to make Scarlett Johanssen look as Japanese as they can to minimize the discrepancy? I agree that is a really stupid and nonsensical decision and I might even be convinced to call it racist.
Or - are they making a version of Ghost in the Shell, set in the US, with mostly white actors? That seems okay to me, this kind of stuff happens all the time with foreign movies. Is there anything inherently “Japanese” about the plot?
In Hollywood? because that’s the system we’re discussing.
I’m looking forward to seeing Joe Wong in the titular role of the Mandingo remake.
I’m not sure I can remember the last movie I saw that starred actual humans - I seem to spend all my movie money taking the kid to Disney/Pixar’s latest efforts.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the whole controversy over Zoe Saldana playing Nina Simone. Personally, while I like Saldana as an actress I’m definitely on the side of those who consider this a major miscasting. Saldana is good but there are many, many other black actresses who more closely resemble Simone, and the fact that Simone herself suffered from discrimination within the black community due to the color of her skin makes this decision even more inappropriate.
There would be fewer minorities cast than they are now,not just relative to whites. But you seem oddly unable to see that.
Again, it’s NOT as if Asian roles going to white actors is a new phenomenon. It’s been going on in Hollywood for a century or so.
When Hollywood made The Good Earth, most of the Chinese roles went to white actors.
Detective Charlie Chan was almost always played by white actors like Warner Oland.
After decades of Asian characters being played by Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Mickey Rooney, Tony Randall, Joel Grey, Jonathan Pryce, and now Scarlett Johansson… is a trend not pretty clear?
FORGET about this particular role a second. Look at the big picture. It’s hard for ANY actor to make a living, harder still for Asian-American actors. Even the most optimistic Asian actor knows it’s going to be tough to get roles, even when casting is color blind. It’s frustrating to lose out on ANY role. But how much WORSE is it when roles that would be perfect for an Asian actor are either re-written for white actors or given to white actors who are made up to look Asian?
And it’s NOT always about “bankability.” None of the white actors who were miscast in the movie ***21 *** were big stars with proven box office draw.
I mean, it’s not like he’s Will Smith playing Jim West. Okay, bad example.
(Idris Elba as a Viking god?)
I’m curious, though: I keep hearing how, in the near future, whites are projected to no longer be the majority hereabouts; if that happens, will we then say that casting a white actor in a role written for a non-white character is as shrug-worthy as when minority actors land the role of was-a-white-character in an adaptation these days?
Or will we say, no, whites are still a plurality – or no, because power – or whatever?
So long as whites have an institutional or structural advantage based on their race, this will be scrutinized.
Given the tremendous advantages that simply being white has in this society, it’s astonishing how obvious this isn’t.
Why dismiss this with a “Whatever”? It’s obviously about power.
I’m not dismissing it with a “whatever”; I’m asking because I genuinely don’t know what will be said if and when whites are no longer the majority.
I know what’s said now, because the bit I copy-and-pasted and replied to mentioned how being white “is the default” and talked about “minorities” – and so I got to wondering whether all of that would cease to be relevant as soon as being white isn’t the default, because ‘minority’.
I figure that, when that day comes, characters who’d been white will still be portrayed by actors who don’t happen to be white. I figure the reverse will also be true. I merely wondered what argument will be made then, is all.
Do you think that white supremacy is a phenomenon tied solely to numbers?