The real issue behind Hollywood’s whitewashing

There’s been uproar in the media lately as a result of Hollywood’s perceived “whitewashing” of certain Asian characters featured in upcoming movies, played instead by white actresses. Most notably is the casting of Scarlett Johansson as Kusanagi in the announced Ghost in the Shell movie. The controversy surrounding the decision, however, isn’t the first instance this issue has been raised. In 2015’s ‘Aloha’, Emma Stone received a great deal of flak for her portrayal of a part Asian woman, as did director Cameron Crowe for the casting choice. After the intense backlash, both Stone and Crowe felt the need to issue public apologies for the project and plead ignorance in order to save face.

In an attempt to appease the public, Paramount Pictures had actually tested CGI manipulation of Johansson in the film in order to make her look more Asian, a decision that was promptly withdrawn, but not before the community spoke against it. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress, Ming-Na Wen, called for a stand against this type of disregard to the identity of the Asian community:

“Culturally, I think it is not in our nature to confront these types of conflicts, to voice our concerns, to band together to voice our concerns, and that needs to change. We have to fight our own fight.”

With all these issues caused by the film industry, many are wondering if Hollywood is actually racist or if there is another explanation altogether. It’s possible the industry isn’t necessarily indifferent to the sensitivity raised by making white-wash casting choices, but more so the fact that Hollywood relies on the strength of the actors chosen in order to get films produced; ones that would otherwise have remained in development hell or not have been made at all.

Case in point: Ghost in the Shell.

For years, fans of the popular anime have been pleading for a live action film adaptation, one that would capture the high-octane intensity and existential mind games of the original. After all the deliberation, Paramount finally greenlit the project with Johansson attached to star. The choice left fans everywhere asking: why not just cast an Asian-American actress? As far as the studio is concerned, they were never going to move forward with the movie unless there was an A-list actress in the lead role to guarantee the film makes back the money they would be investing. Considering the project is not a particularly well known intellectual property, at least in the mainstream community, the entire endeavor would be considered a risk. Scarlett Johansson is not just a name that gets movies made, but a name that gets movies seen and, unfortunately, there aren't many Asian actresses working today with that same level of star power.

The same can be said for the casting of Elizabeth Banks in the Power Rangers reboot as the villainous witch, Rita Repulsa, or Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Marvel’s Doctor Strange. ‘Strange’ co-writer, C. Robert Cargill, explains the decision was clearly made with good intentions. Recognizing the comics originally released in an era when Asian discrimination was ignored, he defended the casting choice by claiming it was a political decision:

“The Ancient One was a racist stereotype, who comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place. He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place, and that he is Tibetan, you risk alienating 1 billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know, one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’ So, what Scott [Derrickson] decided to do — and this happened before I came onboard, so I wasn’t part of this decision at all, although there’s part of me that wishes I was — was, he was just like, ‘There’s no real way to win this, so let’s use this as an opportunity to cast an amazing actress in a male role.’”

Bearing all this in mind, one can’t help but wonder if the under-representation of the Asian community in the film industry will ever become less of an issue. While the decisions themselves may not be racist in nature, they still do a great job of disparaging an entire community of hard-working, talented people for the sole reason that they do not “look the part” or someone wanted to “try something new”. Hollywood has a great deal of growing up to do and is in desperate need to realize that creating a steadfast “formula” around a piece of cinema that guarantees it makes money, will belittle many of those who deserve the opportunity to grow as performers and become recognized pillars in the acting community.