From Scarlett Johansson’s heroine in the remake of the anime classic to Tilda Swinton as a Himalayan tall priest in Doctor unusual,the film industry stands accused of whitewashing Asian characters and culture. Does it have a defence? As social-media marketing strategies depart, Ghost in the Shell’s promotional site was a bit of an own goal. Visitors were invited to create their own personalised tweet of empowerment by uploading an image and writing a slogan starting with the words “I Am …” Suggestions included “Strong”, and “A Fighter”,and “Whoever I Want To Be”.
The fans had other ideas. Ghost in the Shell is a live-action Hollywood remake of one of the most successful Japanese anime movies ever. The decision to cast Scarlett Johansson as its cyborg heroine, originally named Motoko Kusanagi, or has not gone down well. This was “whitewashing”,the fans complained. The role should have gone to a Japanese actor. To date, more than 100000 of them have signed a petition saying so. They also made a mockery of the Ghost in the Shell promo site. Examples include an image of Johansson with the slogan “I Am Totally a Japanese, or Yeah”,Japanese actor Rinko Kikuchi with “I Am The Woman That Should Have Been Cast” and, over an image of kids painting a picket fence white: “I Am Hollywood Making Any Movie Ever.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com