Your angle is, while well-intentioned, not one I can fully condone. Representation is important, but I can't fault the director who envisions a certain actor in a role. That's the case with Elba and to my knowledge also the case with Johanson. When race is not a defining part of the character then I don't want it to stand in the way of any actor regardless of race. Will you at least give me that race doesn't define Kusanagi? That the incentive for casting an Asian actress is for representation?
Ghost in the Shell is set in Japan. The politics at play are not just Japanese, but so are the social etiquette’s involved, the philosophies, etc. Hell, “Ghost in the shell” is a very Eastern philosophy; the idea of a spirit within everything, including even a robot body.
Also, her name is Motoko Kusanagi.If they change that name and her ethnicity, they’re changing two parts of that, that have been static since the beginning. If they change her ethnicity but do not change her name, that’s ridiculous and completely asinine.
I don’t give a damn what some white, male director wants for his movie. He’s adapting a Japaneseartist’s work based on a Japanese female, set in Japan. If that character were originally black?You’d never hear the goddamn end of it and he’d never of had the balls. Nor should he, of course.
Director’s in Hollywood have a wealthof actors and actresses to pull from. Scarlett Johansson is not hurting for work right now, folks. Meanwhile, there are dozens of wonderful Asian actresses in the business and an utter lack of leading Asian females roles. So I don’t give a shit what the director wants, he chose Scarlett Johansson because HE WANTS A WHITE WOMAN TO START IN HIS FUCKING MOVIE ABOUT A JAPANESE COP FROM JAPAN STEEPED IN JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY.
And with Elba: Bond is not defined by his race.He’s British. He’s male. He’s handsome and charming. He’s also been interpreted by several different actors and, ultimately, it’s become more and more heavily implied that each Bond is a different person altogether.So, no.This isn’t the same as Elba as Bond.
