If I have to hear one more person say, “But Scarlett Johansson is a big star! That’s why she was cast in Ghost in the Shell! THEY HAD TO DO IT TO MAKE SURE THE MOVIE MAKES MONEY!”...
1) The reason why Scarlett Johansson is a big star is because she has far more access to major, star-making roles than an Asian actress does. If you think casting white actresses in these roles isn’t directly related to that, then you’re insane.
2) Oh yeah, they definitely needed big name actors (who command astronomical salaries that make the budget swell to epic proportions) to sell this film with a major pre-established fanbase or it will tank! That’s why Star Wars: The Force Awakens was such a flop. It’s why casting then-newcomer Chris Hemsworth caused the Thor movies to tank! It’s why when major-record-breaking-hit Dragonball: Evolution came out, the casting of the incredible star-power of Justin Chatwin (a choice that can CLEARLY be excused with “star power” as well because this is TOTALLY what it’s about) guaranteed box-office records! That’s why Exodus: Gods and Kings was so successful! That’s why a lesser-known actor has NEVER fronted a record-breaking, financially successful film EVER. What even ARE star-making roles?
3) Lucy Liu exists (I know she’s Chinese, not Japanese, and that that isn’t the same but she is still a better fit, she’s played Japanese characters before, and she’s probably the biggest Asian American female actor in Hollywood. Not to mention, casting an East-Asian actor of any specific descent in general also has legit importance to this issue, even if casting a Japanese-American would be ideal. I still think casting a Japanese American actor with less name recognition in a star-making role is still the better call though, which is why I mentioned that option first. I’m just trying to attack this argument from all sides). Her career has been on a major upswing for years since Elementary premiered, and she’s otherwise best known for ACTION ROLES she played in Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill Vol.1, among others. She is both Asian and American, and thus suits the “Westernized” requirement. She, along with countless Asian-American actors, writers, and directors, exist and could have made a more Western-esque version of Ghost in the Shell to be a little more palatable for Western audiences while retaining its cultural identity and stay in the hands of the appropriate people, and provide representation of not just Asians, but Asian Americans and other Western Asians (who, once again, exist). This is what we call cultural exchange, and this is how it differentiates from cultural appropriation and whitewashing.
4) Scarlett Johansson was also in movies like The Spirit, The Nanny Diaries, The Island, and The Black Dahlia (many of which came out around the time she would have been cast in this movie). She is not a guaranteed box office draw. That’s the entire excuse Marvel has been using to deny us our Black Widow movie for years (a role that actually WOULD be appropriate and WOULD have people put their asses in seats to see her, where her star-power would actually be put to use).
Even if they DID sort of want Scarlett for name recognition, even if that WAS genuinely part of their motivations (and that’s probably true), the risk of white-washing and doing harm and being this racially insensitive should have been enough for them to resist that impulse. It should have outweighed any potential benefits they saw in casting her. Casting controversy has helped enough movies flop at this point for them to take notice. They aren’t. And that’s a MAJOR PART OF THE PROBLEM.
It’s not JUST about not casting an Asian actor (though the importance of that cannot be stressed enough). It’s also about how deliberately ignorant and stubbornly tone deaf these executives are. How they’ve decided that, despite all evidence to the contrary, that they can and should just pretend the market for diversity doesn’t matter, doesn’t exist, and is unworthy of consideration. With this shit, they’re not only saying, “We’re unwilling to cast an Asian actor in their Asian role”, they’re saying “The voices of non-white audiences are nothing. They are stupid. They don’t matter. They don’t count. We will gladly take your art and repurpose it for our own ends, but we will ignore any and every call to let you be represented and even actual numbers and actual failure will not stop us from pretending your feelings don’t matter.”
Even though they’ll deny it, and even though they may not be thinking those exact words in their heads, that IS what they’re saying.
You’re falling for the Hollywood Studio bullshit and have been using it to excuse racism. You’re letting them do this. The more we do this, the more white Egyptians/Tibetans/Ninja/Samurais/”Native Americans” we’re going to see. Please stop.
Wendy The Nerd (Who is really trying not to come off all “white savior” and is just genuinely sick of this shit and the arguments people are making to try and justify this horseshit.)
gummygunk
kianamaiart
