Poll: White-Washing in Movies

[Fluffythepoo]

Theyre making something to entertain. Its not a documentary, it doesnt need to be historically accurate. From a historical perspective Argo was a steaming pile of lies and bullshit, from a movie perspective Argo was the best movie in the last year.

I dont think the film markers care that Keanu Reeves is white, they care that hes suited to the role of the character, that he has name recognition (i mean i just heard about this movie now and i already know im going to see it because Keanu Reeves is in it). Mostly i think its about having a name-brand actor front and center though. I mean off the top of your head name a famous Japanese actor (if you can do that, now name one with perfect american english). Odds are you cant.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

There was also casting Jake Gyllenhal as the Prince of Persia, not to mention the actors that played his father, brothers and uncle in the film. Oh and a black actor to play Heimdall in "Thor".

It is a little annoying, I don't know why Hollywood so miscast so many films, but it seems unlikely to ever change. The same way that the British are always villains, I've learned to accept that. Is it annoying as Hell, yes, but I don't waste money on shitty films that pull that stuff so I don't care.

Hollywood commits plenty of other crimes too. Like in U571, it was somehow Americans that cracked the Nazi's encryption codes, thereby twisting actual history. Why did they put Steve McQueen into the PoW camp in The Great Escape? Only because they had to have an American lead actor, that person never existed in the actual real-life story of that camp. How Tom Cruise was amazingly the Last Samurai standing (and after only a couple of weeks of martial training too!).

That shit winds me up more than miscasting. Oh, and casting American actors in period (or timeless) films/games. What we expect to hear Americans say is stuff like awesome, that sucks, holy shit, cool and other American idioms. It's too contemporary for period films/games, it sounds awful and actually breaks immersion. It's one of the reasons the half-baked Prince of Persia game reboot sucked so much (well that and the shitty combat, rubbish sidekick, silly mechanics and stupid characterisation). Oh and that God-awful kid who played "Anni" in the SW:EP1 Phantom Menace....dreadful, dire, horrid, aaarrrggghhh.

 

[TheLion]

Japanese aren't "people of color"

Not that that term makes much sense anyway

So is "people of colour" actually something that is said in the US? I thought it was a joke about overly sensitive political correctness? Maybe not.

Nothing to with colour but I always hated High Fidelity, which was about an English man who lived in the Seven Sisters road in London. The film saw him turn into John Cusack in Chicago.

Damned Americans, grrr *shakes fist* : )

"People of Color" is a term that refers to anyone that isn't White. I find it as ridiculous and artificial as you do, but people generally know what I'm talking about. When it comes to communication, understanding is all that matters; accuracy be damned. I can only use the terms that the English language gives me.

Can we move on, or do you want walk into the Twilight Zone of "college language". I'd rather move on.

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

It's the sort of thing that really makes the movie harder to appreciate or accept, I'll say that much. When I think of that Chun-Li movie they did a while ago, and how the titular character looked.. well.. not Chinese in the least, it felt weird.

Fix-the-spade makes a good point - back on page 1 - that those saying "deal with it" kind of have a reason to feel bitter. However, it nonetheless feels really awkward when someone you've known as "this" for years suddenly becomes "that" when it comes to movie portrayals, it is quite jarring. No matter how "badass" Samuel L Jackson might be, I sure was taken aback that they gave him the role of Nick Fury.

 

[Bat Vader]

This kinda reminds me of the film Gandhi. Good movie but I think they picked the wrong actor for the title role. They picked Ben Kingsley a British actor to play Gandhi. That doesn't seem exactly right to me.

Give you hint here Ben Kingsley is his stage name, his real name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. I'll give you 3 guess as to what part of the world that name originates from.

Canada? It's totally Canada. That's sarcasm.

Looks like I was wrong though and that they did pick the right actor. Kinda wish he stuck with his original name though. I think it sounds better.

 

[triggrhappy94]

There's a lot of fighting in this thread.
I don't whether to post in it consider it a part of the Escapist basement.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

It's also a swift kick to the nuts for people hoping that a movie about Japanese people would star Japanese people.

Oh, yeah? Remember the 1993 movie Little Buddha? Guess who played the role of the Siddhartha. I'll give you a clue...

Spoiler: Yeah, that Keanu Reeves

I want to know what you think; should they have added a white character to the story (note the word "should", not "did they have a right to")? Are there instances of changing skin tones in media that really tick you off?

I find internet responses to this situation is hypocritical.

Non-white role given to a white actor? Internet response: Rage!
White role given to a non-white actor? Internet response: Deal with it.

Myself, I couldn't really care about the race. If the actor does a good job in the role, then their race shouldn't matter.
Avatar didn't suck because Katara and Sokka were played by white actors, it sucked because it was a horrible movie.
Dare Devil didn't suck because the Kingpin was portrayed by a black actor, it sucked because it was a horrible movie.

I suggest you watch this,

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3183-Skin-Deep

In fact I suggest you all watch it.

(can you embed Escapist videos into posts?)

 

[Queen Michael]

Sure while I would prefer the lead character to be Japanese upon reading the event the film is based on but seeing how it won't be an accurate adaption then they can do whatever for all I cared.
I mean if you want to know the real story then you will look it up online or a book then to say the film is 100% accurate to the real event.

It's not that they've changed it from how it really was; it's that they fel that a white protagonist is better than an Asian one.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

This kinda reminds me of the film Gandhi. Good movie but I think they picked the wrong actor for the title role. They picked Ben Kingsley a British actor to play Gandhi. That doesn't seem exactly right to me.

You realize he's part Indian right? His birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji: http://ethnicelebs.com/ben-kingsley a quick google search gave me that link. So people who are born of parents of two difference cultures, they can't play either? How does it work?

So long as the role is played well by the person playing it, then what's the problem.

EDIT: I see someone already let you know about Ben Kingsley, didn't see that post until after I posted, sorry ^_^;

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

As I said the last time this happened I hate people being given a role to fill a "token" role to appeal to race but if they are the best actor for the role then go ahead. Like with Heimdall if he was made black for the sake of having a black guy in the movie then it was a stupid move but the guy is/was a good actor in the movie so it was fine.

 

[Abomination]

Is the movie good? If it is good then I don't care what race the individual in the lead role is.

 

[Bat Vader]

This kinda reminds me of the film Gandhi. Good movie but I think they picked the wrong actor for the title role. They picked Ben Kingsley a British actor to play Gandhi. That doesn't seem exactly right to me.

You realize he's part Indian right? His birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji: http://ethnicelebs.com/ben-kingsley a quick google search gave me that link. So people who are born of parents of two difference cultures, they can't play either? How does it work?

So long as the role is played well by the person playing it, then what's the problem.

EDIT: I see someone already let you know about Ben Kingsley, didn't see that post until after I posted, sorry ^_^;

I assumed that Ben Kingsley was his birth name. Of all the times I seen him in the news and heard other people talk about him they never mentioned that wasn't his real name. Now that I know that he is part Indian(Someone from India) I am glad they picked him for the role.

The problem is if they picked a full blooded British actor it would kind of be a slap in the face to Gandhi who was trying to end British rule in India. That us how I see it anyway. If they make a fictions film that has Gandhi in it than that they can hire any actor they like. It would not bother me. When a movie is made for factual purposes and to tell the life story of a real person. I think it is better to hire an actor that is the same race as the person they are depicting. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Ragora]

This kinda reminds me of the film Gandhi. Good movie but I think they picked the wrong actor for the title role. They picked Ben Kingsley a British actor to play Gandhi. That doesn't seem exactly right to me.

You realize he's part Indian right? His birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji: http://ethnicelebs.com/ben-kingsley a quick google search gave me that link. So people who are born of parents of two difference cultures, they can't play either? How does it work?

So long as the role is played well by the person playing it, then what's the problem.

EDIT: I see someone already let you know about Ben Kingsley, didn't see that post until after I posted, sorry ^_^;

I assumed that Ben Kingsley was his birth name. Of all the times I seen him in the news and heard other people talk about him they never mentioned that wasn't his real name. Now that I know that he is part Indian(Someone from India) I am glad they picked him for the role.

The problem is if they picked a full blooded British actor it would kind of be a slap in the face to Gandhi who was trying to end British rule in India. That us how I see it anyway. If they make a fictions film that has Gandhi in it than that they can hire any actor they like. It would not bother me. When a movie is made for factual purposes and to tell the life story of a real person. I think it is better to hire an actor that is the same race as the person they are depicting. That's just my opinion though.

The fact that stage names are stage names just doesn't come up much. Nick Cage's real last name is Coppola for example, but that only comes up as trivia.

 

[Bat Vader]

This kinda reminds me of the film Gandhi. Good movie but I think they picked the wrong actor for the title role. They picked Ben Kingsley a British actor to play Gandhi. That doesn't seem exactly right to me.

You realize he's part Indian right? His birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji: http://ethnicelebs.com/ben-kingsley a quick google search gave me that link. So people who are born of parents of two difference cultures, they can't play either? How does it work?

So long as the role is played well by the person playing it, then what's the problem.

EDIT: I see someone already let you know about Ben Kingsley, didn't see that post until after I posted, sorry ^_^;

I assumed that Ben Kingsley was his birth name. Of all the times I seen him in the news and heard other people talk about him they never mentioned that wasn't his real name. Now that I know that he is part Indian(Someone from India) I am glad they picked him for the role.

The problem is if they picked a full blooded British actor it would kind of be a slap in the face to Gandhi who was trying to end British rule in India. That us how I see it anyway. If they make a fictions film that has Gandhi in it than that they can hire any actor they like. It would not bother me. When a movie is made for factual purposes and to tell the life story of a real person. I think it is better to hire an actor that is the same race as the person they are depicting. That's just my opinion though.

The fact that stage names are stage names just doesn't come up much. Nick Cage's real last name is Coppola for example, but that only comes up as trivia.

I never knew that. I am guessing he isn't related to Francis Ford Coppola.

 

[TheLion]

Japanese aren't "people of color"

Not that that term makes much sense anyway

So is "people of colour" actually something that is said in the US? I thought it was a joke about overly sensitive political correctness? Maybe not.

Nothing to with colour but I always hated High Fidelity, which was about an English man who lived in the Seven Sisters road in London. The film saw him turn into John Cusack in Chicago.

Damned Americans, grrr *shakes fist* : )

"People of Color" is a term that refers to anyone that isn't White. I find it as ridiculous and artificial as you do, but people generally know what I'm talking about. When it comes to communication, understanding is all that matters; accuracy be damned. I can only use the terms that the English language gives me.

Can we move on, or do you want walk into the Twilight Zone of "college language". I'd rather move on.

Honest question, was just interested - we have a bunch of artifical phrases over here too of which my pet hate is "vulnerable", utterly meaningless but used to justify a tonne of policies, usually involving tax and bribing someone to vote for you.

I find the phrase "People of Color" artificial because there are hundreds of different kinds of people of color who face different racial issues; putting them all under one umbrella just isn't going to work. The Japanese, for instance, may be peeved by the Model Minority Myth like other East Asians, but they've also maintained control over their image in the global media through anime and video games far more than, say, Mongolians. Also, it's just another way of saying Colored People, only lengthier and less of an antiquated snarl phrase.

The word "vulnerable" suggests that the people described are in some kind of duress, which is more specific at least. I don't know who these vulnerable people supposedly are though or the duress they face. Still, when it comes to policy my maxim is "Does it Work?" If the policies aren't making them less vulnerable, it's time to change strategies.

 

[nexus]

It has nothing to do with "white-washing". What the actual fuck.

It's about star power, and I think Keanu Reeves will do just fine.

Keanu's father was Chinese / Hawaiian, his mother was English. This is why he has Asian features, because he's Eurasian. Not exactly "white washing". Man I'm so sick of this.

Love your stupid poll setup by the way. You either say "I'm a racist", "I'm not a racist" or "I'm a coward". True racists are the people actually giving a shit about any of this. Seriously.

 

[Angie7F]

I think it is weird how white people want to see white people n movies.
It seems Asians are used to seeing hollywood films where they see no asians in the main story line adn are usually ok with it.

there are certain cultural effects that will always be tied in to bringing a white person into the story, and it would be good if they can keep non white movies non white...

 

[Ryotknife]

I think it is weird how white people want to see white people n movies.
It seems Asians are used to seeing hollywood films where they see no asians in the main story line adn are usually ok with it.

there are certain cultural effects that will always be tied in to bringing a white person into the story, and it would be good if they can keep non white movies non white...

except that it is not really about Keanu Reeves being white, it is about his name recognition.

The best counter example would be Dwayne Johnson, who is NOT white. He is half black and half Somoan. And yet, he stars in tons of movies and has a crapton of star power behind him (in fact he is arguably one of the most popular actors over here in terms of roles in movies). In fact, the running joke is that if you want your movie to do well, cast Dwayne Johnson in it. Which is what they did in GI Joe 2. They went from a white protagonist to Dwayne. The story centers on Dwayne Johnson, Storm Shadow (an Asian), and the US president (white)