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7.26.2012

yellowface in cloud atlas trailer?



Warner Brothers recently dropped this epic extended first look at Cloud Atlas, the new movie from the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, based on the acclaimed novel by David Mitchell. It's one crazy-ass looking movie, and the trailer will leave you awestruck and/or scratching your head.

It looks huge in scope and scale, with six interrelated stories spanning across time and space, including a thread set in a dystopian futuristic Korea. They've Korean actress Bae Doona (who I love) as some kind of clone girl, and ... oh, hell no. Is that Jim Sturgess in yellowface? See for yourself:



Am I right? I haven't read the book, and I don't know anything about this character, but what the hell is going on here? They've clearly messed with his makeup and added weird fake Asian-ness to his eyes and skin. Yellowface baby! What year is this? There had to be some other way.

To throw a little more insult upon injury, you might remember that Jim Sturgess played the lead in 21, the movie that whitewashed most of the Asians out of the true life story behind Bringing Down the House.

I don't even know how to process a major studio motion picture still doing something like this in 2012. It's an otherwise amazing trailer.