Why does Hollywood keep whitewashing Asian characters?

'Hellboy' movie reboot casts Some White Dude as a Japanese American character.



At this point, they can't even pretend to give a shit.

This week, news broke that actor Ed Skrein has joined the cast of the upcoming Hellboy reboot, Rise of the Blood Queen, as Ben Daimio, who is Asian American in the comic books. Yes, in the illustrious Hollywood tradition of pretending Asian actors don't exist, yet another white guy will play an Asian character.

'Deadpool' Actor Ed Skrein Joining 'Hellboy' Reboot (Exclusive)

In the Hellboy comic books, Ben Daimio is a severely scarred former marine officer who works for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Due to supernatural encounter in the field, he has the ability to transform into a monstrous, jaguar-like creature under extreme stress.

Daimio's Japanese American heritage actually plays a significant part in the character's development and backstory. In B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground, Daimio's loyalty is called into question when it is revealed that his grandmother was an Imperial Japanese agent known as The Crimson Lotus. As history has shown, Japanese Americans have a little experience with their loyalty being unjustly called into question by the government.

So yeah, this character is Asian American. But who the hell is Ed Skrein?

Speaking Truth to Power is not Cyberbullying: On Tone Policing and Respectability Politics

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate.


Zach McGowan (left), who is not Native Hawaiian, has been cast to play Ben Kanahele (right) in the upcoming "Ni'ihau" film.

Last week, Deadline broke the story that writer/director Gabriel Robertson (EastEnders, Bucket, The Gift) was attached to write and direct a feature film based on the infamous so-called "Ni'ihau Incident." Deadline further reported that actor Zach McGowan (Dracula Untold, Terminator: Salvation, Black Sails) -- who is not Native Hawaiian -- had been cast in the leading role of Benehakaka "Ben" Kanahele, a historical figure and Ni'ihuaian who was awarded a Purple Heart for his role in the incident.

News of McGowan's casting triggered immediate backlash from Asian American and Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander activists, who accused the filmmakers of using "Polyface" to whitewash the character of Ben Kanahele. In addition, Asian Americans criticized early buzz surrounding the planned "Ni'ihau" film, which described the incident as a "catalyst" for Japanese American incarceration (Editor's Note: see JACL's Power of Words handbook).

In truth, the events at Ni'ihau Incident was co-opted by hardline conservatives to provide a veil of legitimacy to obscure the racist and anti-Asian motives behind Japanese American incarceration. History has since confirmed that Executive Order 9066 — which led to the forcible removal of over a hundred thousand Japanese and Japanese American civilians — was not based in significant military intelligence showing that Japanese Americans were untrustworthy; rather, Japanese American incarceration emerged as the latest escalation in a decades-long pattern of legalized anti-Asian and anti-Japanese harassment and criminalization.

Online outcry against "Ni'ihau" was fervent, taking the shape of memes, Twitter threads, and long-form thinkpieces. As it turns out, the filmmakers behind the planned "Ni'ihau" film were listening; and, they weren't very receptive to the criticism.

No, the Ni’ihau Incident did NOT lead to FDR signing Executive Order 9066

Guest Post by Joseph Shoji Lachman


A comparison of lead actor and Benehakaka Kanahele, the man he is portraying. The resemblance is lacking, to say the least. (Via Shutterstock and Hawaii Reporter)

According to Deadline, Zach McGowan will star in the historical film Ni'ihau, directed by Gabriel Robertson and set in Hawaii during World War II. He will portray Benehakaka Kanahele, a native Hawaiian who received the Medal for Merit and Purple Heart for his part in killing the pilot of a downed Imperial Japanese plane in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

You'll probably notice that Zach McGowan doesn't bear much of a resemblance to Kanahele, and it's even more of a stretch than casting Emma Stone as part Hawaiian in Aloha. Once again, members of the API community will watch as they are portrayed in media by white replacements. At this point, we are frustrated, but hardly surprised when this happens. Pacific Islanders have been abused throughout the U.S.'s history, and this appears to be just another manifestation of that shameful legacy.

To our surprise, however, this may not even be the worst of it.

What is disturbing here is the historical denialism bubbling up from under the surface.

Take a look at this quotation from the Deadline article:

Whitewashing: A Time-Honored Hollywood Tradition

YOMYOMF's 10 Hollywood Films Where Asian Characters were 'Whitewashed'



With recent movies like Marvel's Doctor Strange and the upcoming live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell catching criticism (and ridicule) for casting white actors as Asian characters, it's brought a renewed spotlight on the racist, time-honored Hollywood tradition of whitewashing.

Over at YOMYOMF, Phil Chung has compiled an interesting list of 10 Hollywood Films Where Asian Characters were 'Whitewashed' -- characters that were originally intended to be Asian, but whose identities and backgrounds were scrubbed to be played by non-Asian actors.

In addition to helpfully clarifying the difference between "yellowface" and "whitewashing," the list includes recent glaring examples that people usually cite when railing against whitewashing, like Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Goku in Dragonball: Evolution, where the characters are Asian in the source material.

But the list also highlights real-life Asians who were magically changed into white people for the movies, like Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen, the brilliant Taiwanese research doctor who developed the cure for Pompe Disease. In 2010's Extreme Measures, the character became Dr. Robert Stonewall, played by Harrison Ford. What?

"While it sucks that the film denied giving credit to the real man who created the real cure for a real disease," Phil notes, "at least Dr. Chen didn't have to see his name associated with a shitty movie if that's any consolation." Well, there's that.

See the full list at YOMYOMF: 10 Hollywood Films Where Asian Characters were 'Whitewashed'

Starring Scarlett Johansson as Super Asian Robot Lady

Look at all the Cool Asian Shit in the 'Ghost in the Shell' trailer



Oh yeah, I forgot this was happening.

In case you missed it, Paramount recently dropped the first official full-length trailer for the live action Ghost in the Shell adaptation. Based on the classic sci-fi anime/manga, Scarlett Johansson stars as the human-cyborg Major -- otherwise known as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the original source material. But you knew that. Yes, for the uninitiated, this is that movie where Scarlett plays a Japanese robot lady.

Ghost in the Shell follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic's advancements in cyber technology. And if they get around to it, Section 9 might just crack the baffling case of why the Major is played by a white woman.

Take a look:

More Bald Tilda (and Wong!) in the new 'Dr. Strange' trailer

Director Scott Derrickson says he feels "tremendous empathy" for Asian American audiences.



Over the weekend, as part of its barrage of content reveals at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel dropped the second trailer for Doctor Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Dr. Stephen Strange, who journeys to Mystical Asia to learn Mystical Asian Stuff, and eventually fights evil with Mystical Asian Stuff.

The first teaser trailer gave us a glimpse of Tilda Swinton in all her baldness as the Sorcerer Supreme's mentor, The Ancient One, who has been traditionally depicted in the comic books as an old-ass mystical Asian man. Whatever you want to call it -- whitewashing, racebending, yellowface -- that shit looks pretty wack.

Well, there's more bald wackness where that came from in the latest trailer:

New photos from the set of 'Ghost in the Shell'

(Yes, Major Motoko Kusanagi is still white.)



So... if you're ready to get mad at Scarlett Johansson all over again, here's a new crop of unofficial photos from the set of the live-action Ghost in the Shell remake, currently filming in Hong Kong.

New Ghost in the Shell set pics featuring Scarlett Johansson & Pilou Asbæk

You get a glimpse of Ms. Johansson in her Major Motoko haircut, as well as Pilou Asbæk as Batou, in what is presumably supposed to double as street-level dystopian Tokyo. The location shots, from HK01 and Apple Daily, feature a bunch of extras in various future garb and offer a general sense of the film's visual vibe.

Check it out:

White Actor to Play Spider-Man's Asian Best Friend, Sort Of

Michael Barbieri cast in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' as character based on Ganke Lee.



More whitewashing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? 14-year-old actor Michael Barbieri has reportedly been cast in Marvel's upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming as one of Peter Parker's best friends. The part appears to be based on a character named Ganke Lee... who is Asian American in the comic books.

Michael Barbieri Joins SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Are you really doing this again, Marvel? After all the negative press around the casting of a very white, you're-not-fooling-anybody Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange, the studio appears to be doubling down on whitewashing the MCU's supporting characters of Asian descent.

Man, forget Asian superheroes -- we can't barely even see Asians as supporting characters in this universe.

How a Ninja Sketch Gets Whitewashed

"The beloved, classic tale of a failing foreign culture saved by a white man."



How does a story about "The Last Ninja" turn into "the beloved, classic tale of a failing foreign culture saved by a white man"? Whitewashing, baby. This "behind the scenes" CollegeHumor sketch is silly as hell, but you have to imagine this is not too far off from how these whitewashing scenarios might actually go down.

Take a look:

How to Make Scarlett Johansson "More Asian"

An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects for 'Ghost in the Shell,' courtesy of RocketJump.



Sometimes the situation is so pathetically ridiculous, you just have to shake your head and laugh. In response to the widely-decried casting of Scarlett Johansson in the live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell, here's a funny video from the folks at RocketJump, in which they imagine the behind-the-scenes special effects tinkering it takes to turn the movie's white star into a Asian robot cyborg.

Yellowface in 'Ghost in the Shell': There's an app for that.

Studio reportedly ordered visual effects tests to make Scarlett Johansson look "more Asian."



So the first image of Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell was released the other day, and a large portion of the internet responded with a collective "OH HELL NO." As most of us have been saying for a very long time, a whitewashed live-action remake of the manga/anime classic is a fantastically bad idea. Is it hard to believe that producers were considering using yellowface? Nope.

It's amazing what those darn computers can do these days. Paramount and DreamWorks apparently foresaw the pesky issue of casting white actors in an inherently Japanese story. The solution: computer-enhanced yellowface. Screencrush reports that the studio commissioned screen tests for several of the movie's non-Asian actors to try using CGI effects to "shift [their] ethnicity" and make them appear more "Asian."

Our first look at Scarlett Johansson in 'Ghost in the Shell'

And now the full whitewash cycle is complete.



So this is really happening, huh? Production has begun on DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures' live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, based on the classic manga series by Masamune Shirow. And here is your first look at Scarlett Johansson as the character they're calling "The Major." I guess they didn't have the guts to refer to her by the character's original name: Major Motoko Kusanagi.

And now the full whitewash cycle is complete.

According to the studio's press release, Ghost in the Shell follows the Major, "a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic's advancements in cyber technology."

Tilda Swinton teaches Dr. Strange the Mystical Asian Stuff

The Ancient One is a bald British lady.



Marvel just dropped the first teaser trailer for Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, who journeys to mystical Asia to learn Mystical Asian Stuff. The trailer also gives us our first glimpse of Tilda Swinton as the Sorcerer Supreme's mystical mentor, The Ancient One.

Racebent! In typical Hollywood fashion. Many of us were wondering how the movie would handle whitest actress Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, who has been traditionally depicted in the comic books as an old-ass mystical Asian man. Now we have our answer: she is bald.

Nice try, Marvel. 'Dr. Strange' casting is still whitewashing.

Because when you think "really old mystical Asian man," you think... Tilda Swinton?



Marvel has been hard at work expanding its cinematic universe, with plans for a Doctor Strange to hit theaters later this year. Fans were pretty stoked when the first official images emerged of star Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme. But we're still scratching our heads over the casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One. Because when you think of a really old mystical Asian man, you think Tilda Swinton.

We haven't seen any character images, so I can't quite call it yellowface. But more likely there's some serious racebending going on here. And as usual, in painfully typical Hollywood fashion, it's an Asian performer who gets racebent off the screen. The Ancient One, traditionally depicted as an Asian man, is now a British woman.

University cancels production over casting controversy

Playwright Lloyd Suh objected to the casting of white actors in Asian roles in 'Jesus in India.'



Last week, Clarion University canceled its theatre production of Jesus in India after the playwright voiced concerns over white actors being cast in roles written for actors of South Asian descent. Yuuuuup.

Cancellation of College Production of ‘Jesus in India’ Over Casting of White Actors Prompts Debate

The play, Jesus in India by Lloyd Suh, is described as "a contemporary reimagining of a wild stretch in the lost years of Jesus Christ." Three of the five characters in the play are Indian, but in Clarion's production, two were to be played by white student actors and a third by a non-Asian mixed-race student.

Suh told the university that he was not supportive of white actors portraying Indian characters in his play, and wanted the parts recast. After being told that finding Asian replacements would not be possible, he ultimately pulled the university right to stage the production -- a week before the play's scheduled opening.

Nat Wolff to star in live-action 'Death Note' adaptation

Another popular Japanese manga gets the Hollywood whitewash.



Another Japanese manga gets the Hollywood whitewash! Actor Nat Wolff is reportedly in talks to star in Warner Brothers' live-action adaptation of Death Note, based on the popular manga series.

'Paper Towns'' Nat Wolff to Star in Adam Wingard's 'Death Note'

Wolff, whose previous credits include Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars, is in final negotiations to star in the supernatural thriller Death Note, adapted from the hit manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

In Death Note, a high school student named Light Yagami discovers a mysterious notebook that allows him to kill anyone simply by writing the victim's name. When Light meets the notebook's previous owner, a demon called Ryuk bent on ridding the world of anyone it deems evil or useless, he ends up tracked by Interpol and a world-famous detective investigating the unexplainable deaths of several criminals.

So... Nat Wolff is going to be playing Light Yagami?

Is Christopher Nolan working on the live-action 'Akira' movie?

It's the movie project that will not die.



NOOOOOOOOO. No. Noooo. It's the movie project that will not die. Warner Brothers is determined to make the live-action Akira movie happen. The latest unsubstantiated rumor is that none other than Christopher Nolan is in talks to direct a possible film trilogy based on Katsuhiro Otomo's sci-fi manga classic.

Christopher Nolan Finds Himself At the Center of the Biggest Akira Movie Rumor Yet

According to a source close to Warner Brothers, the studio is planning to make a trilogy of films based on Akira, and Christopher Nolan, director Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Night trilogy, recently met with a previously attached filmmaker to talk about the project.

Keep in mind that at this point, this is just a sliver of a guy-who-told-another-guy kind of rumor, in a town full of such rumors. Maybe he's directing it. Maybe he's a producer. I don't actually care. The main takeaway here is that this thing is still on, and my money says they're probably still play on whitewashing the hell out of it.

Dammit. Why won't this 'Akira' remake die?

'Daredevil' showrunner Marco J. Ramirez is the latest to take a crack at the live-action 'Akira' adaptation.



Noooooooo! Warner Brothers' live-action Akira remake appears to be back like a bad rash. The movie project absolutely nobody is asking for seems to be showing signs of life yet again. Marco J. Ramirez, who will be co-showrunning the second season of Netflix's Daredevil, will write the adaptation of the manga classic.

'Daredevil' Showrunner to Write 'Akira' Adaptation for Warner Bros. (Exclusive)

Based on the legendary manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira is an epic sci-fi thriller set in the post-nuclear future of Neo-Tokyo. The dystopian, post-apocalyptic plot revolves around a teenage biker gang, a kid who acquires telekinetic powers, and the shady government agency trying to stop them. The 1988 animated feature version of Akira became a cult classic, and is considered a landmark in Japanese animation.

We've been talking about this damn thing for years. Why won't it just die?

Enter the White Privilege

By Keith Chow. Cross-posted from The Nerds of Color.



Over the weekend Ain't It Cool News revealed that the internet's favorite hack director Brett Ratner is interested in remaking Enter the Dragon. At a screening of Rush Hour in Los Angeles, Ratner told the audience -- almost in passing -- that he is in the early stages of developing the movie and is looking for a martial artist to star. Now, before you start foaming at the mouth and cursing your keyboard, rest assured that this isn't an official announcement that the movie is happening. For all we know, Ratner is just putting it out there with the hopes that Warner Brothers would give him the opportunity to do it — as blasphemous as it may be.

Of course, the internet is beside itself that a hack like Ratner would dare remake a classic like Enter the Dragon and is appropriately showing its disgust at the idea. Here's the thing that no one's seeming to be complaining about, though. Both of the names for the prospective lead that got tossed around in the original post are white. Buckle up, because some "reverse racism" is about to go down after the jump.

Director still determined to make whitewashed 'Akira' remake

"That’s part of the Japanese culture, they never have strong characters."



Why? Why will this project not die? Why do they insist on trying to make a whitewashed live-action remake of Akira? The on-again, off-again project has been a train wreck from the start. And based on the would-be director's recent comments, this thing should never get made. It deserves to die by atomic fire.

Director Of Aborted White 'AKIRA' Remake Still Determined To Make It Despite Lack Of 'Strong Characters' In Japanese Culture

While doing press for his latest film Non-Stop, director Jaume Collet-Serra was asked about the state of the Akira remake. When pressed on his take on the source material, he wasn't particularly reverent, calling the characters uninteresting. Why? "That's part of the Japanese culture, they never have strong characters."

And this guy wants to adapt one of the most influential pieces of Japanese pop culture ever?