Margaret Cho, George Takei Protest Hollywood ‘Whitewashing’ of Asian Characters
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Maximus Rex
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/04/maragret-cho-george-takei-protest-hollywood-whitewashing-of-asian-characters/
By Travis M. Andrews May 4
Hollywood’s having a rough PR week in the Asian American community as celebrities like Margaret Cho and George Takei protest high-profile castings in Marvel and Paramount films.
On Saturday, actor George Takei publicly took issue with white actress Tilda Swinton being cast as “The Ancient One” in the upcoming film adaptation of the “Doctor Strange” comic. In the books, the character is of Tibetan origin. After a backlash, a Marvel Studios spokesperson defended the casting in a statement to Mashable reading, in part, “The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic.”
Takei was not impressed.
“So let me get this straight. You cast a white actress so you wouldn’t hurt sales…in Asia? This backpedaling is nearly as cringeworthy as the casting. Marvel must think we’re all idiots,” Takei wrote on Facebook.
He’s not the only one who feels this way, in general. During a conversation with Asian American actresses Joan Chen, Ming-Na Wen and Lynn Chen, actress Constance Wu spoke out against Scarlett Johansson’s casting as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the upcoming “Ghost of the Shell.” The first image of Johansson in the role was just released.
“It was particularly heinous because they ran CGI tests to make her look more Asian,” Wu said, referring to reports, denied by Paramount, that the studio altered her appearance with CGI, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Some people call it ‘yellowface,’ but I say ‘the practice of blackface employed on Asians’ because that’s more evocative.”
In December, comedian Margaret Cho criticized “Absolutely Famous: The Movie” for including “yellowface,” which refers to the act of white actors portraying Asian characters. And Tuesday morning, Cho led a discussion on Twitter about the “lack of representation for Asian American communities” in film to kick off a month-long Twitter “campaign against whitewashing.”
The hashtag #whitewashedOUT is being used to criticize several recent casting choices in which white actors portray Asian characters. She spent the discussion both responding to critics (and trolls) and making incisive criticisms of Hollywood (and culture in general).
This sort of casting has a long history in Hollywood.
Back in 1919, white actor Richard Barthelmess portrayed a Chinese character named Cheng Huan (though listed in the IMDB credits as “The Yellow Man”). The movie was called “Broken Blossoms” but, tellingly, its alternative title was “The Yellow Man and The Girl.
This didn’t only happen in films with actors that may not be known in the mainstream. Katharine Hepburn portrayed a Japanese woman named Jade Tan in 1944’s “Dragon Seed” Her eyes are narrowed and her hair pulled back — otherwise, she’s clearly recognizable as Hepburn.
Genghis Khan in 1956’s “The Conqueror” was portrayed by none other than John Wayne, a man who has been accused of being so racist, California lawmakers recently rejected a proposal to dedicate a day to celebrating the actor.
And, of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without what is likely the most famous of all instances of yellowface: Mickey Rooney, with buck teeth, narrow eyes and that painful accent, portraying the character — nay, the caricature — of the Japanese Mr. I.Y. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in 1961. It’s a role the Wall Street Journal proclaims, in a headline, “nobody wants to talk about.” Yunioshi is the “godfather of the ‘Ching-Chong’ stereotype that continues to rear its yellow head today,” the paper continues.
Before his death, Rooney said he wouldn’t have done the role if he’d known how many it would offend.
This list could continue for days, but readers can only sit through so many trailers. Most notably, as Cho and Takei want moviegoers to know, it still happens today.
And just last year, Cameron Crowe, known for both his journalism in Rolling Stone and his films “Almost Famous” and “Vanilla Sky,” released his latest film “Aloha” to a disastrous reception from critics (19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes!). Among its cornucopia of flaws was that Emma Stone, an actor so white that Stylist applauded her for embracing her “fair skin,” portrayed an Asian American woman named Allison Ng.
People across the Internet were outraged. “That’s right: In 2015, white-ass actress Emma Stone is playing an Asian character. In an industry that already severely lacks Asian representation on the big screen, they get EMMA STONE to play an Asian. IN THIS CLIMATE OF THINKPIECES, THEY GET EMMA STONE TO PLAY AN ASIAN,” Complex wrote. “Accepting Emma Stone as an Asian-American in ‘Aloha’ requires a certain suspension of disbelief and no small amount of magical thinking,” wrote Entertainment Weekly.
Cameron Crowe has since apologized on his blog for Stone’s casting, writing, “Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.
He went on to say the crux of the character was specifically that she didn’t look like Ng, but the damage was done. The movie opened to a disappointingly low $10 million at the box office, Variety reported.
It’s hard to imagine Marvel will face the same challenges Crowe did. After all, The Avengers grossed $1.5 billion worldwide ($623.4 million in the U.S.), Marketwatch reported; and even the studio’s smaller films are impressive earners. When 2015’s “Ant-Man,” made more than $500 million worldwide, it was the ninth Marvel film (and seventh consecutive movie) to do so, Forbes reported.
Even so, the hashtag #whitewashedOUT continues to trend on Twitter as non-celebrity users support the month-long campaign.
With all that being said, those ? eyed muthafuckas "bet not," say ? when an Asian, (preferably Chinese dude,) is cast to play.
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By Travis M. Andrews May 4
Hollywood’s having a rough PR week in the Asian American community as celebrities like Margaret Cho and George Takei protest high-profile castings in Marvel and Paramount films.
On Saturday, actor George Takei publicly took issue with white actress Tilda Swinton being cast as “The Ancient One” in the upcoming film adaptation of the “Doctor Strange” comic. In the books, the character is of Tibetan origin. After a backlash, a Marvel Studios spokesperson defended the casting in a statement to Mashable reading, in part, “The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic.”
Takei was not impressed.
“So let me get this straight. You cast a white actress so you wouldn’t hurt sales…in Asia? This backpedaling is nearly as cringeworthy as the casting. Marvel must think we’re all idiots,” Takei wrote on Facebook.
He’s not the only one who feels this way, in general. During a conversation with Asian American actresses Joan Chen, Ming-Na Wen and Lynn Chen, actress Constance Wu spoke out against Scarlett Johansson’s casting as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the upcoming “Ghost of the Shell.” The first image of Johansson in the role was just released.
“It was particularly heinous because they ran CGI tests to make her look more Asian,” Wu said, referring to reports, denied by Paramount, that the studio altered her appearance with CGI, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Some people call it ‘yellowface,’ but I say ‘the practice of blackface employed on Asians’ because that’s more evocative.”
In December, comedian Margaret Cho criticized “Absolutely Famous: The Movie” for including “yellowface,” which refers to the act of white actors portraying Asian characters. And Tuesday morning, Cho led a discussion on Twitter about the “lack of representation for Asian American communities” in film to kick off a month-long Twitter “campaign against whitewashing.”
The hashtag #whitewashedOUT is being used to criticize several recent casting choices in which white actors portray Asian characters. She spent the discussion both responding to critics (and trolls) and making incisive criticisms of Hollywood (and culture in general).
This sort of casting has a long history in Hollywood.
Back in 1919, white actor Richard Barthelmess portrayed a Chinese character named Cheng Huan (though listed in the IMDB credits as “The Yellow Man”). The movie was called “Broken Blossoms” but, tellingly, its alternative title was “The Yellow Man and The Girl.
This didn’t only happen in films with actors that may not be known in the mainstream. Katharine Hepburn portrayed a Japanese woman named Jade Tan in 1944’s “Dragon Seed” Her eyes are narrowed and her hair pulled back — otherwise, she’s clearly recognizable as Hepburn.
Genghis Khan in 1956’s “The Conqueror” was portrayed by none other than John Wayne, a man who has been accused of being so racist, California lawmakers recently rejected a proposal to dedicate a day to celebrating the actor.
And, of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without what is likely the most famous of all instances of yellowface: Mickey Rooney, with buck teeth, narrow eyes and that painful accent, portraying the character — nay, the caricature — of the Japanese Mr. I.Y. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in 1961. It’s a role the Wall Street Journal proclaims, in a headline, “nobody wants to talk about.” Yunioshi is the “godfather of the ‘Ching-Chong’ stereotype that continues to rear its yellow head today,” the paper continues.
Before his death, Rooney said he wouldn’t have done the role if he’d known how many it would offend.
This list could continue for days, but readers can only sit through so many trailers. Most notably, as Cho and Takei want moviegoers to know, it still happens today.
And just last year, Cameron Crowe, known for both his journalism in Rolling Stone and his films “Almost Famous” and “Vanilla Sky,” released his latest film “Aloha” to a disastrous reception from critics (19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes!). Among its cornucopia of flaws was that Emma Stone, an actor so white that Stylist applauded her for embracing her “fair skin,” portrayed an Asian American woman named Allison Ng.
People across the Internet were outraged. “That’s right: In 2015, white-ass actress Emma Stone is playing an Asian character. In an industry that already severely lacks Asian representation on the big screen, they get EMMA STONE to play an Asian. IN THIS CLIMATE OF THINKPIECES, THEY GET EMMA STONE TO PLAY AN ASIAN,” Complex wrote. “Accepting Emma Stone as an Asian-American in ‘Aloha’ requires a certain suspension of disbelief and no small amount of magical thinking,” wrote Entertainment Weekly.
Cameron Crowe has since apologized on his blog for Stone’s casting, writing, “Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.
He went on to say the crux of the character was specifically that she didn’t look like Ng, but the damage was done. The movie opened to a disappointingly low $10 million at the box office, Variety reported.
It’s hard to imagine Marvel will face the same challenges Crowe did. After all, The Avengers grossed $1.5 billion worldwide ($623.4 million in the U.S.), Marketwatch reported; and even the studio’s smaller films are impressive earners. When 2015’s “Ant-Man,” made more than $500 million worldwide, it was the ninth Marvel film (and seventh consecutive movie) to do so, Forbes reported.
Even so, the hashtag #whitewashedOUT continues to trend on Twitter as non-celebrity users support the month-long campaign.
With all that being said, those ? eyed muthafuckas "bet not," say ? when an Asian, (preferably Chinese dude,) is cast to play.
Comments
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Where they at when those movies are being made about Egypt?
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Takei was not impressed.
“So let me get this straight. You cast a white actress so you wouldn’t hurt sales…in Asia?
Asians kiss the ground whites walk on, though. So it's no surprise. -
Where they at when those movies are being made about Egypt?
We all we got you know that. -
They better leave Scarlett out of it!
That's my white baby.... -
I do not find Margaret Cho attractive so i will not support her cause.
Takei is ? . I will not support his cause either. -
Not for nothing Asians have a film industry. All they have to do is get some actors from over here, have the dialogue in English, then distribute the movie.
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Maximus Rex wrote: »Not for nothing Asians have a film industry. All they have to do is get some actors from over here, have the dialogue in English, then distribute the movie.
What'd your point? Africans have a film industry too. Th -
The Nigerian film industry isn't on par with Hollywood, while the Asian film industry is.
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Maximus Rex wrote: »The Nigerian film industry isn't on par with Hollywood, while the Asian film industry is.
No it isnt -
these companies are putting 150 mill into these movies they can do whatever they want. if you dont like it dont support the movie
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props to them
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I got a major problem with ? like this.“Some people call it ‘yellowface,’ but I say ‘the practice of blackface employed on Asians’ because that’s more evocative.”
? employ the same method as well.
They are far from vociferous when ? is happening to us, they sit back watch sometimes even take the side of the opps against us.
But they will use blacks and their causes to further their agenda and people in a heartbeat -
I find Margaret Cho to be extremely annoying and ugly. But thats cool.
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Oh now they get it.
They was on some "you don't hear us complaining" ? when it was #oscarssowhite
? em.
