If you’ve been hanging around social media for the past month or so, you might notice a storm of controversy surrounding one of 2017’s newer movies, "Ghost in the Shell" directed by Rupert Sanders. Based on the Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime movie of the same name, "Ghost in the Shell" has been dogged by problems from its conception.

When the announcement for a live-action adaptation for the iconic anime movie was first announced, fans of the original were ecstatic to see that the much-loved Major Motoko Kusanagi would hit the silver screens of Hollywood. However, this excitement quickly turned to anger when a teaser image of the Major was released. Why were fans angry? Well, the Major, protagonist of a Japanese anime, turned out to be played by Scarlett Johansson, a Caucasian woman. Matters only worsened when rumors of “yellowface” began to flood the Internet as sites claimed that the film crew were experimenting with software to make Johansson look more Asian. Accusations of whitewashing flooded all venues of social media and a petition signed by over 100,000 individuals called for Scarlett Johansson to be recast.

The movie has been released for a couple of weeks now and opened with a less-than-expected figure of 19 million. Why did a movie drawing from such rich source material fail to make the expected gains? My belief is that many people are angry with Major Motoko Kusanagi’s blatant whitewashing and as such, refuse to support the movie by buying tickets.

I’m here to explain why people aren’t overreacting to "Ghost in the Shell"'s whitewashing and that no, we aren’t liberal snowflakes being “sensitive SJWs.” With that being said, I have pored over YouTube comment sections from "Ghost in the Shell" trailers and reviews, which always causes me to lose my faith in humanity, to find the reasons why people think ScarJo’s casting is acceptable and dispute them. From what I have found, I have compiled five reasons as to why fans are not overreacting to "Ghost in the Shell's" whitewashing.

1. Major Looks White in the Anime, so Scarlett Johansson Is Perfect for the Role

This is the biggest argument I found for people thinking that fans were being too sensitive. Major looks white in the original anime so it’s fine that they have cast a white actress. Let me begin with the nature of anime. Yes, the characters have “round eyes” and “white skin,” physical traits typically identified with Western characters. However, what people are failing to realize is that anime characters are not drawn with ideas of realism in mind. Nobody, not even Caucasians, has pink hair and gigantic green eyes in real life. Eyes are drawn large to better convey emotion and hair is vibrantly colored to add a splash of aesthetic appeal, not to emulate Caucasian traits. The important thing to note is that the characters are speaking Japanese, rooted in Japanese locations and adhering to Japanese social customs. Animators make it very clear when a character is supposed to be Western, exaggerated accent or straight-up English, and this is not the case with Major Motoko Kusanagi. Her name has Japanese origins, something the 2017 movie tries to cover up by dubbing ScarJo simply as “Major.” The original movie, and the 2017 adaption, draws a lot of influence from Asian cultures such as a Hong Kong cityscape and Asian icons such as the robotic geisha character. To summarize, just because Kusanagi looks Caucasian does not mean she is supposed to be seen as such. People don’t assume that the Simpsons are Asian just because they have yellow skin because the cartoon is set in a traditionally American location with elements of American culture.

2. Asians Are Fine with ScarJo so Why Is Everyone in America Complaining?

People claim that Japanese actresses and individuals are fine with the casting choice so the people in America are overreacting. In answer to that, I want to stress that Asians and Asian-Americans are different in several fundamental ways such as location, obviously, social experience and culture. In Japan, people are accustomed to seeing themselves on the television screen, in advertisements and in positions of power. However, it is different for Asian-Americans for we have the unique experience of being an immigrant race in a country where we are not the majority. So while the Japanese can see themselves represented fairly in their own culture, we Asian-Americans primarily see Caucasians represented in every avenue of society with little room for us. So this is why Johansson’s casting choice was so devastating for the Asian-American population. I know that ScarJo can take on the role but this was the perfect chance for the 2017 movie to pay homage to the Japanese source material and acknowledge America’s Asian population. It was chance to see an Asian-American actress take a turn in the blockbuster spotlight in a white-dominated Hollywood. I think it’s hard for native Asians, who have the luxury of being the majority population, to understand how cheated Asian-Americans feel at the lost chance of representation.

3. What about when Normally White Characters Are Played by other Ethnicities?

I’ve seen many comments along this thread where the commentators point to the infamous "Attack on Titan"'s all-Asian cast when in the anime, Mikasa is supposedly the only Asian. In response, I think this argument is besides the point because it is a reverse argument that diverts attention from the problem of whitewashing in "Ghost in the Shell". However I’ll address this point by saying that in Asian countries, the populations are more homogeneous. It would have been hard for the director to find foreign actors/actresses willing to fly out to Japan to work with them and even harder to find ones that spoke Japanese. America does not have this excuse as we are a multicultural country with a variety of ethnic groups all-too-willing to be a part of the predominantly white Hollywood. As America is a melting pot of different races, I feel that it is Hollywood’s responsibility to represent the variety cultures and people that make up their consumer base and "Ghost in the Shell" was a great opportunity to diversify its portfolio. Also the fact that there was outrage about "Attack on Titan’s" all-Asian cast goes to show that the Asian-American population’s anger is not unfounded. I don’t see why so many people believe that we are being unreasonable when there was similar anger over the lack of Caucasian representation in "Attack on Titan".

4. ScarJo Provided the Necessary Starpower to Draw Viewers In

This is the common fallacy that Hollywood frequently commits and it is extremely insulting to all minorities in America. The idea that nobody would watch if an Asian-American actress had been chosen is humiliating to both Asian-Americans and the fair-minded people who would happily watch a non-Caucasian lead. Furthermore, it is egotistical of Hollywood to assume that only a Caucasian character would be able to carry the movie and puts little faith in the cult-like following that the original "Ghost in the Shell" has garnered over the years. Johansson’s “starpower” proves to be a flimsy excuse as "Ghost in the Shell"'s mediocre performance at the box office demonstrates that customers seem to be focusing on the blatant whitewashing rather than Johansson’s popularity. As many have said before, Rinko Kikuchi from "Pacific Rim" would have been a perfect lead for she has proved that Asian characters can be just as investing and charismatic as their Caucasian counterparts. Additionally, I feel like starpower or not, an Asian-American actress would have better understood the subtle nuance of culture, history, experience and identity that defined Major Kusanagi from the 1995 anime movie.

5. Y’all Are Way too PC and Sensitive and Need to Get over Yourselves

I’ve seen too many comments like this with derogatory variations of “libtards” and “special snowflakes.” To this, I’ll say that the whitewashing in this film is not a single isolated incident but part of an insidious trend that Hollywood has not attempted to correct. From old movies like "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" to more recent offerings like "The Forest", and "Aloha", Hollywood has shown a blatant disregard towards the Asian-American community. There have been disturbing rumors of a live-action "Mulan" showcasing a white male lead who helps her save her country. I’m not going to get into that because it deserves an article of its own but I will say that this proves that without action Hollywood is going to continue its culture of whitewashing and yellowface. In fact, it has been said that at the end of the movie [spoilers] that Major used to be a Japanese woman named Motoko Kusanagi who was placed in a Caucasian shell. I know that this was Sanders’ clumsy attempt to sidestep accusations of whitewashing but this is honestly the final nail in the coffin for me. This is beyond whitewashing, this is a metaphor for the white reinvention that Hollywood is so fond of utilizing. Instead of hearing the story of Kusanagi through an Asian-American actress, Kusanagi’s brain, all of her unique cultural experience, is placed in the white body and interpretation of Johanson in order to be more palatable and marketable to the audience. This isn’t the time to be quiet and bow down before the jeers of “SJWs.” Without action there will be no change in the revolting pattern of whitewashing. The suppression of cultural stories and voices is an important issue and I’m glad that the Asian-American community has risen up to voice their displeasure. It’s time to finally start making waves.