Whitewashing is often deemed as liberal rhetoric used to discriminate against anything White, but that's just not true. Whitewashing isn't just an ideology. In American society, it is a very normative way of socializing and conditiong racial and ethnic divisions, by erasing the authenticity of any minority culture. This is evident enough in the academic setting. Too often is Native American history discarded from grade school textbooks. It's not until you get to the university level that you can take classes specifically on Native history. The juvenile school system's way of teaching thus implies that American history started when Europeans reached the shores and brought "civilization" to the "savage" indigenous tribes.

Similarly, even the entertainment industry whitewashes. Ever wondered why, in a role about a Puerto Rican woman, Natalie Wood was casted in West Side Story? Sure, that discrepancy can be chalked up to it being a more conservative, less politically correct era, but what about now? Unfortunately whitewashing is alive and well still in Hollywood. Most recently, in 2016, Marvel recieved a lot of grief for casting Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in their release of Doctor Strange- a character that is a Tibetan man. This also happened in Aloha (2015), wherein Emma Stone was casted to play an Asian- American character, in Pan (2015) where Rooney Mara was cast as the Native American princess Tiger Lily, and, much to the disappointment of most millenial children, in The Last Airbender (2010), a film that should have had an abundance of Asian actors/ actresses.

Why can't Hollywood seem to cast in a manor true to the character description? Is there a lack of minority actors? No, there isn't. There are many actors of many diverse non-White racial/ethnic categories that are waiting for their break, and are seeking complex roles beyond the stereotypical: Latino/a maids, gardeners, and fetishized lovers/mistresses; African slaves, housekeepers, criminals, and of course the black best friend; Asian geeks, prostitutes, and kung-fu masters; Native warriors and medicine men, because apparently all tribes have exactly the same customs and exit solely to befriend or be dominated by White expansion, and Middle-Eastern people of any kind have been stereotyped in film as terrorists and belly dancers.

There are so many minority actors/ actresses in the business already that are looking for more complex roles. As stated by Viola Davis in her accepatance speech at the 2015 Emmy's for her lead role in How to Get Away with Murder, "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." We have established minority entertainers that are being recycled endlessly, in roles that are too one-dimensional.

And that's what it comes down to. It's not liberals trying to limit the roles in which White actors can occupy, the ways in which they can challenge themselves. But rather, the problem is both a lack of opportunity for non-White actors to challenge themselves in roles that go beyond their racial stereotypes, but represent both the history and culture of where their people have been, as well as where they are going from here. It's time end whitewashing.