Over the past few months, I have noticed and have been upset with the whitewashing of Hollywood. More recently, I have been upset that there is a lack of Asian actors and actresses in Hollywood. This past month I went to the movies with my family. As we were waiting for our movie to begin, a trailer for an upcoming movie called 'The Great Wall' played. This film, which will be distributed by Universal Pictures, is based on the construction of the Great Wall of China and the mysteries behind it. “In many ways ‘The Great Wall’ is the opposite of what is being suggested. For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience. I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry.” So one might think that finally the Asian community would be represented in a major film. But guess what? The leading actor is none other than Matt Damon!
When I saw his face pop up on the big screen, I shriveled up in my seat. Matt Damon, if you do not know or have not noticed, is not Asian! Damon is European, with an English, Scottish, Finnish, and Swedish background. Although it is beyond wonderful that this movie has a largely Asian cast, it is still upsetting to see that the lead actor is European. However, I had to do my research before I sat behind a computer screen and typed away with anger. Zhang Yimou claims “Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor.” It has been revealed that Damon is playing a European mercenary in the film. The director is not trying to “pretend” that Damon is Asian when he clearly is not.
So now things seem all good and dandy. But are they really? The poster for "The Great Wall" is a close up of Matt Damon’s face. It is his name, no one else’s, that is printed on the poster. Why is it that only the white actor is being presented? It is Damon’s face that is meant to draw the audience in. So you have to wonder, are people more likely to see a film if the main star is white? Some people might argue that the reason why the poster is set up the way it is, is because Matt Damon is an A-list actor. People will recognize his name and pay to see the film. For all I know, that really could be the case! It is hard to say for sure. But one thing that is easy to say for sure is that there is a major lack of Asian actors and actresses in Hollywood. The last time that an Asian actor was nominated for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards was in 2003. There have been very few Asian women to be nominated for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress, and out of these women, only one has won.
Last year there was a major controversy over the fact that the list of Oscar nominees was almost completely made up of white people. The African American community was very upset by their lack of representation at the Academy Awards. But they are not alone; the Asian and Latino communities are also underrepresented in Hollywood. The next time you watch a movie, take notice of the actors. Are they all white? Is there any diversity in the cast at all? The lack of diversity and the idea of “whitewashing” in Hollywood has been an issue for quite some time. I wanted to shed light on this topic to remind people to take note of these inequalities. I hope that as time goes on, this issue fades away and that there is an equal representation of all racial communities in Hollywood. I hope that when I am sitting on my couch watching the 2017 Academy Awards, I see more diversity in the crowd.
