“Ghost in the Shell” is the next anime series to get the live-action treatment from Hollywood. A first photo from the upcoming film has been released, where we get to see Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi. However, the live-action “Ghost in the Shell” is the latest example of what fans and critics refer to as “whitewashing,” where white actors are cast in non-white roles while actors of that particular ethnicity are either left in minor roles or forgotten altogether. With Emma Stone playing a part Chinese, part Hawaiian woman in "Aloha" and now this, whitewashing seems to be at the expense of Asian actors the most.
In some aspects, casting Scarlett Johansson makes sense – she’s a big name and people will pay money to see her. But shouldn’t producers be confident enough in the project to let it stand on its own without having a big name to carry it? Why not cast Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, or even take a chance on a new, up and coming actress? It seems like they’re putting a lot of effort into this movie, so they could afford to cast someone of the same race to make the fans of the original anime happy. Otherwise, they’ll say it’s not the same.
Scarlett Johansson is a great actress, and that first photo does look pretty convincing, but that’s not the point. The problem with whitewashing is that non-white actors are losing out on big roles in an industry already dominated by white talent. It’s how we end up with mostly white Oscar nominees and winners while everyone else boycotts in protest. It’s why we have an easier time naming white actors and actresses than actors of other races. Having seen the backlash from movies like "Aloha" and "Gods of Egypt," producers and casting directors should know better when offering roles for these projects.
While this situation isn’t nearly as bad as Emma Stone being miscast in "Aloha" (because of the VFX tests that can supposedly shift Johansson’s ethnicity in post-production), the whitewashing trend still continues for at least another film. Especially with movies based on anime, it seems as though we only get actors true to ethnicity when they’re made in Japan, but these films aren’t distributed much in the U.S., and even when they are, we get subtitles at best. Granted, many anime fans prefer subbed anime to dubbed, but subtitles may alienate those who aren’t really into anime.
In any case, the live-action “Ghost in the Shell” is now in production, with a planned release date of March 31, 2017. Who knows when we’ll be seeing an Asian actor playing an Asian character, but for now, let’s hope the movie does this great anime justice and that the director doesn’t screw things up. We don’t need any more angry fans.
What do you think of the upcoming “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation so far? Do you think Scarlett Johansson will make a good Matoko Kusanagi? Do you think whitewashing is still a problem in Hollywood today? Sound off in the comments!
