Why Doesn’t Hollywood Cast Asian Actors?

[@wuzi7049]

basically in Hollywood you're either White or black anything else are just extras

[@nationspridebts.8738]

Wuzi Mu if black people are in a movie, they're usually portrayed in a stereotypical way or just extras in movies so we ain't winning either

[@kabirhussqqqcain288]

BTS outtalented and outsold not true. There are.more acepting of you guys then they are of asian people. They have people of colour but not backpeople

[@nationspridebts.8738]

Kabir Hussqqqcain that literally is true. why do you think other countries have such negative perceptions of black people? even non-black americans think of us a certain way. because of what they see in movies and media. I never said we were less accepted than asian people but we aren't ever really shown in a positive light anyways so don't make us look like we are.

[@dania2369]

Excatly .

[@DoppelgangerJ]

Kabir Hussqqqcain Black people are finally not being typecast in movies as much, and are being included a bit more. So your comment is partly true. In the past, all non white actors essentially played stereotypes. Black people: gangsters, not gangsters but still from the inner city, funny black guy in college who's friends with everyone ("token"), etc. Everyone else that is not black or white is still being typecast as one stereotype or another. When it comes to Asians, South Asians have an accent, play doctors. "Apu." East Asians play shy nerds, martial arts experts, aspiring comedians or downright "fobs." When people don't live around people that are different from them, they develop all their preconceptions about different people from what they see in film and television. The media always portrays the negative aspects of all people because it relies on sensationalism.

[@anxiie444]

I remember 6 years old me going up to my dad saying that I want to be a Hollywood actor and he said that I can’t because I’m not white.

[@familyyoutube2460]

Or black

[@stepbrohelpimstuck2480]

No you can't because it's already hard to become an actor if you were white.

[@jaezerbeam1956]

How? It always seemed like it was much easier.

[@alexseemusic]

Thank you for making the effort to feature Asian opinions and experiences on this issue that affects Asians! Kevin is so concise, spot-on and articulate.

[@Peacepanda29]

I don't understand how America can be so obsessed with representing Asian culture/ mysticism, but representing actual Asian people is such a controversial thing...

[@miguellopez3392]

Nick Taniguchi because everyone wants to see their race represented in movies and it just so happens that asians are a very small minority in the US so they go for the ladder, there are plenty of animes using western culture as a theme but still use asian characters is that yellow-washing?

[@Mister-Thirteen]

It's an old concept. See, prior to the development of flight most people Western cultures were totally cut off from Eastern cultures and only explored them from second hand accounts. These accounts often focused on cultural difference which of course breeds a fascination with it. Add upon that the tendency of humans to use hyperbole when telling a story & the way narratives become muddied with each telling and you have the perfect environment for exaggerated caricatures to devolpe and be taken as truth by the masses, not out of malevolence but out of isolation and ignorance. Entertainment of all forms runs with these ideas as a way of playing to that aforementioned fascination and a few generations latter here we are. And to be fair population demographics are just as much a problem in this regard as international casting is still in it's infancy. The practice is also prohibitively expensive to producers which has somewhat stunted it's growth.

[@Murderface666]

Nick Taniguchi, don't say "America." Say "White America." They are the ones infatuated with Asians, because they lust after your women and dream of having an Asian wife. That's the only reason why they even tolerate Asian men. And they also have a feeling of ownership of Asian women. So if you have a sister, they will largely be your "friend" just to get closer to her. Plus you have to wonder why a lot of white men are able to adopt Asian girls. I see it a lot in southern California

[@Peacepanda29]

That's a fair point... The other-ization of Asian men, as well as the exotification of Asian Women is deeply rooted in White America. On the other hand, I don't want to downplay the role that media plays in this form of oppression, and American media affects all Americans, not just White Americans. Again, you made a fair point... I'll have to think it over...

[@Murderface666]

+Nick Taniguchi Here are some sources: Live Free or Die Hard (the Asian female villian is second to a bad acting white male (the same guy that "Hitman" in the first bad Hitman movie based off the game) Transformers 3 (the assistant to the government woman was Asian and was acted slave-ish at the woman's command) Hitman Absolution (game) Another Asian female assistant with the stereotypical nerd glasses second to a white male boss Transporter (white savior complex of Asian girl) The Big Hit (Mark Wahlberg savior complex of an Asian girl) The Last Samurai And a bigger list here: www.imdb.com/list/ls002828253/ Overall, white media will continue to give Asian women trinkets for access between their legs. The second Asian women reject them by the masses, you will start seeing Asians as a whole in America getting targeted like Black Americans. Bluntly through white eyes, they see themselves as having an invisible leash around Asian necks. This is why when the Korean kid killed all those college students at Virginia Tech, the media didn't milk it out of fear of backlash. But if the kid was of Mexican, a Muslim or especially a Black person, it would never be let go and would even overshadow Sandy Hook in mentions.

[@Arcanineisthebest]

Here's a better question: Why do we keep consuming Hollywood as our main source of films? They kind of suck.. Look at the Oscars, most of the award winners were funded WITHOUT a Hollywood studio (Yes, Lala land and moonlight are technically independent movies), not even the academy is acknowledging Hollywood anymore. So... Why don't wee consume more intelligent cinema? Look at what movies have been made in your state/country, go to the local film festivals, support your local scene people.

[@Coronelfarofa]

Here in Brazil, when "Furious 7" was released, it took roughly half of our theaters' screens. It means that, if you wanted to watch a film during that period, half of your options were pretty much that same one movie from hollywood. So, even if I only watch art movies and stuff like that, we gotta make the big movies, that sometimes is the only option to a lot of people, less problematic.

[@Arcanineisthebest]

While it is true that Hollywood movies are shoved in your throat, there is a misconception that "Independent movies" mean low budget, artsy movies or are not out there. Look at the mentioned La la land, or at Wes Anderson's or Denis Villenueve movies, huge budget, they're usually everywhere, and more often than not they are not associated with Hollywood based studios. Big doesn't mean Hollywood pal

[@OurNostalgia]

yeah i agree i watch "smaller" films and i don't run into this problem as much. same with the gender of actors, over half the movies i watch have female leads and i don't specifically search for that, it just happens to be that way in better films concerned with being good instead of just making money

[@tenzinkunkey8937]

I like this suggestion. Hope change happens soon.

[@mikey6724]

im dutch and 90% of the dutch movies are made for children around the age of 9, or they just suck and the cast is always the same because the’re aren’t many dutch actors. i’d rather watch a hollywood film.

[@15sep93]

Actually, this is why I believe fast & furious filma are so successful, many stereotypes of course, but they indeed have a very diverse cast, feels like the real world actually. Don't look after the movies, but whenever I have to watch them for some reason, there's always this non-white character you are like "yeah that's my boy!" Heck, they even had and asian man dating gal gadot, freackin wonder woman

[@num1Jaysta]

Nah it's the cast and chemistry from them. If it were just fast cars and explosions then all those other movies would be hits too.

[@vexxvenno]

The stereotypes are good tho like you said it's diverse and that's what makes it cool

[@dt-gp2vg]

haha im asian and when i saw the asian guy with gal gadot, i was like, good job brother!

[@fedpad21]

Jesus Christ: the most whitewashed character in history

[@NorthNodeAries412]

fedpad21 only if you live in America lol

[@carlosramon6102]

He was Levantine. More white than Arabs, more brown than northern Europeans.

[@kosukemiura1226]

He had tan skin, not white or black

[@vilesoulcube2601]

Tbh if he was the son of god then he was brothers with the Angles who are Agents of Light and in textbooks were described to have shining and golden skin. So I don’t think it was a mistake to have Jesus born with lighter skin then his parent(I would say parents but he was only born of Mary and not Joseph).

[@d20dask]

because devil lies everybody thinks his white i just laugh when i am in heaven see the look on the face people that were borin in the 1920s

[@EphemeralMe123]

thats why i love crazy ex girlfriend, representative for almost anyone and not stereotyped

[@rudegirlwins1682]

You’re beautiful

[@banchas75]

I wanted to like the Asian male love interest in Kimmy Schmidt, but he was too stereotypical. But I also know that was supposed to be the joke. At least I hope/think it was supposed to be a joke.

[@CrazedComposure]

Thank you so much for having this conversation, it's EXTREMELY important! Also, thanks for inviting an Asian person to have this conversation with you - props for realizing that he'd probably know more about his people being erased than you. Now all we need to do is somehow get the word to all the Hollywood producers out there that we don't want whitewashing, or audience pandering, we just want (as Kevin worded it at 10:05 ) "just a good-ass movie that people want to watch".

[@ryfitadf4215]

Diversity is just cool. I mean, i'm a white guy, so i've never had this problem, but i know it's hard for people to think they can be something when they don't have someone who looks like them to relate to, fictional or otherwise. just a few examples: I have a friend who's asian who used to think like "i'm asian. girls don't like asian guys" until we saw Glen and Maggie on the walking dead. it totally built up his confidence. the ghostbusters reboot wasn't phenominal, but my 6 year old niece saw it and was like "i can be a ghostbuster??" like "hell yeah! see? they're doing it, so you can do it too!" on the other end, i'd primarily seen black people in movies as gangsters and criminals. so when i started college, i thought for sure i'd get mugged or something. turns out, there's plenty of black guys out there who are as nerdy and awkward as me! i'd felt lied to! so yeah. Fiction can sway public perception. this is no secret. so if Hollywood CAN help inspire this-or-that type of person or better represent them, they should.

[@justjackiie]

John Martin exactly, thank you!

[@cardcaptorsabrina]

John Martin thank you for offering a different perspective on this! Some people don't seem to realize how much the media can influence people whether negatively or positively.

[@aqualeung]

Thanks for writing this up. It's important to have people from all groups as allies on this issue. Hopefully if the audience demands it more frequently and more loudly we'll actually see the needle move on this. I know the patronizing white guy thing to say would be 'you're one of the good ones' but dude, you're one of the good ones.

[@dunnowy123]

I grew up in a mostly non-white neighbourhood and never really knew any white people personally, but I always had a mostly positive impression of them (despite some of my relatives being extremely racist and paranoid about white people as a result of the real discrimination they faced when they first came to the United States and always talking about this) MOSTLY because of media. My favourite characters, actors and singers were all white. How could I EVER dislike white people? I could listen to my Dad talk about white people treated him so badly when he first came to the country...but that didn't change how totally in love I was with Kelly Kapowski. It sounds weird, but it really shows you how powerful media is. It literally shaped my perception of the world.

[@ryanmftv3382]

Idk where you live, but I'm from southern louisiana and the area I lived in had a good mix of everybody, asians, mexicans, white, and black people and I was friends with everyone. I never thought I'd get mugged by black people and I never thought all asians were nerds...truth is me and my group of friends which consisted of of white, asian, black, and me (mexican/white) would all hang out and watch anime and play video games and sports all day....so yeah I GUESS Hollywood can sway someone's opinion of a group of people if you don't actually go out and interact with them. But a good rule of thumb is to know the individual and not generalize the group. *BONUS* For your asian friend...women like asian guys in Louisiana.

[@XuriFenton]

one in a thousand, BUT: In THE100 there is, indeed an Asian guy dating a white girl.

[@Crawzitow]

the walking dead too with glen...first thing that came in my mind... and he is such a loved character, important plot device from start to finish

[@Arcanineisthebest]

More like one in 100, more specifically one in the100 haha am I right?

[@joan1609]

Blu There aren't "many" more. That's called denial. The ratio is undoubtedly worse than 1 in 300 if we're talking about America. And we are.

[@DallasTechie]

Fringe Wizard I notice it's only nerdy/dorky white boys that date Asian women. When you see an Asian Man dating outside his race the women weather she is white or Latina is often attractive. Conclusion Asian Men are more intelligent and have better taste than their Asian female counter part. Just my observation as an outsider

[@joan1609]

DallasTechie Wait, you're literally saying that Asian men are smarter than Asian women because they pick partners based on looks...? How does a preference for superficial qualities in a partner make someone more intelligent? If anything it suggests the opposite.

[@joshuaogle9458]

Yes, the comments are just as bad as you're imagining.

[@wildnikappeared]

Just glad that these dudes are so casual. Feels like two friends chatting over a beer, we need more of this in the world

[@AVAL2775]

are you kidding me, casual? it looks like hes feeling so "guilty" when he really shouldnt be, he has no reason too be

[@woodencoyote4372]

You're mentioning of the "Asian woman-only love interest" reminded me of a real life effect from my own experience. Back in college, around the time anime was becoming mainstream, a guy in my film club got a t-shirt that said "I Want an Asian Girlfriend" in multiple languages - Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc. The club would always go out for a meal afterwards and he would wear it anytime we went anywhere like a Chinese or Japanese restaurant, or even somewhere with Asian staff (there were many since it was a town with a college and a major University) and just grin at the women. Like they should be flattered at the effort he was making.

[@MegaKaiDude]

I've never heard anyone pronounce Nguyen as "nooyen"

[@LimeyLassen]

Now I'm trying to imagine Crouching Tiger but with like Keanu Reeves and it's inexpressably hilarious

[@TheLANMAC]

(he is biracial though usually read as white so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

[@Sariya_Inari]

Peach Papaya He is like 1/4th or 1/8th Hawaiian. To call him Asian would be a gross overestimation. Not to mention how he looks is important. If you showed his picture to a random person who didn't know he was Keanu Reeves he would be considered Caucasian.

[@LPTheGas]

IIRC Keanu is 1/2 white, 1/4 Chinese and 1/4 native Hawaiian, each parent being 1/2 white. Anyway, when he was younger I never would have guessed, but now that he's middle-aged it definitely shows; the only thing weird about him being in that 47 Ronin movie was how young his character was supposed to be.

[@MCAndyT]

+

[@chunkylover5367]

Lawrence Fishbourne as Chow Yun-fat

[@cheaterman49]

The amount of dislikes on this video is staggering. Where are they coming from?

[@modernminded5466]

When even the thumbnail if flatout wrong... What do you expect.

[@tincano-beans2114]

People who value good cinema, instead of mandatory diversity.

[@joycewang-x2r]

same question lol

[@miikey376]

White ppl

[@dan8085]

Racists.

[@TytoAlpha]

"hey we should maybe have more asian representation in these adaptations of asian media because representation is a way of weakening racist dynamics in the real wor-" "ACKSHULLY, if you read the lore..."

[@midnightsg]

This comment section is going to be great and everyone is going to get along just fine.

[@LuiKang043]

midnightsg The comments section is going to be a cacophony of uncensored voices that won't toe the party line.

[@CarrotConsumer]

midnightsg What party? Why wasn't I invited?

[@andresarancio6696]

>Reads comment >Laughs uncontrollably

[@missingshoefilms]

+

[@NatetheNerdy]

Ah, I see you're a man of optimizing as well.

[@andykww]

Asian Americans ARE also Americans. There are A LOT of Asian American actors. But there is a perception there aren't many because you don't see them, but that's because they don't get work/cast on bigger jobs and so stay on the fringes of the industry. American Asian actors are rarely afforded the opportunities to rise the ranks to mainstream popularity and leading roles like African American and Latino American actors. And it becomes a perpetual thing that molds public perception.

[@tocov]

Citation needed for everything you said. How many Asian American actors are there, what percentage do they make out of all actors in America? Is there any source to this statistic, or do you just go by gut feeling?

[@adviel]

unlike African countries Asian countries make movies so they are represented.

[@andykww]

@tocov As someone working on the fringes of the industry I see LOTS of Asian actors (most aspiring) in the circuit who share the woes of not getting employment beyond typecast stereotypes. Same if you attended major city drama schools, you'll see a few knocking around. Also if you visit the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) site, you'll find your statistics. In 2008: 3.8% Asians, 6.4% Latino, 13.3% African American, 72.5% White. Those stats have been consistent and translate to the American ethnic demograph. By that logic, you should have 1 recognizable Asian actor for every 20 recognizable white actors - which isn't the case. Bear in mind that SAG statistics are about employment within SAG affiliated productions (Hollywood), and has no bearing about size or payout of the roles. Basically, Asian American actors are given irrelevant roles that don't further their careers or public status.

[@SepherOfFire]

You might want to be careful how you present those statistics. Your original post ("American Asian actors are rarely afforded the opportunities to rise the ranks to mainstream popularity and leading roles like African American and Latino American actors") makes it seem like African American and Latino American actors don't have their own wealth of hurdles.

[@chaole1000]

adviel Africa does make movies! their 'Hollywood" is Nigeria, or 'nollywood.' Asians make movies if course, but are they represented in American mainstream media? NO. They are only popular in Asia

[@urmanascrewed]

Filthy Frank does not get enough credit for how well he represents Asian Americans and breaks stereotypes.

[@harlannguyen4048]

I know who you're referring to, but you got a link to the thing you're talking about?

[@finback2005]

you don't you who invented the Harlem shake? Sham on you.

[@michiga5220]

But his half white

[@niamhbutler5685]

anime fanatic does it matter? he’s still asian and most importantly ‘looks asian’ which still gives representation

[@urmanascrewed]

@@niamhbutler5685 I don't know why I only got your notification. It's funny to see comments pop up from 2+ years ago.

[@ProfVRandall]

Here is a question, why do hollywood , for the most part, cast all black men as very dark skin and black women as very light skin?

[@ProfVRandall]

Here is a question, when you have cancer. Do you get better by ignoring it and pretending that if you don't name it you will get better Want to stop as you "this nonsense", then get rid of racism - which by the way is how you labeled it - I just describe the facts.

[@boingo48]

I think a lot of it is to do with the fact that there's this idea that the 'darker' you are the more demonised you are and both the news and (white) media seem to reflect each other in their said demonising of black men especially. With women being cast as light skinned I'd be inclined to say that is has to do with the idea of women in a lot of popular media being there for the purpose of being attractive, not really for any plot device, and lighter skinned black girls are often seen as more attractive because of this (and a similar thing is seen in countries in Asia where colourism is rife because western ideals have leaked into other cultures and where a lot of kids use 'dark' as a synonym for ugly which is what a really close friend of mine has told me recently which sucks). Although, I'm not black so I don't feel inclined to justify or explain, this is just what I've seen myself and heard from people I know who have gone through this and been affected by it. TLDR; casting directors and film makers are bad at casting and force minority roles into teeny stereotypes and/or mould them to as much their ideals as possible.

[@AxelLeJeff]

Hey, emelator, think about why this question angers you so much and move along.

[@Millionsofpeas]

How are we supposed to do anything about racism if we aren't allowed to talk about it?

[@starsofnysar]

It's called colorism

[@brockmckelvey7327]

I know these are the most political/controversial, but I'm really thankful for ya'll talking about race stuff. Having a place to learn about these issues is really helpful for me, going to a university and working in a tutoring job where my primary role is to help people (and I've found I can help people more if I can understand a little of where they're coming from).

[@thebigenchilada678]

Brock McKelvey Woah woah. Stop. Race shouldn't play any role at all in what you do man, holy shit what are you thinking? "So i can understand where they're coming from" a person's race doesn't signify any of their experiences whatsoever, thinking this way is called racism, you know, when you attribute traits to someone based on their race. It's the typical liberal racism that people simply don't notice and it's ridiculous. Skin color will not ever determine one's character or background and as someone in your position, you should absolutely NEVER under any circumstance think in such a way, it's racist, plain and simple.

[@pokezeldafan]

The Big Enchilada If I may quote Kevin Nguyen: 12:55

[@thebigenchilada678]

pokezeldafan My point is that race shouldn't play any factor your educational experience, I shouldn't teach you any differently because you're black, white, yellow, or green.

[@AVAL2775]

but heres the problem, what he wants is for whtie actors to die out sorry but thats the truth

[@FringeWizard2]

Ah, yet another neomarxist professor whose job is to destroy the white race. How do you feel knowing your classes are now nothing but non-whites and some white women while all white men have dropped out due to depression and poverty and an entire generation of white men is consequently growing up resentful and with a deepening hatred that is going to explode and lead to the a bloody civil war and it's you people in the schools and universities who have caused this by constantly degrading white culture and treating white men like the devil all the time?

[@ninaah_s]

I really like the fact that the channel is doing all types of videos. Outside and interviews. Really like it.

[@daniellenza1651]

You know what, there really is very little representation of Asians in American entertainment. It's almost as if they are less than 6% of the U.S population or something.

[@RactupusRex]

Do I dare read the comments section? Nope not gonna do it!

[@jader4935]

At least this comment is the safe spot. ✋️ (high five me!)

[@alexandert696]

Stay inside your safe space . Ignore everyone.

[@Holobrine]

Just thought of a badass Asian in TV: Melinda May from Agents of Shield.

[@windseekervideo]

9:55 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is actually not a very "Chinese " interpretation of Wuxia story for Chinese and Taiwanese people.

[@TakedaDoujin]

On Iron Fist: "That character should have Asian in the first place." Because he was doing martial arts or...?

[@ischyz7105]

"the adherence to adapting it has been used as an excuse to not fix that character" Isn't that EXACTLY the kind of thing he's against? Or is it OK because affirmative action?

[@Gothamlk]

The story draws on many oriental themes. I'm not saying it's deep and all, it's still comic books, it's stupid, but there's more to it that martial arts.

[@kibordpengin]

because iron fist in the comics has a small penis.

[@RadiantSolarWeasel]

Because the character's origins are based in racist tropes of oriental mysticism.

[@Beatness121]

Yeah that was one thing I was kinda "ehhhh" about in this interview. Saying that Iron Fist should be asian because he knows Kung-Fu is kinda bad. The easy fix for the Iron Fist situation is if you just retcon K'un-lun, the FICTIONAL FANTASY LOCATION to not be semi-located in asia. It's on like a different plane of reality, disconnecting it from asia would remove all white-savior aspects of Iron Fist.

[@HillaryGaming_Official]

Well I'm actually a Chinese Canadian 🇨🇳🇨🇦 girl and we should have more representation in the western media more positively

[@tinayang4789]

I’m CBC (Chinese born Canadian) to and I feel the same but it just isn’t gonna happen. Hollywood is in the USA and they hate China more than Russia now

[@kshatriyapa]

@Inw KZbin For you. For many, Europeans or whites aren't. All subjective, I guess.

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

"Here we have Kevin New-yen" Did he just seriously let that pass by?

[@AceofDlamonds]

1. Stop saying "Caucasian" 99.999% of the time it's used wrong.

[@Zaete0chan]

LOVE the interview format! So cool!

[@deftcg]

@Pbsideachannel please respond to this question: don't other cultures (majority)-wash their cinematic productions as well? I.E. Japanese movies cast almost exclusively Japanese people, Indian movies cast mostly Indian actors, etc. THANKS!!

[@promiachowdhury9758]

Seth Hastings Because these countries are mono ethnic. Ie, they comprise almost entirely of one race. In America and other western countries, there are many races and diversity is prevalent. People of other cultures want representation in movies that we watch and that's why we don't take bullsh*t when people like you actually try to defend whitewashing.

[@deftcg]

Pro C. Easy there. I didn't state where I stand, or imply it. I simply believe it is a question that would be beneficial for the general viewership to see discussed. Don't be so quick to judge.

[@thrymr]

Indian movies often do cast actors and create characters from lots of different parts of India - split by geography, ethnicity, caste, whatever. Calling India mono-ethnic is pretty inaccurate. Though, there are lots of problems with the Indian film industry centered around how many white and half-white actors there are because of preference for light skin.

[@Popsiclestick27]

Death Note gets a pass because it casted black people? Walking Dead has an asian man dating a white woman, and no mention? Heck he was one of the most favorite characters.

[@meditalisoo7]

Popsiclestick27 Death Note already has 3 Movies with japanese actors... It completely blows my mind how many people care sbout race. I didn't complain because L was not western-looking in the japanese movie because... maybe because it was a JAPANESE movie. So in the American movie... why not make him black? doesn't matter tbh. It would be more inappropriate to use asian-americans because it's a reinterpretation and it should be generally more accepted to switch sex or race for an an already existing character. Theatre does this all the time and noone cares because it's actually great! So instead of caring about race why not just let creatives experiment with it. This also includes making asian characters white to fit in a new setting. I would like to see the uproar though when they change sex for an already existing beloved female character... the Internet would go wild :3 I'm all for switching it up to make it more interesting. Make Indiana Jones and James Bond female and Belle or Katniss Everdeen male. Make Bruce Lee black, make Ryan Gosling asian, make Jamie Foxx white. Make also sure to make the movies and shows good btw xD

[@Coronelfarofa]

"gets a pass" because has a diverse cast. People of other ethnicities just want to be represented on the screen, they don't want to "own" a certain character. What sucks about Death Note, and Kevin kinda addressed that as well, is that even though some roles have been given to african-americans and asian-americans, the leading one wasn't among them..

[@shamidullah1]

Chris Redfield well I don't want to see a change for real people and historical figures. You want to get as close as possible to an accurate representation. Like if you have a movie about President FDR you want an actor that looks like FDR. I would like to see gender or race Changes to fictional characters though. you adapt the character to a more modern audience that way and you can tell a story from a different perspective. unless the race or gender is central to the characters core Identity. like I wouldn't want a Male Wonder Woman. you could have a change in skin color though. she's Amazonian but that is a fictional race and culture in itself. change her color wouldnt change her character it would just give more representation to women of color which I believe is a possitive thing.

[@rikimez127]

Popsiclestick27 I believe "mother's basement" (anime analysiser channel) had a good opinion on the "white washing" of Death Note. if Ur Interested

[@meditalisoo7]

shamidullah1 I definitely agree with historical figures! They should be represented by someone as close as possible to them. I also agree that male wondar woman would kinda defeat the whole purpose. But changing the race can make for different backstories.

[@KpopNiDontStop]

Crazy to see how far we have come in 2022 things are changing.

[@liampatrick3110]

Not for the better

[@pranavkambhampati4536]

After watching this, I feel like 95% of all these points apply to the Indian community as well

[@bear.6804]

Aren't indians asians too?

[@twistednip2569]

@@bear.6804 nah but it’s different tho. We look nothing alike and share no culture. Just look how India discriminates north east India because they look “Chinese” to them and not real Indians. Just cause we share the same continent doesn’t mean we share the same struggles lol

[@bryanmartinez6600]

Next Up Asians for the NFL "WHAT A TACKLE BY YAMAMOTO!!!"

[@michelekass7044]

So, please correct me if I am wrong, but in regards to the Tilda Swinton casting as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange, I thought I had heard that part of the reason for that casting was because they felt that it would go over better with Chinese audiences than casting a Tibetan man because of Chinese-Tibetan relations are still a thing that are really strained.

[@mayberry628]

Im Hispanic and a grew up with jacky chan, bruce lee and jet lee. I never went to a theater they were on tv. dubbed in Spanish. Thats really how i got exposed to terrible martial arts films. Dont get me wrong i loved them. However that gave them lots of exposure. Thats why there the most know asians. Not all is Hollywoods fault. Until recently most domestic and foreign movie goers preferred white lead movies. Hollywood is going to invest its money in something thats going to bring profits. The reason Scarlett Johansson got cast was because she lead a successful scifi-film lucy. Hollywood wanted safe good actor people know. If you haven't noticed most Hollywood cast at least one Chinese character because China has a huge cinema audience . Its all what the consumer wants.

[@tierracooper3356]

But no Mexicans actors since Antonio banderas and yet Hispanics make up most of the theater buys

[@Mekose]

I'm more concerned with the integrity of the story and source; I'm a little disappointed you didn't touch on this. Representation is and has always been a big systemic problem with all media in all countries. I'm sure Nguyen could be saying the same things if he was a white person in an asian country talking about the white-(x country) experience. That doesn't dis-credit what he's saying or what this episode was about, it's definitely a discussion that needs to be had. However, I wanted to touch on how ethnicity-washing can diminish a story and character. Matoko Kusanagi (Major) is Japanese BECAUSE her ethnicity informs her character and her reactions to the culture of the world around her. If she was white or some other ethnicity living in Japan during the robotics revolution then her difference in culture and ethnicity would inform her reactions to the world differently. Like Nguyen said, ethnicity gives the audience a different perspective and racial equality is more about acknowledging race than ignoring it. There are subtleties to Major's character and personality that are dependent on the traditional Japanese culture and upbringing; these things are lost when casting someone who doesn't have an understanding of those qualities and results in a poorer and more flat character and performance. It's not racist to acknowledge the conflict going on in Major's head between her traditional culture and upbringing versus the quickly changing world around her. The world of Ghost of in the Shell is very informed by Japanese culture, history, and socio-politics. Major, being Japanese, has conflicts with this world in the form of her cultural values in the face of becoming a ""ethnicity-less"/less than human" cyborg, the old Japanese political structure clinging to a rapidly changing world, and xenophobia due to diluted culture because of mass integration with cyborg bodies and brains. These are problems faced by Japanese characters written by a Japanese person because being Japanese enforces their motivations and removing those ethnicities from the story reduces it severely.

[@komakaze1]

Mekose - this is an outstanding contribution to the discussion. Nice points that express my feelings on Ghost in the shell's Americanisation which I couldn't express.

[@Mekose]

Thank you, Komakaze! I'd also like to say I'm bias given my German/Caucasian ethnicity living in America, I certainly wasn't trying to diminish the issue of representation and saying I was "more concerned" might have come off wrong. It's really sad that Hollywood thinks that those story aspects and character subtleties would have gone over people's heads, especially considering how it's a major plot point in GiTS and is such a huge aspect of the world building. I think they could have "Americanized" it and still kept the problems of culture, integration, crumbling political structures, and xenophobia. These aren't things that non-Japanese people can't or don't experience or understand, but they are lost when you don't acknowledge them; especially with casting.

[@eingoluq]

I doubt that considering when they cast the wrong race as protagonists the movie tends to be shit The great wall of china Gods of Egypt ghost in the shell. etc.

[@AVAL2775]

Angelo Gopaul except that isnt true, just cause you dont enjoy those films doesnt make them bad, this is where are culture of self hate has gotten to where if a white actor has gotten any role then its seen as racist

[@faflamingo2193]

@@Mekose creator seemed cool with having a white woman as makoto

[@Jazzzon777]

So, did the TV series "Heroes" do good or bad? I only watched the first season but the Asian guy was a main character and one of the most powerful heroes. At the same time he was short and nerdy.

[@benbarker8154]

Sooo, no one gonna mention the last air bender?

[@WDSimp]

Every single solitary human being on the face of the earth would like to pretend that The Last Airbender film never existed.

[@Crocalu]

Btw 'The Great Wall' (the movie that wasn't really made for 'white' or 'asian' culture) raked in 330 million dollars worldwide. Compare that to the 150 million dollars budget and I don't see how this movie is considered a failure. Don't lie to your audience

[@ISayEssays]

Crocalu Production budget vs box office earnings is not entirely an accuarate metric of success. For most films their advertising budget is usually equal or greater than their production budget. So i would be surprised if the Great Wall broke even.

[@xnamkcor]

The character from GItS had "Asian Features"? Almost no characters outside of their clothes have "Asian Features" in Anime.

[@sleepy-peepy]

When someone says,"The best person was probably chosen for the job! Who cares what their race is?" The implication is that the white actor is better than ANY and ALL Asian actors who could have been available to take the role. When someone says "Scarlet Johansson was just better for the job!" What they're saying is that Scarlet Johansson is better than every Asian American actress alive. Which is absurd. In my opinion, that's where racism comes in.

[@justjackiie]

Excess Sleeper exactly, well said!

[@seeker_of_lightning1997]

Excess Sleeper Umm no it means that she was better than all the other people they auditioned for the role.

[@sleepy-peepy]

I'm sure ScarJo's name recognition had nothing to do with anything. Thank you for your input.

[@DomoFudge]

Asian actors are also often unable to audition. Non-white women were not allowed to audition for Katniss in Hunger Games. Similar cases popped up in Pan and the Netflix Death Note series. A lot of actors who could have been better than "the person who was best for the job" are never even given a chance.

[@MojoMicah]

Excess Sleeper or better than all the other Asians that were casted. just because you won a tournament doesn't mean you're the best in the league

[@AdiosSalvi]

This needs at least 500,000+ views I love these type of videos.

[@calthestrider]

I really enjoy watching these and having my opinions challenged but these are emotional arguments and a question to be asked is discussing these thing while engaging should it be acted on when looking at the wider picture it affects nothing?

[@deboo117]

13:33 I almost cried watching that

[@AlbertoBarrera1]

Didn't they change Tilda's character in Dr. Strange because Chinese censors wouldn't have allowed them to play the movie in China if they had kept the character Tibetan?

[@Decembirth]

Wong is Tibetan as well, so yea, it's just lies.

[@GregPoblete]

Master of None is such a good show for representation. There is a part in the second season that is completely told through ASL. Aziz and his crew are doing amazing work and are telling amazing stories from many perspectives.

[@bsnoguera]

mike, that you are a guy who would call an Asian American to talk instead of speaking in their name is one of the reasons why this show is great.

[@muhilan8540]

Glenn from the Walking Dead.

[@nathanh641]

Muhilan Selvaa Exactly what I was thinking when he said that there are no examples of Asian actors in romantic roles. Glenn is a very well-rounded character.

[@jaysonsan8363]

yea and hes dead

[@nationspridebts.8738]

jayson san he had a good 7 seasons on the show though ( characters get killed off quick af on that show )

[@rickysanchez42084]

The primary reason as to why Glenn is a great character and devoid of stereotypes is the awesome source material that is the TWD comics

[@beingian4947]

Homeboy needed to wait until the zombie apocalypse before getting some romantic representation for Asian dudes on TV.

[@walop]

I think it was Ridley Scot that said one of his movies NEEDED to have a major star to even get investments and funds, and also a bad movie with a big hollywood name makes more money than a good movie with no stars. I'm just adding this in because I think you guys forgot to mention. I guess this case is how do you make more asian movie stars?

[@MrQuan2u]

there needs to be an agency specifically for encouraging and promoting asian male actors in Movies. We get absolutely no representation..

[@fireiceandpie]

I think white washing is almost unanimously considered a bad thing. This felt like two people agreeing it's bad but not examining mass populous stemic causes nor does this seek a true solution. Recently it feels like people with valid cultural or political concerns find a corner of the internet to agree with then the culture can become moderately toxic to outsiders.

[@AVAL2775]

becuase they know it doesnt really exist anymore and infact it more exists in reverse now with poc taking the roles of white characters

[@AVAL2775]

which by the way is just as bad as white washing,

[@magykalego49]

These comments will be fun.

[@greenlemon9155]

for the first time in my life, i will be funny

[@WayfaringAmoeba]

These comments about how the comments are divisive on a divisive topic are going to be fun.

[@piperpuppy2402]

magykalego49 LMAO

[@kkp4297]

but Asian actors are not bankable. That's why they'll never make it big in hollywood

[@annonymousmaniaciii]

Euuuuuuuuugh.

[@nymeria941]

Not a question, but I love this style of video! Will you do more of these interview-type videos?

[@nicolereplogle6076]

I wholeheartedly disagree about the whitewashing of the Major in the rebooted GitS film. Giving her a prosthetic body that looks nothing like her flesh-and-blood body (who was played by a Japanese actor) fits in with the corporation also taking away her memories of her parents, giving her a non-Japanese name, and basically trying to remove her from her past identity in an attempt to control her. In this way it makes sense to me that they wouldn't want her to see someone in the mirror who looks anything like her old self. I think if anything it actually underscores the theme of erasure and not being able to see yourself in media when you are struggling just to see yourself in... yourself. And all of this fits very well (to me) with the themes about identity that are made the original Ghost in the Shell franchise such a big and lasting and important set of works.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

No it doesn't..it's just an excuse. They wanted scarjoe. Who sucks anyway. That aside, supposedly the director didn't mind. I guess he expected that since a majority white country was doing it..I think Japan thinks of the u.s as more euro than people that live in cities in the u s think of it.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

Plus that's an example of a shitty story and adaptation.. obviously the anime movies or manga aren't about something stupid like her not knowing who she was. They turned it into a Hollywood cliche that way too. Same as deathnote. Ight can't be a popular, attractive, intelligent kid who decided to committee mass murder for the sake of his idea of Justice or a break down.

[@eclipz905]

@Aisling As was stated in the video, Asian Erasure is not a problem in Japan. It is an issue is US media. The population that is most affected by this issue are Asian Americans. Japanese citizens are not a relevant authority here.

[@dandosapershing6103]

Personally I feel a lot of amines that get turned into movies the main characters look for white than Asian

[@AVAL2775]

Another big problem here is general lack of research

[@joaosturza]

1 canonicly in the story the major is in a caucasian body,it was her coice and it shuld be respected 2.the western studio activly tried to change the actor form mattdemon to someone else but the chinese owned studio that also made the movie wanted him to stay ike such 3.there is an asian marvel super hero ,shang chi that by every metric is a better character then iron fist ,at least to me ,but lets be honest the first asian character in marvel having the super power of super kung-fu would be call racist 4.the ancient one was changed from a tibetn monk to apese chinese censors that would not let one of the 30 western movies relese in china contain a simbol of tibetan culture, fun fact the chinese studant association denounce the dalai lama and no one call that it was Religious persecution because our culture only cares if its got a word like race-racism,sex-sexism,islam-islmofobia(wich by the way is an extremly exclusionary term if there is not a proper word for religious prejudice) 5.should the oportunity to hire asian actors superseed the hiring of strictly good actors if they are sometimes multualy exclusive? 6 "know your audience" would that include knoing that transforming ghost busters into a feminist semi-comedy that doesnt exel at any point ,and actevly insulted the part of the fan base that disliking it with racial and gender prejudicial coments,and then complain that was a comertial faliure

[@joaosturza]

also hollywood representacion is almost a 1:1 mach of the demographics of america

[@Corran109]

Is it? Name the 5% of recent movies that have Asians in leading roles..

[@joaosturza]

i said hollywood not movies,most tv series realy

[@comicalhexical]

Corran109 name the 5% of Asians that have the leading role in dog pounds. Seriously why does it matter who has a leading role?

[@shadovao8704]

There are so many amazing asian actresses! for example Tao Okamoto, Karen Fukuhara, Rila Fukushima, Arden Cho, Doona Bae, Seo Ju-Hyun, Liu Yifei, Fan Bingbing, Jamie Chung, Olivia Munn ! They're all such amazing actresses ❤

[@stevelandmartin-khan2430]

The way I think about it is, what would you prefer? A better performance? Or the actor to be a specific race? It seems like nobody considers the possibility of a better actor. But on the other hand, I do agree that it is important to give a positive representation, and that expanding out into other options for casting is also a good thing. I'm not saying that white washing doesn't exist or that nobody should care. All I'm saying is that there are 2 sides of a coin and that it is important to look at both equally and without bias and then decide.

[@TheKnizzine]

Why does it matter? The best available actor for the role, if you get upset over Ghost in the Shell but aren't equally upset about say Ghost, The Unforgiven, Cruel Intentions, or The Good the Bad and the Ugly you're kinda being a huge hypocrite.

[@AVAL2775]

Jon Smith ph wanna know something fun abkut gits, everyone and there mom complain about scarlet playing the major, but said nothing about borma being played by a black dude

[@DarthCalculus]

Welcome to Night Vale shirt!!!!!!

[@Alumx]

William Estes I got really excited when saw it :D love that podcast

[@aidanyakymyshyn9636]

why so many dislikes??! he was a great guest and had a lot of good points, its nice for a video like this not to just be a fear-mongering thing where everyone gets called racist, it was very level-headed

[@treismac]

I could only stand five and a half minutes of this excrement. Peace.

[@Pratchettgaiman]

Holy crap I think I went to college with Kevin Nguyen

[@gaussminigun]

I went to college with 20 Kevin Nguyens

[@sciwiz12]

I hear what you guys are saying about the great Wall, but look, I think it's great that Chinese movies are branching out and trying to be more diverse by having a white star. Normally there's not much diversity in Chinese movies and they tend to get yellow washed so it's refreshing to finally see some diversity coming out of the Chinese film industry.

[@charleneong]

thank you for giving the stage to an actual Asian though for this particular topic. appreciate it

[@kkagami4782]

Eh, I don't really care how Hollywood portrays Asians, or how they cast them. All I care if the movie/product is good. I'm Asian btw.

[@VuTang858]

Nobody is going to talk about the Dragon Ball movie and The Last Air bender? Made me sick.

[@JustMe-ob7lu]

Q: "Why Doesn’t Hollywood Cast Asian Actors?" A: ...because the jews are mostly white (or appear to be)

[@FringeWizard2]

This.

[@ricardosoto5770]

Its Asians are the ones who get whitewashing the most, despite the growing importance of the Chinese market..... Hollywood is acting against their own interests. But they do blackwash a lot of European characters in ancient and medieval shows lately. Why is that?

[@yorico4944]

How is does this guy saying Iron Fist is kinda whiting, is he saying that only Asian people can be good at kung-fu or any type of Asian Marshal Arts ?

[@mr.dystopian5554]

The Peacemaker Iron Fist is a strawman arguement. If they're not complaining about a white guy "appropriating" Asian culture, they're going to complain about an Asian stereotype instead.

[@yorico4944]

Mr. Dystopian oh

[@donsample1002]

Watching this, I couldn't help thinking about "Nobody's Asian in the Movies" from "Commentary!" The musical commentary to "Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog."

[@danielzylberkan1587]

The idea of "representation" is interesting to me because it seems like the same argument as multiculturalism. Multiculturalism at its base is about equality and justice right but it has absolutely no economic factor. Multiculturalism in my mind is nothing but social/culture neoliberalism. It creates a market of ideas and tries to make something out of nothing. I feel like people should be much concerned with actual material problems than problems of representation

[@bigkingspeakerdwestemperor5068]

Worry about actual problems? Makes sense, only issue... This is Earth...

[@JammedGears]

it's easy to downplay representation when someone is not part of an ethnic minority, but the whole idea of representation in movies is giving actors from ethnic minorities fair opportunities when they are equally talented. when people of color don't get a role in a movie because of their race, it is a material problem as they are economically worse off compared to whoever got the role.

[@joan1609]

You realize that not getting a job because of your race or ethnicity IS a problem, right? Or did that just fly over your head?

[@lauraschmall3304]

GHOST IN THE SHELL !! THATS MY FAVORITE ANIME !!😍💖💓☯

[@nikmuhamadizzat9903]

Laura Schmall doesnt look like anime it white anime have to look cute

[@beatnix488]

Masamuri Shiro claims that China will fall, and become a wasteland in GITS. This is a common theme in his works. The old Japanese ideas that China is a backward, agrarian, enemy, and the Japanese invasion of China was just fine, and wonderful, are bountiful in this particular work. Apple-Seed, and Black-Magic, did not have as much of such controversy.

[@tayahoneybear]

I'm sticking with that anime.

[@rainydaylady6596]

I recently watched the sequel to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and was very disappointed to find everyone speaking English. I saw the first one with subtitles and had no problem and liked hearing them speak Chinese (sorry I don't know if it was Mandarin or another one). Why was the second movie presented in that way?

[@MarySmilodon]

Okay so they should have changed Iron fists character to asian, but changing the Ancient one to white is horrible? Also the live action Death Note is Americanized, so it is not white washing.

[@GrimMeowning]

Want to point on a very specific thing in this video conversation: the "Death Note" is white washed completely by its general setting, so there no white-washing of Light. The idea behind Light was - he is privileged person, with lots of money, with lots of possibilities, who is higher in hierarchy then others, so he is completely bored among the "normal" people. So privileged white guy is a good replacement for him in therms of and character inner idea. Other characters are adapted in a same way. The Pop Idol is not a thing in America, so she was replaced with cheerleader - so idea is the same, an attractive famous person, who is wanted by everyone. Nex step is L - he is freaky and strange person, you will see him and never think he is a strategic genius. So they put there person of color, to make that idea to be delivered through stereotypes. But that is a bit out of reality - there were no people of color on lead posts of FBI or CIA ever. So it is more complete adaptation of setting to another city and country, than white washing. And this can be good as it soaks the original idea and adapt for another audience, instead of just copying original without understanding the idea behind it and replacing lead roles (like it was with GitS) with whites.

[@elmohead]

Except that Shinigami idea is an exclusively Japanese thing. Since the setting is in America, why not make it the Aztec or Mayan or Native American god of death?

[@AVAL2775]

i dont think allot of this is very fair to the charaters

[@AVAL2775]

cause in america shinigami is the grim reaper

[@AVAL2775]

also it is racist to say that every white guy is privilaged and that it excuses them

[@ilphi08]

How come whitewashing black characters is a huge no-no nowadays But whitewasihng asian characters is still a common practice?

[@argella1300]

#GiveJohnChoARomCom

[@normund8348]

If the character looks like the source material then I dont care what race is cast.

[@Decembirth]

So you liked Dragon Ball Evolution then?

[@baboner1046]

The characters in DB Evolution don't like the source material. The ages were off. The outfits were off. The story was off. And Goku is an alien and that Earth isn't our Earth. There isn't a japan. So yeah...

[@MrAkitso]

+Nh 1 hair dye fam

[@NinjaKingAce]

Imagine Dragon Ball Evolution were everything's the same, but the actors are Japanese... Nope, it still sucks.

[@JammedGears]

you might not care, but asian actors that are equally talented as the white actors but losing out on an opportunity just because they are asian may care

[@kitaruarashi3491]

Major Makoto Kusanagi was originally portrayed, according to Ghost In The Shell's creator, as an "even mixture of all races and cultures" due to the setting that this guy might know if he ever watched GitS

[@joshuatheminorprofits]

When your community is doing so well 'in reality' that the only problems you can find are fictional representations... this idea is dead.

[@joshuatheminorprofits]

There's something narcissistic about consuming fiction just to see yourself reflected.

[@coyoteblue4027]

Josh Day the entire point of consuming fiction is to see yourself reflected. even and especially when it is a work about people who differ from you. reading fiction broadens empathy. (this has actually been measured) I don't know where I stand on this whole issue personally, as I am such a shitmix that I honestly don't really identify very strongly with any one race in particular. but I can understand where many Asian Americans are coming from in this debate. that being said, I also feel like it's unproductive to rattle your Sabers and demand that other people tell YOUR stories. that is to say, if Asian americans (or any other minority group, for that matter) feel that they are underrepresented in American media, and are thus alienated within American culture as a whole, at a certain point, it has to fall to them to find ways to create media of their own in order to inculcate awareness of their experiences into the broader cultural consciousness. speaking specifically to GITS, whatever you think about the casting with regards to respecting the source material, I don't see it as really having so much to do with Asian American identity per se, as major may have been Asian, but she damn sure wasn't American. so while casting an asian in the role may have (probably would have) been more appropriate to the source material, and definitely would have contributed positively to the exposure of the Asian American community within American media, it wouldn't necessarily be representative of the unique perspective of that particular community, as the only connection that exists is at the most superficial of levels ( at the risk of sounding somewhat glib: the resemblance between a Japanese android and an Asian American is... skin deep.) either way, it's a complicated discussion, and it's worth having. I just don't know that letting your feelings get hurt is the best response. at least not the best first response.

[@joshuatheminorprofits]

"..the entire point of fiction is to see yourself reflected..." Narrowing the purpose of fiction to a single point is absurd. Fiction is written and consumed for all sorts of reasons. Entertainment, propaganda, education... and perhaps sometimes to increase empathy. "...especially when it is a work about people who differ from you..." Let's say that I agree for discussion purposes that fiction's only purpose is to increase empathy. Google defines empathy as 'the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.' So which is it? Am I consuming fiction to understand how someone different to me feels? Or consuming fiction to see myself reflected? I don't see how demanding more of me in fiction helps develop empathy. I haven't seen Ghost in the Shell and I didn't mention anything about Asian American's or my feelings. Not sure why you decided to. I'm all for diversity of viewpoint in fiction (that might actually improve empathy). But racial diversity bores me. My favourite film is Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong made thriller). The American remake (The Departed) was awful but not because they substituted American actors for Asian ones. Rather, because they changed a near perfect slow burn, subtly acted, edge of your seat thriller for a profanity laden, blood soaked, over-the-top farce.

[@JammedGears]

everything you say is valid as it is from the consumer's perspective, it matters little to them. however when the number of asians casted in hollywood (internationally marketed) movies, one thinks about how many white actors were chosen over equally talented asian actors.

[@img03n17]

the only people who think representation doesn't matter are the ones who are always represented. when we only see our people in a negative light it demoralises us and can have very damaging impacts.

[@mangaganman5784]

the iron fist doesn't count!

[@dreairhead8857]

Man Gagan Man oh my god thank you!!!!!

[@eingoluq]

they said that it wasn't white washing so your comment is moot. The source comics however was basically the white saviour trope just like Dr Strange or the Last Samurai.

[@redkingrauri3769]

Angelo Gopaul no they aren't. Danny isn't a white savior. If anything he's relatively weak, even compared to the other iron fists. He does not save the kun-lun, they're more than capable of handling themselves.

[@eingoluq]

The white saviour stereotype, is defined by a white protagonist who goes to a foreign land ethnically different from European and the person either learns a talent and is the best at it or solves a problem the native couldn't solve, rescuing them from some plight. Danny is an atypical white saviour trope. His comparative weakness is irrelevant. He is a white protagonist who learns a secrete Chinese martial art and is now going to be the key to bringing "The Hand" down. Typical white saviour narrative.

[@redkingrauri3769]

He's not going to be "The Key" (Especially the way he's written in the show, guh) since The Hand in this case is only the branch in the US. The only reason the K'un-Lun wouldn't be handling this themselves is because they don't want to leave their sanctuary. If anything, Colleen Wing is more competent and more likely to be the one with more to do with taking down the hand in this case. That and Daredevil also being a major part of it. I still run on the idea that forcibly making Danny into an Asian character wouldn't really be a fix in this case. That reinforces stereotype that only/all Asian people can be martial artists, especially what with the whole "mystical ancient Chinese art of the chi" being brought into play.

[@stephendunscombe]

What I always wonder about is the localization of whole stories. What does it mean when we remake "Seven Samurai" as "The Magnificent Seven", or when we make an American Godzilla movie?

[@GuillRickard]

To me, saying that a character (iron fist) should be asian because he knows kungfu is just as problematic as whitewashing, if not even more.

[@kissbang2055]

Good looking asian actor there never was western media

[@rmsgrey]

The obvious parallel (note, I didn't read through all 2k+ previous comments, or even a significant percentage of them, so someone's probably brought it up already) is the Bechdel Test - for any individual movie, there are plausible reasons for failing the test, and there are few, if any, movies where you can point at them and say "this movie should have been changed to pass the test" and a bunch of movies where it's clear that they should fail the test. But the fact that no-one's making movies where passing the test would be natural is a real problem. Similarly, individual casting decisions are excusable; the pattern established by a thousand casting decisions is a problem.

[@ryanmftv3382]

A guy walked around Japan asking them how they felt about Scarlett being cast for Ghost In The Shell and like 98% of them said "she looks like the character, I dont see what the problem is.." So the only people that really care about this are predominantly Americans claiming the be the voice of the unheard. Now a real problem would be casting Ben Affleck as Luke Cage, or some actual blatant dumb shit like that. And are we really gonna call anyone that isn't white a person of color? Come on Mr. Nguyen your about as dark as loose leaf paper. And really you kinda answer your own question when saying " Asian movies are predominantly asian cast" shocker the larger group tends to have more representation, who'd have thought? At the end of the day if you look like the character, why not be able to play them regardless of race? BUT im gonna contradict myself right now because I think if an actor can pull off the 'vibe' that a character gives off, like the example i have in mind right now is Idris Elba as James Bond, I think you should be able to play that character. But really i think it just boils down to how open to interpretation is a character....Classy James Bond open for any actor that gives off the Handsome Gentleman vibe( Elba, Connery, Daniel Craig) and any other actor they can find that just has that look. A character like Luke Cage, not very open for interpretation, certain criteria have to be met to play him like being a strong black man. This is just turning into rambling now, but I feel like each case should be looked at individually cause a blanket statement of " this is white washing " doesn't really do the topic any kind of justice, and is a tad bit lazy.

[@miikey376]

Most of them don't give a shit about the movie.

[@AVAL2775]

Issac Miria oh no no they dont have to face rasim there just racist to anyone who happebs to not be japanese Yeah seriously look it up its kinda rediculous, in japan tourists and other non asian people are treated extreamly poorly

[@AVAL2775]

Pete Red 1: i apologies i used a general term, you are correct that not all japanese are racist to non-natives 2:white people do face discrimination in america, we are litterally blamed for everything bad that happens, even if theres no real proof 3: and yes there is discrimination but that towards everyone, some white people discriminate other races, some black people do the same, same with asians and native americans, it happens to everyone, but it only really matters when a white guy does it, do you see the problem?

[@AVAL2775]

Pete Red 1: i think you misunderstood what i said, i ment that even if theres no evidence for such, white people will be blamed for everything, doesnt matter what it is, its the white guys fault no evidence nessasey.... 2: while yes you are correct that normall the majory discriminate against the minority, you have to remember that nearly half the us population are majorities(and i mean as a colective) and allot i have delt with has been unpleasant or rude to me due to me being white And if you white male, you also get to have yhe feminist mob after you too Isnt just allot of fun being white :D

[@AVAL2775]

Pete Red 1: ah once again my apologies 2: while yes i do agree, thats the problem, every white person is seen as evil or biggoted even if no evidence is put forth, and if you try and argue against it, they will see that as self incrimination In my opinion i feel the best way to deal with racism is for people to stop caring so much about it, and insted focus on the person as a human beinf

[@Nawor1996]

i'm glad he mentioned that its primarily an american problem

[@chillsahoy2640]

Contrast this with Elementary, where the source material has Doctor Watson as a white, English male but the adaptation turns the character into a Chinese-American woman. There is also the 1997 staging of Othello by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, which swapped the races so that Othello was the only white character in the middle of an all-black cast: this move works because the central theme in Othello is not his race, but rather his 'otherness', so he can be given any race or other physical traits, as long as he is the only character in the play like that, and can therefore feel like an outcast.

[@TheOutlawed1000]

Hey Asians, I'm Black. You wanna trade stereotypes?

[@elmohead]

I thought black people are proud of their big dick stereotype?

[@ParmMohan-us6rn]

It's funny and hypocritical that Hollywood is expected to be international because USA and Canada allowed immigration from non european countries. If other countries could allow immigration to Asian and middle eastern countries and then had the same standard of international exposure in their movies it would be fair expectation. I know there is some exposure in Bollywood, but it is minimal.

[@elmohead]

That just means that Hollywood is misrepresenting USA and Canada. Which is the problem in the first place!

[@m.a2989]

Who said Asian countries don’t allow immigrants its just that immigrants tend to go to America because they have more freedom. Furthermore the U.S and Canada were not even European countries they just got took over by European so in reality it there should be more Native American, and who said America was owned by Europeans

[@jasminerochester2159]

What ??? Bollywood features a lot of white characters and allowed immigration. LOL white Americans are immigrants.

[@胖卡比-j6k]

I honestly don't think any chinese or japanese people care because they have their own movie industry there. Only Asian american care because they can't even speak their own native language. The great wall isn't even made by hollywood, it was made by chinese production company to sell their movie to western audience. So they get Matt Demon in there.

[@joosunkmybattleship]

USA and Canada allowed immigration? North America was originally a non white entity. Early USA was diverse yet seperated. There are many Asian countries that are extremely diverse and represented including Malaysia and Singapore. How are you gonna take someone else's land, invade foreign countries that seek refuge within your borders, then segregate the minority and cry foul. Damn I just don't get you guys sometimes.

[@shadbakht]

Hollywood is a business first and foremost. They hire actors that the most amount of viewers are going to pay to watch. They don’t care about cultural accuracy or representation or equality or any other virtue or truth. Money. That’s it. If people prefer to see an ethnic Asian in a lead, Hollywood would make it. Same reason why they happily censor films for china, for that sweet sweet china market. Businesses aren’t responsible for educating the public on cultural awareness. Corporations, by definition, are there to maximize profits. If “cultural awareness” makes more money, they’ll do it. Money. Simple. Not complicated.

[@anakinligman3715]

I have to disagree on Death Note. The creators of the show wanted to make a true adaptation, and Light was always supposed to be a child of privilege. In America, that archetype is white, because white people are the privileged ones here.

[@maedaykyess]

Anakin Ligman There's no way to win with Death Note, honestly. I understand that changing him to white to give him a basis of privilege, which was a good start, but Light's moral and ideological beliefs were astoundingly traditional Japanese. It isn't something that can be replicated by changing something such as his race and place of origin. There isn't a reason for a white American Light to hold the same beliefs unless he's coming from a position of supremacy and not just privilege. It's a tightrope issue that I don't think they'll be able to walk.

[@anakinligman3715]

K Hernandez That's actually a very good point I hadn't thought of. But the creators of the adaptation really do love the franchise, so I'm sure they've thought about this issue too. I'm just saying that the series isn't even out yet, and we should hold our judgement until we see how it goes. They've given their reason for the changes in casting, all that's left is to see if they pull it off.

[@AVAL2775]

except thats not fair to say, not all white people are privilaged sorry but thats a fack, to say that tthey all are is a falacey

[@TrianglePants]

no they're not

[@TheAgentOfDeath]

You do know that Asian americans do make more money in America compared to white people right?

[@user89076]

Whitewashing is a serious issue, I get that. But Ghost in the Shell isn't an example of that. The main character had her original body replaced with that of a robot, so race doesn't matter. The director of the movie pictured the android as looking white, and specifically said that Scarlet would be the perfect choice for the role.

[@VultRoos]

I'm upset about the freaking ending. The whole point of the original movie. THE WHOLE GODDAMN POINT, AND YOU REVERSE IT WITH NO INTENT TO FOLLOW THROUGH?????? Forget whitewashing the character, I'm still upset about how they whitewashed--no, that's not right--how they western-washed (Idk, doesn't have the same ring) the entire theme of Ghost in the Shell. They turned a story that was about embracing the scary concept of humanity abandoning its own humanity to evolve into a generic story about a special snowflake who was 'different' from everyone else. Oh and that specialness is what makes her human. ._______________. Yeah like I haven't seen that theme ever before in every western blockbuster movie ever when technology is involved. Kusanagi was never particularly unique or special. She was an individual, but she was an individual in an ocean of other unique individuals. Live action Kusanagi? I swear to god, in every other scene, you have side characters drilling it in how 'special, one of a kind, unique' Kusanagi is. Even the red district woman she invites to her home is like 'whaaaatt aaaaare you' -.-

[@GhostMode999]

user89076 you never read the manga or watch the oh have you

[@user89076]

DrDoubleZero Woah, calm down there. You don't have to make films about an issue to understand and acknowledge it. Also, I saw nothing on your channel as well (well, nothing of any value or substance), so the fact that I have nothing on mine is irrelevant.

[@user89076]

DrDoubleZero Okay. My original comment wasn't to rant on whitewashing, it was basically saying "yeah, whitewashing is an important topic to talk about, BUT this movie isn't an example of that". Not everyone is a creator, not everyone has the time or resources to even make a low-budget film, and most people just aren't the creative type. We can still recognize that there is a disturbing lack in diversity in mainstream media, and sometimes all it takes is to get enough people talking about it to make a difference. But saying that any average person can make a video game, movie, or television series is unrealistic, as it takes years and years of higher education, money, and knowing the right people to actually make it happen. Also, that last sentence makes you out to be a racist.

[@DomoFudge]

The problem with GITS is that in the movie they stripped the source content of all its culture. GITS was written post the Japanese technology boom as an exploration of identity and the new relationship between the Japanese citizen and machine. This movie, by casting ScarJo, has corrupted a narrative that could have been about the human psyche and machine. By casting a white actress, watching the movie just seems like a lazy executive attempt to be like "Look at this big twist! She was Japanese all along!" instead of "Here the Major is reconnecting with a part of them that is real and humanity lies in memory and human connection".

[@michaellee888]

Want to see more representation? Support films, TV, and other media that have diversity. It's all about money. That's why box office results for films matter a lot!

[@DanNguyen-oh4pe]

Kevin Nguyen lost his credibility before the moment he let a someone pronounce his name wrong and didn't correct them.

[@namegoeshere8458]

Dude I thought I was the only one who caught that