Kevin Wang
Imagine this: The doors open. Hours and hours of waiting has finally reached its pivotal point. You pile in like the rest of the movie watchers. The excitement is unbearable because you waited so long for an adaptation of your favorite anime, Ghost in the Shell, the classic Japanese animated film adapted from Japanese manga. You can’t wait to see what beautiful Asian actor they cast for Motoko Kusanagi, the Asian law enforcement officer who has gone through technological updates to combat crime. As the curtains part, the screen brightens. Everyone is clapping and cheering as the movie is starting.
Motoko Kusanhagi is introduced in the first scene of the movie except there is something wrong as Scarlett Johansson takes the stage and introduces herself as Motoko Kusanhagi, the Asian law enforcement officer. Whitewashing is the myth that has become the reality of most Asians and Asian-Americans.
“An Asian star can only shine so bright among Caucasian stars,” says Huei Chang, an Asian immigrant from Taiwan with a passion for film and movies.
Whitewashing is a term coined to be Hollywood’s spinoff of actor casting. Hollywood has received tremendous controversy for the portrayal of roles in movies to be predominantly white actors and actresses even if the role was to be of another ethnicity. For example, the Academy Awards has gone under fire with the idea from the public that only white people can win an Academy Award. There has been a hashtag contributed to the cause, #OscarsSoWhite. The fact of the matter is that the films nominated for an Academy Award are voted on by white individuals. Speculations arise that racial bias is at play. In the day and age of social movements and change, it is hard to imagine America, the land of opportunity, is the land that only offers opportunity to a specific race.
Huei Chang,71, and several other Asian Americans including Wei Chang, 30 and Li Huei Ming, 45, sit in a Buddhist temple reflecting the influence of American culture into their culture after their weekly prayer and movie. The idea that the emergence of whitewash has eliminated any opportunities for Asian Americans bottled their minds.
“It’s tough to know that your culture is slowly being sucked out of your own mind,” says Wei Chang, an avid film watcher. “So many people I’ve encountered, friends and family have started to latch onto the white culture such as Asian girls dying their hair blonde. They try to fit in but in reality they should be standing out.”
Asian Americans have gone through the phases of Hollywood’s extension of an opportunity. The shows that are created and aired such as “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Dr. Ken” by ABC stereotype the typical Asian household undergoing the difficulties of being an immigrant.
Even in the new and highly anticipated movie, “Dr. Strange”, a male monk that is of Asian descent and otherwise known as the Ancient One, was played by Tilda Swinton, a Caucasian female. According to Cinemablend’s interview with Marvel Studies President Kevin Feige, the explanation was that the movie came up to be the chance to play with gender roles in movies.
Now, this isn’t the first time a film has adapted its Chinese orientated stars to be white and it certainly won’t be the last. Last year, Sony released “Aloha,” a film about a quarter-Chinese, quarter Native Hawaiian fighter pilot named Allison Ng. The actress that played the part, none other than the green-eyed, blond-haired Emma Stone.
It’s bad enough that Hollywood takes pivotal roles from Asians and replace them with white actors. Fox News’ “The Bill O’Reilly Factor” features a segment called Watters’ World. Jesse Watters, a soon to be hopefully fired commentator of the segment, goes around asking individuals questions about current events. Since the show claimed the word China was mentioned 23 times, they thought it was best to do a segment of politics in Chinatown.
Not only did Watters make a complete fool out of himself, he bit into every stereotypical idea of Asians and made it a segment. Watters would interview non-native English speakers on purpose with brief scenes of movies ridiculing the individual.
At the end of the segment, O’Reily just laments about the letters he’s going to receive about this segment knowing full well of the fire that it would start, Fox News still gave it the permission to air on national television.
“The Bill O’Reilly Factor” much like the casting directors of Hollywood films need to find the same fate: unemployed.
Fact of the matter is; Caucasian movie stars have been guaranteed to have a blockbuster hit in the box office scores. The water is safe once the movie dives into the pool of theatres with a Caucasian. With an Asian movie star, the likeliness of drowning is sure fire.
The question now comes of how to break the myth of this reality. Looking forward, a 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report: Flipping the Script, detailed that a diverse cast and crew would actually lead to higher investments and greater success.
Action must be taken to ensure the equality of opportunity America once so proudly stood for. Petitions must be written and signed. There is to be no racial bias, only talent-based cast. The time for being stripped of opportunities has come and gone. Social equality is the message; opportunity for all is the goal.
