Asian American’s are still outsiders.
Whitewashing: The entertainment industry’s attempt at making ethnic characters more appealing to the white, money-spending masses by making them less ethnic and more “white.”
childhood heroes consisted of many Asian American actors and characters. The original Yellow Power Ranger: Trini Kwan, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Lucy Liu, Kill Bill: Gogo Yubari, Star Trek: Hikaru Sulu, Samurai Jack, Pokemon: Ash Ketchum, Mulan… and the list goes on. But I always wondered, why were these people my heroes? They were heroes to me because I believed that people, who look like me, could be on television, too. As a child, I didn’t fight crime or wear makeup. Nor was I a cartoon, but I felt an instant connection to these characters. I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. However, nowadays, there are a lack of Asian characters or actors in television shows. Without diversity in films, there will be no benefits –profit, diverse audiences, and positive public response, achieved.
Through unfair casting treatments and what seems to be box-office blunders, the Asian American community is highly underrepresented within the media. The misrepresentation and the lack of minority groups in the media industry is nothing new. Throughout my research, I would like to uncover: why minority actors are being denied major roles; if role casting is truly, solely based on acting skill; if and if so, why tickets for films featuring people of color won’t sell and what the statistics are; and if there are any changes that are or will be made as a result.
Whitewashing in Hollywood has been a popular topic as of late. More specifically, the whitewashing of Asian roles in upcoming live-action films have gotten the Asian American community in an uproar.
Growing up, I regularly watched the 2005–2008 American animated series: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Therefore, news of a live-action remake that I could watch in theaters, was truly exciting. However, after watching the 2010 live-action adaptation of, The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, I was very disappointed. The film was supposedly based on the first season of the television series. However, Shyamalan’s film did not exhibit an Asiatic-like world, where the Avatar was originally depicted in. All four characters were originally of Asian decent, but three were White whereas only one was Asian. The display of the White actors as the protagonists, and the Asian as the antagonist, caused a whole issue separately. In March 2015, Disney announced that they were developing a live-action film of “Mulan.” However, fans were worried that the film would be whitewashed. After false rumors spread about casting Jennifer Lawrence as “Mulan” and Zac Efron as “Li Shang,” fans were even more motivated to keep the remake from being whitewashed. Furthermore, in recent news, the casting for the 2017 live-action adaptation of the anime: Ghost in the Shell, has fired up English and Japanese fans over the casting of Scarlett Johansson as the lead. Although “Mulan” and “Ghost in the Shell” will have different directors, the fans have little to many expectations.
Disclosure: the tweets are fake. No reason to worry... yet.
Hope they don’t have Scarlett Johannson painting the wall white throughout whole the film. It would seem like a long way to go and no one seems interested in watching paint dry.
A new social justice campaign approach, emerges. And it’s a hot topic!
It is degrading that Asian actors have to constantly fight for a big role unlike their White colleagues. For instance, a great Asian American actor, John Cho, stood up for what he believed in and against Asian stereotyped roles. He is popularly known for his role in films like, American Pie, as Harold Lee from the Harold and Kumar series and Hikaru Sulu in the rebooted 2009 Star Trek film. Now he is a poster child to a new social justice campaign.
In her article, “John Cho, Sulu of ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ Navigates a Beckoning Universe,” Nicole Chung writes about a Twitter hashtag, #StarringJohnCho, as John Cho is projected into many popular movie posters as one of the main roles. The hashtag has gotten a lot of attention in the last few months due to the Asian American community’s activity in the past year. Chung’s article includes an interview with Cho and his reaction to the creation and success of the hashtag. Cho said, “[…] the posters made it seem possible. Instead of talking about it or demanding it, it was like, listen, it could be like this.” “Instead of talking about it or demanding it,” Hollywood could change the industry’s biased role casting. After discussing his role in, Star Trek Beyond, Cho talks about how the campaign seemed sincere and amazing. How “amazing” would it be, if more Asian actors had lead roles. Cho says that challenging the reality of being an Asian actor in Hollywood is tiring, and makes him feel less of an artist and more like a politician. He recognizes that the issue should be examined and discussed, but as he said, “[…] it’s a bummer as an artist to have to do it all the time.”
Most of the posters very look realistic. But some of them give you a good chuckle.
They had to print out John Cho’s head and stick it on another poster in a subway.
This takes a lot of dedication and precision. It seemingly fits perfectly; just like it was meant to be.
#StarringJohnCho is still trending on the internet, and it has America’s eyes on it.
In her article, “John Cho, Starring in Every Movie Ever Made? A Diversity Hashtag Is Born,” Katie Rogers writes, “The project, called #StarringJohnCho, the latest high-profile attempt by activists to call for greater diversity in entertainment...” She states that the hashtag is a way for activists to challenge diversity in Hollywood; however, the digital strategist behind the campaign had a different intention at first. In the article, “New Twitter Account, Hashtag Re-Imagines Films #StarringJohnCho,” Frances Kai-Hwa Wang includes excerpts from an NBC News interview with William Yu, the creator of the hashtag. Yu said, “In creating the ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ poster, I kept catching myself chuckling at the idea of John Cho starring as Captain America,” Yu said. “But then I started to ask myself why such a casting might seem so outrageous, and I realized I didn’t have a good answer! Why can’t an Asian-American actor take on that role? This project has definitely challenged my own perceptions of where I, as an Asian-American, fit in our society.” And his digital creations have gotten a lot of Asian American’s thinking too.
Yu added, “I’m tired of hearing that a role can’t be played by an Asian actor because people ‘just don’t see it. #StarringJohnCho is here to literally show you.” As Rogers states, the campaign, “[…] may be the first to use one actor as a meme to break down the archetype of a Hollywood leading man.” Not much has changed, but there is much more involvement within the Asian community as a result of success of the hashtag.
According to the website dedicated to this campaign, #StarringJohnCho, Cho is not affiliated with the hashtag himself. But Cho is definitely keeping an eye on what and where this movement leading to; and so should the supporters of this campaign.
Further Reading
Asian-American Actresses Speak Out Against ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Casting (Huffington Post)
Asian-American Actors Take a Stand and Readers Respond (NY Times)
‘Ghost in the Shell’: Scarlett Johansson casting called ‘whitewashing’ (LA Times)
Is Scarlett Johansson casting Hollywood ‘whitewashing’? (BBC News)
Live-Action ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Movie Producer Tries To Deal With Casting Controversy (Forbes)
Live-Action Mulan Film Revives Anti-Whitewashing Petition (NBC News)
#StarringJohnCho Gives An Alternative To White-Washing Asian Movie Roles (Huffington Post)
References
Cao, Eduard. “I will not be watching #ghostintheshell”. 2016. Instagram. Photograph. www.instagram.com/p/BESqXFFgTJR/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
@carianoff. Hollywood whitewashing asian roles. 2016. imgur. Web. imgur.com/gallery/ddIsboC. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
@filmschoolrejects. “Since it’s his birthday, visit the #StarringJohnCho website and photoshop for a good cause. http://buff.ly/1Q8Q3xh.” Twitter, 16 Jun. 2016, 5:13 p.m., https://twitter.com/rejectnation/status/743597285880258560.
Fong, Jess and Haubursin, Christophe. “Yellow is a bad look, Hollywood.” YouTube, uploaded by Vox, 21 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0lrSebyng.
@StarringJohnCho. “Making our way into NYC subways! Who’s ready to watch @AMC_TV’s Feed the Best, #StarringJohnCho ?” Twitter, 5 Sept. 2016, 9:13 a.m., https://twitter.com/starringjohncho/status/728256250857820160.
@StarringJohnCho. “Money Monster, coming to a theater near you #StarringJohnCho #ClooneyWho #SubwayTakeover.” Twitter, 5 May 2016, 5:59 p.m., https://twitter.com/starringjohncho/status/728388760149188608.
@StarringJohnCho. “This is a @JohnTheCho world, we’re just living in it #StarringJohnCho #Broadway #FullyCommitted.” Twitter, 6 May 2016, 9:21 a.m., https://twitter.com/starringjohncho/status/728620812492804102.
@starringjohncho. “that time when Sulu, Harold, MILF guy №2, and I grabbed a drink #whatasummer #StarringJohnCho.” Twitter, 14 Sept. 2016, 12:09 p.m., twitter.com/its_willyu/status/776135830754713601.
@StarringJohnCho. “Thanks for the follow @JohnTheCho !! #StarringJohnCho #whitewashedOUT.” Twitter, 5 May 2015, 12:41 p.m., https://twitter.com/starringjohncho/status/728308654613614593.
@StarringJohnCho. “This happened. Thank you @JohnTheCho #StarringJohnCho.” Twitter, 9 May 2015, 8:35 p.m., https://twitter.com/starringjohncho/status/729865350020530178.
Unknown Author. The Last Airbender Hero and Villain. GIF. N.d. Whitewashing Was One Of Hollywood’s Worst Habits. So Why Is It Still Happening?. Huffington Post. Web. www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/hollywood-whitewashing_n_5515919.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
@Unreel_News. “#BreakingUpdate: Zac Efron is being eyed to star with Jennifer Lawrence in the live-action Mulan remake as Li Shang!” Twitter, 12 Sept. 2016, 3:13 p.m., https://twitter.com/Unreel__News/status/775457356016525312.
@Unreel_News. “#BREAKING #Exclusive Disney reportedly eying Jennifer Lawrence for live-action Mulan.” Twitter, 12 Sept. 2016, 8:22 a.m., https://twitter.com/Unreel__News/status/775353783295541248.
Yu, William. How Age of Ultron and Me Before You would look with John Cho in lead roles. 2016. #StarringJohnCho. starringjohncho.com. Accessed 20 September 2016.
