If you watched the season finale of Mr. Robot last night, you might have seen the mysterious teasers for the upcoming movie Ghost in the Shell and thought, “Hey, that movie looks interesting. I might have to watch!”
What you may not know is that Ghost in the Shell is an adaptation of the 1995 Japanese animation of the same name. Ghost in the Shell is the story of Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg policewoman , who hunts down dangerous criminals across the fictional city of New Port City. For the 2017 live-action adaptation, Scarlett Johansson has been chosen to play the role of the Major.
This casting sparked a controversy. Many fans were upset that Scarlett Johansson, a Caucasian woman, was cast for a role meant for a Japanese woman. Whitewashing is caused where Caucasian people play roles that are meant for people of different ethnicities in cinema. Yes, I agree that whitewashing can become a big problem. If a Hispanic or Caucasian man was cast as Martin Luther King, Jr. in a new MLK biopic, there would be outrage.
However, I think Johansson’s casting is not a problem. I think she was a great choice to play the Major. She did a great job portraying the A.I., Samantha in Her. Johansson skillfully pulled off the monotone voice of a robot while still being able to put a hint of emotion in her performance. She would be a perfect fit for this movie, but I’m not the only one who thinks Johansson is right for the role.
The people in the video are asked what they think of the casting. “Beautiful,” says a Japanese man in the video. However, when they were asked why she was being criticized in the U.S., they had no idea. It was then explained to them that fans didn’t want a Caucasian actor playing a Japanese (Asian) role.
“If you explain it like that, I can kind of understand,” one interviewee says. Afterwards, he says, “She was chosen for her skills, so that’s just the way it is.”
However, others disagreed. “A Japanese actress would be more appropriate for that Asian role,” one interviewee says.
While I do think whitewashing should be addressed when necessary, I don’t think people should lose their heads over this casting. Nick Fury from the popular series of movies and comic books, The Avengers, is a Caucasian man in the comics. He is portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, an African-American man, in the movies. There wasn’t an outrage over this decision because it wasn’t a huge deal. Actors are chosen for their talents and not the color of their skin.
However, I do think we can agree on one thing. Later in the video, they start talking about the upcoming Hollywood adaptation for Death Note, another popular anime and manga of the same name. The video states that Asian actor, Edward Zo, tried to audition for the main role, but was rejected without an audition. That is unacceptable and something that I cannot defend.
Features Editor,
Caesar Torres