Critic Accuses Prince of Persia of "Whitewashing"

Nouw

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Mar 18, 2009
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Although I do hate whitewashing I don't think it really counts in this case.

Avatar:The Last Airbender makes me want to bash my head through a wall.
 

xchurchx

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Nov 2, 2009
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OH come on its a god damn movie
who cares about the actors if its kick ass good(Which it is) then im giving it 5 stars all the way
 

SupabadMan

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Feb 26, 2010
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Frankly, I agree, if you're going to do a movie with a specific and more obvious choice lead character and you completely go the other way, many people are going to see that as ethnically offensive (Not necessarily racist) and just stupid.
 

VondeVon

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Dec 30, 2009
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I think Persian actors should have been given auditions.. but at the end of the day, the actor who did the best job should be given the role.

And I think that the game was made for a Western audience right? Not a Persian one. So having a Western-appealing lead is.. logical.

Avatar is a bit tricky... Although it was very Asian in setting, the main characters only sometimes looked Asian. Big blue eyes, light brown hair, squarer faces... Hopefully the movie will have more than just Aang be Asian and it'll be a nice balance.
 

Weaver

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Apr 28, 2008
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Cheesebob said:
Isn't the Prince white in the games?
Not in the sands of time or the old school original.
In warrior within, two thrones and the new one he wasn't white, but his voice actor had an American accent. In sands of time he had a British accent for some reason.
 

Gasaraki

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Oct 15, 2009
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While i didn't really like the movie i thought it made sense, the prince never really looked very persian (well he kind of did in PoP '08) and he certainly never had a persian accent so if he suddenly sprouted one in the movie it would've been a tad strange.
 

Srkkl

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Apr 1, 2009
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He does have a point, but come on, have you played that game? Casting some one with middle-eastern accent would have been kinda stupid.
 

RJ Dalton

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Aug 13, 2009
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How many good Persian actors are there in this country? Honestly? If there are any, then yes, it is a terrible shame that they didn't hire them, but I can't think of any off the top of my head that could have pulled it off. Or any at all, for that matter. I mean, what do they expect us to do, borrow actors from Iran on a Hollywood equivalent of a foreign exchange program?
 

HyenaThePirate

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Jan 8, 2009
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And yet, if Will Smith was cast as the next James Bond or Batman, you would be able to sail away to foreign lands on the river of tears from fans.

Lets just be honest.. they went with a white actor to portray an ethnic character because it was better than actually seeking out an ethnic actor from the region who speaks english, of which there happen to be MANY, especially if you look in Europe.

Honestly, if they could have got away with it they'd have cast Johnny Depp and we all know this is the truth...
 

Snotnarok

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Nov 17, 2008
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I wonder if this guy realizes the prince was originally a little brother being rotoscoped, and he was white. Then the princes voice in PoP for PS2/Xbox/GCN/PC was Dr Bashear from DS9 and he's British I think
 

Keepitclean

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Sep 16, 2009
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How rude, Hollywood making a movie they way they want. They should apologise immediatly.

Did Jehanzeb Dar stop to think that maybe the reason they chose Jake Gyllenhaal for the lead role was because he was who the film makers condiered to be the best for the job?
Sure the movie would probably appear more authentic and Persian if it actually had some Persians in it.

But hey, If you don't like it don't see it.
 

Terramax

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Jan 11, 2008
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Aw, the poor, unheard of director wants attention.

I'm getting tired of the PC brigade against films. Anyway, name a single young Iranian actor worth watching in a Hollywood film?
 

Tdc2182

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May 21, 2009
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Prince of Persia(original PS2)- Half Persian guy with Indian persuasion. Had a British accent

Prince of Persia 2008- White guy with a very dark tan. American Accent.

This critic has not played the games.
 
Oct 9, 2009
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this is an old discussion. America has always been one to not properly cast their (non american) parts. Look at Sean Connery and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Anytime you had a character with a "funny Accent' they played the parts. They have both played everything from russian to english and then some.

Yes some of that is just racist. IE Bruce Lee got the useless butler part in the green hornet and David Carradine played Kwai Chang Caine in Kung fu because american producers didn't feel that an asian man could play the part correctly.

Personally I don't know if this is racist or not. However, in my opinion, they casted the part biased on the individual actors level of being known.