Ghost in the Shell Casting Shows We Need More Than White Feminism

[Chris Moses]

wasted opportunity, sure. potential subpar anime adaptation hollywood butchering, sure.

sad that they picked a good looking, sufficiently good acting, proven can do action movies, crowd drawing, actress to play the lead role?

no, I am not.

stop going far out of your way to be offended, it is becoming really really really

really

really

reallyreallyreallyreally

really tiring.

stop it

So, you are saying that certain people are too easily offended. Might it also be possible that you are too sensitive to people that are offended?

There are many negative aspects of human behavior that aren't going anywhere anytime soon. All things considered, oversensitivity just seems silly next to problems like murder, rape, robbery, assault, cheating and lying.

Just saying...

 

[Darkness665]

While the article has a few good points the whining about Scarlett Johansson being white and getting the role is tiresome. Get over it.

The financial backing of the movie will be easier with SJ in the lead. Why? Because of what the author stated. She, along with many, many others will check out the movie if SJ has a role in it. Money talks, BS walks. It's not fair to those that aren't SJ but they will not bring in another magnitude of viewers that SJ will. Her face, her very white face, will bring in enough fans to make the move a viable project. Hopefully. Without her it will be what the others were, niche products sold to already existing fans and their children.

If the author wanted to get some real points across you really needed a different film with a different lead. I would suspect that many readers agree with the basic concepts. I also suspect, that like myself, the author didn't actually accomplish getting us further on board. Life isn't fair. It never will be. Hard working, good actors of every imaginable ethics/gender/sexual preference/age will be treated poorly in Hollywood. An article in the Escapist will do little about it, in particular one that is whining about SJ getting a role.

Seriously, Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell! I will definitely watch that. Lucy is already on order. ;-)

 

[ensouls]

Welp I hear there's a new animated movie in the works so now I could really care less about a dubious live action version that will probably implode in Production Hell.

Hey guys, wasn't Keanu great in Cowboy Bebop?? Oh wait

 

[Requia]

While I share the concerns of Hollywood whitewashing, people are coming at this from the assumption that this will be a movie set in Japan. That's probably not going to be the case simply because setting it in Japan would alienate the general US audience they're trying to attract. That in mind, this isn't more noteworthy than any other movie with white leads.

 

[Jburton9]

as a fan of Asian cinema...they do have their own industry y'know...plenty of (extremely famous and accomplished) Asian women cast there...

there's more to the world than the Hollywood zeitgeist...and i see no reason why Hollywood should not equally serve its own (primarily home) market demographics.

that said it would be nice if Ghost in the Shell was an international production...but US audiences don't generally go to see foreign language films afaik.

The problem is, increasingly Hollywood is serving a world market. Particularly these big blockbusters may make more money overseas than stateside. It does both a disservice to the material and it's audience to halfass the casting. I mean assuming they stay true to the political landscape is this going to still take place in Japan but have an entirely white American section 9?

Fortunately there's a new Ghost in the Shell anime to look forward to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUEktyhOSxg

Oh! Now I am somewhat liking Arise but this, this gets me going again. Granted it is short but so far for the moment this feels right. Thanks for the link!

 

[Qvar]

It's only racist if a white person replaces a non-white person and it's only sexist if a man replaces a woman.

That's, essentially, the bottom line here. Certainly, there's a slew of historical justifications for this phenomenon but when we get down to brass tacks: you can't be racist towards white people and you can't be sexist towards men in the film industry.

I would like to think you're being sarcastic, but I'm affraid you are not.

Seeing as how Thor was not made female I don't see how this comes into play.

Another person has assumed title and power of Thor But THOR is still around and relevant in the Marvel comics universe and the two have met and interacted.

I guess that they announced it with big 'FEMALE THOR' all over the place doesn't bother you even a bit. Or spiderwoman, or batwoman, or she-hulk, for that matter.

While I share the concerns of Hollywood whitewashing, people are coming at this from the assumption that this will be a movie set in Japan. That's probably not going to be the case simply because setting it in Japan would alienate the general US audience they're trying to attract. That in mind, this isn't more noteworthy than any other movie with white leads.

^ Also this. Judging by the names of the other characters (I see a Matsuka turning Trevor around there) it will be set in american. I'm no fan of american stealing and adapting others works, but frankly if you are going to complain about that (read: americans using their american money in american actors) as if it were some sort of social justice problem... Well, let's just say I'll have to look at you in annoyance.