When Dreamworks announced Scarlett Johansson is going to play Major Motoko in the remake of Ghost In The Shell, everyone criticized. When the first teaser photo of Johansson as, now, “The Major” came out, everyone criticized. From Angry Asian Man to Buzzfeed, Johansson and Dreamworks were criticized for whitewashing one of the greatest anime.
To be honest, I have never read Ghost In the Shell.
I have read many manga in my life. I’ve been a fan of Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Black Butler, Fullmetal Alchemist, and many more that are too numerous to list here. Cardcaptor Sakura is my favorite anime of all time. Clamp is my favorite mangaka (manga artists/writers). I laugh at the mess of One Piece’s English rap (you can blame 4Kids for that) and Sailor Moon’s corny "Sailor Moon Says" corner after every episode in the English version. But not Ghost In the Shell.
I still feel connected to that anime. When I watched Pokemon for the first time, my mom mentioned that it was produced in Japan. The fact that a Japanese show like Pokemon was aired in America and each Asian character spoke English made me happy. Then more Asian-based shows and characters started showing up like American Dragon Jake Long, Jackie Chan Adventures (I loved that show. Come at me—not really), Avatar: The Last Airbender, Xiaolin Showdown and more American-style anime. When Mulan came out in theaters, I was thrilled that there were Asians in media as more than scientists or math geeks. Asians appeared in comic books, music, movies, and cartoons. Just seeing someone with a similar face made me felt connected - as if I was not the only Asian.
Was it upsetting to see someone like Johansson, with no Asian descent, play an Asian character? Yes.
I never paid attention to the certain details like a non-Asian playing an Asian character until I got older. When I heard about Dragonball Z getting a movie in the USA, I was surprised and excited because of how much I loved DBZ as a kid. Plus, I was down for anything nostalgic. However, Dragonball Evolution lacked anything to do with the source material. Goku—the main protagonist—went to a tech school, Bulma had a blue strike on her hair, and the film’s villain, Piccolo, looked like Jim Carrey’s “The Mask” aged 25 years later. When Justin Chatwin was unable to explain what Dragonball was in an interview, it was no surprise the film failed.
Most recently, Paper Town’s Nate Wolf was cast as one of anime’s most celebrated characters, Light Yagami, for a live adaptation of Death Note. This is not the first time Hollywood has done this. Many manga-based films have whitewashed the characters. Speed Racer, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Dragonball Evolution had white male leads while in the original animations, they were all Asians. However, when I watched Dragonball Evolution, my connection to the characters I had grown up with wasn't the same. It felt like somebody disconnected a wifi full of memories and opportunities for more diverse media.
Johansson’s Ghost In the Shell and Wolf’s Death Note were Dragonball Evolution to me. I was alone again.
I don't wish for Scarlett Johansson or the Ghost In the Shell movie to be failures. However, I do wish there will be more films and media that provide equal representation of people of color - especially Asian Americans. A kid will feel connected when they see an Asian entertainer on screen like I did when I first watched Pokemon.
P.S.: Max Landis, you're a cool guy, but if you're going to say there is a lack of "A-list female Asian celebrities," remind yourself to give Lucy Liu a call.
