"Ghost in the Shell" is one of the most popular anime of all time. According to Variety, "the story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime." On the surface, this sounds like an exciting film that I would normally be interested in, but I am wary due to the fact that live American adaptations of anime are usually god awful i.e Dragonball Evolution, Speed Racer, and Oldboy. But this particular movie has ignited controversy due to the fact that a white woman, Scarlett Johansson, has obtained the lead role of Motoko Kusanagi who is a Japanese character. This controversy was made even worse when it was reported by Screencrush that producers of "Ghost in the Shell" tested visual effects that would make white actors look more Asian. Many people quickly and correctly labeled this as the whitewashing, which has been prevalent in Hollywood recently i.e Emma Stone in "Aloha," Tilda Swinton in "Dr. Strange," and Noah Ringer in "Avatar the Last Airbender."
One person who defended this whitewashed casting was Hollywood writer Max Landis, who wrote "Chronicle" (one of my favorite movies of 2012), "Victor Frankenstein" and "American Ultra." Landis made a video which you should watch before continuing this article and is posted below. Landis' first erroneous statement claimed that a big budget film cannot be made with a non A-list actor. Has Mr. Landis ever heard of "Avatar," which starred then relatively unknown Sam Worthington, or the entire Marvel Universe which started with non A-list actors like Chris Hemsworth ("Thor"), Chris Pratt ("Guardians of the Galaxy"), and Chris Evans ("Captain America") and turned them into household names. Hollywood often turns lesser known actors into movie stars, the problem with Hollywood today is that the actors that get turned into movie stars today are mostly white like Jennifer Lawrence, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Shailene Woodley, and Daisy Ridley. This problem is exacerbated when a role that should go to minorities are instead given to white actors like with "Ghost in the Shell" who, besides Scarlett Johansson, stars several other white actors in roles that should have been given to Asian actors. Then when the public gets outraged, people like Max Landis claim we shouldn't be mad at the film industry but we should be mad at culture.
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Landis also blames culture for the reason we do not currently have, in his opinion, any A-list Asian Actors, but he fails to realize the reason we do not have any A-list Asian actors is because when roles like "Ghost in the Shell" are made they are given to white women. And therefore, a female Asian actor can never land the role that could launch them into A-list territory. Then Landis wants us not to blame the film industry, but blame culture instead, but when we complain of the whitewashed casting there is no one to blame but the film industry and blaming anything else instead is asinine. The film industry has the power to correctly cast their movies and as long as they continue to whitewash their movies people should complain and refuse to see said movies - that is the only way to get the industry to change.
So if you are angered by the horrible casting choices in this movie then do not see the movie and make sure it's felt in the bottom line for this movie.
Even more infuriating is the type of person Max Landis represents in the film industry: the type who professes they want change but will not fight for that change and will accept the status quo. So, yes, Mr. Landis, I am mad about the whitewashed casting in "Ghost in the Shell," and yes, I am mad at the film industry because that's who we should be blaming.
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