The "whitewashing" controversy resurfaces as "Doctor Strange" opens in theaters. It surrounds the casting of British actress Tilda Swinton who plays "The Ancient One." Director Scott Derickson and writer Jon Spaiths have defended Swinton, justifying that "casting a woman in the role of a man was already a diversity choice."
The Media Action Network for Asian Americans(MANAA), an Asian visibility group, argued that an Asian woman could have been cast in the role instead of the British actress. MANAA's former president, Guy Aoki said that "whitewashing" of Asian comic book characters already happened before and cited as examples are the characters "The Mandarin" in "Iron Man" played by Guy Pearce and also the character of Talis al Ghul in "The Dark Knight Rises" played by Marion Cotillard, as stated on the Variety article.
Variety interviewed some Asian actors who play comic book characters on film and television asking their opinions about the "whitewashing in the genre." "Doctor Strange" actor Benedict Wong, who plays Wong defended the casting of his co-star and echoes the sentiments of the film's writers. "We have two strong female leads in Tilda and Rachel[McAdams]. We have Chiwetel;Ejiofor], Mads[Mikelsen], posh Benedict[Cumberbatch] and not-so-posh Benedict[Wong]." quoted on the magazine.
On the interview Wong explained how Derickson and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige eliminated the stereotypes of his character. "The idea of a man servant and tea-making sidekick isn't that appealing," he noted. The director and the head said 'we're not doing this' and the actor does not want to do it either stated on the Variety article.
Kelly Hu, the actress who played supervillain China White on "Arrow" and the Japanese cyborg "Lady Deathstrike" in "X2" was "very fortunate to be cast in the roles true to their material source material." When asked about the issue, she answered Variety, " I think it's a shame," the Chinese-American actress said of "whitewashing." "From what I've been told and what I've read, it's because [studio executives] think that Asian actors and actresses don't pull in the numbers - that people aren't going to pay to see Asians on screen. With all these borders opening up and movies going global these days, Asians make up a huge part of the population in the world, and I hope that will start reflecting in Hollywood."
Lewis Tan, who plays the villain Zhou Cheng in the upcoming Netflix series "Iron Fist" also shares his experience with "whitewashing." That character is caucasian in the comic books but "fans pressed for an Asian lead." Tan originally auditioned for the lead and was highly considered for it "but went a different way." The actor also mentioned that in the original comic, the main character is a Caucasian guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He has no issues with Finn Jones being cast as the lead and he thinks Jones fits the character very well. According to him, there is a large, multicultural, diverse group of people who are not seeing themselves represented in the right way "as far as being heroes and love interests" and that is what he stand for. Tan was asked about the casting of Swinton and he replied that he is "not the biggest fan of the casting choice" He thinks that an Asian woman would have been "fantastic" to be cast on that role.
On comic book films, Asian actors have played comic book characters. Olivia Munn, portrayed Psylocke in "X-Men Apocalypse." Lana Condor, who is Vietnamese-American was Jubilee on the same film. Japanese-American actress, Karen Fukuhara was on "Suicide Squad" portrayed "Katana." "None of these would be considered major roles," stated by the magazine.
Marvel's "The Wolverine" was an exception and it featured Japanese actors in major roles that included Rila Fukushima as "Yukio" and Hal Yamanouchi as "Silver Samurai." The Asian supporting cast choice was a necessity because the story took place in Japan, Variety noted. "Whitewashing" the role of "The Ancient One" is a "major blow to diversity and visibility as critics said. "Doctor Strange" is now playing on theaters. Below is the film's trailer.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
