Hollywood loves to take elements of Asian culture and homogenize it for an American audience.
The latest example is DreamWorks’ Ghost in a Shell which will star Scarlett Johansson, reports the Los Angeles Times.
It’s typical blockbuster mentality–take something Asian and cast a white lead–basically wiping out anything Asian in the storyline that attracted producers in the first place.
“We’re seeing Hollywood continue the trend of whitewashing roles from source material that features Asian and Asian American leads while failing to provide roles for Asian American actors,” said Marissa Lee of Racebending, an advocacy group for diversity in the media.
“It is disappointing that they cannot find an Asian person to play the lead role because Hollywood very rarely volunteers to create a project where an Asian person will be the star,” said Guy Aoki of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans.
Hollywood talks about diversity, but seems reluctant to give a lead role to an Asian American actor it doesn’t consider a bankable star. It continually passes on opportunities to develop these stars and then uses the excuse no stars are available when pressed.
You can read more about these frustrations in the which will star Scarlett Johansson, reports the Los Angeles Times.
