Coming off the recent controversy over the casting of Emma Stone as a Hawaiian Chinese in the movie Aloha, the internet has been buzzing about another whitewashing controversy.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Tilda Swinton is in negotiations to play a Tibetan character in the Marvel studio’s Dr. Strange.
What makes this even more interesting is that the part is thought to be a male character.
Gender bending certainly is nothing new. Lucy Liu plays Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes takeoff Elementary on CBS. In the original, Dr. Watson’s full name is John Watson. Liu’s character was changed to Joan Watson.
The Tibetan Feminist Collective wonders if the choice of Swinton to play the Ancient One is a victory for breaking the glass ceiling for women or another setback for those who oppose whitewashing.
I love Tilda but #DrStrange casting is racist #whitewashing Swinton in talks to play F version of TIBETAN Ancient One http://t.co/yukPIbTK74
— David K.S. Tse (@dtks888) June 1, 2015
I love Tilda Swinton but I hope to God she turns down @Marvel and doesn't play the Ancient One in Dr. Strange. No more whites as Asians plz.
— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) June 1, 2015
The collective choose the latter.
“Certainly, women should have more leading roles in Hollywood, but not at the expense of casting out yet another minority group — one that is already misrepresented in western society at large.”
Read the Tibetan Feminist Collective and give us your take on this controversy.
Marvel will do any thing to make that money. What a joke….