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[SoulUnison]

"...caucasian girl likes-caucasian girl likes-caucasian girl likes-caucasian girl likes-caucasian girl likes..."

 

[freeofgreed]

Wow at people trying to defend this casting choice. Genetics are weird and while it's completely possible to have someone whose half asian look completely white. That still doesn't excuse Hollywood from casting one of the whitest actress' around for this role, when the representation of asians in Hollywood is as abysmal as it is.

Live action Mulan is going to be the whitest chick around

lol I'm very curious to see how this one turns out. Disney's casting needs to be on point with this one. Because if they cast a white actress for Mulan or add a random white main character who wasn't in the original, I can't even imagine the kind of shit storm that will happen.

 

[firehawk12]

They should have got that actress from Marvel's SHIELD. lol

 

[BocoDragon]

I don't really think most in the thread were defending this choice. I totally get how posters like Sprsk were just using it as an opportunity to explain how they have seen Asian-Caucasian kids with surprisingly caucasian features... What other thread would you get a chance to mention that?

 

[ZeroX03]

Emma Stone looks about as white as it gets. But I do know a few people who are 50% Chinese 50% white and they look 100% Caucasian. The genetics can swing either way, although it usually favors brown hair and brown eyes.

 

[SpideySenses]

Damn Emma, I know everyone wants to get paid, but what made her think this role was for her?

Cameron Crowe. The movie is a trainwreck because everyone gave the glaring flaws a pass because hey, it's Cameron Crowe movie, he must know what he's doing. He doesn't.

 

[linsivvi]

Sadly. They're probably right.

Hollywood leans liberal and operates in a state with plenty of racial diversity. I'm sure they'd cast all kinds of races if it were up to their creative whims. It's not just habitual.

It's because they have data that says this or that race wouldn't play in X territory. White privilege means that white people are the most marketable faces around the world. More money is better than less money. White faces are always the safer bet economically.

It's a vicious cycle, though. Let's say they cast all kinds of ethnicities.. over time foreign markets would start to accept them and their ethnicity would have no negative effect. Foreign audiences love Denzel and Will Smith even if they are places which historically don't feature black faces. But sadly Hollywood is prone to choosing monetary safety over morality/cultural progression at every turn.

Let's get real here. It's not the foreign markets, especially for a film like Aloha.

 

[freeofgreed]

Let's get real here. It's not the foreign markets, especially for a film like Aloha.

Yep Hollywood always has an excuse. I remember reading an article someone posted on Gaf about how American audience finally want more diverse casting, but how the rise of the foreign market would impede that. Because the foreign market isn't diverse at all... What's funny is that China is probably the most important foreign market for films right now, yet Asian diversity still ain't shit so I wonder what the reason for that is.

 

[teruterubozu]

more like Sayonara, Crowe

or Aloha, Crowe.
(aloha also means goodbye).

 

[Currygan]

or Aloha, Crowe.
(aloha also means goodbye).

yep i know but thought sayonara was funnier in my head

 

[linsivvi]

Yep Hollywood always has an excuse. I remember reading an article someone posted on Gaf about how American audience finally want more diverse casting, but how the rise of the foreign market would impede that. Because the foreign market isn't diverse at all... What's funny is that China is probably the most important foreign market for films yet Asian diversity still ain't shit so I wonder what the reason for that is.

To be fair they do, at least for the dozens of films that are allowed to be shown in China every year. You see all these Chinese actresses in big budget movies as the token Chinese for precisely that reason. They would manufacture a role just so that they can sell more tickets.

For films like Aloha, however, the main market is the US, and so you see casting a white actress in a mixed race role.

 

[teruterubozu]

Emma Stone got Shanghaied.

 

[GoonerTRON]

Live action Mulan is going to be the whitest chick around

 

[freeofgreed]

To be fair they do, at least for the dozens of films that are allowed to be shown in China every year. You see all these Chinese actresses in big budget movies as the token Chinese for precisely that reason. They would manufacture a role just so that they can sell more tickets.

For films like Aloha, however, the main market is the US, and so you see casting a white actress in a mixed race role.

I'm aware of this. My point was moreso that using the foreign market as a reason against diversity isn't really as good of an excuse as people make it out to be. Also manufacturing a token asian role doesn't really equal good representation imo.

 

[linsivvi]

I'm aware of this. My point was moreso that using the foreign market as a reason against diversity isn't really as good of an excuse as people make it out to be. Also manufacturing a token asian role doesn't really equal good representation imo.

Agreed on both points. It's very cynical.

 

[GorillaJu]

They could have gotten someone like Kristin Kreuk or Madison Burge. Emma Stone looks 100% white.

But they also have to make decisions based on the acting ability, whether or not they think the actor can play the role on an emotional level, not to mention the box office draw from having a recognized name. Simply casting someone on the basis of their race is ridiculous.

I agree with others that the thread title isn't really fair. "Asian-American" isn't exactly what most people think of when they hear 25% Chinese. Originally I thought it was stupid and they'd have to really reach to justify that casting decision but a half-white, quarter-Asian character being cast with a white girl isn't exactly baffling. Even half-Asian, one can look completely white, like a blonde girl I knew in high school who I didn't know was half Japanese until I saw pictures of her family in kimonos.

 

[teruterubozu]

But they also have to make decisions based on the acting ability, whether or not they think the actor can play the role on an emotional level, not to mention the box office draw from having a recognized name. Simply casting someone on the basis of their race is ridiculous.

I agree with others that the thread title isn't really fair. "Asian-American" isn't exactly what most people think of when they hear 25% Chinese. Originally I thought it was stupid and they'd have to really reach to justify that casting decision but a half-white, quarter-Asian character being cast with a white girl isn't exactly baffling. Even half-Asian, one can look completely white, like a blonde girl I knew in high school who I didn't know was half Japanese until I saw pictures of her family in kimonos.

What about the other 1/4 Hawaiian/Polynesian?
Everyone's giving half-asian as anecdotal examples.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I'm working on a Harriet Tubman biopic, maybe we can get Emma to star

 

[numble]

But they also have to make decisions based on the acting ability, whether or not they think the actor can play the role on an emotional level, not to mention the box office draw from having a recognized name. Simply casting someone on the basis of their race is ridiculous.

I agree with others that the thread title isn't really fair. "Asian-American" isn't exactly what most people think of when they hear 25% Chinese. Originally I thought it was stupid and they'd have to really reach to justify that casting decision but a half-white, quarter-Asian character being cast with a white girl isn't exactly baffling. Even half-Asian, one can look completely white, like a blonde girl I knew in high school who I didn't know was half Japanese until I saw pictures of her family in kimonos.

Quarter-Chinese, quarter-Hawaiian should not be quarter-Asian.

 

[freeofgreed]

I'm working on a Harriet Tubman biopic, maybe we can get Emma to star

.

 

[Oersted]

And yet imagine how much worse the backlash would be if they actually tried to use makeup to make her look Asian...

Yes, it would be worse because it is worse. And in both cases there is a better option. Extremely weird post of yours.

 

[GorillaJu]

Quarter-Chinese, quarter-Hawaiian should not be quarter-Asian.

But you're getting into semantic territory. My point is that you can get a white person to play the role of a half-white person if you think that actor is the right fit for the role, without causing a fuss. I'm fully in support of more roles for minorities, and things like Fast and Furious bringing in huge crowds due to minority casting is awesome to me.

It's just that this character in this movie, which sounds like is by all rights a piece of junk, doesn't seem like the right place to pick apart the casting decision.

 

[Mrs. Manky]

Wait. I thought Ng was a Vietnamese family name.

Funny, at least when Depp got the Tonto role, he could point to the faintest of Native ancestry, and Keanu, who is English/Chinese/Hawaiian (hell, put him in a dress and he could have taken the role) can be in 47 Ronin playing a mixed character and people can point at his ancestry. But Emma Stone has no excuse. Really, they could have at least dyed her hair black.

I'm sorry, Asian-Americans and mixed Asian-Americans, Hollywood hates you.

 

[teruterubozu]

It's just that this character in this movie, which sounds like is by all rights a piece of junk, doesn't seem like the right place to pick apart the casting decision.

Why not? The movie is getting a lot of flak in the state of Hawaii. Not just because of Emma Stone.

 

[BronsonLee]

Should've just cast me in the role like originally planned!

 

[Gemüsepizza]

Then it would make more sense for someone like Olivia Munn to play the part. Using your argument, how does it make more sense for someone white to play the role of someone mixed?

Did I say that it makes more sense that someone white plays this role? No, not at all. Stop twisting my words. My point is: Someone who is 25% Chinese / 25% Hawaiian and 25% Swedish can totally look white. But he/she can also look Asian. That's why it doesn't matter if the actress looks white or Asian, and it doesn't matter if she is mixed or not. And I don't think you understand how casting works. They were looking for a very specific actress with a specific personality. And they found it in Emma Stone. You can't just point to someone like Olivia Munn. Completely different personality.

And good to see the ol "experience/name" argument which only proves the point most people have been saying in this thread. In Hollywood if you're white you can play any role and people will go through hoops to say it make sense, but suggest someone who closer fits the character and excuses come out the woodworks. And clearly having well known white actors/actresses did bugger all for the film because it still bombed hard.

Bullshit. Again you demonstrate that you have no idea how casting works. You think because Munn is mixed, she "closer fits the character". That's nonsense. Casting is about more than what's in your passport.

In your previous post you dismiss Munn because you state that she isn't the same mix as the character in the story (which is a really stupid argument considering, they're actors that's what they do, play other people right?) then you turn around and say Stone is okay because she "looks the part" nevermind the fact using your own argument, Stone doesn't work because she's not the proper mix either mate and is much farther off than Munn who is actually 25% Chinese, so just from a mathematical standpoint Munn would work better than Stone using your logic since the character in the story is also 25% Chinese.

Uh what? No, not at all. I said that if they used Munn, that there would probably still be some people who complain about the casting choice, because she is not Hawaiian or not Swedish.

 

[teruterubozu]

Did I say that it makes more sense that someone white plays this role? No, not at all. Stop twisting my words. My point is: Someone who is 25% Chinese / 25% Hawaiian and 25% Swedish can totally look white. But he/she can also look Asian. That's why it doesn't matter if the actress looks white or Asian, and it doesn't matter if she is mixed or not. And I don't think you understand how casting works. They were looking for a very specific actress with a specific personality. And they found it in Emma Stone. You can't just point to someone like Olivia Munn. Completely different personality.



Bullshit. Again you demonstrate that you have no idea how casting works. You think because Munn is mixed, she "closer fits the character". That's nonsense. Casting is about more than what's in your passport.



Uh what? No, not at all. I said that if they used Munn, that there would probably still be some people who complain about the casting choice, because she is not Hawaiian or not Swedish.

eh, you can slice it anyway you want, but it's a casting fail by every measure. People can't stop talking about it.

 

[GorillaJu]

Why not? The movie is getting a lot of flak in the state of Hawaii. Not just because of Emma Stone.

As I said, because it's not implausible for Emma Stone to play the role of a half-white person.

 

[berzeli]

.

Come now, we already have a more suitable poster for this:

 

[teruterubozu]

As I said, because it's not implausible for Emma Stone to play the role of a half-white person.

Well yeah, of course it's not implausible - it just happened!

 

[Oersted]

It's just that this character in this movie, which sounds like is by all rights a piece of junk, doesn't seem like the right place to pick apart the casting decision.

Your conclusion... how did you reach there?

 

[mrklaw]

what the fuck is with all the comments about how white Emma Stone is? What does that even mean? Personally I think she could pull off Scandinavian heritage pretty well.

 

[GorillaJu]

Your conclusion... how did you reach there?

Is my writing that incoherent? Put simply: casting Ryouma Sakamoto as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting Malcom X as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting a white person as a half-white person isn't ridiculous, therefore this specific movie isn't justified as the target of ire.

 

[teruterubozu]

Is my writing that incoherent? Put simply: casting Ryouma Sakamoto as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting Malcom X as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting a white person as a half-white person isn't ridiculous, therefore this specific movie isn't justified as the target of ire.

But it's an integral part of the story. She spouts about her mixed heritage throughout the film. It's quite the comedic effect.

 

[numble]

Is my writing that incoherent? Put simply: casting Ryouma Sakamoto as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting Malcom X as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting a white person as a half-white person isn't ridiculous, therefore this specific movie isn't justified as the target of ire.

The whole context is that the leads in this movie about Hawaii (a majority Asian state) are all white, and the only lead character that is supposed to have a background befitting Hawaii's demography is played by a white actress.

Malcolm X is 1/4 white, by the way.

 

[linsivvi]

The whole context is that the leads in this movie about Hawaii (a majority Asian state) are all white, and the only lead character that is supposed to have a background befitting Hawaii's demography is played by a white actress.

Basically I see the same arguments supporting this terrible casting choice in Exodus threads.

 

[teruterubozu]

I don't see the big deal. It's possible for a Eurasian person to look primarily European.

Except she is not fully Eurasian. She is supposed have Polynesian in her as well.
Again, more half-Asian anecdotes.

 

[Revolutionary]

Did the people getting upset in this thread get upset that Ben Affleck played a Mexican in Argo?
He was the only actor that looked absolutely nothing like the character they were portraying. He just had to cast himself because of his massive ego.

 

[ZoddGutts]

She's hella white though.

Did the people getting upset in this thread get upset that Ben Affleck played a Mexican in Argo?
He was the only actor that looked absolutely nothing like the character they were portraying. He just had to cast himself because of his massive ego.

It's either him or Michael Pena, the only American/Mexican actor in hollywood, can't find many people of Mexican descent in hollywood apparently.

 

[GorillaJu]

Seems like I'd have to watch the movie to get a real understanding of the nuances at play, then. For example, I'd like to see if the character acts in a way I'd expect a mixed-heritage person who looks white to act.

 

[teruterubozu]

Did the people getting upset in this thread get upset that Ben Affleck played a Mexican in Argo?
He was the only actor that looked absolutely nothing like the character they were portraying. He just had to cast himself because of his massive ego.

Why just Argo? There are thousands of examples.

 

[Zoe]

Sorry man, I'm just going by what I see out in real life. A bunch of pictures of mixed race people you found on the internet doesn't disprove reality. Just an example, my brother's wife has all the features you described (except she has red, curly hair and green eyes) and she's a quarter Filipino. Genes don't always mix exactly in one predictable way.

Filipino is like the worst possible example you can use. Those with strong indigenous blood already look somewhat different from typical CJK's, and the rest are some degree of mixed.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Is my writing that incoherent? Put simply: casting Ryouma Sakamoto as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting Malcom X as a white person would be ridiculous. Casting a white person as a half-white person isn't ridiculous, therefore this specific movie isn't justified as the target of ire.

Casting Samuel L. Jackson as a 1/2 black 1/4 Asian 1/4 white person would be equally ridiculous.

As seen recently with Exodus, Hollywood simply does not care about subtlety when recasting ethnic roles with white actors.

 

[hipbabboom]

This thread sort of reminds me of how some Japanese people said how mixed-descent Miss Japan doesn't look Japanese enough to represent them. There is a fine difference here though in that that was reality and this is a movie. Its not mere cynicism to entertain the idea of a Hollywood product 'whitewashing' a character to improve box office reception but at the same time, the idea for mixed-race people being judged for not being 'enough' of something is a toxic way of thing.

 

[GorillaJu]

Casting Samuel L. Jackson as a 1/2 black 1/4 Asian 1/4 white person would be equally ridiculous.

As seen recently with Exodus, Hollywood simply does not care about subtlety when recasting ethnic roles with white actors.

I disagree there. I think if you want Samuel L Jackson for your character because he fits the part and because you want the numbers he'd attract, then quibbling over the intricacies of the race of the character is unproductive. Samuel L Jackson, or any other black actor, could plausibly play a mixed race character who is half-black. At least how I see it.

 

[teruterubozu]

I disagree there. I think if you want Samuel L Jackson for your character because he fits the part and because you want the numbers he'd attract, then quibbling over the intricacies of the race of the character is unproductive. Samuel L Jackson, or any other black actor, could plausibly play a mixed race character who is half-black. At least how I see it.

And how Hollywood sees it.

 

[Zoe]

Wait. I thought Ng was a Vietnamese family name.

Maybe they're supposed to be Vietnamese who are ethnically Chinese?

Gotta tread carefully with that one though. I have a friend who gets PISSED if you assume he's ethnically Chinese.

 

[Gastone]

Emma Stone can pull of Scandinavian Heritage, no doubt. I'm not quite sold on the asian Heritage. I'm white as hell (Scandinavian), my wife is asian. Our daughter (avatar) has a darker skin complexion, brown hair and brown eyes, compared to the typical Scandinavian. Seems to be the norm for this kind of "mix", but that's judging just by what i've seen for myself.

 

[greatestjediever]

Wait. I thought Ng was a Vietnamese family name.

Funny, at least when Depp got the Tonto role, he could point to the faintest of Native ancestry, and Keanu, who is English/Chinese/Hawaiian (hell, put him in a dress and he could have taken the role) can be in 47 Ronin playing a mixed character and people can point at his ancestry. But Emma Stone has no excuse. Really, they could have at least dyed her hair black.

I'm sorry, Asian-Americans and mixed Asian-Americans, Hollywood hates you.

I don't know too many (if any) Vietnamese people with the last name Ng. The more common corresponding name in Vietnamese is Ngo. That you'll see much more often.

 

[teruterubozu]

I had a Taiwanese classmate named Ng.