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[Sho_Nuff82]

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.

If I saw a movie with Sam Jackson pontificating about his Asian heritage for 90 minutes I'd write off him, the casting director, and the actual director as clowns.

At least with 47 Ronin they had an in universe reason for Keanu to not be Japanese like everyone else, and Lucy Liu totally not being Japanese despite being a Yakuza boss is a plot point in Kill Bill.

 

[Matty77]

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.

I think of them in two different ways. In regular life no one should be told they are not enough of something unless it's fraud. The point here though is definitley the Hollywood whitewashing, further compounded by the excuse ( not of the audience, not even the defenders here, but the excuse Hollywood actually uses) that they mostly do this because there is a lack of quality actors of Asian heritage of all kinds. Problem is its a self perpetuating cycle because why would most people with asian heritage even try when historically they will not get the job, and that's just the ones that retain Asian characters, nevermind other examples (21 has been cited in this thread and that is a true story) where they just reinvent people in a more "traditional" way.

That's how I see it at least.

And while I am not saying this is true, do not want to mix causation with coincidence, I wonder if this kind of casting actually plays against mixed heritage people in real life and how they are perceived. It's kind of a shitty situation no matter how you look at it, and one I wish we could work towards fixing.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Damn Genetics, you crazy.

I'd need to see the film for me to pass judgment of the casting decision and the context but it looks like a dull as shit rom-com so I'll pass.

I mean Chris Kyle dating Gwen Stacy is hard to believe as is, but then compounding racial ambiguity on top? Yeah, American audiences aren't that progressive.

 

[GorillaJu]

If I saw a movie with Sam Jackson pontificating about his Asian heritage for 90 minutes I'd write off him, the casting director, and the actual director as clowns.

At least with 47 Ronin they had an in universe reason for Keanu to not be Japanese like everyone else, and Lucy Liu totally not being Japanese despite being a Yakuza boss is a plot point in Kill Bill.

I agree it seems stupid, but if the point of his character is that he wants to identify with his Asian roots, but is never taken seriously and he brings up his mixed heritage a lot over 90 minutes, I don't have any problem with that in principal.

Neither situation is ideal Just saying...

 

[30yearsofhurt]

Chinese, Japanese, what's the difference? [/sarcasm]

 

[Jotaka]

My name is Kaneda Washington Sawyer Finn Bush Cheney Pamela Anderson Lee

 

[A Link to the Past]

Chinese, Japanese, what's the difference? [/sarcasm]

The irony is that neither the character nor the actress are Japanese. :v

 

[braves01]

I'm a little disturbed that people are so willing decry this casting based on the fact Emma Stone does not fit their stereotypical image of what someone of mixed descent ought to look like.

 

[bobbychalkers]

.

no lie, I would actually watch this.

 

[Angel_DvA]

Emma Stone as an Asian-American in Aloha

 

[Dennis]

Emma Stone is The Last Ng on Earth

 

[spookyfish]

Maggie Q is very charming tbh

Eh, not a great actress, from a "paired with Bradley Cooper" studio view.

Not that I'm disagreeing with you - I'm not. But I'm sure the studios like to double up on that "star power." (Perceived, more than reality.)

Of course, that only so-so British actress got paired with Cooper in American Sniper; but maybe that wasn't such a studio-run film?

 

[30yearsofhurt]

The irony is that neither the character nor the actress are Japanese. :v

The character is half-Japanese, half-Chinese.
But they couldn't have picked a more silly way to give Lucy Liu her 'believability'. It's like the casting agent thought 'people can't tell the difference' and then someone told them later 'yes they can'.

Incidentally don't get me started on calling katanas "Samurai swords". Uggh.

 

[Danthrax]

Am I the only one that thinks Emma Stone looks like a frog? I know that's mean, but I don't get why so many guys love her.

I'm with you, man

Her facial features are, like, wide or something. Too wide.

 

[Dennis]

Am I the only one that thinks Emma Stone looks like a frog?

Her facial features are, like, wide or something. Too wide.

It is early morning here but I am thinking this is already enough internet for today.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

I'm with you, man

Her facial features are, like, wide or something. Too wide.

I think so too. It's the eyes. Too far apart.

 

[John Kowalski]

This has to become real one day. It just has.

 

[c-murph]

Does she keep her eyes like that the entire movie?

 

[User 479360]

Get the fuck away Asian community, you're not wanted in Hollywood :/

Man, Kate Bosworth looked great in that movie. Bobs for the win.

Back on-topic: Aloha looks awful.

 

[Ratrat]

The character is half-Japanese, half-Chinese.
But they couldn't have picked a more silly way to give Lucy Liu her 'believability'. It's like the casting agent thought 'people can't tell the difference' and then someone told them later 'yes they can'.

Incidentally don't get me started on calling katanas "Samurai swords". Uggh.

Why do you care? Kill Bill is an incredibly silly movie through and through. The fact they bothered to address Lius characters awful Japanese by making her half Chinese is incredible by Hollywood standards.

I'm a little disturbed that people are so willing decry this casting based on the fact Emma Stone does not fit their stereotypical image of what someone of mixed descent ought to look like.

Way to ignore all context and Hollywoods history with casting. If Hawaiians are pissed, they have every right to be.

 

[Buddha Beam]

She could have at least dyed her hair black and wore brown contacts. Those are considered dominant traits when it comes to genetics.
Like my wife is asian and I'm white and we're totally expecting our baby to have black hair and brown eyes like her when he's born in August. I have brown hair and blue eyes.

Just another case of Hollywood whitewashing, I imagine. They should have just written it so her white family had been in Hawaii for several generations, or just said her great grandfather was native Hawaiian or something.

 

[jmood88]

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.

This is not the same situation at all. That woman is actually Japanese while Emma Stone is white. It makes no sense to me why they would go out of their way to make the character asian, then cast a white actress.

 

[User 479360]

She could have at least dyed her hair black and wore brown contacts. Those are considered dominant traits when it comes to genetics.
Like my wife is asian and I'm white and we're totally expecting our baby to have black hair and brown eyes like her when he's born in August. I have brown hair and blue eyes.

Just another case of Hollywood whitewashing, I imagine. They should have just written it so her white family had been in Hawaii for several generations, or just said her great grandfather was native Hawaiian or something.

I'd like to see her with black hair. I wonder if it'd look good.

 

[Ratrat]

This looks like Mila Kunis in Oz.

 

[jett]

Emma Stone is The Last Ng on Earth

 

[DoktorEvil]

I'd like to see her with black hair. I wonder if it'd look good.

She's almost there. She could pull off having dark hair.

 

[Currygan]

I'm with you, man

Her facial features are, like, wide or something. Too wide.

I feel she's one of these people who either look splendid or not depending on the angle

then again I think Taylor Swift looks like Adam Baldwin

 

[User 479360]

She's almost there. She could pull off having dark hair.

Yeah, that looks really good.

 

[freeofgreed]

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.

This is a bad arguement to make in general. So if people don't get mad at one instance of white washing then they aren't ever allowed to get mad at white washing again? Also I'm pretty sure there was a small bit of backlash over what your referencing.

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.

But that's not really what's going on. People aren't saying she's not asian enough because she's too white. People are saying she's not asian enough because she's not asian at all.

 

[LiK]

Can't find a real Asian-American mixed person in Hollywood eh

 

[freeofgreed]

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

I haven't seen the movie but the bolded might actually change things a bit. Is the movie self aware about the fact that Emma Stone's character doesn't look asian and play it up for laughs?

 

[Gordon Shumway]

If you squint hard enough..nah, still nothing.

 

[teruterubozu]

I haven't seen the movie but the bolded might actually change things a bit. Is the movie self aware about the fact that Emma Stone's character doesn't lookasian and play it up for laughs?

No. I was being sarcastic. It's more cringe-inducing than comedic.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Damn son at least get somebody that looks even remotely of mixed race. They're not even trying anymore.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Yeah, that looks really good.

She a natural blonde.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/celebrities-natural-hair-colors-photos_n_3055049.html

And Emma Stone, whom everyone considers to be a natural redhead (she's actually a blonde), dyed her locks after "Superbad" producer Judd Apatow told her she'd look edgier with a new hue.

“I was a brunette during casting. Then Judd walked in, said 'Make it red,’ and walked out," she explained in 2010. "So he made me this way.”

So it's not that far out of left field for her to be able to pull off being black haired.

 

[Black Republican]

If you squint hard enough..nah, still nothing.

i see

Spoiler

?

what you did there

 

[Ratrat]

i see

Spoiler

?

what you did there

So funny.

 

[jmood88]

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.

Yes, that was also very annoying and ridiculous, especially when they put the pictures up at the end and everyone was identical to the person they were playing, until Affleck came up.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

I just moseyed on over to the trailer and my first instinct was Hollywood was too afraid to portray an interracial romance.

 

[Ratrat]

I just moseyed on over to the trailer and my first instinct was Hollywood was too afraid to portray an interracial romance.

There are actually a lot of movies with Asian women as love interests. I think they just wanted a young comedic actress.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

It's so fucking gross how Hollywood acts like Asians don't exist. But when it comes time to appropriate Asian culture, they white wash the fuck out of it. Smfh

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Glad it bombed. Glad Dwayne torpedo'd this whitewashing embarrassment.

Time to send some rockets to shoot down that GITS adaptation next.

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.

I knew this would come up, but that isn't the issue here. The issue at play is that Hollywood seemingly couldn't get an actress that was actually of mixed white/Asian heritage to play the role, despite the fact there's a decent number of them in America, especially in places like LA, and I'm sure at least one of them is a great actress waiting for their breakout role.

This could've been that role for them. Instead it went to someone with no real-life correlation to the details written about the character regarding ethnic heritage. And the reason they did is pretty obvious. Now, if there wasn't the very serious issue of massive Asian under-representation in Hollywood films at large, we'd be cool seeing a non-Asian playing a mixed-Asian role. I mean, there wasn't any real problem with Robert Downey Jr. playing a black man in Tropic Thunder (keep in mind I'm not saying black representation in Hollywood is fair/balanced, just that in the numbers alone, it's very large in comparison to other minority groups, especially Asians).

But when roles for a given minority group, legit quasi-or-actual mainstream roles, are already so puny and miniscule in number, it just feels like a slap in the face and a kick to the stomach when you see Emma Stone playing a half-Asian character when she neither looks the part in the film nor isn't half-Asian in real life whatsoever. It just feels like another way of Hollywood saying "We still don't need you".

 

[faridmon]

She even died her hair blonde in the movie, I just don't get it!

 

[Octavianus]

Glad it bombed. Glad Dwayne torpedo'd this whitewashing embarrassment.

Time to send some rockets to shoot down that GITS adaptation next.

"anime characters look white anyway lol"

 

[neoanarch]

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.

Affleck and Mendez have a pretty close background actually. Mendez mother was a typical American with lots of European ancestors and his dad was Mexican which for all we know could mean entirely spanish. Now if Affleck was playing Benito Juarez it be an issue but he was playing an American with mixed European ancestry. Just like himself.

 

[killu4what]

The character is Hawiian with a Chinese surname. If her characters Hawaiian identiy is important, why the hell would they go out of their way to cast someone who isn't at all Asian? And no one wants to see the movie because it's crap. No one wanted to see Avatar or Exodus either, and it was never too early to judge those.

Listen you might be 100% correct. Casting doesn't really make sense from my point of view either. However I'm personally against making generalizations about things I have not seen. Like saying a movie/game is shit. Maybe its explained in the movie. Maybe she pulls off a convincing performance.
That's why I wanted to hear from somebody who saw the movie.

 

[JDSN]

Unsurprised that people turned this again into a reverse racism argument, disgusting how far you would get to defend such an obvious fuckery.


I better dont see none of you whinning about rumors of Miles Morales or black Stormtroopers lol.

 

[Slayven]

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

Too ethnic

But I really want to see who was up for the role.

 

[teruterubozu]

Listen you might be 100% correct. Casting doesn't really make sense from my point of view either. However I'm personally against making generalizations about things I have not seen. Like saying a movie/game is shit. Maybe its explained in the movie. Maybe she pulls off a convincing performance.
That's why I wanted to hear from somebody who saw the movie.

There are tons of reviews out there and they all basically say the same thing: the casting was horrible.

 

[Valhelm]

I think that Emma Stone is probably the only major white actress who could look vaguely Eurasian, but the casting is still bizarre. Why can't they just find a half-Asian woman? I'm sure there are plenty Eurasian actresses who could do the role well.