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[stilgar]

Quoting my own post, note the bold.



Why the second part? Well, I wouldn't put it past Hollywood to make an insensitive and tone-deaf joke about Asians in a movie. Crazy, I know.

But no, stop. Even the "wonderful new context" thing is weird. She smiles, so their eyes look asian? I mean, I know what you mean by that, but it's not apparent at all. She's just smiling.

 

[KmA]

It is a bit irritating to see people make a fuss about that. I am mixed and dont look a DAMN THING like people would expect. "oh youre mixed, i dont see it", neither do i.

So by saying mixed ethnicity has to look a certain way is a bit insulting.

But why use the purely white actress to display this? I mean in the OP it even talks about how its a major plot point pointing towards her "cultural otherness," so why use a white actress when you're so adamant about telling stories about different cultures?

It's even more irritating to see people defend the white standard of Hollywood and pretend it's not a problem.

 

[freeofgreed]

It is a bit irritating to see people make a fuss about that. I am mixed and dont look a DAMN THING like people would expect. "oh youre mixed, i dont see it", neither do i.

So by saying mixed ethnicity has to look a certain way is a bit insulting.

People are conflating two complety diferent issues here

1. Can birracial people look completely white

2. Another role that could've/should've gone to a birracial/asian actress goes to a white actress

The people who have a problem with the casting have a problem with it because of number 2. The only people bringing up number 1 are the people defending the casting, because somehow having a biracial niece who looks white makes it ok for hollywood to whitewash roles.

 

[Faiz]

It is a bit irritating to see people make a fuss about that. I am mixed and dont look a DAMN THING like people would expect. "oh youre mixed, i dont see it", neither do i.

So by saying mixed ethnicity has to look a certain way is a bit insulting.

You know I kinda thought some of mixed ancestry might feel that way but I didn't want to assume. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Isn't Ken Jeong a Duke grad and a legit Doctor?

But why use the purely white actress to display this? I mean in the OP it even talks about how its a major plot point pointing towards her "cultural otherness," so why use a white actress when you're so adamant about telling stories about different cultures?

It's even more irritating to see people defend the white standard of Hollywood and pretend it's not a problem.

Did you see the film and how it is contextualized?

Thanks to the character’s half-Hawaiian-half-Chinese father, Ng (“Rhymes with ‘ing’!&#8221 is a Hula dancing expert with a functional knowledge of Hawaiian folk guitar who rhapsodizes about the islander spiritual energy mana when she isn’t attempting to save the archipelago from a creeping military-industrial complex.
.

 

[Zoe]

Isn't Ken Jeong a Duke grad and a legit Doctor?

Hence, Dr Ken.

 

[FortuneFaded]

The people who have a problem with the casting have a problem with it because of number 2. The only people bringing up number 1 are the people defending the casting, because somehow having a biracial niece who looks white makes it ok for hollywood to whitewash roles.

So every time there is a biracial character in film or television, it has to be played by somebody who fits the stereotype of what people expect?

 

[freeofgreed]

So every time there is a biracial character in film or television, it has to be played by somebody who fits the stereotype of what people expect?

No it should be played by someone who is actually biracial....

 

[DoktorEvil]

Hence, Dr Ken.

Ugh, that laugh track. It's almost like he's forcing the funny out of me.

ABC is at least doing another kind of funny that I can get behind.

 

[teruterubozu]

So every time there is a biracial character in film or television, it has to be played by somebody who fits the stereotype of what people expect?

What is the stereotype for biracial characters? Genuinely curious.

 

[FonkyByNature]

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.

Not a fan either and yes she does have something wrong with her, especially when she talks.

 

[Cagey]

But no, stop. Even the "wonderful new context" thing is weird. She smiles, so their eyes look asian? I mean, I know what you mean by that, but it's not apparent at all. She's just smiling.

It's not just the eyes. It's the combination of that and the mouth; the entire facial expression has been used as a racial caricature in the past.

Given what the thread's about, finding that picture from the movie to use for this thread on this topic is funny to me.

 

[FortuneFaded]

What is the stereotype for biracial characters? Genuinely curious.

That was my point. People who are saying she is 'too white' clearly have some sort of pre-concieved idea in their head as to what a person of that heritage should look like.

 

[Toothless]

Somehow I missed that was integrally tied to the character; I thought that her character just mentioned it off-handedly. According to the OP, it's blatantly tied into the plot. Wow, just... wow.

 

[harSon]

It is a bit irritating to see people make a fuss about that. I am mixed and dont look a DAMN THING like people would expect. "oh youre mixed, i dont see it", neither do i.

So by saying mixed ethnicity has to look a certain way is a bit insulting.

You're missing the entire point. Is it possible for someone who is mixed with Asian and European ancestry to completely favor the latter, with little to no hints of the former? Absolutely. But it's FAR more likely for someone to have elements that favor both. The issue here is Hollywood's insistence to go with the improbable when it favors white people. Another example is Angelina Jolie playing a woman who is Half European and Half Afro-Chinese-Cuban. Considering a fair share of Hollywood's black actresses are light skinned and/or mixed, there was a pretty fucking massive pool to pull from. But naw, let's go with Angelina Jolie.

Movies like The Last Samurai, Dances with Wolves, etc. Was it possible for there to be white people within those instances? Considering they're based on true stories, absolutely. But for every story of that kind, there's literally thousands of other stories exclusively about the non-white ethnic group - completely absent of white involvement - that they could have told. But Hollywood consistently pulls from the small pool of stories.

People are just sick of Hollywood always having an excuse when it whitewashes roles again and again and again.

 

[MikeyB]

What is the stereotype for biracial characters? Genuinely curious.

I think of my cousins' kids (2 half-scottish and half-japanese and 2 half-scottish and half-philipino) or any of my numerous friends' biracial kids. They don't look similar to each other at all, but they definitely don't look white.

Emma Stone is white-looking as heck, gosh, and darn.

 

[freeofgreed]

That was my point. People who are saying she is 'too white' clearly have some sort of pre-concieved idea in their head as to what a person of that heritage should look like.

No, people are saying she's "too white" because she is white. People aren't mad at her appearance, they're mad that she is portraying an ethnicity she knows nothing about, while simultaneously preventing other people from that ethnicity from getting a role.

 

[teruterubozu]

That was my point. People who are saying she is 'too white' clearly have some sort of pre-concieved idea in their head as to what a person of that heritage should look like.

Or maybe they just read her bio.

 

[MikeyB]

Put Keanu in drag. Problem solved.

 

[ppor]

Hollywood gonna Hollywood.

Honestly I don't see this whitewash trend changing anytime soon.

 

[Zoe]

Tia Carrere - Filipino, Chinese, Spanish
Kelly Hu - Native Hawaiian, English, Chinese
Maggie Q - Irish, Polish, Vietnamese
Nicole Scherzinger - Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Russian

All from Hawaii, all mixed race. Is it so inconceivable to ask for another actress similar to them?

 

[kaioshade]

But why use the purely white actress to display this? I mean in the OP it even talks about how its a major plot point pointing towards her "cultural otherness," so why use a white actress when you're so adamant about telling stories about different cultures?

It's even more irritating to see people defend the white standard of Hollywood and pretend it's not a problem.

I am completely in agreement more asian actors/actresses should be getting roles. I am not defending a white standard in the slightest. Lets say an asian/sweedish actress gets cast and STILL looks straight white. Would there still be complaints about the looks?

You know I kinda thought some of mixed ancestry might feel that way but I didn't want to assume. Thanks for sharing.

Just my own experiences. I have constantly gotten comments about how i dont look a certain way. it gets old FAST.

 

[Matty77]

It is a bit irritating to see people make a fuss about that. I am mixed and dont look a DAMN THING like people would expect. "oh youre mixed, i dont see it", neither do i.

So by saying mixed ethnicity has to look a certain way is a bit insulting.

that's not the whole issue. How many good actresses that are part asian but mostly look white got passed over for an actress that is 100% white. That is the problem. And every time that happens it reinforces people getting shut out of roles, because it happens enough I don't think it can all just be about looks.

It is well known Asians in Hollywood are repeatedly not hired for these roles, so some people are more worried about that versus what someone who is mixed looks like, if that was the issue I could care less myself, my issue is why repeatedly qualified actors with that heritage do not get the roles in favor of white people and all kinds of people defend it just based on what a mixed person looks like.

But make Johnny Storm black and the Internet rages for months, even though he is a fictional character who's ethnic heritage has never been a plot point, and is white soley because he was created in the 60's.

 

[FortuneFaded]

No, people are saying she's "too white" because she is white. People aren't mad at her appearance, they're mad that she is portraying an ethnicity she knows nothing about, while simultaneously preventing other people from that ethnicity from getting a role.

I agree that it is poorly cast but I just disagreed with your dismassal of people's own experiences of biracial relatives. It is entirely possible (although unlikely) that someone of Chinese-Hawaiian-Swedish ancestory to look like Emma Stone but yet if they did and were an actress, they would be dismissed as being too white for the role.

 

[KmA]

That was my point. People who are saying she is 'too white' clearly have some sort of pre-concieved idea in their head as to what a person of that heritage should look like.

What? She is literally a white person playing a non-white character. Honestly, the bare minimum Hollywood has to do is cast the correct race or ethnicity of a person. Like it's not that hard.

I agree that it is poorly cast but I just disagreed with your dismassal of people's own experiences of biracial relatives. It is entirely possible (although unlikely) that someone of Chinese-Hawaiian-Swedish ancestory to look like Emma Stone but yet if they did and were an actress, they would be dismissed as being too white for the role.

They literally picked the most over represented race (white) to play a minority race. If we lived in a perfect world where race wasn't an issue, than the casting wouldn't be an issue. But they are telling a story about a minority and using a majority to tell it. That's like the definition of white washing.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Or maybe they just read her bio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Stone

Her maternal grandparents are Donald (1932-1982) and Jean (Eiseman) Yeager.[6][7] Stone's paternal grandfather, Conrad Ostberg Stone, was of Swedish descent, and his family's original surname "Sten" was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the U.S. through Ellis Island. Her other ancestry is Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, Scottish, and Irish

I'm a fan of the Stone, but even I know the casting director and her agent fucked this up super hard. That article isn't even enough to entice me to go see the film to see if Mr. Lee is exaggerating for clicks. Aloha looks boring as fuck and I'm impressed Cam Crowe made Hawaii look like the most boring place on Earth. The Brady Bunch movie didn't even do that.

 

[teruterubozu]

I am completely in agreement more asian actors/actresses should be getting roles. I am not defending a white standard in the slightest. Lets say an asian/sweedish actress gets cast and STILL looks straight white. Would there still be complaints about the looks?

Probably not as much.

Just my own experiences. I have constantly gotten comments about how i dont look a certain way. it gets old FAST.

Wouldn't you want an actor who can relate to that experience? As someone who is mixed myself, I would.

 

[JDSN]

That was my point. People who are saying she is 'too white' clearly have some sort of pre-concieved idea in their head as to what a person of that heritage should look like.

People are not talking about reality when they are talking about this, they are talking about how when a character is a minority or biracial the spectrum of color that he/she will have will always points towards to white. People have complained about this for year because whitewashing its a thing, there is nothing wrong with mixed people being white, but there is something wrong about casting going as far as cast a white person to represent mixed minorities. Id be okay if Louis C.K decided he want to play mexican characters because he is mexican, I would not be okay with all mexican characters being played exclusively by people who look like C.K.

Making this about reverse racism is amazing.

 

[Toxi]

Somehow I missed that was integrally tied to the character; I thought that her character just mentioned it off-handedly. According to the OP, it's blatantly tied into the plot. Wow, just... wow.

The weird part is... This is a comedy. A white person with no Asian or Hawaiian heritage playing someone who constantly talks about her amazing Asian-Hawaiian heritage should be the setup for lots of hilarious jokes. So how on Earth did they not take that angle?

Oh yeah, because this movie is complete dogshit with no self-awareness.

 

[teruterubozu]

The weird part is... This is a comedy. A white person with no Asian heritage playing someone who constantly talks about her amazing native heritage should be the setup for lots of hilarious jokes. So how on Earth did they not take that angle?

Have you ever seen a Cameron Crowe movie? It's not Mel Brooks.

 

[freeofgreed]

I agree that it is poorly cast but I just disagreed with your dismassal of people's own experiences of biracial relatives. It is entirely possible (although unlikely) that someone of Chinese-Hawaiian-Swedish ancestory to look like Emma Stone but yet if they did and were an actress, they would be dismissed as being too white for the role.

Again if a birracial actress who looked just like Emma Stone was cast for this role, I'd be 100% fine with it because that actress actually is biracial and thus has experienced what its like being a biracial person, while simultaneously giving biracial people more representation.

The reason I'm "dismissing" those posters is because them bringing up their biracial relatives has absolutely nothing to do with the problem at hand. Again the issue isn't "Emma Stone doesn't look biracial" the issue is "Emma stone is playing a part that should've gone to an actual biracial or Asian person"

 

[kaioshade]

that's not the whole issue. How many good actresses that are part asian but mostly look white got passed over for an actress that is 100% white. That is the problem. And every time that happens it reinforces people getting shut out of roles, because it happens enough I don't think it can all just be about looks.

It is well known Asians in Hollywood are repeatedly not hired for these roles, so some people are more worried about that versus what someone who is mixed looks like, if that was the issue I could care less myself, my issue is why repeatedly qualified actors with that heritage do not get the roles in favor of white people and all kinds of people defend it just based on what a mixed person looks like.

But make Johnny Storm black and the Internet rages for months, even though he is a fictional character who's ethnic heritage has never been a plot point, and is white soley because he was created in the 60's.

Johnny Storm made me laugh, especially because of the fictional element. Again im in complete agreement that roles should go to minorities, especially if they fit them. My main response was addressing the "looks" complaint. I should have been more specific.

Probably not as much.



Wouldn't you want an actor who can relate to that experience? As someone who is mixed myself, I would.

I agree completely. again i prob didnt explain myself as well as i could/should.

 

[Matty77]

I am completely in agreement more asian actors/actresses should be getting roles. I am not defending a white standard in the slightest. Lets say an asian/sweedish actress gets cast and STILL looks straight white. Would there still be complaints about the looks?

From me, no. That's my whole issue, that someone who isn't in any way of that heritage got the role locking out other qualified actresses, not how asian someone does or does not look.

 

[Toxi]

Have you ever seen a Cameron Crowe movie? It's not Mel Brooks.

I know, but it still feels like the only way this could actually work is to be played comedically.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

My family is Prussian, hispanic/native from the Canary Islands, hispanic from the Yucatan, and Cajun French, and my Mom's siblings consist of a ginger, a blonde with blue eyes, and a brunette with dark skin, so I'd believe just about anything.

This isn't a make-believe issue, this is an equal opportunity employment issue in an industry with a legacy of whitewashing.

 

[FortuneFaded]

People are not talking about reality when they are talking about this, they are talking about how when a character is a minority or biracial the spectrum of color that he/she will have will always points towards to white. People have complained about this for year because whitewashing its a think, there is nothing wrong with mixed people being white, but there is something wrong about casting going as far as cast a white person to represent mixed minorities.

I think Asians should definitely be more represented and that if they were, this casting wouldn''t be an issue.

 

[mr2xxx]

Well, perhaps we'll see that change a bit in the future. I think the huge success of a movie like Furious 7 in the international market with its multiracial ensemble cast might convince executives in Hollywood that hiring non-white actors to be not such a risky deal. Will likely be a slow process though.

Nah, the minority casting held them back from making another billion.

 

[Unhandled Exception]

Really stupid casting decision. Emma has the acting chops but that's totally missing the point.

The picture in the OP kills me. It's the perfect picture for this fuckery.

I mean...

Is that just a still shot put into a wonderful new context, or did she actually make that face for a bad bad reason in the movie?

So proud of GAF right now. It took 6 pages before someone descended to this level of stupidity reaching. Lets try for 7 next time alright guys?

 

[DoktorEvil]

I know, but it still feels like the only way this could actually work is to be played comedically.

Isn't it a Rom-Com? Emma has done a hell of a rom-com in Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I think the CD casted based on genre and name recognition and didn't consider to talk to the screenwriters about how they should handle writing the biracial plot point into the plot.

 

[kaioshade]

Nah, the minority casting held them back from making another billion.

The worst part of this is, you could possibly be right...

 

[crazyprac]

They shoulda hired that porn star Emily Grey

Hmm had to research for purposes but how the movie is bombing I wouldn't mind her replacing Emma..

 

[Radec]

lol @ Olivia Munn

 

[DoktorEvil]

lol @ Olivia Munn

No kidding. I'm glad I'm not the only person to not forget about that shitty Psyloche thread.

 

[davepoobond]

"Quarter Asian/quarter Hawaiian" etc etc.

I've seen weirder combos and people who aren't even Asian look Asian and people who aren't "white" look white. It might be a signal of lack of diversity since its Emma stone in a movie, but I don't thinks its in the realm of impossibility either. Haven't even seen the movie to tell if that is part of the character or not that she doesn't look like what she is

 

[Valhelm]

Are you kidding? seriously?
cause I'm dying here LMAO

in what movie she did played the role of a latina

Alexis Bledel is absolutely Latina and identifies as such. Her father was Argentinian of German descent, and her mother is Mexican.

However, because she doesn't correspond to the stereotypical Hispanic image, she has only played Anglos.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Should have gotten Chloe Bennett:

 

[teruterubozu]

"Quarter Asian/quarter Hawaiian" etc etc.

I've seen weirder combos and people who aren't even Asian look Asian and people who aren't "white" look white. It might be a signal of lack of diversity since its Emma stone in a movie, but I don't thinks its in the realm of impossibility either. Haven't even seen the movie to tell if that is part of the character or not that she doesn't look like what she is

Clearly they were banking on that sentiment, but alas it failed.

 

[old manatee]

I hate Cameron Crowe movies so much that I actually look forward to seeing them because I know that he will get my goat every time.

That fucking one where Matt Damon buys a zoo and nothing happens for a wicked long time, and it looks like no one showed up but they were there behind a tree all along and everything went smoothly. I took a monster shit after that one.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

are you kidding me. She's just SMILING.

How this is not apparent for you is pretty disturbing.


OMG THIS IS SO DISPERECTFUL

You can actually see her eyes in the 2nd shot tho.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Hollywood is so far gone I wouldn't be surprised if their casting for the inevitable Linsanity movie went something like this:

Zach Effron as Jeremy Lin
Keegan Michael Key as JR Smith
Kevin Nash as Tyson Chandler
Channing Tatum as Landry Fields
Dennis Quaid as Mike D'Antoni
Steve Harvey as Mike Woodson
Tyrese as Harvard coach Tommy Amaker
Kobe Bryant as himself
and featuring Ryan Gosling as Carmelo Anthony

Linsanity. Coming to a theater near you in 2017. Rated PG-13.