Support NeoGAF

[Messofanego]

Funny thing is they could have given the Indian role to any of the real life Bollywood superstar Kapoor family Chiwetel was the best part of the movie though.

 

[Tactics18]

I remember Andy Weir saying in his latest AMA that the first choice for Venkat was Irrfan Khan but there were scheduling conflicts.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Movie was pretty diverse. People are really upset over this?

It's weird that you were able to type this out when it seems like you can't read.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

That's funny. The first thing I thought when I saw Mindy Park's name was that it was a weird one for a white girl.

 

[kirblar]

I remember Andy Weir saying in his latest AMA that the first choice for Venkat was Irrfan Khan but there were scheduling conflicts.

Yeah, appears to have been a late drop-out. I can't fault them for grabbing a high-profile quality actor on short notice given the circumstances.

"Mindy Park" as a white name though? Ridiculous.

 

[Messofanego]

I remember Andy Weir saying in his latest AMA that the first choice for Venkat was Irrfan Khan but there were scheduling conflicts.

Shit, Irrfan Khan is legit great. Damn.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Shit, Irrfan Khan is legit great. Damn.

I wouldve like to see Ranbir Kapoor. But he usually does comedies..

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I think what most of you don't get and will never get is that America is promoted as a "land of opportunity" and a melting pot and all of that feel good shit, but if you're an Asian with a dream to be a big actor, you're likely not getting shit unless you're ready to be the white person's Asian friend or you want to be in a specifically Asian role. John Cho, Lucy Liu, Steven Yeun, and any other East Asian actor who's made it talk about their experiences and how rare their situation is all the time, but no one pays attention because white America can't relate.

 

[timetokill]

I get the Mindy Park complaint. When I saw her in the film I found it pretty jarring.

Disagree on the Vincent complaint though.

 

[starchild excalibur]

It's a more diverse cast which explains why this hasn't got the same heat as Exodus.

It also isn't as intrinsically tied to geography and population in the same way as Exodus. It's bad, but not quite as bad as filling your Egypt-based movie with a bunch of non-Egyptians.

Still, it's unfortunate.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

"Mackenzie Davis starring as Mindy Park" is Hollywood as fuck. Shameless.

 

[Rentahamster]

Just saw the movie at a theater in Korea. When "Mindy Park" came on screen for the first time, I was like, "Hmm...she doesn't look Korean lol...".

Just thinking about the movie in and of itself, the overall casting seemed fine with the exception of such an obviously Asian-sounding name being portrayed by a white girl. I never read the book, so I had no idea about the other changes.

Overall, the movie still did one of the better jobs in casting and representation, despite the few criticisms, which are relevant and should be heard. I enjoyed the movie immensely.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Just saw the movie at a theater in Korea. When "Mindy Park" came on screen for the first time, I was like, "Hmm...she doesn't look Korean lol...".

Just thinking about the movie in and of itself, the overall casting seemed fine with the exception of such an obviously Asian-sounding name being portrayed by a white girl. I never read the book, so I had no idea about the other changes.

Overall, the movie still did one of the better jobs in casting and representation, despite the few criticisms, which are relevant and should be heard. I enjoyed the movie immensely.

Even though Park = Pak and is a super common Korean surname, Park is also an American last name completely separate from Korean. So I wouldn't say "Mindy Park" is "obviously Asian" at all.

Regardless, I do find it a shame but not at all shocking that they cast some random white actress. I'm sure someone will say they just got the best person for the job and that if Asian people want roles they should audition more and all other kinds of nonsense that happen in these kind of threads.

 

[Rentahamster]

Even though Park = Pak and is a super common Korean surname, Park is also an American last name completely separate from Korean. So I wouldn't say "Mindy Park" is "obviously Asian" at all.

It is to me. Anecdotal, I know. In my world, I know a lot of Asian girls who have the vowel "ee" sound at the end of their name "Cindy, Mindy, Sandy, etc". I have also met or heard of a lot of Parks in my life, and all of them are Korean.

I would suspect that to a lot of Asians, and especially Koreans, "Mindy Park" does sound like a pretty "Asian" name, but I realize that I could also be projecting or exhibiting confirmation bias.

 

[ApharmdX]

This stuff is to be expected after the Exodus debacle. I won't patronize Ridley Scott anymore. I refuse to. The Exodus thing was too far over the top, too degrading to stomach.

 

[poppabk]

This stuff is to be expected after the Exodus debacle. I won't patronize Ridley Scott anymore. I refuse to. The Exodus thing was too far over the top, too degrading to stomach.

Having watched Exodus I'm not sure what people wanted. Having the Hebrews played by black people would have started a whole other shit storm. Having the Egyptians be black and enslaving the white people, whipping them, hanging them and outright murdering them might work in a lower budget more intimate film but in a blockbuster it would have been another shit storm.

 

[Timeaisis]

The only thing that really bothered me was Venkat becoming Vincent. Went from an South Asian (probably Indian or Pakistani, I don't remember if it's ever spelled out in the book) to a black dude.

It's not really offensive to me, but it's a weird choice that it happened. I don't get it. There are plenty of actors out there.

 

[TalonJH]

I haven't scene the movie or read the book (both are on my list) but yeah, if the characters race or culture play into the role, you stick with it. I'm sure they could of found another actor quickly and if not, they should had gotten out ahead of it and apologized.

 

[exYle]

I remember Andy Weir saying in his latest AMA that the first choice for Venkat was Irrfan Khan but there were scheduling conflicts.

That is exactly who I pictured in my head when I read the book.

 

[voodoojohn]

Not totally relevant to the discussion at hand, but I think Ejiofor and Irrfan Khan actually look quite alike... bet they're both cool guys.

 

[captive]

I think a lot of the criticism is coming from people who actually read the source material.

The problem you're having is this focus on the unchangeable traits of a character. Thor is largely whatever Marvel want him (or her) to be. Currently Thor is this:

For instance, the source material for Thor is the norse mythology, Thor is an character in norse mythology, not an idea. It seems like Marvel considers Thor more of an idea. Where by anyone that has the hammer becomes Thor. Which is why it bothers me that they are calling Thor, Thor when they make the character female. Why not just call her by her own name? but have the power of Thor? Before anyone gets on my ass I have no problem with Marvel making a female Thor, my problem is using the same name.

I didn't read the source material for The Martian, but I saw the movie, and I thought it was fantastic. I thought they did a great job getting a more diverse cast. I could see though how it would be bothersome to those who read the source material that they changed the races of a few characters.

 

[Exploratory]

It seems completely unimportant to me who plays a character when ethnicity and/or race play no role in the characterization.

Please don't be white.

 

[Jeels]

Disappointing...I was considering this movie too because of how everyone was saying it was so good.

 

[Zaptruder]

As long as the international market are happy to watch white people in Hollywood movie... there's not a huge financial incentive to cast asians... who dont really sell that well in westernized nations.

Thanks model minority. Make our cool shit. Just dont remind us of your existence more than is necessary.

 

[captive]

Disappointing...I was considering this movie too because of how everyone was saying it was so good.

Go see it anyway, it was really good. In the grand scheme of things I think these complaints are minor quibbles when considering the overall diversity problems in Hollywood.