When Hollywood chooses white actors for “color” characters, whitewashing without pressure

It starts to squeal more and more teeth on the other side of the Atlantic and in the world …
Concretely, whitewashing is a practice of entrusting roles of “color” characters (fictional or real) to white actors, in the mercantile idea that the public will be more sensitive to them. It is enough to stir up snobbish communities, and in general all those who are attached to a fairer representation of minorities in the cinema . One of the latest examples: the film “Ghost in the Shell” , whose main role was spun to Scarlett Johansson while the heroine is … Japanese. In protest, actress Michele Selene (seen in “13 reasons why” ) posted on February 27th this photo on Instagram,
But Scarlett, Emma, ​​Tilda and Matt are far from being the only ones …
Tony Mendez / Ben Affleck (Argo)
His story served as a plot for the film “Argo” , which tells how he saved six American diplomats during the hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. Tony Mendez is a CIA agent of Mexican origin and ‘Is however Ben Affleck (director of the film) who slipped into his costume as a hero of the nation.
Moses / Christian Bale and Ramses / Joel Edgerton (Exodus: Gods and Kings)
Even with the maxi-dose of eyeliner and terracotta, the subterfuge did not deceive anyone. No, Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton do not have heads to go incognito in Egypt . Ridley Scott has played fairly well in Variety: “I can not make a film of this budget with a main actor named Mohammed . ”
Seth / Gerard Butler and Horus / Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Gods of Egypt) but also Noah / Russell Crowe (Noah)
See the paragraph above.
Prince Dastan / Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince of Persia)
What? Did you seriously imagine that Hollywood was going to shoot the main role of this film adaptation to an Arab? (Or a Persian, it’s the same for them anyway).
Khan Noonien Singh / Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness)
In “Space Speed” , the episode of the series that inspired “Into Darkness” , and which introduced Khan’s character for the first time, the latter is a Sikh, an ethnic group that lives to the north of the India . In other words, not much to do with the very British Benedict Cumberbatch, who took over the role in 2013 in JJ Abrams’ film.
Katniss Everdeen / Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games)
In the literary work of Suzanne Colins, Katniss Everdeen is described as a dark-skinned girl with dull skin, like most of the inhabitants of District 12 . A detail not embarrassed the producers of the film who only auditioned “white” actresses .
Sangoku / Justin Chatwin (Dragon Ball Evolution)
To the horror of the movie “Dragon Ball Evolution” , of which the writer has personally apologized , the producers added a dose of “whitewashing” which is very badly passed to the fans . We want Goku and his friends not to stick too much to the average Japanese, but from there to inflict the little American student (and his hat Vivelle Dop), there is a margin …
Ra’s al Ghul / Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)
Ra’s al Ghul is a fierce enemy of Batman. He is a native of North Africa . In other words, a distant Ballymena region in Northern Ireland, where Liam Neeson was born, the actor who camped the super-villain in “Batman Begins” and then “The Dark Night Rises” .
Brandi Boski / Mena Suvari (Stuck)
One of the strangest choices in the list. The film “Stuck” tells the story of Brandi Bolski, a young nurse who unintentionally overturned a homeless person, who came into his windshield. Instead of warning, Brandi took the body to her home in her garage. It turns out that this is a true story, inspired by the unhappy destiny of Chante Jawal Mallard, an African-American . But the director Stuart Gordon preferred to take a “white” actress , Mena Suvari, to interpret the role. Which gives a somewhat weird situation, where the lady (who has made African tresses for the occasion) hangs only with her group of friends Afro. The same friends, Will help conceal the body. It was a good thing some Blacks slipped somewhere.
The Elder / Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange)
If we are on the side of the readers of comics, the film “Doctor Strange” offered a double betrayal regarding the person of the Ancient: not only it is a guy, but besides that, it is Tibetan . Nothing to see then with Tilda Swinton …
Eugene Simonet / Kevin Spacey (A Better World)
In the novel “Pay it Forward” on which the film “A Better World” is based , the hero is an African-American who is called Reuben St. Clair . A background totally ignored by the director, who for this “positive” character preferred to take a white man in the person of Kevin Spacey, to rename him Eugene Simonet.
Irene / Carey Mulligan (Drive)
We can not take it off, Carey Mulligan is just great in “Drive” . Only a little worry, in the original book, Irene is not a small Caucasian blonde, but a young Latina . Director Nicolas Winding Refn said he was looking for this type of actress at Mulligan, a mix of innocence and vulnerability, “that we want to protect . ” Understood, a Latina does not need to be protected … He added that it was easier to establish a romance between two characters having the same background. Eva Mendes, in partnership with Ryan Gosling in real life, will be happy to learn it.
All the casting of the “Last Master of Air”
Even if one remains in the genre fantasy, the universe of the literary saga “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is directly imbued with Asian culture , whether it is in the martial arts, mythology, costumes … Or , The film of Night Shyamalan has no Asian actor among the main roles, which has earned him many critics. Worse, the role of great villain was entrusted to the swarthy Dev Patel …
All the cast of “Las Vegas 21”
Ben Campbell is a small genius from MIT, who along with other brilliant mathematics students, has scammed several casinos from Vegas to blackjack. A true story told in the film “Las Vegas 21”, which nevertheless obscures the fact that the majority of the protagonists, including Ben Campbell, are of Asian origin . Feeling the wind of controversy happen, the director has hastily incorporated a couple of asiat ‘to the cast. Far from being enough to calm the cries to “whitewashing” …