The unsolvable problem of the Iron Fist still exists, though. As in, there's no reason for him to be an asian character either, except that it's stereotypical of asians to be into kung-fu, which is still racist casting.
To me, this just says that the Iron Fist shouldn't be made into a movie at all. It's ok to let culture fade into history. I mean, we wouldn't want to make a live action film based on some of the terribly racist cartoons of the 30's and 40's.
Re: daredevil. The nationality of the characters don't much matter in those instances. It does in GiTS. Indeed "nationality" in anything explicitly "American" doesn't much matter because of the whole "melting pot" thing being a core "Americanness"
If it isn't a concern then why do they continue casting white people in roles like that? Nationality is a concern considering it's another example of a mighty whitey type trope along with Iron Fist, it's not like they're in France. Plus it gives another role to an Asian actor Marvel desperately needs, and it would be faithful to the character. After all, that was a reason they went with a white actor for Strange and Rand, right?
Huh? Michael Clark Duncan is black and was cast for Kingpin. Kingpin being white doesn't matter. His nationality is "New Yorker". Should i have instead made a "punching up" argument? That also applies i think.
What are you talking about, I'm specifying Marvel Studios who started with Iron Man.Daredevil was a movie adaption licensed to Fox. There's also different context whitewashing a minority character and changing a white character into minority, they are no equal subjects with casting. There's a difference between casting a white actor for Kingpin, and the Ancient One - and the latter isn't a white person in the comics.
The unsolvable problem of the Iron Fist still exists, though. As in, there's no reason for him to be an asian character either, except that it's stereotypical of asians to be into kung-fu, which is still racist casting.
Yeah, but why not think of a third option instead? It's not like being rich is a a white only thing in America. Like I said, this'd be much less of an issue if Marvel had a better track record with Asian representation. Iron Fist was their last shot at having that for a while, thankfully AoS started on the right foot with that, but it's the only exception.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
Re: daredevil. The nationality of the characters don't much matter in those instances. It does in GiTS. Indeed "nationality" in anything explicitly "American" doesn't much matter because of the whole "melting pot" thing being a core "Americanness"
If it isn't a concern then why do they continue casting white people in roles like that? Nationality is a concern considering it's another example of a mighty whitey type trope along with Iron Fist, it's not like they're in France. Plus it gives another role to an Asian actor Marvel desperately needs, and it would be faithful to the character. After all, that was a reason they went with a white actor for Strange and Rand, right?
Huh? Michael Clark Duncan is black and was cast for Kingpin. Kingpin being white doesn't matter. His nationality is "New Yorker". Should i have instead made a "punching up" argument? That also applies i think.
What are you talking about, I'm specifying Marvel Studios who started with Iron Man.Daredevil was a movie adaption licensed to Fox. There's also different context whitewashing a minority character and changing a white character into minority, they are no equal subjects with casting. There's a difference between casting a white actor for Kingpin, and the Ancient One - and the latter isn't a white person in the comics.
I am talking about the thing that was being talked about when i replied to a conversation about why it wasn't so terrible when Michael Clark Duncan was cast in Daredevil. What the fuck did you think it was talking about when i labeled the section "Re: Daredevil" when talking about Michael Clark Duncan right after talking about Heimdall?
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Re: daredevil. The nationality of the characters don't much matter in those instances. It does in GiTS. Indeed "nationality" in anything explicitly "American" doesn't much matter because of the whole "melting pot" thing being a core "Americanness"
If it isn't a concern then why do they continue casting white people in roles like that? Nationality is a concern considering it's another example of a mighty whitey type trope along with Iron Fist, it's not like they're in France. Plus it gives another role to an Asian actor Marvel desperately needs, and it would be faithful to the character. After all, that was a reason they went with a white actor for Strange and Rand, right?
Huh? Michael Clark Duncan is black and was cast for Kingpin. Kingpin being white doesn't matter. His nationality is "New Yorker". Should i have instead made a "punching up" argument? That also applies i think.
What are you talking about, I'm specifying Marvel Studios who started with Iron Man.Daredevil was a movie adaption licensed to Fox. There's also different context whitewashing a minority character and changing a white character into minority, they are no equal subjects with casting. There's a difference between casting a white actor for Kingpin, and the Ancient One - and the latter isn't a white person in the comics.
I am talking about the thing that was being talked about when i replied to a conversation about why it wasn't so terrible when Michael Clark Duncan was cast in Daredevil. What the fuck did you think it was talking about when i labeled the section "Re: Daredevil" when talking about Michael Clark Duncan right after talking about Heimdall?
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
The lack of female avengers is mostly because of the lack of female chrachters from that Era. They will be adding the wasp shortly and hopefully Captain Marvel but again, white.
Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four grew into a very strong, independent female character but my god was she bad in the beginning....
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
The lack of female avengers is mostly because of the lack of female chrachters from that Era. They will be adding the wasp shortly and hopefully Captain Marvel but again, white.
What era? Black Widow wasn't a founding Avenger, neither was Hawkeye. Plus the fact Marvel isn't limited to sticking to eras, they have all the options at their finger tips.
Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four grew into a very strong, independent female character but my god was she bad in the beginning....
Funny thing is that on Japanese message boards ScarJo's casting isn't seen as a big deal.
And while the Major is Japanese in the original story, it is a cyberpunk story focused on the blending of identity and culture in a cyberspace centered world. Her name is an obvious fake alias Motoko Kusanagi to any Japanese. Kusanagi is a famous Japanese sword and not an actual Japanese name. It would be like somebody calling themselves James Excalibur.
In fact one of the undercurrents of GiTS is the question if the Major is a real person at all or if she is just a AI programmed to think she is a Japanese spy.
Obviously you shouldn't whitewash, but GitS is one of those stories where whitewashed casting could(COULD) further the story.
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
The lack of female avengers is mostly because of the lack of female chrachters from that Era. They will be adding the wasp shortly and hopefully Captain Marvel but again, white.
What era? Black Widow wasn't a founding Avenger, neither was Hawkeye. Plus the fact Marvel isn't limited to sticking to eras, they have all the options at their finger tips.
Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four grew into a very strong, independent female character but my god was she bad in the beginning....
Which didn't get going until Byrne got to her.
It's a real shame that they had Black Widow as the only female avenger.
Hopefully they do Captain Marvel the justice she deserves and maybe include kamala khan in some future iteration of the Avengers.
Obviously you shouldn't whitewash, but GitS is one of those stories where whitewashed casting could(COULD) further the story.
While I 100% doubt that Hollywood intended this at all, the thought occurred to me as well. She literally has a 95% mechanical cyborg body and is, for all intents and purposes, a brain in a jar. You can be pretty much anyone you want. In the original translated movie, she gets transferred into the body of a little girl robot at the end, as a last-ditch way to save her consciousness by Bateau.
Wouldn't it be great if they introduce themes of what it means to be alive when you have disposable bodies that can look like anything? Yeah, it's not happening, I know.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
And I'm gonna watch the hell out of it! To be perfectly frank, I'm going to watch The Iron Fist, too, because I love old school kung-fu, and I'm curious to see how much of that plays through in this modern Netflix-Marvel world they're building. I still think this chapter of more diverse casting for Marvel productions is too little too late, as far as I'm concerned, but I'd love to be proven wrong and for it all to come together in a big celebration of different backgrounds and cultures, the way I think a huge shared superhero universe should feel, and the way (for example) Star Wars now feels.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
If they do a Captain Marvel movie justice people are going to complain.
....because it will just be a boring 90 minute movie.
Obviously you shouldn't whitewash, but GitS is one of those stories where whitewashed casting could(COULD) further the story.
While I 100% doubt that Hollywood intended this at all, the thought occurred to me as well. She literally has a 95% mechanical cyborg body and is, for all intents and purposes, a brain in a jar. You can be pretty much anyone you want. In the original translated movie, she gets transferred into the body of a little girl robot at the end, as a last-ditch way to save her consciousness by Bateau.
Wouldn't it be great if they introduce themes of what it means to be alive when you have disposable bodies that can look like anything? Yeah, it's not happening, I know.
Which is a good theme to pursue, but why limit her strictly to a white actress? If you want that story line to have impact have her switch to various ethnicities whenever she's hurt. Though even in the manga and adaption she typically stays in one body, or body type, so she's visually recognizable (and the studio wants Scarlett in the trailers for advertising) and that is being a standard Japanese model. GiTS isn't that far into the future where non-Japanese aren't noticed by the characters, in SAC they have a massive story line about refugees.
edit: The problem is this all goes back to Motoko always being limited to a white actress for reasons, which are impacted by outside the movie's narrative. Not that I expect high art from the director, though the guy who directed Ex Machina would do it justice.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
And I'm gonna watch the hell out of it! To be perfectly frank, I'm going to watch The Iron Fist, too, because I love old school kung-fu, and I'm curious to see how much of that plays through in this modern Netflix-Marvel world they're building. I still think this chapter of more diverse casting for Marvel productions is too little too late, as far as I'm concerned, but I'd love to be proven wrong and for it all to come together in a big celebration of different backgrounds and cultures, the way I think a huge shared superhero universe should feel, and the way (for example) Star Wars now feels.
Luke Cage portrayal is just about perfect. The way they managed to portray his super strength in a fight against normal humans was fantastic.
Obviously you shouldn't whitewash, but GitS is one of those stories where whitewashed casting could(COULD) further the story.
While I 100% doubt that Hollywood intended this at all, the thought occurred to me as well. She literally has a 95% mechanical cyborg body and is, for all intents and purposes, a brain in a jar. You can be pretty much anyone you want. In the original translated movie, she gets transferred into the body of a little girl robot at the end, as a last-ditch way to save her consciousness by Bateau.
Wouldn't it be great if they introduce themes of what it means to be alive when you have disposable bodies that can look like anything? Yeah, it's not happening, I know.
Which is a good teem to pursue, but why limit her strictly to a site actress? If you want that story line to have impact have her switch to various ethnicities whenever she's hurt. Though even in the manga and adaption she typically stays in one body, or body type, so she's visually recognizable (and the studio wants Scarlett in the trailers for advertising) and that is being a standard Japanese model. GiTS isn't that far into the future where non-Japanese aren't noticed by the characters, in SAC they have a massive story line about refugees.
If they pulled a switcheroo where the major gets badly hurt in the first 15 minutes and the actor switches from ScarJo to an asian actor...that might be cool actually
GitS, whichever specific title in the franchise you're looking at, tends to reflect a very Japanese viewpoint of world politics and modernizing in a colonial world.
Nobody can really be trusted, everyone is trying to cut up the world into their own spheres, international human rights is respected only in name, the Japanese government is filled with dangerous bureaucratic infighting while the military are a bunch of weasels who will probably try to get us into dumb wars.
GitS's opinion on international affairs doesn't really fit a typical American viewpoint, where even when we recognize the fictitiousness of it we still tend to assume a position of privileged autonomy, innate hopefulness and prosperity and freedom for all.
You can see that in the cyberpunk genre - information wants to be free, and even when the big corps have a stranglehold on power there's still individuals fighting back and living life free on the margins. But that is not GitS's cyberpunk. Motoko isn't a free spirit, she's working in a semi-legal black ops government division doing cleanup on what are usually government fuckups. The body is literally government property. And almost everyone in her division are war veterans, who are both patriotic and recognize the innate bullshit of what they're doing.
Unlike American cyberpunk GitS views its country as both deeply imperfect and also very at sea in a dangerous world. National independence is at risk in a way that you don't see in American cyberpunk.
My point with all this is that GitS is very much not a Cowboy Bebop, where you can just put in any ethnicity. Motoko Kusanagi is a Japanese national, in Japan, working for the Japanese government, with a Japanese worldview and Japanese problems. That makes it pretty interesting, to see a familiar genre through a different lens! It's sort of the only reason to license GitS for an adaptation in the first place, otherwise you could just make any ol' cyberpunk.
So it having a white lead is pretty dumb, and seems to be not just white-washing but also completely missing the point.
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
There's very little culturally asian about Doctor Strange. I can see where the confusion lies, because there are asian characters surrounding Doctor Strange, but the cosmology and mythology of the Doctor Strange comics is rooted in an American cultural phenomena that is associated with the counter-culture college culture of the 1960's. It's a mish-mash of occultish stuff pulled from all over the place and filtered through a comic book lens.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
There's very little culturally asian about Doctor Strange. I can see where the confusion lies, because there are asian characters surrounding Doctor Strange, but the cosmology and mythology of the Doctor Strange comics is rooted in an American cultural phenomena that is associated with the counter-culture college culture of the 1960's. It's a mish-mash of occultish stuff pulled from all over the place and filtered through a comic book lens.
I think dropping acid is a pre-requsite before you read some old Dr Strange.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
There's very little culturally asian about Doctor Strange. I can see where the confusion lies, because there are asian characters surrounding Doctor Strange, but the cosmology and mythology of the Doctor Strange comics is rooted in an American cultural phenomena that is associated with the counter-culture college culture of the 1960's. It's a mish-mash of occultish stuff pulled from all over the place and filtered through a comic book lens.
I think dropping acid is a pre-requsite before you read some old Dr Strange.
It should also be noted that the Marvel universe is based on a white male oriented history. So if you stay exactly true to the source material, you're perpetuating that basis.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
There's very little culturally asian about Doctor Strange. I can see where the confusion lies, because there are asian characters surrounding Doctor Strange, but the cosmology and mythology of the Doctor Strange comics is rooted in an American cultural phenomena that is associated with the counter-culture college culture of the 1960's. It's a mish-mash of occultish stuff pulled from all over the place and filtered through a comic book lens.
Yeah sorry, I should have been more clear there, I kind of meant that more in reference to the Tilda Swinton thing than anything more broadly applicable to the character. My bad.
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ElJeffeNot actually a mod.Roaming the streets, waving his gun around.Moderator, ClubPAmod
It might take place in japan but to most American audiences ScarJo will be fine.
Look, you're basically saying "the character doesn't look Japanese to me so what's the problem"
Do I need to start posting screenshots from different anime of explicitly Japanese characters to show you how dumb that argument is? I hope not!
NO, but please post a screenshot from THE MOVIE WE ARE DISCUSSING that look Japanese and we can talk
Whitewashing is a problem. In my eyes, this character already looks white.
Again, if they could not get a big name to play the lead the movie would not get made.
Hello, privilege and cultural bias.
The point at which someone busts out the word "privilege" is where this conversation gets noped right out of the thread. GITS discussion can take a break for a while so we can talk about actual movies.
Edit: This applies to all discussion of cultural bias and white washing and what have you. Find a new topic.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
ElJeffeNot actually a mod.Roaming the streets, waving his gun around.Moderator, ClubPAmod
Also not welcome in this thread:
Assertion that London Has Fallen is not a crime against cinema.
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
I look forward to the PMs in a few months when people actually rent it and go "yeah, um, you were right, it was super swick like 3 Ninjas. Ok thank you :heartbeat: "
ElJeffeNot actually a mod.Roaming the streets, waving his gun around.Moderator, ClubPAmod
I need to go watch 3 Ninjas.
I hear it's the best kids' flick since Vampire Dog.
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
Ok, the fun time tickle party is over, serious business: you never saw 3 Ninjas?
Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
My favourite part of Jiro was the octopus massage. "We used to massage the octopus for 30 minutes. How foolish. Now we do it for 40 to 50 minutes"
cut to the apprentice rubbing a cephalopod
"It's hard on the apprentices."
Oh brilliant
+6
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MortiousThe Nightmare BeginsMove to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
I know we're past this conversation now (damn timezones) but I'd just like to mention how much I enjoyed the Avengers: AoU scenes that were shot in Jo'burg.
Like the movie instantly felt more real then, it was weird. But nice.
And I don't even like Jo'burg. Should have filmed in Durban, just saying.
That kid on the right looks like the paperboy from Better Off Dead.
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Posts
To me, this just says that the Iron Fist shouldn't be made into a movie at all. It's ok to let culture fade into history. I mean, we wouldn't want to make a live action film based on some of the terribly racist cartoons of the 30's and 40's.
What are you talking about, I'm specifying Marvel Studios who started with Iron Man. Daredevil was a movie adaption licensed to Fox. There's also different context whitewashing a minority character and changing a white character into minority, they are no equal subjects with casting. There's a difference between casting a white actor for Kingpin, and the Ancient One - and the latter isn't a white person in the comics.
Yeah, but why not think of a third option instead? It's not like being rich is a a white only thing in America. Like I said, this'd be much less of an issue if Marvel had a better track record with Asian representation. Iron Fist was their last shot at having that for a while, thankfully AoS started on the right foot with that, but it's the only exception.
Heimdall's casting, for example, is a small step in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. All of the Avengers are Caucasian, and all but one are male.
I am talking about the thing that was being talked about when i replied to a conversation about why it wasn't so terrible when Michael Clark Duncan was cast in Daredevil. What the fuck did you think it was talking about when i labeled the section "Re: Daredevil" when talking about Michael Clark Duncan right after talking about Heimdall?
I think it would be much easier on Iron Fist in particular if this context didn't exist. If Marvel's outings had already been more diverse, white Iron Fist wouldn't be as big a problem. Now, though, here's another white male hero on their big pile of white male heroes, and this time he (and Doctor Strange, too) are co-opting another culture into their big white pile.
Fair enough.
Iron Fist is BFF's with Luke Cage who will be getting his own show shortly.
The lack of female avengers is mostly because of the lack of female chrachters from that Era. They will be adding the wasp shortly and hopefully Captain Marvel but again, white.
Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four grew into a very strong, independent female character but my god was she bad in the beginning....
What era? Black Widow wasn't a founding Avenger, neither was Hawkeye. Plus the fact Marvel isn't limited to sticking to eras, they have all the options at their finger tips.
Which didn't get going until Byrne got to her.
(Japanese culture, to outsiders, is a giant onion of "problematic".)
And while the Major is Japanese in the original story, it is a cyberpunk story focused on the blending of identity and culture in a cyberspace centered world. Her name is an obvious fake alias Motoko Kusanagi to any Japanese. Kusanagi is a famous Japanese sword and not an actual Japanese name. It would be like somebody calling themselves James Excalibur.
In fact one of the undercurrents of GiTS is the question if the Major is a real person at all or if she is just a AI programmed to think she is a Japanese spy.
Obviously you shouldn't whitewash, but GitS is one of those stories where whitewashed casting could(COULD) further the story.
It's a real shame that they had Black Widow as the only female avenger.
Hopefully they do Captain Marvel the justice she deserves and maybe include kamala khan in some future iteration of the Avengers.
Wouldn't it be great if they introduce themes of what it means to be alive when you have disposable bodies that can look like anything? Yeah, it's not happening, I know.
And I'm gonna watch the hell out of it! To be perfectly frank, I'm going to watch The Iron Fist, too, because I love old school kung-fu, and I'm curious to see how much of that plays through in this modern Netflix-Marvel world they're building. I still think this chapter of more diverse casting for Marvel productions is too little too late, as far as I'm concerned, but I'd love to be proven wrong and for it all to come together in a big celebration of different backgrounds and cultures, the way I think a huge shared superhero universe should feel, and the way (for example) Star Wars now feels.
....because it will just be a boring 90 minute movie.
:snap: :snap: :snap:
Which is a good theme to pursue, but why limit her strictly to a white actress? If you want that story line to have impact have her switch to various ethnicities whenever she's hurt. Though even in the manga and adaption she typically stays in one body, or body type, so she's visually recognizable (and the studio wants Scarlett in the trailers for advertising) and that is being a standard Japanese model. GiTS isn't that far into the future where non-Japanese aren't noticed by the characters, in SAC they have a massive story line about refugees.
edit: The problem is this all goes back to Motoko always being limited to a white actress for reasons, which are impacted by outside the movie's narrative. Not that I expect high art from the director, though the guy who directed Ex Machina would do it justice.
Luke Cage portrayal is just about perfect. The way they managed to portray his super strength in a fight against normal humans was fantastic.
Nobody can really be trusted, everyone is trying to cut up the world into their own spheres, international human rights is respected only in name, the Japanese government is filled with dangerous bureaucratic infighting while the military are a bunch of weasels who will probably try to get us into dumb wars.
GitS's opinion on international affairs doesn't really fit a typical American viewpoint, where even when we recognize the fictitiousness of it we still tend to assume a position of privileged autonomy, innate hopefulness and prosperity and freedom for all.
You can see that in the cyberpunk genre - information wants to be free, and even when the big corps have a stranglehold on power there's still individuals fighting back and living life free on the margins. But that is not GitS's cyberpunk. Motoko isn't a free spirit, she's working in a semi-legal black ops government division doing cleanup on what are usually government fuckups. The body is literally government property. And almost everyone in her division are war veterans, who are both patriotic and recognize the innate bullshit of what they're doing.
Unlike American cyberpunk GitS views its country as both deeply imperfect and also very at sea in a dangerous world. National independence is at risk in a way that you don't see in American cyberpunk.
My point with all this is that GitS is very much not a Cowboy Bebop, where you can just put in any ethnicity. Motoko Kusanagi is a Japanese national, in Japan, working for the Japanese government, with a Japanese worldview and Japanese problems. That makes it pretty interesting, to see a familiar genre through a different lens! It's sort of the only reason to license GitS for an adaptation in the first place, otherwise you could just make any ol' cyberpunk.
So it having a white lead is pretty dumb, and seems to be not just white-washing but also completely missing the point.
There's very little culturally asian about Doctor Strange. I can see where the confusion lies, because there are asian characters surrounding Doctor Strange, but the cosmology and mythology of the Doctor Strange comics is rooted in an American cultural phenomena that is associated with the counter-culture college culture of the 1960's. It's a mish-mash of occultish stuff pulled from all over the place and filtered through a comic book lens.
I think dropping acid is a pre-requsite before you read some old Dr Strange.
And vice versa
Yeah sorry, I should have been more clear there, I kind of meant that more in reference to the Tilda Swinton thing than anything more broadly applicable to the character. My bad.
The point at which someone busts out the word "privilege" is where this conversation gets noped right out of the thread. GITS discussion can take a break for a while so we can talk about actual movies.
Edit: This applies to all discussion of cultural bias and white washing and what have you. Find a new topic.
Alternative post; I watched Jiro Dreams Of Sushi today. It was inspiring, but also real sad. I hope Yoshikazu gets the reigns soon. :<
OUT OUT WITH YOU!
pleasepaypreacher.net
Assertion that London Has Fallen is not a crime against cinema.
London has Fallen is a lot of things, but I wouldn't call it cinema.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
I hear it's the best kids' flick since Vampire Dog.
Get to watching!
Damn Jeffe that's ice. 3 Ninjas is a treasure.
pleasepaypreacher.net
cut to the apprentice rubbing a cephalopod
"It's hard on the apprentices."
Like the movie instantly felt more real then, it was weird. But nice.
And I don't even like Jo'burg. Should have filmed in Durban, just saying.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
That kid on the right looks like the paperboy from Better Off Dead.
This grandpa is cool af tbh