TAKEN FROM THE LOVE LIFE OF AN ASIAN GUY (facebook) because everyone needs to know
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Holder_Matador — 9 years ago(November 09, 2016 09:03 PM)
I agree, I dont get how this is the same as the example he gave.
A more appropriate example would be that an Italian film director made a movie about an Italian visiting New York and cast an Italian actor. OMG that is so racist.
While I agree that there aren't enough good roles for minorities and women in movies I massively disagree with the concept of "whitewashing". It's called an adaptation, they're not trying to say other cultures dont exist, quite the opposite, they want these things (such as Ghost in the Shell) to be available to a wider audience. Hollywood versions of Ringu and Ju-on made the originals waaaay more popular in the western world.
"If God was a villain, he'd be me" -
queentulawanda1 — 9 years ago(April 24, 2016 11:48 PM)
Perhaps no one cares about mental illness issues, but they should. And Aries-Girl84 isn't a sorry-for-themselves person. Can't you understand she's desperate for this problem to get publicity so that Japan can come out of the stone age about mental illness? For heaven's sake, they locked their Empress up in the palace because she was depressed, never allowing her to be seen!
The forest in this film just illustrates that the Japanese don't want to confront a national crisis. They'd rather ignore it and let the mentally ill solve the problem themselves by walking into a forest to die. Out of sight. This is how wild animals deal with death!!!
I must say here that I don't think the makers of this film didn't even have a clue about their action, and that's a pity. I'm not Asian, but those of you who haven't lived in Asia wouldn't understand this issue. In China, the mentally ill are put away. If you're a baby girl with ANY illness such as autism, Downs Syndrome or other handicaps like deafness or blindness- you're murdered, either by a Dying Room (Google it), or just starved or drowned. These atrocities are usually committed by a relative. You must be born "perfect" in order to be considered useful. And that's something worth putting on the silver screen if anything is. -
queentulawanda1 — 9 years ago(April 24, 2016 11:56 PM)
Perhaps no one cares about mental illness issues, but they should. And Aries-Girl84 isn't a sorry-for-themselves person. Can't you understand she's desperate for this problem to get publicity so that Japan can come out of the stone age about mental illness? For heaven's sake, they locked their Empress up in the palace because she was depressed, never allowing her to be seen!
The forest in this film just illustrates that the Japanese don't want to confront a national crisis. They'd rather ignore it and let the mentally ill solve the problem themselves by walking into a forest to die. Out of sight. This is how wild animals deal with death!!!
I must say here that I don't think the makers of this film didn't even have a clue about their action, and that's a pity. I'm not Asian, but those of you who haven't lived in Asia wouldn't understand this issue. In China, the mentally ill are put away. If you're a baby girl with ANY illness such as autism, Downs Syndrome or other handicaps like deafness or blindness- you're murdered, either by a Dying Room (Google it), or just starved or drowned. These atrocities are usually committed by a relative. You must be born "perfect" in order to be considered useful. And that's something worth putting on the silver screen if anything is. -
inuimari — 10 years ago(December 17, 2015 04:43 PM)
As a Japanese guy (well this is my opinion only), I really don't care. Most Japanese people won't care either.
How is this any different to the Grudge? I'll admit that it's pretty weird that the protagonist will find so many people that speak fluent English-speaker in Japan. -
wartengu — 10 years ago(February 09, 2016 07:48 AM)
Most people in Japan these days speak English. The younger generation want to be like Americans and speak English. The good thing about having a suicide forest, dead bodies make good compost for the plants. Too early to crack a smile?
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Mattfinbell — 10 years ago(April 04, 2016 06:57 PM)
inuimari
As a Japanese guy (well this is my opinion only), I really don't care. Most Japanese people won't care either.
How is this any different to the Grudge? I'll admit that it's pretty weird that the protagonist will find so many people that speak fluent English-speaker in Japan.
then why do people or mainly Japanese people hate Airbender? Since the characters look white or half white
HAHA yeah a lot of Japanese dont speak English so!
VariaIronhawk
The sister is living and working in Tokyo, soooooo, it really is not such a stretch. See, when you don't know the story, it's easy to criticize.
True but not in upper education
inuimari
This " LOVE LIFE OF AN ASIAN GUY " can F Off.
Just got banned from his site cuz I told a girl not to be so judgmental. He basically said that a lot of Asian parents beat their kid. Some posters said that that is abuse and they recanted how abusive their parents were. And this one chick went on dissing all those people who were saying it was abuse. I told her not to be so judgmental and then I got banned. I wasn't even using a swear word. And some of the posters were saying that people who are saying that spanking their kids is abuse where pu&&y white people. SMH.
He's okay with child abuse but is now complaining about mental health among Asians? WTF, man. Total hypocrite. According to this ridiculous site, "tone policing" is a real thing and it's bad. What the. There's nothing wrong with being nice to people online and your assumed minority status (as in people assuming they are in a more disadvantaged class than those they are speaking to) does not make it okay for people to be a b1tch online.
yeah some chinese and Japanese can be anal about that
Kumagoro
The guy quoted in the original post is totally off base.
John Wayne as Genghis Khan is indeed bad, even beyond whitewashing, because it's a white man posing as Asian.
How many chinese actors were in the biz at that time?
Phoenix_07
Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell is NOT whitewashing, because she WON'T play Motoko Kusanagi in "yellowface" (or whatever it's called), she'll play a reworked character with a different name for the American version of the same story, just like Naomi Watts in The Ring. Remember when Kurosawa used to set Western literature in Japan using Japanese actors? Was that out of racism?
Whitewashing goes more into just putting someone in yellowface. Taking a Japanese movie and remaking it with White actors is pretty much whitewashing. Why is that necessary? Why can't Americans just watch something in its original form? Why is there a need for an 'American version'? Look at just about every remake of a Japanese/Asian movie. Do they have other races casted as the lead, or even have a role? Why was The Grudge even remade when it's also set in Japan with the same story?
Yet the Japanese worship whites all the time
why is it with Ernie Hudson who played one of the title characters never go back lash but the main character Justin got all of it?
Why do Japanese draw there characters white looking?
stephenmonachello
First off, Genghis Kahn played by John Wayne and Scarlet Johansson playing Major Motoko Kusanagi in "Ghost in the Shell are examples of "White Washing" as they are whites playing Asian characters just like Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
for gods sake they white wash the characters in Dragonball z and airbender Chinese and Japanese people dont have round eyes and wavy hair
This film is not an example. This about an American going to find their twin in a legendary suicide forest in Japan. This is not white washing. This is just someone wanting a bigger story about a horror film. According to you this could not happen, but it could only happen to someone of Japanese decent. This is just another example of people wanting to complain about something or everything.
but again why would all the japanese be speaking english and be more aggressive or more loud as the case may be
Space_Wolf57
No actual Japanese person would give a sh!t about this. Chances are the writer is a "whitewashed" Asian himself.
well which racial group cares about Dragonball Z Airbender the last avatar
to me it seems its always the Koreans no other oriental group cares so much
skane110-1
Have you ever heard of "The Last Samurai"? That is way worse than this. I mean, the Samurai are such a hugely important and sacred thing to the Japanese and they are legendary so, to have a white guy play the last samurai is so completely wrong and offensive.
Oh how is it offensive?
the book Young Samurai and Shogun are based off a white guy who got ship wrecked in Japan
Will Adams
this is scotts review of the film. I trust him since he has made a life in Japan and he is Japanese
Kinda the same story like William Adams
Noelitede
I do think it's beep up to pick a real social issue and make a horror film about it. I'm also kind of fed up of all this movies starring white actors unnecesarily, when the movie is set in Asia like The forbid -
pajamawolfie — 10 years ago(December 19, 2015 06:36 PM)
I heard of the Aokigahara suicide forest a few years ago via a documentary, and I know that the suicide rate in Japan is rather high. However, as I am not Asian, so I don't really have much of a say about it. The only reason I wanted to see it was because I'd heard of the forest before.
Perhaps Japanese movie company will make their own version / a similar film addressing this issue. If they didn't want to do a movie on the forest before, maybe they'll do one to counteract the imminent train wreck that is the Hollywood version.
ScarJo in
Ghost in the Shell
is one thing: she'll get asses in movie theater seats. But that's a
science fiction
film.
The Forest
toys with, as you've said, a Japanese national crisis, and is cast in poor taste.
At least film is being released in January, which is when companies put out the movies that suck, so it'll probably be in the bottom of the $5 DVD bin in less than 2 years.
There is no objective reality and that's
Sucker Punch -
newgoldcatt — 10 years ago(December 30, 2015 07:15 AM)
There already is one with an Asian actress and the story has to do with her sister. With an Asian actress they would literally be remaking a recent TV movie for a lot of money. That and how much people like Natalie are probably why they casted it this way. I understand the outrage but for shallow business reasons the casting makes sense lol.
Scarlet makes sense for an anime but I do wish they would actually cast an Asian actress for one of these big roles. The camera flipping loves Gemma chan on humans so hopefully she will get on the big screen in something note able. -
lulupalooza — 9 years ago(September 13, 2016 12:20 AM)
@newgoldcatt
You make good sense. However, you stated:
With an Asian actress they would literally be remaking a recent TV movie for a lot of money.
That is somewhat confusing, since there is no figurative remaking of a film. Perhaps you meant "actually". Regardless, remakes are annoyingly on the rise and, are most often, an expensive venture.
"Don't get chumpatized!" - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) -
gamer_12 — 10 years ago(December 20, 2015 04:41 AM)
This isn't whitewashing unless you want American produced films to only take place in America. This is about a person who goes looking for her sister who heard about the forest and went there to kill herself. People from other countries could do that so it's believable.
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Stiles5339 — 10 years ago(January 03, 2016 06:06 PM)
Exactly, I highly doubt everyone that goes to that forest to commit suicide is one race or another. Every race, every gender has more than likely taken their life in said forest, so it is realistic. If statistics said 100% this race or this gender committed suicide in this forest, that's one thing - but, that isn't the case here.
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Stiles5339 — 10 years ago(January 04, 2016 05:38 PM)
It's more nationalist to believe that only Japanese people commit suicide in a singular forest. I live near Niagara Falls, albeit it doesn't have as much of a pull. But, I'd be really naive and out right stupid to believe that only Americans and Canadians have committed suicide at Niagara Falls. Plus, it's seriously racist to think that only Asian people live in Japan - it's the exact equivalent to saying only white people live in the US. It's asinine.
As to who - somebody who has the money and is seeking the stigma behind it. That is why the forest is as powerful as it is, especially with suicide. It takes a very singular and often lonely act and brings a group community into it. Copy cats. If you ask who would copy? You're talking about a world where people copy just about everything even things that lead to their deaths - google 'The Program' movie to see how copycats took their own lives trying to copy what they saw in a movie,
that's
our world. When you're mentally unbalanced, you don't do things that can mentally be explained.
As said, it is racist and nationalist to be as daft as to believe that only Japanese and asian people have committed suicide in that forest. Are there more people who live close by? Obviously. But, part of the reason why the forest is so well known is because people travel from all around the world to go inside.
Why cast a white person from America as the person who commits suicide there? For the family member protagonist, not only is the emotional level there it also brings in the added "stranger in a new land" difficulties. If you state that person could still be Asian, yes - could have been, but you'd also be saying who they cast doesn't matter now. So, they went with the best name that they could get with their budget that would draw the most people in to watch it. When it doesn't matter - they went with what is the smartest move to make business-wise. FIlm is a business.
As for it not dealing with the realities of suicides of people living in Japan, as well as the asian community at large (?) overseas - it's a horror movie. That's the last place I'd want to see reality brought into it, that would be undermining what those complaining about that want to see. With that content and subject matter - it would be best suited for a 'The Sea of Trees' movie approach that didn't come out (a human drama and character study that is relevant and focuses on those important aspects rather than just making it serve as meaningless background to standard horror fare to be ignored and forgotten once the horror sets in, which to me would be undermining those topics entirely).