It's hard to describe that feeling
When I see an Asian American actor in a Hollywood movie
"Ooo, an Asian!"
It's always a surprising affair
I'd imagine it feels something like this
"Good to see another brother around here"
"Ah... Yes..."
It's honestly easier for me to remember instances of Chinese actors
Or Japanese actors in Hollywood films
All of them are famous in their own countries
Before appearing in Hollywood films
But Asian American actors
Whenever they appear
It almost always catches me by surprise
Some of you out there must be really confused
Why is it such a big deal, seeing an Asian actor?
So for this episode
I want to talk about the topic of Asian Americans in Hollywood
And share my past experience and perspective
As both a filmgoer
And a filmmaker
Let's talk
Ever since I got my way into the film circle
I noticed the homogeneity
In our film school, there was 60 students in our year
that means, with the demographic of Montreal
We should expect 19 self-identified racial minorities
Instead, we have 10
The film set experiences are largely the same
Nearly everyone is white
And most people are men
This homogeneity extends to in front of the camera, too
My graduation short film calls for one Asian character
My assistant director searched high and low for emerging Asian actors
While other characters get around 15 applications each
The Asian character got 3
For various social, financial and cultural reasons
Ethnic minorities are simply less likely to be in film schools
Much less working in the industry with any regularity
I think now you understand why I'm always surprised to see Asians in movies
On the big screen, my expectation is just as low
Growing up with Hollywood action films from the 80s and 90s
I noticed one thing
Asian characters are rare
If a character doesn't have to be Asian
It often is not
And if a character IS Asian
They must exhibit some stereotypical Asian quality
Such as Japanese stoicism
Or Mongolian brutality
Or Chinese kung-fu
At least, that was my understanding of the situation
Little did I know that sometimes, even if a character has to be Asian
The actor doesn't have to
We all know the most egregious examples
John Wayne as Genghis Khan
Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu
Mickey Rooney as the f**king anti-Christ
But these films were before my time
No, I realized that when I watched
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Chun-Li is one of the most famous Chinese lady in gaming history
She goes by no other name than her Chinese name
Even her in-game costume is a modified Chinese Cheongsam
Her Chinese heritage is as much a defining feature as her kung-fu kicks
So you can understand my disappointment when some executives took a look at Kristin Kreuk
And said "yeah, she looks Asian enough to me"
The weird part is, the film shows Chun-Li as a child
And she looked Chinese
But then she grew up and BAM
She's half Chinese half Dutch
What the hell happened?
I don't want to belittle Kristin Kreuk's talent, so let me be clear
I have nothing against white actors and actresses
But this is not a suitable role for her
it's bad casting
It sends out a message
When we have an Asian lead
we have half of an Asian lead
Oh that same year also saw the release of The King of Fighters movie
Where the lead character, Kyo Kusanagi
Is played by Sean Faris
"Kyo is a half-breed"
Yeah, half white and half caucasian, f**k you
It's nearly impossible to talk about this topic
Without discussing the controversy surrounding Ghost in the Shell
If you don't know Ghost in the Shell was sci-fi anime film
About a woman with a synthetic body
Who, in the process of uncovering a conspiracy
Faces questions of her identity, whether or not she is alive
The controversy is about the casting in the 2017 live action version
Lead character, Kusanagi Motoko, was played by white actress
Scarlett Johansson
Now, I understand the concept of Adaptations
Changing the characters and locations
Localizing the film, so that American audience can watch the film
Without the need to be a foreign culture expert
Take Ringu and The Ring for example
The lead character, who's a single mother
Acts very stoic and subdued in the Japanese film
She's the guardian of her son
In the American version, now set in the U.S.
The mother is confrontational
But also acts like a friend to her son
The cultural differences meant these characters must act differently
But Ghost in the Shell didn't do that
The visual, the settings
They remain the same
Eastern, foreign, almost faithful to the source
The characters also act largely the same
There is no adaptation and localization
So the decision of changing half the population ethnicity
has little motivation, justification, nor any meaningful impact
Other than everyone speaks English
"How do you know what's a glitch and what's me?"
Despite everything else is written in Chinese and Japanese
The decision even goes against the intent of the original film
Kusanagi is now Killian
A change that seems to justifies the casting choice
Yet this change is even more superficial
As the ending reveals that Killian was Japanese girl
She just happens to have the synthetic body of a white woman
Her true name?
Kusanagi Motoko
The same Japanese woman from the anime film
This is how it felt
"Where?"
"Where is the Mandarin?"
"Where is he?"
Like a slap in the face
Yes, since the body is synthetic She can be white
But whether or not she can be white is irrelevant
Because to the industry
The fact that she doesn't have to be Asian
Means that she'll not be Asian
It's not all doom and gloom, though
In recent years the North American film industry has been much kinder to minority actors
Chief among them, is the Star Wars series
With a diverse cast
Which managed to make foreign accents sound cool
Of course that is nothing new to the Trekkies
The new Star Trek series continues to embrace ethnic diversity
And inclusivity
Searching, starring John Cho, is a critical darling and a box office success
And of course, the mega hit that is Crazy Rich Asians
Proves that films with Asians aren't always box office flops
Hopefully, it's a good sign for things to come