Whitewashing: A Symptom of An Epidemic

   Today is August 14th, 2019. In the United States, we are in the midst of, what feels like, a battle for our nation's soul. We face the heaviest challenges that have been at our doorstep, yet they've gone ignored in the past. My parent's generation and those before let social plights dig their roots deeper into our proverbial soil. If you look at today's date and compare it to a timeline of historical events, here or around the World, you would think that our common sense would've caught up to us by now. Although cooler heads may prevail from time to time, racism rears its disgusting head in every possible arena. That’s amplified in this day and age where phones are the means of news, social media and overall exposure to the outside world. Older folks to pre-teens are susceptible to information and misinformation. Through the years of cinema, Hollywood has projected the idea that white audiences are the only market and want to see themselves on screen. From adaptations to reconfiguring historical facts to fit their agenda, there's no denying that films get whitewashed. In this article, I want to cover some of the most popular instances and the changing landscape we're witnessing before our very eyes.

Genghis Khan

   The film business in and of itself has been sadly male-dominated. White males to be exact. Sadly, that’s still the prevailing attitude today, yet more and more diverse choices in the cast and crew are paving the way for inclusion. However, there’s an insidious form of racism that’s been a topic of many articles and discussions online. Whitewashing. In a 2015 article written by Lester Andrist, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, he defines whitewashing as “the tendency of media to be dominated by white characters, played by white actors, navigating their way through a story that will likely resonate most deeply with white audiences.” That’s the simplest way to explain it, also in that same piece, Andrist delves deeper. He explains that there are a few types of whitewashing that Hollywood practices. The first is implemented during films based on historical events. An example I was exposed to at an early age was Genghis Khan (1965). The titular figure, Khan, is portrayed by John Wayne who is famously white and about as far from Chinese as you can get. Another instance would be Argo (2012), where Ben Affleck played CIA agent Tony Mendez, who was Mexican Italian. These were real people that are replaced for a “digestible” movie white audiences can relate to. Another thing to note, Hollywood’s presumption that white people are the majority of moviegoers is nonsense within itself. (See also A Mighty Heart where Angelina Jolie is given a corkscrew wig and darker skin tone.)

   

Ghost In The Shell Comparison

   This line of whitewashing also applies to comic book, literature or anime adaptations. Fictional characters who are written or illustrated as people of color should not change. Yet, they do. Those points of view are integral to the plot and when changed, not only lose the core of the subject matter but spit in the face of representation. These are still common today, of course, and cause a constant uproar on the internet when a role finds itself whitewashed. Famously, in 2014, DreamWorks Pictures announced that Scarlett Johansson would be playing the main character in Ghost In The Shell. In the original manga and following anime, the main character’s name is Mokoto Kusanagi, a character of Japanese descent. Along with her casting, Michael Pitt and Pilou Asbaek joined in prominent roles from the source material but were again whitewashed roles. To add insult to injury, her whiteness becomes the plot twist later on in the film. The writers concocted a way to have Scarlett play the protagonist by renaming her “ Mira Killian”, but it turns out her whiteness becomes the plot twist later in the film. We find out that her brain belonged to Mokoto all along! The “twist” only confirmed what the suspecting audience already knew, that Hollywood whitewashed this for monetary gain. Now, the director for the anime adaptation, Mamoru Oshii said in an email via IGN “What issue could there possibly be with casting her? The Major is a cyborg and her physical form is an entirely assumed one. The name ‘Motoko Kusanagi’ and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her…Even if her original body (presuming such a thing existed) were a Japanese one, that would still apply.” That was met with immediate criticism from fans of the manga, frankly, stating the obvious: He wasn’t the creator of the source material. In a 2017 interview with Marie Claire, Johansson defended her role in GITS “I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive.” She says that but had done it anyway. When looking at the rest of Hollywood’s whitewashing adaptations, GITS obviously isn’t the only one. The Lone Ranger featured Johnny Depp as the Native American Tonto, most of the cast in The Last Airbender, the Ancient One in Doctor Strange and Death Note just to name a few. Contrary to the online discourse, there are plenty of actors fits for those roles. The sad thing is when the business is based on clout and box office draw, they will go that route. Truth is, marketing is a skill I don't think a lot of studios really put work into. Casting the right person for the role would do you more favors in the long run rather than spending money. That's my theory anyway.

Green Book 

   That form of whitewashing is the most obvious to the eye due to the preceding source materials, however, in our media, we’re faced with much more than we realize. In that same article written by Andrist, he describes another type of whitewashing as “the constellation of events that comprise a historical moment are reconfigured, forcing the audience to experience the story from a white perspective, as such, this type of whitewashing is a principal-agent in shifting the public memory of real events.” Or commonly known as the "White Savior."Andrist cites Dances with Wolves as such. This warps an experience the viewers have right off the bat. A historical period that is most notably not white has become experienced by a white individual. A third type is when the majority of the cast is of a certain race, yet the main protagonist is white, so the typical “White Savior” model. Dangerous Minds is one of the first movies I remember watching when I was a child and it became alarmingly clear to me that it was indeed “white savior” fetishization. These are the most egregious due to the fact they simply rewrite history or even in some cases barely glance at racism as an issue. Green Book, 2019’s Best Picture winner, is supposed to be about Don Shirley who was an accomplished composer and jazz musician. Instead, the movie tells his story through his white driver. The driver, Tony Lip, was a racist himself, however, the film goes out of its way to make Shirley look out of touch with Black culture. Films like Hidden Figures, The Help, The Blind Side and Glory insert the tired and false narrative that African Americans need help from white people. The “white savior” usually takes the shape of an inspirational teacher or a person of principle. And often, the person of principle in the historical retelling was racist.  

  At the end of the day, we still have a long way to go when it comes to representation, that’s obvious. In the United States alone we have a multitude of battles regarding the subject, but we can start to implement change in any way we can. Hollywood still has the tendency to whitewash, sure, yet movies like Crazy, Rich Asians and Black Panther made an impact at the box office. Unfortunately,  its money that has made a difference. The studios have seen that diversity equates to money and that’ll be the way a lot of them will make these culturally important decisions. Cinema has a direct impact on our health, behavior and how we feel. The feeling of seeing someone like you on the screen is empowering, it truly is. Now, it’s time we feel that way all the time.

Small Beginnings...

When it comes it to comic book continuity, it always seems like a touchy subject. It's difficult to really nail down a timeline. Something tangible for those who are lost and need to find an entry point or maybe for the completionist at heart? Either way, it comes down to two things, I've found. There's subjectivity in mapping universes, yes, but there are constants. Smaller details are changed, yet the essence of the story stays the same. This is my thought process when it comes to the deluge of comics between the big two, Marvel and DC Comics. There are things that need to be, like Dick Grayson becoming Bruce Wayne's ward or the Kryptonian rocket ship landing in Kansas. From there, it follows familiar territory yet carving new dynamics. It's not rocket science: Do the same.....but different.

Crime Alley is an absolute in the multiverse...

Some folks have Batman '89 as their groundwork and some folks have Batman The Animated Series. the beginning. There are differences, but somehow the character is distilled and made clear to the audience. Meanwhile, Batman Begins follows the same origin we know, but throwing new details in the mix. There aren't drastic changes to who the character is at the core. Comic veterans would know those stories to be elseworld type tales that serve as "What if ?" scenarios for the DC universe. While those are great stories, they aren't main DC continuity or widely known to the general public. With the Elseworlds aside, pop culture has a knowledge for who these characters are. Each adaptation has to remain faithful to certain respects because those details are so ingrained. We have Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, a literal animated adaptation of that story and Batman V Superman. These all exist, yet there is a "foundation", for lack of a better term, which is made up of all the history and previous stories. When you think about it, it's a gigantic Russian doll. That leads me to my point. My "mission" if you will...

The universe would never be the same... 

There is a gargantuan amount of comics and there's no way I could read them all, to discern a method to the madness would be next to impossible. However, I'm going to read what is available to me at the moment. Thankfully, the DC Universe app is at my disposal as well as my collection of trades/floppies, so the journey is laid out. As I read along, different interpretations will be discussed and analyzed in the context of it's source material. Personally, I believe every DC creation has something to offer character wise with all this history behind them. It's only fair to count all of it, as much as I possibly can.

The journey itself seems rather difficult from this point, I'll be completely honest. Even though in reality I'm not physically going on a trip, I am sinking my teeth into a world that's vast and has many facets. Comics, movies, shows and not to mention to background on each project. Normally I'd be worried, but this multiverse is something I adore. There's so much to admire about it because of its size. That means this project will match its breadth.  It's going to be big, to say the least. But, more often than not, big things have small beginnings...