Forum - View topicINTEREST: Star Trek Actor Petitions Against Akira 'Whitewashing'
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unready
 Posts: 400 Location: Illinois, USA |
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The American remake of The Ring (Ringu) starred Naomi Watts, who isn't Japanese. The American remake of Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara) starred Jennifer Connelly, who isn't Japanese. The American remake of Pulse (Kairo) starred Kristen Bell, who isn't Japanese. The American remake of The Grudge (Ju-On) starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, who isn't Japanese. Some of those remakes were even good.
OTOH, those are 3 good reasons this remake might not be one of the good ones, although their race has nothing to do with that judgment. Last edited by unready on Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ittoujuu
Posts: 164 Location: SoCal |
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This is always kind of a difficult topic, because I think there are two schools of thought that have merit.
1. License the property, and try to preserve as much of it as possible in the crossover. This can be good in that it displays a respect for the source and a desire to tell the story in a new medium, but my biggest question is, if it was done so well in its original medium that slavish devotion to the source is the only option, why remake it in another medium? 2. License the property for its good core idea, then repurpose that concept into a similar-but-adjusted setting and cast that would allow the appeal of the idea to grab the audience who would be seeing it. The problem with this idea is that any time national or ethnic identity is important to the story, or the story relies on cultural mores that don't carry over well, this method trips up like a nerd whose shoelaces were tied together under his desk during third period. Cowboy Bebop is a series premise that can easily support the kind of "repurposing" I mention in option 2. So is Death Note. So is Monster, or Jin-Roh, or Ghost in the Shell. What's totally not? Urusei Yatsura. Rurouni Kenshin. Avatar: The Last Airbender (not that the concept isn't transferrable, but the world is so steeped in Asian cultural influence that it's half the identity of the series). I think Akira is a concept that can successfully be pulled off without having to be based in Japan and star Japanese people. In fact, if they're trying to make it have foreign appeal, I actually think it would be the better choice. "Adaptation" is sometimes seen as a dirty word, but in reality, an adaptation doesn't sully the quality of the original work. If an adaptation of a good work sucks, it sucked on its own merits. When looking at something like Akira, the first thing to ask is "Other than name-changes, what would prevent this story from taking place in America?" If you do that, you're changing something about the source material, but you're also helping moviegoing audiences to see it as "a thrilling sci-fi epic" instead of "oh look, one of those weird a-nee-mai movies again." If people go to the theater and see a really good movie that doesn't feel like a foreign film to them, then later realize that it's based on a comic or animation, they might want to check out the source for the movie they thought was so good. Not a lot of them will, but it's going to be a helluva lot more than the number of new fans that would be intrigued by a movie whose implacable dedication to a frame-by-frame live-action remake will draw approval only from hardcore fans and forever be "not as good as the source." For example...if I see a Hollywood Death Note movie finally in the works and it's set in Japan, I will want to light someone on fire. The concept is so easy, so universal, and so non-cultural that you'd have to be either a purist or a fool not to try to take hold of the potential audiences you COULD reach with that. Live-action versions of animated works should be enjoyed by fans of the original work, but they shouldn't be made solely with them in mind. The live-action versions are there so that (ideally), great stories can work their magic on all the people who haven't realized how great animation and cartoons are. I agree with George Takei and the Avatar anti-racebending people that "whitewashing" movies that obviously have a strong ethnic component is bad - there shouldn't be just a cast of pretty white people. However, I don't think Akira's ethnic or national ties are strong enough to merit an outcry, unless they're trying to either A) keep the story in Japan but cast white people in the roles, or B) keep calling them Tetsuo and Kaneda but make the actors white. If they're gonna move the setting to the U.S. and give the characters different names, I'm fine with it. Before I'm set on fire now, I'd like to say that just because most movies that "steal the concept" and transplant it into a new setting don't do it very well, doesn't mean that thought process is without merit. It kind of depends on the level at which you take your inspiration. Several of Akira Kurosawa's movies have been adapted - albeit at a general and thematic level - into quality Western films, like The Magnificent Seven and Star Wars. Just because it doesn't often happen, doesn't mean it can't. Last edited by ittoujuu on Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
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GATSU
Posts: 15306 |
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Zestsubou+wolf+anemayfan: Um, what's the name of the manga and anime again?
wolf:
Yes, and no one likes it anymore.
Millions were spent on the Star Trek reboot, too, but Sulu wasn't suddenly played by a white hipster douche. BTW, if non-white characters didn't sell, then how come those Blade movies made money? Titan: True, but at least there should be an effort to avoid making it horrid. |
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Dagon123
Posts: 194 |
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^Couldn't have said it better Doesn't matter who they get to play who, its gonna suck, lol because no one on the production team will keep it even semi-related to Akira, which is what the entire buzz behind it is |
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Saturn
 Posts: 513 |
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I think it would only be weird to cast non-Japanese actors if the parts were specifically Japanese characters-- ie, they're still going to have Japanese names and be living in Japan or whatever, with no other explanation given. It makes sense to localize for the release, as long as the entire cast isn't white-washed. Hollywood makes movies to earn money, and if people look at a poster that says "AKIRA" and see a cast of only Asians, they might assume it's a foreign film-- box office poison.
Anyway, all three of those actors (Pine, Pattinson, and Timberlake) are pretty big; if they're actually looking into those guys for the part and not just window-shopping I'm assuming they're hoping to go for a summer blockbuster, in which case you can probably kiss any nuance to the story goodbye anyway. Racebending will be just one of many worries. ...having said all that, what's will all the hate on Timberlake? Say what you will about Pattinson, and Pine hasn't really had much chance to show his true chops yet, but Timberlake is actually an excellent actor. 
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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I wouldn't mind if they had all the gang members dress like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWPAWDfJFi8 |
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triangle_man
 Posts: 67 Location: Texas, USA |
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3 of those were set in America, though, and I thought Grudge did a decent job of putting Gellar in Japan, with a cast of mostly Japanese actors. Anyway, I personally don't see how this list is very different from any other "casting call" list. Don't trust anything until it's in production and things are more concrete. |
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Penguin_Factory
 Posts: 732 Location: Ireland |
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It would also make sense to have black/asian/hispanic/middle eastern actors. For me personally, this isn't so much a case where I'm specifically worried about Akira being whitewashed I believe I actually argued the opposite side of this debate last time it came up). It's just that I've recently noticed how entrenched the automatic assumption of "American movie= white actors" is. Akira represents a good opportunity to fix that. I'm not saying the entire cast needs to be asian, or that all adaptations of foreigns films have to match the race of the original characters, but it would be nice to just this once see it happen. |
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Alexis.Anagram
 Posts: 278 Location: Mishopshno |
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Ah, good ol' yellowface. Because Kaneda and Tetsuo are both totally Anglican names and the word Akira is commonly used in the English language?
Even if they are moving it to New York, that doesn't indicate what ethnicity the characters should be. Last I heard there were plenty of Asian people living in the Big Apple, and plenty of capable Japanese-American actors willing to take a good role. Something tells me this is going to end up like a really bad 4Kids dub. |
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Racheldoublemm
 Posts: 112 Location: San Francisco |
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How is this 'white washing'? What, if the entire cast was Spanish and the setting was in Spain it would be be fine?
Apparently this film project has a changed script that takes place in America and it calls for a non-asian dominant cast.. I'm not defending the project because it without a doubt will end up horribly, but to say it's white washing is just idiotic. When it comes down to it this will be a major motion picture that requires a huge budget for special effects and productions. Casting Asian and Asian American actors isn't going to get it good ratings just because a large portion of fans say it should be that way. In fact, why bring a film that is set in Japan, with Asian actors, and references to Japanese politics and culture to America? That doesn't make a single ounce of sense to me. (in that sense, I mean why film a movie with those aspects in America?) (I know of some films that have done this and done it well, but Akira is a monolith of a story to adapt) Honestly, I think the movie will tank and will not surpass the original, but don't call it 'white washing' just because an practical decision was made in production. The vast majority of Americans won't want to see a film they cannot relate to. But of course, it's a Hollywood Production and above all else they are a business rather than an art powerhouse. Otomo's Akira = Art, Hollywood's Akira=money I hope I expressed that half eloquently and respectively. (I think the whole project is kind of a waste for both parties) I love Otomo but I really didn't enjoy Akira all too much; it scarred the hell out of me. If there was a live action regardless of any country I'd probably pass seeing it. Last edited by Racheldoublemm on Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Some people don't bother to update their "I kneejerk hate this thing that I remember teenage girls liking" reactions for years at a time. Witness the people who still go "UGH LEONARDO DICAPRIO" every time his name is mentioned because they're clinging to some vague "I'm annoyed by Titanic" feeling from more than a decade ago. |
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taster of pork
 Posts: 594 Location: My House |
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Having white characters with Japanese names is gonna be corny as hell. It's gonna be like the Last Airbender all over again.
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MagusGuardian
 Posts: 589 |
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honestly hollywood you guys can butcher this all you want. When the hollywood remake comes out I'm going to hang out with my buds and watch the original and just leave the live action just like the other adaptations in my personal note book a minor notation of a bad head ache. I don't know about anyone else but I'm washing my hands of the whole anime to live action shtick that hollywood let into it's empty head cause frankly no one is making me or any of us watch it, most of the time when anime fans mention projects like this it's to make a stink and honestly it's tiresome. Anime fans will never be happy with hollywood adaptations and most americans probably wont dig into the source matieral of said adaptations so instead of stressing out we just ignore it
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momomochi
Posts: 16 |
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I'll admit right now I've never seen Akira. However...I think even if this remake is set in America they should at least cast asian actors because honestly how many Asian actors are there really in the movie business? That doesn't count extras and very minor roles. I'm talking about ones who are fairly well known. This doesn't go just for asians it also refers to hispanics, Indians, native americans, middle easterners etc. How many are there actually in the american media and are well known and/ or do not always play roles stereotyping their ethnicity?
Either way...I think this movie is going to bomb. I heard there's rumors about a Bleach live action adaption too. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15306 |
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undready: Yes, but Ringu aside, those were remakes of ideas which weren't inherently Asian and/or Japanese. And even in the Ring remake's case, it was just another take on an urban legend horror story[like Bloody Mary], not something a concept uniquely told from an Asian/Japanese perspective. Akira's clearly a different case, though.
ittoujou:
'Cus they think they can make money off it, even though it doesn't always work.
It could, if there weren't allusions to the A-bomb.
Perhaps, but the studios clearly hope the opposite happens, because they know they're losing market share to foreign filmmakers who don't treat us like idiots. Though I imagine that's the only reason Kodansha and Otomo agreed to it.
Well, I'd still like Matsuyama to reprise his role as Light, at least. But his contract would probably force them to make his sweets sugar-free for this version. 
How about keeping the characters Asian in NY?
Yeah, and Kurosawa adapted Shakespeare. But the difference is he said it was an adaptation or inspired by it. He did not call it by its original name. Saturn:
Actually, they're not. They're in movies which were big, but they have yet to individually be proven to be draws at the box office. But since they're white, they get a free pass. Rachel:
Actually, people get irked enough when Brit people play Americans and vice versa, so...
I'm not sure how it's "practical" if it tanks, especially if the budget is more likely to go to the actors' pay-days than the movie.
Um, once again, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And while I'm at it, Ghibli movies on DVD. Zac: Oh, I just hate Timberlake 'cus he shoved a female fan, he has a 'do made out of pubic hair, and helped killed music with his shitty band. Also, Leo was irritating as f**k in Titanic, and the only reason I tolerate him now is he's not relying as much on the angsty-teenage loner schtick now as was for the last 15 years. |
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