In November 2017, Disney announced its decision to cast Liu Yifei, an acclaimed Chinese actress, to play the role of the main character in the remake of the beloved Disney classic Mulan.
This decision might not seem significant, but stacked against Hollywood’s tainted history of picking its stars, it is groundbreaking. From British actress Tilda Swinton’s portrayal of Tibetan mentor “The Ancient One” in Doctor Strange to American actress Emma Stone’s performance of a Chinese-Hawaiian character in Aloha, Hollywood has gotten into the norm of casting white actors and actresses as minority characters in a practice known as whitewashing. More often than not, Hollywood has condoned its studios’ practices with the assurance that more recognizable names will lead to higher yields in the box office. This is a myth that has been debunked— statistics show that the vast majority of movies with whitewashed roles have been flops in offices. The movies “Girls Trip” and “Rough Night” are both playoffs of “The Hangover” franchise, and were called “twin films” because of their similar plot lines. The only difference—while “Rough Night” consisted of a predominantly white actresses, the cast of “Girls Trip” was mostly black. In the box office, “Rough Night” earned a disappointing $8 million, while “Girls Trip” exceeded box office predictions, profiting $32 million.
Whitewashing has been an ongoing practice since the early 1900s. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation, a silent epic drama film, African Americans were played by white actors in blackface, which is a form of theatrical make-up that darkens the skin color of white people. In 1961, white actor Mickey Rooney played Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast At Tiffany’s,” and his blatantly racist portrayal of Yunioshi, complete with taped eyelids and buck teeth, has since been deemed “a toxic caricature.” In the spectrum of Hollywood racism, the practice of casting white actors in Asian roles is so common that it has a name, yellowface.
How do the minority actors and actresses react when a white person snags a role that was originally written for their ethnicity? Actor William Yu asserts that with every whitewashed role, minority groups of actors and actresses are “subliminally told that they are not worth attention, not worth a place in this society.” Upstaged by white people at being cast for a role that starred their very own ethnicity, these minority entertainers are stripped of their cultural identity and cheated of an opportunity to realize the role’s authenticity.
However, there are outliers. There are some cases of white actors and actresses who were offered a role intended for minority groups and turned it down. British actor Ed Skrein, for instance, was originally cast to play Japanese-American Ben Daimio in the reboot of Hellboy. After public protest, however, Skrein issued a statement, recognizing Hollywood’s “worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts” and deciding to “step down so the role can be cast appropriately.” His action was met with widespread praise and approval.
But then again, studios don’t do a good job of holistic. Even when appropriate actors are casted for a specific role, they are often made to exaggerate their ethnic stereotypes. The Indian character Rajesh Koothrapali in “The Big Bang Theory” is played by Kunal Nayyar, an corresponding Indian actor. In terms of casting appropriate ethnicities, this casting choice is a success, but there’s a catch. Nayyar’s character possesses every cultural stereotype imaginable of an Indian living in America— not only is he ridiculously hopeless with girls, he shuns his motherland and worships animals. His quirks do generate quite a few laughs, and admittedly, the directors of “The Big Bang Theory” have to resort to these over-the-top tactics to liven things up, but at what cost? At this rate, Nayyar’s performance in the sitcom serves to generate only laughter, but not much empathy. In a way, roles like Rajesh serve as “set decorations,” nothing more.
There is no clear solution for any of this. We cannot demand that Hollywood produce consistently wholesome depictions of minority roles, nor can we require all studios to cast ethnically accurate actors and actresses — sometimes, white people are just more accessible and less logistically tiresome to employ. But this doesn’t mean we let studios off the hooks. The fight against whitewashing will turn for the better with more awareness and cultural sensitivity. Ed Skrein’s rejection to cast in Hellboy, for one, represents a milestone in Hollywood’s journey toward equal representation. Public awareness has pushed the issue into the limelight, and the film industry has been making more thorough casting decisions. The tooth and nail struggle of ethnic minorities to garner the respect they deserve in the industry is not only their fight. Depending on the prevalent casting processes now, budding entertainers in the SAS community might one day be subject to casting decisions based on whitewashing practices or actual skill and background. Given, Hollywood still has an arduous journey toward equal representation, but there is good news in store.
Niki Caro, director of Mulan, was under pressure from online campaigns demanding an Asian actress be cast for the role of Mulan. Caro interviewed nearly 1000 actresses before deciding on Liu Yifei. This decision was met with much delight on Twitter as well as China’s networking program, Weibo. By no means does this decision catapult Hollywood to being the epitome of racial equality, but there is no denying that our destination just became a whole lot clearer. Mulan is airing in 2019, and we cannot wait for Liu’s performance.
Qinyi Ma
 |
| (via Amazon AWs) |
This decision might not seem significant, but stacked against Hollywood’s tainted history of picking its stars, it is groundbreaking. From British actress Tilda Swinton’s portrayal of Tibetan mentor “The Ancient One” in Doctor Strange to American actress Emma Stone’s performance of a Chinese-Hawaiian character in Aloha, Hollywood has gotten into the norm of casting white actors and actresses as minority characters in a practice known as whitewashing. More often than not, Hollywood has condoned its studios’ practices with the assurance that more recognizable names will lead to higher yields in the box office. This is a myth that has been debunked— statistics show that the vast majority of movies with whitewashed roles have been flops in offices. The movies “Girls Trip” and “Rough Night” are both playoffs of “The Hangover” franchise, and were called “twin films” because of their similar plot lines. The only difference—while “Rough Night” consisted of a predominantly white actresses, the cast of “Girls Trip” was mostly black. In the box office, “Rough Night” earned a disappointing $8 million, while “Girls Trip” exceeded box office predictions, profiting $32 million.
 |
| (via The Mary Sue) |
Whitewashing has been an ongoing practice since the early 1900s. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation, a silent epic drama film, African Americans were played by white actors in blackface, which is a form of theatrical make-up that darkens the skin color of white people. In 1961, white actor Mickey Rooney played Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast At Tiffany’s,” and his blatantly racist portrayal of Yunioshi, complete with taped eyelids and buck teeth, has since been deemed “a toxic caricature.” In the spectrum of Hollywood racism, the practice of casting white actors in Asian roles is so common that it has a name, yellowface.
 |
| via The New York Times |
How do the minority actors and actresses react when a white person snags a role that was originally written for their ethnicity? Actor William Yu asserts that with every whitewashed role, minority groups of actors and actresses are “subliminally told that they are not worth attention, not worth a place in this society.” Upstaged by white people at being cast for a role that starred their very own ethnicity, these minority entertainers are stripped of their cultural identity and cheated of an opportunity to realize the role’s authenticity.
However, there are outliers. There are some cases of white actors and actresses who were offered a role intended for minority groups and turned it down. British actor Ed Skrein, for instance, was originally cast to play Japanese-American Ben Daimio in the reboot of Hellboy. After public protest, however, Skrein issued a statement, recognizing Hollywood’s “worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts” and deciding to “step down so the role can be cast appropriately.” His action was met with widespread praise and approval.
But then again, studios don’t do a good job of holistic. Even when appropriate actors are casted for a specific role, they are often made to exaggerate their ethnic stereotypes. The Indian character Rajesh Koothrapali in “The Big Bang Theory” is played by Kunal Nayyar, an corresponding Indian actor. In terms of casting appropriate ethnicities, this casting choice is a success, but there’s a catch. Nayyar’s character possesses every cultural stereotype imaginable of an Indian living in America— not only is he ridiculously hopeless with girls, he shuns his motherland and worships animals. His quirks do generate quite a few laughs, and admittedly, the directors of “The Big Bang Theory” have to resort to these over-the-top tactics to liven things up, but at what cost? At this rate, Nayyar’s performance in the sitcom serves to generate only laughter, but not much empathy. In a way, roles like Rajesh serve as “set decorations,” nothing more.
There is no clear solution for any of this. We cannot demand that Hollywood produce consistently wholesome depictions of minority roles, nor can we require all studios to cast ethnically accurate actors and actresses — sometimes, white people are just more accessible and less logistically tiresome to employ. But this doesn’t mean we let studios off the hooks. The fight against whitewashing will turn for the better with more awareness and cultural sensitivity. Ed Skrein’s rejection to cast in Hellboy, for one, represents a milestone in Hollywood’s journey toward equal representation. Public awareness has pushed the issue into the limelight, and the film industry has been making more thorough casting decisions. The tooth and nail struggle of ethnic minorities to garner the respect they deserve in the industry is not only their fight. Depending on the prevalent casting processes now, budding entertainers in the SAS community might one day be subject to casting decisions based on whitewashing practices or actual skill and background. Given, Hollywood still has an arduous journey toward equal representation, but there is good news in store.
Niki Caro, director of Mulan, was under pressure from online campaigns demanding an Asian actress be cast for the role of Mulan. Caro interviewed nearly 1000 actresses before deciding on Liu Yifei. This decision was met with much delight on Twitter as well as China’s networking program, Weibo. By no means does this decision catapult Hollywood to being the epitome of racial equality, but there is no denying that our destination just became a whole lot clearer. Mulan is airing in 2019, and we cannot wait for Liu’s performance.
Qinyi Ma
