Representation in Art/Entertainment/Media • Page 36

But Japanese people don't have a representation problem in Japan.

 

can't believe that the person who in his 40s had an affair with an early 20s Kristen Stewart is a POS
We Talked to the 'Ghost in the Shell' Director About Weed, Whitewashing, and Cyberpunk

 

Around 1997 I'd say

 

Marvel's David Gabriel On Sales Slump: People "Didn't Want Any More Diversity," "Didn't Want Female Characters" - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News

 

Watching the original Mighty Morphin.

Show has always strived to achieve the same diversity as one of my math textbooks, which is still better than most movies/shows today.

 

'Ghost in the Shell': 4 Japanese Actresses Dissect the Movie and Its Whitewashing Twist

 

Would Goku count as being whitewashed? Let's all remember that horrible Dragonball film for the sake of this conversation and then we can continue to ignore the existence of said film. Goku is a saiyan and not from Earth and therefore isn't human and wouldn't be of any race. Isn't whitewashing when a caucasian actress/actor portrays a character that was another race in the source material?

 

Dragon Ball is largely influenced by Chinese mythology I think, and it seems to be implied that the near-human Saiyans look like the people around them. I think.

 

Mass Effect Andromeda is another failure for trans representation

 

To me, it looks like you're doing the same thing people who are associated with making Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and GitS did, going out of your way to justify it in the narrative. There are real-life repercussions to whitewashing (or even what you wouldn't technically consider whitewashing), such as having one less Asian American actor getting a job in a lead role of a big movie about a story originally from Asia.

 

This isn't the same case as Doctor Strange. The Ancient One is clearly asian in the source material as the character was born in Kamar-Taj. The same goes for Motoko in Gits, a character who lives in Japan in the source material. Comparing them to Goku in dragon ball doesn't work as the character is not asian in the source material, nor does Asia even exist in the dragon ball universe. Do you believe Goku should be portrayed asian in a live-action film solely because Dragon Ball is an anime even though the character is not from Earth?

 

Yes. Did I not make that clear?

 

The world of Dragon Ball is a fictional/alternate version of Earth, I don't think they even technically live in Japan. But they live in a rough equivalent of Japan and their designs are influenced by Japanese and Chinese mythology (as well as Superman comics). Goku is not technically Caucasian or Japanese, but he looks like the humans around him so it can be inferred he looks Japanese.

 

Just wanted clarification to understand you correctly.

 

That is true that Dragon Ball is based on the Monkey King and Journey to the West which are both Chinese. I would't say all characters that Goku is around look Japanese. Bulma, for example, is around Goku the most in Dragon Ball. Whereas Yamcha does. It seems like Toriyama wanted to represent a lot of races in the dragon ball world and it's a huge mix. I'm not arguing that goku shouldn't be asian in a live-action film. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss.

 

I'm pretty sure anime/manga characters intended to be Asian looking white to Western audiences is a common phenomenon? I think I've seen articles on the topic before.

Even if he were meant to be white, you'd still have the problem of a white lead in a story steeped in Asian culture, in a climate where we rarely get Asian leads.

 

I've read articles on that too. I've viewed Goku as being caucasian because I grew up watching the english dub, but watching the Japanese audio of the new series makes me see why he could easily be seen as Japanese too.

 

Okay, then. To clarify: as long as it doesn't go into harmful stereotypes, I don't care about the narrative so much as I care about whether or not there are people who look like me in lead roles where they should be, or could be. Fresh Off the Boat is a big deal because it's the first Asian American family sitcom in, what was it, two decades? It's based on that one Asian dude's memoir, so obviously the family is Asian. But Selfie, which wasn't based on any source material, Asian or otherwise, was also a big deal because the male lead, a character who could have been any race, was played by John Cho. We need more new roles written for Asians. Heck, we need traditionally white roles given to Asians. What we don't need is roles that should/could have gone to Asians going to whites instead.

 

I have Asian friends who went to see GitS because they're fans of the anime. Trying so hard not to confront them about it. I do not like confrontation.

 

I should be used to it by now but this is some bonkers justification
‘The Assignment’ Director, Writer Defend Sex Reassignment Storyline: ‘Character Is Not Transgender’

 

‘Billions’ Star Challenges Emmys Male-Female Acting Categories (EXCLUSIVE)

 

i really liked this article

 

How An Actor With A Disability Is Helping To Transform A Classic Play