"Ghost in the Shell," a live-action remake of the Japanese manga of the same name, was a terrific flop in theaters. The film grossed only $19 million dollars at the box office in its opening weekend, falling well short of its $110 million dollar budget. "Ghost in The Shell" was thoroughly dominated that weekend by "Boss Baby," a film with a premise as silly as it is uninspired.
The film was perhaps doomed from the start when Paramount, the studio behind the film, cast Scarlett Johansson in 2014 and critics were quick to call out the production company for once again casting a white actor to play a role meant for a minority — a theme so common in Hollywood cinema that it has its own name, white washing.
Johansson was quick to defend her choice to play in the movie, arguing that her character doesn’t have a set ethnic identity and reassuring viewers that she would never attempt to play a person of a different race.
This defense didn’t satisfy most and didn’t even really ring true. Johansson’s apparently identity-less character is named Major Motoko Kusanagi, after all.
Actress Kieko Agena, a star in "Gilmore Girls" and "13 Reasons Why" didn’t accept Johansson’s explanation either.
“We’re looking at these beautiful white bodies saying these Japanese names, and it hurt my heart a little bit,” Agena told The Hollywood Reporter.
The whitewashing controversy extends back in film history to the days when majority white audiences refused to even watch minority actors on the silver screen. The most prolific example is the 1961 classic "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," in which Mickey Rooney plays Holly Golightly’s hot-tempered Japanese landlord, Mr. Yunioshi. In this film, Rooney dons yellowface, buck teeth, and a cartoonish Japanese accent.
Casting choices today may not be grossly based on bigotry, but they still have a negative effect on aspiring minority actors. By casting Kusanagi or Johnny Depp as a Native American in "The Lone Ranger," white stars maintain their positions in the spotlight while filling the all-too-few starring roles available for aspiring minority actors.
The Oscars are already plagued by a reputation of ignoring minority actors, culminating in the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, and solving the problem of persistent whitewashing is one necessary step in fixing the white-dominated Hollywood system.
"Ghost in the Shell’s" graceless flop will resonate within Paramount and other film studios and may be the final nail in the coffin of Hollywood whitewashing because unfortunately, only financial disaster can tell Hollywood producers what minorities have been saying for years.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.