Scarlett Johansson quits transgender role after LGBT backlash

[Voodoo_Child906]

You just keep asserting that she looks Western without actually explaining it which shows that its just your bias at work. The Major has small lips, a small nose, pale skin, a round face, and dark hair. All of those are typical features of Japanese women. She does not have a large nose, deep set eye sockets, a pronounced brow, or a defined jaw which are Western features. So no, she does not look Westerner at all and casting a Westerner for the role was a mistake.

Deep set eye sockets but the rest are debatable.

 

[HereticBD]

You just keep asserting that she looks Western without actually explaining it which shows that its just your bias at work. The Major has small lips, a small nose, pale skin, a round face, and dark hair. All of those are typical features of Japanese women. She does not have a large nose, deep set eye sockets, a pronounced brow, or a defined jaw which are Western features. So no, she does not look Westerner at all and casting a Westerner for the role was a mistake.

Sorry, no. Nobody is looking at this:

and automatically associating the features with Japanese people.

 

[Ruprecht]

I wasn't at all surprised that Hollywood would cast a European-American actress for Ghost in the Shell, I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd relocated the setting to America as well.
It's an American industry. They Americanise everything and propagandise America to the world.

 

[Islam Imamate]

Sorry, no. Nobody is looking at this:

and automatically associating the features with Japanese people.

Lol, you're basically resorting to "b-because I said so!"

You don't associate it with Japanese people but the people who create and consume anime do. Like I said she has typical features of a Japanese woman so why assume otherwise?

Deep set eye sockets but the rest are debatable.

This is how the author of the manga draws white women

Notice how he emphasizes the square jawline, the defined cheeks, the fuller lips, and the brow and deep set eye sockets not to mention the hair and eye color as I mentioned earlier and the overall shape of her head which is less round. He does not do so for the Major. For the Japanese these are their equivalent of slanted eyes in the West, visual cues that distinguish Westerners from the default look which is associated with the Japanese.

 

[Islam Imamate]

I wasn't at all surprised that Hollywood would cast a European-American actress for Ghost in the Shell, I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd relocated the setting to America as well.
It's an American industry. They Americanise everything and propagandise America to the world.

If they were going to cast an American actress in the lead role then I would've preferred if they did that as well. To be fair even the original director of GitS wasn't that irked about it.

 

[Ruprecht]

Lol, you're basically resorting to "b-because I said so!"

You don't associate it with Japanese people but the people who create and consume anime do. Like I said she has typical features of a Japanese woman so why assume otherwise?

This is how the author of the manga draws white women

Notice how he emphasizes the square jawline, the defined cheeks, the fuller lips, and the brow and deep set eye sockets not to mention the hair and eye color as I mentioned earlier and the overall shape of her head which is less round. He does not do so for the Major. For the Japanese these are their equivalent of slanted eyes in the West, visual cues that distinguish Westerners from the default look which is associated with the Japanese.

Is she supposed to be white, or Slavic?

 

[HereticBD]

Lol, you're basically resorting to "b-because I said so!"

No, I'm resorting to "I have eyes".

I've said my piece, and provided visuals that clearly back up my assertion. If you want to stubbornly claim that Major looks 100% Japanese, you go right ahead. The rest of us who have eyes, will call that claim into question.

But hey, why don't you provide a picture of a real Japanese woman who resembles Major more than Scarjo. Since her look is sooo Japanese, it shouldn't be too hard for you to find an example.

 

[Ruprecht]

If they were going to cast an American actress in the lead role then I would've preferred if they did that as well. To be fair even the original director of GitS wasn't that irked about it.

Back when they were talking about a doing Akira, that was supposedly the plan.

 

[Zazen]

Are we still talking about Ghost in the Shell?

The Japanese don't care about it so why should you? I really hate what America has become. People fight over the dumbest things.

 

[Islam Imamate]

Is she supposed to be white, or Slavic?

Well I'm assuming Slavic because she's Russian but the Japanese don't always make those distinctions just like Westerners don't always recognize the distinctions among Asians. Russians and the French are the quintessential white people in anime and visually they tend to look alike. Americans are often distinguished even further with a tan and huge muscles for men and tits for women.

No, I'm resorting to "I have eyes".

I've said my piece, and provided visuals that clearly back up my assertion. If you want to stubbornly claim that Major looks 100% Japanese, you go right ahead. The rest of us who have eyes, will call that claim into question.

But hey, why don't you provide a picture of a real Japanese woman who resembles Major more than Scarjo. Since her look is sooo Japanese, it shouldn't be too hard for you to find an example.

Lol, more "I'm right because I said so". Like I said, you assume that because you are used to white people being the default in animation which is why you assume the Simpsons are white people even though they have yellow skin. But anime is completely different, Asians are the default with whites being the race that is distinguished. Like I said she has many features which are typical for Japanese women so I don't know why you're asserting otherwise. If we were talking about a character with blonde hair and blue eyes like Sailor Moon or Naruto that'd be different but the Major is a different story.

I don't know too many Japanese actresses but here are two suggestions by Japanese people for the part

I prefer the first.

Back when they were talking about a doing Akira, that was supposedly the plan.

I prefer it that way.

Are we still talking about Ghost in the Shell?

The Japanese don't care about it so why should you? I really hate what America has become. People fight over the dumbest things.

Tbh I didn't care so much that it was whitewashing so much as I did the fact that they cast ScarJo. She's so fucking overrated and over-saturated at this point. It would've been cool if they did cast an Asian actress but almost anyone else would've been better IMO.

 

[HereticBD]

Lol, more "I'm right because I said so". Like I said, you assume that because you are used to white people being the default in animation which is why you assume the Simpsons are white people even though they have yellow skin. But anime is completely different, Asians are the default with whites being the race that is distinguished. Like I said she has many features which are typical for Japanese women so I don't know why you're asserting otherwise. If we were talking about a character with blonde hair and blue eyes like Sailor Moon or Naruto that'd be different but the Major is a different story.

So wait, your whole assertion is that Major doesn't have blonde hair or blue eyes, so therefore not western looking? That's ridiculous.

Also, why would Sailor Moon be any different? Are they not Japanese characters in the Anime? By your logic of "Anime therefore Japanese looking", aren't you also supposed automatically associate the Sailor Moon characters with Japanese people, and any other opinion on their features being decidedly western, is wrong because "Anime" or something?

Tbh I didn't care so much that it was whitewashing so much as I did the fact that they cast ScarJo. She's so fucking overrated and over-saturated at this point.

You could've just said that, instead of harping on how she looks nothing like the character, when in fact she does.

 

[Crimson Glory]

I always viewed Anime characters as having VERY European features, but that's just me.

I don't see a similarity, outside of maybe the small nose with non-existent nasal bridge, to Japanese people at all.

 

[Islam Imamate]

So wait, your whole assertion is that Major doesn't have blonde hair or blue eyes, so therefore not western looking? That's ridiculous.

No, I explained earlier that its more than that so maybe pay attention. I mentioned her small lips, small nose, round face, pale skin, and dark hair which are all typical of Japanese women in addition to the lack of the typical Western features used to distinguish Western characters from Asian ones like a large nose, square jaw, defined cheeks, pronounced brow, and deep set eye sockets. You on the other hand haven't mentioned any of her supposed Western features and have just asserted that you're right because you said so.

Also, why would Sailor Moon be any different? Are they not Japanese characters in the Anime? By your logic of "Anime therefore Japanese looking", aren't you also supposed automatically associate the Sailor Moon characters with Japanese people, and any other opinion on their features being decidedly western, is wrong because "Anime" or something?

Sailor Moon is different because she has blonde hair and blue eyes which are Western features and are often associated with Western characters in anime. However, you are right that she is still Japanese. She has a Japanese name and a Japanese family. Often characters like her are given some foreign ancestry like an American mom or something to explain the eyes and hair but in Sailor Moon's case she is an alien princess.

You could've just said that, instead of harping on how she looks nothing like the character, when in fact she does.

That's my primary reason but I also don't think she looks like the character. I've watched various pieces of GitS media for more than a decade before the remake came out and I never once assumed the Major was a Westerner or looked like one and neither did the vast majority of the fans of the series.

 

[Ruprecht]

Well I'm assuming Slavic because she's Russian but the Japanese don't always make those distinctions just like Westerners don't always recognize the distinctions among Asians. Russians and the French are the quintessential white people in anime and visually they tend to look alike. Americans are often distinguished even further with a tan and huge muscles for men and tits for women.

I prefer it that way.

Yeah, it's not exactly unusual in the various movie industries.
Just look at Bollywood adaptions.
For that matter, anime versions have also been known to "Japanify" things, although not to the extent of live action films for obvious reasons.
Although I can't say I've seen Chinese cinema doing "Chinafied" adaptions of foreign fiction, but that might just be because of how little I've seen.

 

[Soul Crusher]

Progressive liberalism strikes again!

 

[IDL]

I always viewed Anime characters as having VERY European features, but that's just me.

I don't see a similarity, outside of maybe the small nose with non-existent nasal bridge, to Japanese people at all.

I'm getting the impression that you need to be an Anime geek to 'get it' in terms of how the depictions represent different people. Insider knowledge.

 

[Ruprecht]

IMO its not really what killed the movie, the movie apparently was shit otherwise anyway so a casting change likely would not have helped. But its ridiculous to say that the Major looks Western when she has typical features of a Japanese woman and a Japanese name.

I went and watched it tonight to see for myself.
Honestly I thought it was pretty good for mainstream Hollywood scifi (admittedly not a particularly high bar).
Of course they got rid of the Anime style philosophical soliloquies, and dumbed it down a fair bit by spelling out the plot elements while leaving the social and technological commentary vaguely implied. The world building was also only so/so, relying too much on the CGI set pieces which never quite got there in creating atmosphere. Not a patch on the original Bladerunner for instance. It's funny how even in 2017 that cyberpunk vision of the future seems so 80s-90s and dated.
Still, it's a shitload better than Johnny Mnemonic, better than Hardwired or Sleep Dealer, and about on par with Strange Days.
Scarjo did OK. A little bit flat on the angst and her strutting around just seemed a little odd. Definitely more attractive than convincingly dangerous.
No real justification for it existing of course, when the Anime is better in every way.

 

[Islam Imamate]

I'm getting the impression that you need to be an Anime geek to 'get it' in terms of how the depictions represent different people. Insider knowledge.

Well yeah, every medium has its own conventions and assumptions that aren't necessarily apparent to people who don't consume it on a regular basis. The fun of anime is that its a medium that has evolved to cater to a completely different culture which makes it very alien to people outside Japan.

No real justification for it existing of course, when the Anime is better in every way.

And not only that but also given the fact that The Matrix, which was heavily inspired by the original GitS, seems to have done a better job of adapting that aesthetic and those themes for a Western audience in a live action format. I know its not exactly the same but still.

 

[SRN]

Who's that dude that did Boys don't cry? They should hire him!

 

[Pessimystic]

Meh, she's a solid 7.5, maybe an 8. She always looked a little wonky to me. Not a skag by any means, don't get me wrong, but overrated.
Give me prime Ann Margret or Lynda Carter any day.