Dreamworks/Paramount's Ghost In The Shell - Part 1

[DarthSkywalker]

I think they could easily change the actress who's playing the Major. They could use it to their advantage and create a whole series of films. Just change Motokos Shell.

If people like Scarlett in the role, why would they do that?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'm not lying to myself at all. The characters in Naruto looking the way they do is a stylistic and artistic choice. Additionally, Naruto is not set in the "real world." It's set in an alternate Ninja world with different continents and geography than ours. Maybe Konohagakure is like an alternate version of Asia.

People are excusing white washing here by justifying, "well the characters in anime look like white anglo people." Well no. Characters in anime look the way they do because of a particular style or art choice. You say they look nordic, then how does Sakura, who's hair is naturally colored pink look then? What nationality of people have naturally pink colored hair?

OK, so in the anime, Ghost in the Shell which is set in Asia, or Japan or a fictional Asian city, you have Japanese characters. But Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg. So that means her cyborg shell could look like a white person, even though she's actually Asian. Well if her cyborg shell could look like anyone, it could just as well take on the appearance of an Asian version as well.

The way anime looks visually, claiming characters look white or Anglicized is not a good excuse. It doesn't fly at all.

This isn't the Naruto movie. If and when a Hollywood Naruto movie happens, then we can delve deeper into that conversation.

And yes, as Thorson pointed out, bleached or colored hair is often associated with juvenile delinquency in Japan. It's something delinquents do over there.

Yes, lots of anime includes wish fulfillment with characters with crazy colors for the hair and eyes. It also includes alot of white people.

If Naruto had dark brown eyes, brown skin, and a black afro, it wouldn't matter if his name was Japanese and their world existed in an alternative universe. It would be clear he had the features of a black person. Let's be real.

Also if Sakura had dark brown eyes with with pink hair you could easily claim she was an Asian but the problem is she has bright blue eyes. Sorry but Asians don't have bright blue eyes.

I can't wait for the outcry when Hollywood cast a blonde haired, blue eyed white kid to play Naruto. Most peolple would rightfully think the actor looks like the character and that fans are in deep denial.

Many Japanese people like the way Nordic people look and admire aspects of white history and culture. It shows in countless anime. There's nothing wrong with that but let's call a spade a spade.

 

[Teelie]

I can't wait for the outcry when Hollywood cast a blonde haired, blue eyed white kid to play Naruto. Most peolple would rightfully think the actor looks like the character and that fans are in deep denial.

This sort of already happened with Full Metal Alchemist being live-action. The lead characters (Edward and Alphonse) and many of the others are clearly European but it has a mostly Japanese cast so people who want "authentic" casting choices are confused as to what they should object to.

 

[Pink Ranger]

That explains what you can get out of vending machines over there.

Syphilis?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Syphilis?

Close enough.

 

[Fincher]

My theory is that when animated characters lack all of the detail of real people (as animated characters tend to do), as a white person who grew up around white people, I instinctively fill in the blanks with white characteristics, while a Japanese person would fill in the blanks with Japanese characteristics.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

The Fullmetal Alchemist leads are white so I don't see why one would have any problem with that being the casting.

 

[Kane52630]

So why couldn't they cast a real cyborg for this movie?

 

[Auteur]

So why couldn't they cast a real cyborg for this movie?

Putting us humans out of a job! How dare they!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The Fullmetal Alchemist leads are white so I don't see why one would have any problem with that being the casting.

Because people are idiots SPIDEY.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yes, lots of anime includes wish fulfillment with characters with crazy colors for the hair and eyes. It also includes alot of white people.

If Naruto had dark brown eyes, brown skin, and a black afro, it wouldn't matter if his name was Japanese and their world existed in an alternative universe. It would be clear he had the features of a black person. Let's be real.

Also if Sakura had dark brown eyes with with pink hair you could easily claim she was an Asian but the problem is she has bright blue eyes. Sorry but Asians don't have bright blue eyes.

I can't wait for the outcry when Hollywood cast a blonde haired, blue eyed white kid to play Naruto. Most peolple would rightfully think the actor looks like the character and that fans are in deep denial.

Many Japanese people like the way Nordic people look and admire aspects of white history and culture. It shows in countless anime. There's nothing wrong with that but let's call a spade a spade.

Basically you are saying deep down, anime producers and character designers would rather be white...

So I'm not going to call a spade a spade. Because a diamond is not a spade.

 

[Lord]

Many mangas like Naruto simply don't care about ethnicities. They're made to exploit their oun mediums the most. Unlike American comic books, mangakas aren't aiming to get their works adapted into live-action. I don't think it had anything to do with Japanese people admiring other cultures more.

That said, there are indeed cases where the characters seem to have an ethnicity that wouldn't give Hollywood an headache, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Berserk and Attack on Titan. But for some reason, they decide to take the likes of Ghost in the Shell and Naruto.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I don't care what ethnicity she is, but just get a big boobed pink hair chick for Rosario + Vampire, okay?

 

[jfurioso]

In my book, that's a flaw. And it's wrong if you are basing your view of Major Motoko Kusanagi solely off of the two anime films.

I get that people consider the original 1995 movie a classic, and that's fine. But for my money, it's not the definitive adaptation of the source material. That remains Stand Alone Complex.

Arise is OK, but it's failed to really wow me. That version of Kusanagi is a complete and utter letdown. Stand Alone Complex is what truly broke the mold and show what you can really do with this material.

Something that bothered me in the 95 movie was the complete omission of the plot framing the Major, which is what motivates Batou getting a clandestine replacement body for her as she became basically a fugitive. Of course, they could claim it was better to keep her out of too much scrutiny with the PM in her head, but it makes little sense for her not be repaired under Section 9 initiative as they would not need to probe her mindstate beyond the superficial.

The Stand Alone Complex series however had much more exploitative visual depictions for the Mayor and that annoyed me, as she did not need that to be appealing and it was actually an undermining of the quality of the series for me in several instances.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Basically you are saying deep down, anime producers and character designers would rather be white...

So I'm not going to call a spade a spade. Because a diamond is not a spade.

I didn't say they rather be white but plenty of them admire European physical characteristics and European culture and history.

There's nothing wrong with that. A few anime celebrate jazz and hip hop.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Many mangas like Naruto simply don't care about ethnicities. They're made to exploit their oun mediums the most. Unlike American comic books, mangakas aren't aiming to get their works adapted into live-action. I don't think it had anything to do with Japanese people admiring other cultures more.

That said, there are indeed cases where the characters seem to have an ethnicity that wouldn't give Hollywood an headache, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Berserk and Attack on Titan. But for some reason, they decide to take the likes of Ghost in the Shell and Naruto.

So they should cast an Asian to play Naruto instead of a blonde, blue eyed white kid?

That would look insanely dumb and silly.

 

[moonclaw]

come on now..... seriously? naruto will probably be white, it would be comical to complain about naruto being played a white actor but I agree most mangaka's don't care about ethnicities and they don't exist in the naruto world.

I'm sure hollywood will probably make a full metal alchemist movie if this genre breaks into the mainstream.

 

[TheVileOne]

Naruto isn't even being made right now, so it's a moot argument.

 

[Roose Bolton]

They need to do an over the top Hellsing movie, right down to nazi vampires parachuting down onto the streets of London from zeppelins to fight insane regenerating catholic priests.

Anyone brings up whitewashing with THAT movie gets a bayonet to the face.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

They need to do an over the top Hellsing movie, right down to nazi vampires parachuting down onto the streets of London from zeppelins to fight insane regenerating catholic priests.

Anyone brings up whitewashing with THAT movie gets a bayonet to the face.

They should just do this in Underworld. It is already as cheesy as it gets.

 

[Alex Murphy]

They need to do an over the top Hellsing movie, right down to nazi vampires parachuting down onto the streets of London from zeppelins to fight insane regenerating catholic priests.

Anyone brings up whitewashing with THAT movie gets a bayonet to the face.

That's pretty much the only job requirement for any catholic priest.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Great, I'll call Hollywood and we'll get this thing rolling.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Great, I'll call Hollywood and we'll get this thing rolling.

Can I get Hollywood's number? I have some ideas to pitch.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Can I get Hollywood's numb? I have some ideas to pitch.

Ok but the trade off is that any idea you have needs to passed around by at least 13 editors and trailer companies before it can see final release.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Can I get Hollywood's numb? I have some ideas to pitch.

After this year I'd prefer Doc Brown's number. I have a few things I'd like to change with the help of the DeLorean.