The 'race' issue...

[COAL TIGER]

his eyes only slant when he's angry... I think everycharacter's eyes do this when their angry in most anime or animated shows and drawings I've seen

-I never knew oval-shaped heads where characteristics of Asians, I thought that was a characteristic of most mammals, but WE

A number of different races on earth don't have oval shaped heads like Asians. Asians Heads are oval like eggs. Google some images.

Uhm, you clearly didn't read my entire post- I DON'T WANT Goku to look like me, I'm only pointing out the obvious, THE ANIME CHARACTER GOKU (as do many other anime characters) DOESN'T LOOK STRAIGHT UP ASIAN... if it wasn't for or background knowledge we would not assume he was Asian, especially if he were depicted in non-Asian clothes

Correction. You DON'T want Goku to look straight up Asian. It doesn't matter if Goku was dressed like an Arab. He would still look Asian to anybody with common sense because he has Asian features and it's an Asian cartoon that looks like other Asian cartoons.







They still have Asian features in those pictures.

AGAIN, I personally feel they should've cast a mixed or racially ambigious character as Goku, as then he'd look more Alien as you can't pinpoint what race he is exactly... such as someone with a background like Vanessa Hudgens-at times she looks White, Hispanic, Asian and even middle Eastern-there's always a question about her race/ethnicity

Vanessa Hudgens only looked hispanic to me.

People always model fictional people to look like them. Black people worshipped Black Gods in Egypt and White people worshipped White Gods in Greece.

I used Jackie Chan as an example because his animated character actually looks Asian and despite wearing a contemporary American outfit his face still looks Asian... Anime examples would be Sasuke and Gaara from Naruto who actually looks Asian-their eyes don't have to be slanted to the extreme, nor must Gaara have dark hair yet they both look Asian, vs Naruto and Sakura who don't necessarily look asian, we only know they are because of their history

Gaara and Sasuke look like they came out off a DBZ/GT episode. They look like Goku and eveybody else in that show.

 

[javphonic]

A number of different races on earth don't have oval shaped heads like Asians. Asians Heads are oval like eggs. Google some images.



Correction. You DON'T want Goku to look straight up Asian. It doesn't matter if Goku was dressed like an Arab. He would still look Asian to anybody with common sense because he has Asian features and it's an Asian cartoon that looks like other Asian cartoons.







They still have Asian features in those pictures.



Vanessa Hudgens only looked hispanic to me.

People always model fictional people to look like them. Black people worshipped Black Gods in Egypt and White people worshipped White Gods in Greece.



Gaara and Sasuke look like they came out off a DBZ/GT episode. They look like Goku and eveybody else in that show.

OMG, you seriously think anyone with common sense would assume, just by looking at Goku or Naruto's face would assume they were Asian-well clearly I must not have any

 

[Alchemyst]

It's easy to assume that Goku is Asian. Ryu from Street Fighter looks American but he's Japanese

 

[DorkyFresh]

i think it would have been a great sign of unselfishness for Hollywood to have let a minority or mixed actor play Goku. it would show that they're not compromising DB's origins and ideas for the sake of more seats in the box office (catering to the majority). it would be a true sign of heart over money. this is one reason i wish the Wachowski's had an involvement with this movie. they have no problems putting mixed people or minorities in leading roles. "Bound" had Jennifer Tilly (half Chinese), "the Matrix" had Keanu Reeves (half Hawaiian), and the upcoming movie "Ninja Assassin" has Rain (Korean).


my question for those who say that the race of the actor who plays Goku shouldn't matter, if you truly feel that way then why argue AGAINST him being played by an Asian? if it doesn't matter to you then why would it be so bad for an Asian actor to play Goku?

 

[kaypain]

I never argued against him playing an Asian...

 

[DorkyFresh]

that's cool...i was more or less addressing those who say that they don't care about the race of the actor who plays Goku, but then say that he shouldn't necessarily be Asian.

 

[Lobo]

I just never understand how Chatwin is supposed to draw more of an audience? If you want someone who is going to draw, then cast someone who will draw

 

[Alchemyst]

i think it would have been a great sign of unselfishness for Hollywood to have let a minority or mixed actor play Goku. it would show that they're not compromising DB's origins and ideas for the sake of more seats in the box office (catering to the majority). it would be a true sign of heart over money. this is one reason i wish the Wachowski's had an involvement with this movie. they have no problems putting mixed people or minorities in leading roles. "Bound" had Jennifer Tilly (half Chinese), "the Matrix" had Keanu Reeves (half Hawaiian), and the upcoming movie "Ninja Assassin" has Rain (Korean).


my question for those who say that the race of the actor who plays Goku shouldn't matter, if you truly feel that way then why argue AGAINST him being played by an Asian? if it doesn't matter to you then why would it be so bad for an Asian actor to play Goku?

To me, it seems like Hollywood is afraid to go out on a limb and cast a actor of a different race. There are alot of asian actors out there who I'm sure would have fit the role better. This film should have recieved alot more attention given that it had a cult following in Japan and other continents and an even bigger one once it reached the US. Once again, it brings up the instance of them possibly making the DB movie a joint project between the US and Japan, i think that would have better helped the film to establish itself amongst others.

 

[Legion]

way to play on the defense..

and since you want to be the Superman counter - argument which is old and played out, I'll say yes....
in fact Will Smith was offered a role to play the new Superman.... .and I think, being the actor he is, he would have been nice....

and you mention his heritage was added.... It doesn't matter if it was added then, now, or yesterday, what's said is done, what's done is final, he's a saiyan, you are using that as an excuse and it doesn't work.....




what kind of logic is that, how would it hurt the franchise? if anything it would end this ridiculous argument, so you're saying he will just lie? If Goku is Asian, he'll tell you, end of story...

Will Smith isn't superman though, I sincerely doubt a non-white actor will be playing him anytime soon, and just because you are ok with it doesn't mean there wouldn't be lots of other fans upset.

heritage, what's done is done? So the fact that no one ever mentions Goku's resemblance to his grandfather or anything out of the ordinary; He fits in fine with normal people except for his tail. none of that matters right? The fact is the story could of ended before Raditz, and Goku would have just been an asian hercules. Revealing his Sayain origins didn't change his appearance or how he was perceived by the other characters or the asian audience.

I see on this board that there alot of people who whole heartedly believe Goku is white in the manga (for others he may be hispanic..)and refuse to accept that he is asian..and if Toriyama stated that Goku was in fact an asian, no ifs, ands or buts..then their interest in the series and movie would diminish.

 

[Legion]

I just never understand how Chatwin is supposed to draw more of an audience? If you want someone who is going to draw, then cast someone who will draw

Ok I'll use children as an example but I think that this idea applys to adults too. I think Fox expects this movie to appeal to young children, and they need to get their parents to want to bring them. Years ago children used to only have white dolls and figures to choose from. Now theres dolls that come in all different ethnicities. Childrens cartoons are more diverse now but usually if the main character is white they usually have a best friend that is a different ethnicity.

I'm white and I'm not trying to make white people sound racist, but I imagine that if a white parent took their child to the toy store and they picked up a black doll..the parent might try to persuade the child to get a white doll instead. I think the same idea might apply to movies..if 2 superhero films were playing at the same time, one with a white lead and one with an asian...the parent might try to convince their kids they want to see the white movie instead. Bottom line is I think people who are raised this way may have a subconscious preference or bias and if parents don't feel like they can sit through a movie...the kids aren't going to get to see it. It's much safer for Fox to cast a white actor as the lead.

 

[kaypain]

I think Chatwin has a lot of potential, after seeing him in the Crumbscrubber, I'm sure Chatwin could draw a decent audience. Picture this movie as his big break to shine, give the guy a chance, respect his effort, don't bash the guy, he's done wrong yet to this point. We've seen a couple crappy action shots, and 1 little line of dialogue, which everyone is going crazy over......

But I agree on the most part that Asian leads aren't portrayed nearly as much as others, but in all reality it's just the way business is. Sure we love to see changes, I would love to see an Asian actor I haven't seen before give us a kick ass performance, I'm really tired of seeing the same actors in these Hollywood movies, like Samuel L. Jackson for example. But think about it, I've have yet to see Asian lead in a movie that isn't a martial arts movie. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Robin Shou, Chow Yung-Fat, Ernie Reyes Jr, many more, nothing but movies with martial arts. name one movie they been in that doesn't have them fighting.

what I do have a problem is when people say Goku is Asian, as in race. when it's common sense he can only look Asian, we all know what this fictional character's race is, it's a fictional race, so therefore he is neither white, asian, black, mexican, portuguese, indian, or whatever...

now before you bring up the Superman crap...the same applies to him... he is neither white, black, asian, mexican, portuguesse, indian, or whatever, he only looks white...
and yes people wouldn't like to see Will Smith as Superman, but to me looks and race don't matter to me when it comes to acting and movies, so I have the upmost confidence that his performance would be promising. But Brandon Routh, to me, doesn't look fully Caucasian to me, he looks like he a mixed of Asian, White, some other Euro race....

 

[CaptainClown]

Routh looks white to me.

 

[kaypain]

I don't know he' s more Euro to me... he actually looks kinda Mexican...

same with this photo

he actually has German, French, English, and Native American ancestry

 

[javphonic]

^Great point, Routh doesn't look necessarily white, for me in the first pic he even looks a bit Indian-When I watched SR I really liked that I didn't know what his ethnicity was entirely, it made him seem more alien and that's what they should've thought about when casting Goku, they should've cast someone who stood out from his cast, being an alien, but all the while he's trying to fit it in...

 

[thegameq]

Oh for Jesus...!

He's an alien who looks Asian. Now guess why....?

Same reason Supes is an alien who looks like a white guy.

Now guess why Fox chose to go with a white guy instead of an Asian actor...?

It isn't complicated people, so stop making it sound so technical.

(grumpily storms out of room....)

PS: It's going to be real interesting to see how much Asian culture Hollywood will try to remove or dilute for the Avatar: TLAB movie.

 

[COAL TIGER]

I think Chatwin has a lot of potential, after seeing him in the Crumbscrubber, I'm sure Chatwin could draw a decent audience. Picture this movie as his big break to shine, give the guy a chance, respect his effort, don't bash the guy, he's done wrong yet to this point. We've seen a couple crappy action shots, and 1 little line of dialogue, which everyone is going crazy over....

Chatwin was a ******ed choice. First of all why would you cast somebody with zero martial arts skills to play the most powerful fighter in the universe. And then Chatwin is also little. He's skinny and short. Man please.

 

[Alchemyst]

Chatwin was a ******ed choice. First of all why would you cast somebody with zero martial arts skills to play the most powerful fighter in the universe. And then Chatwin is also little. He's skinny and short. Man please.

Keanu Reeves didnt have any martial arts skilled, but he went on to kick people's asses in the Matrix Trilogy. The whole cast of X-men didn't have an extensive background in hand to hand combat, but still kicked ass. Just cuz somebody isn't a bonafide martial artist doesn't mean they cant pull off the moves.

 

[kaypain]

I put money after the training Chatwin went through, he'll kick your ass...

none of the actors from The Matrix had any experience......and they beat the crap out of each other.... and it just so happens the same people are working on this movie...

 

[COAL TIGER]

So those people can actually go toe to toe with somebody like Tony Jaa- who actually is a martial artist/actor who doesn't need any corny wires and SFX to look good doing martial arts. And also when those actors in the Matrix fought they moved slowly unlike an actual actor who studies martial arts.

And also Chatwan's little & skinny. Goku is suppose to be a Superman.

 

[TheVileOne]

To me race is not the problem. The problem is trying to make Dragon Ball a live action movie franchise, epic fail.

 

[kaypain]

I'm so sorry you're not going to get your Asian body builder to portray Goku in a American film....

even Tony Jaa had a stunt double.... I can go toe to toe with Tony Jaa.... so what's your point

 

[StylishHokie21]

to me race is not the problem. The problem is trying to make dragon ball a live action movie franchise, epic fail.

qft

 

[COAL TIGER]

I'm so sorry you're not going to get your Asian body builder to portray Goku in a American film....

even Tony Jaa had a stunt double.... I can go toe to toe with Tony Jaa.... so what's your point

Of course you can. (sarcasm)

 

[chamber-music]

Originally Posted by kaypain
I think Chatwin has a lot of potential, after seeing him in the Crumbscrubber, I'm sure Chatwin could draw a decent audience. Picture this movie as his big break to shine, give the guy a chance, respect his effort, don't bash the guy, he's done wrong yet to this point. We've seen a couple crappy action shots, and 1 little line of dialogue, which everyone is going crazy over....

I like Chatwin and he he was good in Chumscrubber. Chatwin was also alright in the snoozefest that was War Of The Worlds but I don't think DBZ is the right project for him. If was smart he would pick his film roles more carefully like Jaime Bell.

Fox should of cast Daniel Henney as Goku instead of Maverick/Agent Zero in Wolverine.

 

[Alchemyst]

So those people can actually go toe to toe with somebody like Tony Jaa- who actually is a martial artist/actor who doesn't need any corny wires and SFX to look good doing martial arts. And also when those actors in the Matrix fought they moved slowly unlike an actual actor who studies martial arts.

And also Chatwan's little & skinny. Goku is suppose to be a Superman.

The reason why Tony Jaa didnt use those corny wires is because his movies didn't require it due to the fact that he could pull of some pretty amazing feats.