NationStates Jolt Archive

Now, I have often lamented privately about the lack of depiction of minorities in films, and more specifically, the lack of films about minority cultures or depicting non-Western cultural groups in mainstream cinema. So I was happy to see that Memoirs of a Geisha was to be made into a studio film. Then I read who they cast as some of the actresses in the film. Memoirs of a Geisha is set in Japan, right? Are you seriously trying to tell me that in a nation of over 100 million, they couldn't find enough Japanese actresses to fill the roles? Why Chinese actresses? They don't look alike, they don't sound alike. They are not the same culture. Chinese and Japanese in fact, bear some emnity towards each other. To me, this smacks of Western bias, and ethnocentrism, in a perpetuation of the myth of homogeneity of Asian appearance, culture and accent. Having Chinese actresses play the roles of Japanese is akin to having an Aboriginal play the part of an African American kid from the ghetto. Hey, they're both black right?

Having Chinese actresses play the roles of Japanese is akin to having an Aboriginal play the part of an African American kid from the ghetto. Hey, they're both black right?


Cliff Curtis, a Maori from New Zealand has made a successful career playing arabs in Hollywood, and no one got pissed off that it wasn't a REAL Iraqi playing the main refugee in 3 kings did they...

...uhhh... here's a possibility: the Chinese actors/actresses want less money?

I wouldn't go trying to find racism/bigotry/bias where it may not exist.

I suspect that it isn't done through passive racism as it is through a total lack of concern. They are just looking for the best actresses they can budget and really don't care about minor ethnic differences.

I suspect that it isn't done through passive racism as it is through a total lack of concern. They are just looking for the best actresses they can budget and really don't care about minor ethnic differences.

There ya go.

It is racism, perhaps not overt, or even intentional racism, but racism none-the-less. It is, I believe, symptomatic of the ridiculous Western belief that "all Asians look the same", so it doesn't matter if we put a Chinese person in a Japanese part. Fact is, they do not have the same accents. They do not look at all alike. I don't see why they had to have Chinese actresses playing the lead roles. What is wrong with hiring Japanese actresses, and staying true to the story?

It is racism, perhaps not overt, or even intentional racism, but racism none-the-less. It is, I believe, symptomatic of the ridiculous Western belief that "all Asians look the same", so it doesn't matter if we put a Chinese person in a Japanese part. Fact is, they do not have the same accents. They do not look at all alike. I don't see why they had to have Chinese actresses playing the lead roles. What is wrong with hiring Japanese actresses, and staying true to the story?

So you don't think it's racism to exclude anybody but japanese actors?

What a big bs :mad: That's just so typical of Unholywood :rolleyes:
They simply took the cheapest and don't give a damn for the rest :mad:

I suspect that it isn't done through passive racism as it is through a total lack of concern. They are just looking for the best actresses they can budget and really don't care about minor ethnic differences.

This is demonstrating perfectly my point that this movie reinforces Western stereotypes and perpetuates a myth of homogeneity of Asian cultures, features and accents/languages. Chinese and Japanese do not look alike and they sure as hell don't sound alike.

So you don't think it's racism to exclude anybody but japanese actors?

I wouldn't have as much problem if they were playing peripheral characters, but to have a Chinese actress in the goddamn lead role, is just wrong.

Peter Stormare, a swede, has on more than one occasion played a russian. Is this racist?

This is demonstrating perfectly my point that this movie reinforces Western stereotypes and perpetuates a myth of homogeneity of Asian cultures, features and accents/languages. Chinese and Japanese do not look alike and they sure as hell don't sound alike.

Furthermore, I wouldn't have as much problem if they were playing peripheral characters, but to have a Chinese actress in the goddamn lead role, is just wrong.

Calm down. Have some dip.

WHen I first read your opening post, I thought you had a point. But the more I think about it, and the more you post, the more I think that YOUR attitude toward this is far more racist than anybody else's.

Actors play cross-racial roles all the time in hundreds of movies. What makes Japanese roles so special? What makes chinese actresses so inferior?

I once played a Jew in a school play, and Im Irish by descent. Nobody complained. I can also do quite good Russian, English, German and both sorts of Indian. And the squeaky sort of Elf.
Anyway, yes, saying that theres no difference between Chinese and Japanese is like saying that Poles and Swedes are the same, but meh, the sad fact is that most people simply dont care or dont notice.
Also, the issue of cost has been pointed out, an actor from China is most likely willing to work for a good deal less than an actor from Japan.

You find that this smacks of Western bais and ethnocentricism? I find your post smacks of Political Correctness!! So what if it's a Chinese actress that portrayed a Japanese geisha? It's a movie. Yes I realize it's based off of true stories, however I would be surprised to find anybody willing to play the part of a geisha in a movie...

It is racism, perhaps not overt, or even intentional racism, but racism none-the-less. It is, I believe, symptomatic of the ridiculous Western belief that "all Asians look the same", so it doesn't matter if we put a Chinese person in a Japanese part. Fact is, they do not have the same accents. They do not look at all alike. I don't see why they had to have Chinese actresses playing the lead roles. What is wrong with hiring Japanese actresses, and staying true to the story?
Do you know what racism is?


rac·ism

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
There's no indication of how definition 1 would fit and not distinguishing between Japanese and Chinese people is the opposite of definition 2.

You find that this smacks of Western bais and ethnocentricism? I find your post smacks of Political Correctness!! So what if it's a Chinese actress that portrayed a Japanese geisha? It's a movie. Yes I realize it's based off of true stories, however I would be surprised to find anybody willing to play the part of a geisha in a movie...

Well... a geisha isn't really just a prostitute, if that's your thinking; I'm not actually sure we (da west) ever came up with anything like 'em - mibbe 'courtesan' is closer, but still not quite right.

I think your post'll rile up St. Jade some more, btw - you're making them assumptions about geishas, there! :p

As for 'is it racism'... Well, crude analogy, but I think St. Jade's point is along the lines of 'how would you feel about a white actor blacking up to play an 'ethnic' part in a movie? What about the black and white minstrels?' (2nd one might only work if you're british and of a certain age, not sure...!)

Having said that, I think the motive for the studio concerned is economic rather than race... but then that suggests their assumption is that no one in the audience'll be able to tell the difference between one gook and another, so we may as well get cheap ones...

I dunno, is the answer!

Calm down. Have some dip.

WHen I first read your opening post, I thought you had a point. But the more I think about it, and the more you post, the more I think that YOUR attitude toward this is far more racist than anybody else's.

Actors play cross-racial roles all the time in hundreds of movies. What makes Japanese roles so special? What makes chinese actresses so inferior?

I never said that Chinese actresses were inferior. Perhaps I am wrong in calling it racism. But to me it smacks of something more than, Chinese actresses will work for less money. Especially when you consider the Chinese actresses playing the roles. Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh are hardly unknowns, even in the American film industry. I find it difficult to believe that they would accept less money than an unknown (to Hollywood) from Japan. Furthermore, as I have said repeatedly, I simply cannot buy a Chinese person playing a Japanese role. Ziyi Zhang does not look Japanese, even on the movie poster for Christ's sake. There is a huge difference between an American playing the role of an Englishman (though I get extremely vitriolic at the fact that their accents are often extremely poor, if they actually bother to have one - one of the reasons I'm so glad Harry Potter has kept an entirely British cast for the English characters), and Turk or a Greek playing an Englishman. I don't think anyone would buy a Greek looking, Greek sounding Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. I don't buy a Chinese looking, Chinese sounding geisha.

You need to get the hell over it. Are you native Japanese? I mean, were you born there and living there right now? What the hell is your complaint here? You put anyone in enough stage make-up and compound that with make-up for the movie, you wouldn't be able to tell what the hell they are if they were a race with light skin. Different cultures is irrelevant, this is not a damn documentary. And we don't want the mto sound Japanese, hell, we don't want to them to have more than a very slight accent if that. Why not? Because it's an American movie, no one is going to want to watch it if they have to stare at the screen and go "Huh? What the hell are they saying? Is that English?" They will get Japanese voice-overs if it goes to Japan and no one will give a rat's ass.

This is demonstrating perfectly my point that this movie reinforces Western stereotypes and perpetuates a myth of homogeneity of Asian cultures, features and accents/languages. Chinese and Japanese do not look alike and they sure as hell don't sound alike. I understand what you're saying, and agree with everything but the ethnocentrism.

I honestly couldn't tell a random Chinese girl from a random Japanese one. At least, it's highly doubtful. I judt don't look at Asians very often. I could probably tell oe language from the other, but I seriously doubt I'd be able to make out if a forigner was speaking Japanese or not.. Even with heavy accent.

It doesn't mean that I believe they have anything in common other than physical apearance & similar-sounding languages.

Don't confuse ethnocentrism with sheer ignorance. Life's much too short to be familiar with everything.

Do you know what racism is?


There's no indication of how definition 1 would fit and not distinguishing between Japanese and Chinese people is the opposite of definition 2.

It is number two due to the fact that we refuse to recognise the diversity of Asian cultures (i.e the widely held Western belief that all Asians look the same, whereas we are somehow diverse.).

Well, crude analogy, but I think St. Jade's point is along the lines of 'how would you feel about a white actor blacking up to play an 'ethnic' part in a movie? What about the black and white minstrels?' (2nd one might only work if you're british and of a certain age, not sure...!)

Thats pretty much the point I am making.

OK then, since you are so obsessed with this. What three Japanese actresses should have gotten the major rolls?

I understand what you're saying, and agree with everything but the ethnocentrism.

I honestly couldn't tell a random Chinese girl from a random Japanese one. At least, it's highly doubtful. I judt don't look at Asians very often. I could probably tell oe language from the other, but I seriously doubt I'd be able to make out if a forigner was speaking Japanese or not.. Even with heavy accent.

It doesn't mean that I believe they have anything in common other than physical apearance & similar-sounding languages.

Don't confuse ethnocentrism with sheer ignorance. Life's much too short to be familiar with everything.

I guess my background in studying linguistics and Asian culture (specifically Japanese culture) has heightened my awareness of the physical and phonemic differences in the two cultures. Which I guess is why I find it so highly offensive.

Regarding your point about ethnocentrism and sheer ignorance - the two are not mutually exclusive. In this case I think they contribute to each other in that they reinforce the dominant world-view regarding Asian cultures as being somehow homogenous.

You need to get the hell over it. Are you native Japanese? I mean, were you born there and living there right now? What the hell is your complaint here? You put anyone in enough stage make-up and compound that with make-up for the movie, you wouldn't be able to tell what the hell they are if they were a race with light skin. Different cultures is irrelevant, this is not a damn documentary. And we don't want the mto sound Japanese, hell, we don't want to them to have more than a very slight accent if that. Why not? Because it's an American movie, no one is going to want to watch it if they have to stare at the screen and go "Huh? What the hell are they saying? Is that English?" They will get Japanese voice-overs if it goes to Japan and no one will give a rat's ass.

So lets stop hiring English or Irish actors. Why stop there? We don't need to have those pesky African Americans that make all that fuss in movies if we don't want to. Just put Julia Roberts or Johnny Depp in black make-up and off you go.

So lets stop hiring English or Irish actors. Why stop there? We don't need to have those pesky African Americans that make all that fuss in movies if we don't want to. Just put Julia Roberts or Johnny Depp in black make-up and off you go.
You have yet to find me any Japanese actresses in America to fill the roles. And none of that has anything to do with the bolded part you quoted.

Regarding your point about ethnocentrism and sheer ignorance - the two are not mutually exclusive. In this case I think they contribute to each other in that they reinforce the dominant world-view regarding Asian cultures as being somehow homogenous.
Of course they aren't mutually exclusive. I mean, I never feel particularily European untill I start talking to Americans, for example. It seems the assumption is something like the one you describe. But it doesn't offend me, because it is just ignorance, and I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a whole lot about anything, and probably make a ton of utterly wrong assumptions every day. Shit happens when you're a sentient being with an imagination.

I never knew there was a dominant world veiw about the Chinese & Japanese being similar. Granted, the extent of my knowledge is hongkong movies & anime, but even meaningless pop like that doesn't leave the impression that the cultures have much in common.

i agree with the OP. its not like the chinese actresses are SOOO famous that they will be a much bigger box office draw than a lesser known japanese actress.

i dont know how hard they looked for a japanese actress. ill see if i can find it on the net.

have you seen any of the trailers for this movie? they seem to be having "broadway style" geisha performances. im really hoping that its just the way they cut the trailer. otherwise i might start ranting in the middle of the movie and ruin it for everyone else.

You have yet to find me any Japanese actresses in America to fill the roles. And none of that has anything to do with the bolded part you quoted.

I don't know any Japanese actresses off-hand but the country has 127,417, 244 people according to the CIA.gov website, so I can't see that it would be too difficult to find at least one girl to play the lead role. Or why not use at least a Japanese American?

And in the bolded bit you categorically stated that you didn't want them sounding Japanese because it is an American movie. The comment regarding Irish and English actors is in reference to that, although Scottish may have been a better example there. they don't have American accents, so you obviously believe that they shouldn't be hired for an American movie. The second part regarding Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts was in reference to your earlier comment that just put enough make-up on them and you won't be able to tell which race they are from. Why hire African-Americans for African-American roles, when you can make white actors look black?

As I stated before, Ziyi Zhang may be beautiful, but she doesn't look Japanese, even on the movie poster (in full make-up and retouched to be sure), and she should not be the lead in a movie about such an aspect of Japanese culture.

Of course they aren't mutually exclusive. I mean, I never feel particularily European untill I start talking to Americans, for example. It seems the assumption is something like the one you describe. But it doesn't offend me, because it is just ignorance, and I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a whole lot about anything, and probably make a ton of utterly wrong assumptions every day. Shit happens when you're a sentient being with an imagination.

I never knew there was a dominant world veiw about the Chinese & Japanese being similar. Granted, the extent of my knowledge is hongkong movies & anime, but even meaningless pop like that doesn't leave the impression that the cultures have much in common.

There is definitely a dominant world-view about them being almost identical in appearance. When I tell people I learn Japanese, they almost always ask me if I can speak to Chinese people. Most of my friends don't even know there is a difference in the two languages. Also, most of my friends don't even know where Anime comes from, except that its Asian. They couldn't tell you the difference between a Hong Kong movie and a Hollywood Jackie Chan movie except for the white people in Hollywood's movies. They think that the samurai and Shaolin monks are the same. etc etc etc ad nauseum. I don't know how it is in say America or Europe, but that's definitely the general feeling in Australia.

Funny side note - Asians are just as ethnocentric as we are. One day my old high school music teacher offered to give this Vietnamese lady a ride home because she was old and had a lot to carry. He took some of her groceries to the car, and told her he would meet her out the front of the shops at the main entrance. He waited about 3/4 hour and was just about to leave when she came rushing up to him saying how sorry she was and that she got confused "because all you white Aussies look the same!"

Thought that was pretty ironic.

hmm

You suggest a group is different from others it's racisim. You suggest a group similer it's racisim. How do you win?

I guess my background in studying linguistics and Asian culture (specifically Japanese culture) has heightened my awareness of the physical and phonemic differences in the two cultures. Which I guess is why I find it so highly offensive.

Regarding your point about ethnocentrism and sheer ignorance - the two are not mutually exclusive. In this case I think they contribute to each other in that they reinforce the dominant world-view regarding Asian cultures as being somehow homogenous.


Ermm..... the Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans have difficulty distingusishing the "physical" differences. How is it that you are able to distingusish what they cannot?

That is based on numerous Chinese and Koreans I have know in my 14 years living here, including a year spent in Nagasaki which has a large Chinatown and over ten years in Osaka with it's large Korean population.

My old Shanghainese girlfriend was good for many funny experiences with people who refused to believe she was not Japanese.

There are differences in the accents of English, but most laymen wouldn't know or care.

And, as LG said, budget probably figured into the equation.

But, as I understand it, English ability and recognition were more important.

And regarding Teh_pantless_hero's challenge, I would also like to hear what three Japanese actresses you would have cast.

Finally, there has been very little outcry here over this. The main difficulties over the ethnicity issue (and note it is absolutely an issue of ethnicity and not one of race) comes from China, and is wrapped up in the aggressive nationalism there that targets Japan.

i agree with the OP. its not like the chinese actresses are SOOO famous that they will be a much bigger box office draw than a lesser known japanese actress.

i dont know how hard they looked for a japanese actress. ill see if i can find it on the net.

First off, Gongi Li and Michelle Yeoh are most certainly pretty big names.

Few Japanese actresses (if any) have their name recognition.

And according to this article (http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/entertainment/news/20051209p2a00m0et010000c.html)
there was some difficulty finding Japanese actresses due to language:

Producers Douglas Wick ("Gladiator") and Lucy Fisher, and director Rob Marshall ("Chicago"), say the casting was an exhaustive, meticulous process that considered acting ability, star power and physical traits.

"Some Japanese actresses didn't even want to audition, because they couldn't speak English and were too afraid to try to take it on," Fisher said.

I don't know any Japanese actresses off-hand but the country has 127,417, 244 people according to the CIA.gov website, so I can't see that it would be too difficult to find at least one girl to play the lead role. Or why not use at least a Japanese American?
Actresses still in Japan don't count. They have to be able to speak English fluently and with very little or no accent. And the very fact that you can't name anyone either in the US or even Japan shows there are very few or you are just being a loud-mouth to be one.

And in the bolded bit you categorically stated that you didn't want them sounding Japanese because it is an American movie.
Since you are so big on Japanese culture you know it is a completely different language system than what we have. A think accent is nearly unintelligible, and even a light accent is still hard because of the manipulation of the letter L.

The comment regarding Irish and English actors is in reference to that, although Scottish may have been a better example there. they don't have American accents,
They have relatively light accents. I will watch a Discovery channel documentary where they are in some random part of the UK and the only way I know they are native English speakers and speaking English is because there are no subtitles. They subtitle any foreigner speaking English even when they are easily understandable.

The second part regarding Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts was in reference to your earlier comment that just put enough make-up on them and you won't be able to tell which race they are from.
Wrong, I said a light colored race. I would expect you to read before shooting from the hip, but you seem to lack any research on this subject anyway.

and she should not be the lead in a movie about such an aspect of Japanese culture.
You can't name a single Japanese actress in either Japan or the US. And the ones in Japan don't count unless they speak fluent, easily-understandable English.

The only ethnically Japanese actress I can think of who's a big Hollywood star is Tamlyn Tomita (who has played Chinese characters fairly often and even Vietnamese characters).

A few Japanese actresses have been in one or two Hollywood movies, Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill I for example.

I think it's more interesting that male Japanese seem to be having much more success. I can easily name a good handful of ethnically Japanese actors who've made it in Hollywood, with Ken Watanabe, who stars in Memoirs, as the latest.

A few Japanese actresses have been in one or two Hollywood movies, Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill I for example.
That is the only ethnically Japanese actress I could find when I looked. Everyone in Hollywood seems to be Chinese.

Actresses still in Japan don't count. They have to be able to speak English fluently and with very little or no accent. And the very fact that you can't name anyone either in the US or even Japan shows there are very few or you are just being a loud-mouth to be one.


Since you are so big on Japanese culture you know it is a completely different language system than what we have. A think accent is nearly unintelligible, and even a light accent is still hard because of the manipulation of the letter L.


They have relatively light accents. I will watch a Discovery channel documentary where they are in some random part of the UK and the only way I know they are native English speakers and speaking English is because there are no subtitles. They subtitle any foreigner speaking English even when they are easily understandable.


Wrong, I said a light colored race. I would expect you to read before shooting from the hip, but you seem to lack any research on this subject anyway.


You can't name a single Japanese actress in either Japan or the US. And the ones in Japan don't count unless they speak fluent, easily-understandable English.

It's also difficult because of the lack of a v. And if we want to get really technical, it has more to do with the pronunciation of the letter r as a cross between r and l than manipulation of the l sound (which they technically don't have), which makes it quite difficult to understand both sounds. In the IPA, there is no accurate representation of at least two sounds in Japanese, that of the tsu, and the n sound. However, I have more than one Japanese friend whose English is quite intelligible to me (though that may be because I don't expect everything English to come with an American accent.) However, I have yet to hear a Scottish accent I can understand without significant struggle. The same actually goes for NZ English. And I have had significant exposure to NZ English (growing up in a country where they are one of, if not the biggest, migrant groups).

Fair enough, I take your point regarding light-skinned people, fine, let's have a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Geisha. Or let's have an Asian-looking Elizabeth Bennett.

I can't name a single actress because I am not in the habit of watching Japanese movies with more regularity than Australian or English or American ones. However, the actress who played Naomi Watts' role in the original Ringu series is I'm sure quite adequate. And what makes Ziyi Zhang's English so superior anyway? I have heard her speak during promotion of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and I couldn't understand a friggin' word she was saying. Same with Jackie Chan. Don't watch his movies coz I can't understand him at all.

When I tell people I learn Japanese, they almost always ask me if I can speak to Chinese people. Most of my friends don't even know there is a difference in the two languages. Also, most of my friends don't even know where Anime comes from, except that its Asian. They couldn't tell you the difference between a Hong Kong movie and a Hollywood Jackie Chan movie except for the white people in Hollywood's movies. They think that the samurai and Shaolin monks are the same. etc etc etc ad nauseum.

You have stupid, stupid friends. But, birds of a feather and all that...

However, I have yet to hear a Scottish accent I can understand without significant struggle. The same actually goes for NZ English. And I have had significant exposure to NZ English (growing up in a country where they are one of, if not the biggest, migrant groups).
I already elaborated on that, you arn't even reading half of what I am typing.

Fair enough, I take your point regarding light-skinned people, fine, let's have a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Geisha. Or let's have an Asian-looking Elizabeth Bennett.
Wigs/dye and contact lenses. And if not that, very basic computer editing in post-production.

The only ethnically Japanese actress I can think of who's a big Hollywood star is Tamlyn Tomita (who has played Chinese characters fairly often and even Vietnamese characters).

A few Japanese actresses have been in one or two Hollywood movies, Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill I for example.

I think it's more interesting that male Japanese seem to be having much more success. I can easily name a good handful of ethnically Japanese actors who've made it in Hollywood, with Ken Watanabe, who stars in Memoirs, as the latest.
have you seen the movie, dai? i dont know anything more about geishas in the '30s than what i read in the book so im wondering how "real" it seems.


i thought that when ken watanbe *quiver* was in "the last samurai" he had very limited english. am i remembering it wrong?

have you seen the movie, dai? i dont know anything more about geishas in the '30s than what i read in the book so im wondering how "real" it seems.

I haven't seen it, as it only opened here yesterday. The book was OK. It's been a couple of years or so since I read it, but I remember parts of it did seem romanticised. Also, I recall there was some trouble over the scene in the book where Sayuri auctions off her virginity. The Geisha the story was based on claims that never happened, IIRC.

i thought that when ken watanbe *quiver* was in "the last samurai" he had very limited english. am i remembering it wrong?

Hmmm... I saw it in the theater here and was concentrating on catching the
Japanese. Plus, my ear has been attuned to picking up poor English, particularly Japanese-English.


Also, it's not as if there are no Japanese actresses in the film at all. I perused some of the cast, and Youki Kudoh (who was also in Mystery Train) plays Pumpkin and Kaori Momoi plays Mother.

All in all, this seems to me to be a tempest in a tea pot of overly zealous PCness, which overlooks the facts.

ken sounded fine to me. i just thought i had read that he didnt really speak english before he took that role. i dont really care what he sounds like he is one of the sexiest actors on the face of the earth.


its not open here yet. its just that trailer and the photos ive seen look so "not geisha" to me. but sometimes they put out misleading publicity to get people to take the risk of seeing something foreign.

ken sounded fine to me. i just thought i had read that he didnt really speak english before he took that role. i dont really care what he sounds like he is one of the sexiest actors on the face of the earth.


its not open here yet. its just that trailer and the photos ive seen look so "not geisha" to me. but sometimes they put out misleading publicity to get people to take the risk of seeing something foreign.

Looks alright to me. BTW, are you familiar with Ken Takakura?

Looks alright to me. BTW, are you familiar with Ken Takakura?
no i dont think ive ever heard of ken takakura

no i dont think ive ever heard of ken takakura

He's a sort of Japanese answer to Clint Eastwood, famouis for his stoic Yakuza roles. He was in the US films The Yakuza, Black Rain, and Mr. Baseball, and in many Japanese films.

I though you might enjoy him if you like Watanabe.

So you don't think it's racism to exclude anybody but japanese actors?
It's about Japanese culture, you sod, not Chinese.

I like the woman playing the protagonist; I forget her name but she was in Croutching Tiger was she not? Aye, however, the part should be played by Japanese actors. My roommate and I could tell the difference watching clips between Japanese people and the Chinese actresses.

Seriously, did you all flunk Business 101 or something?

I think we're missing the main point of producing a movie:

MAKE MONEY.

If you can get away with using Chinese actors as opposed to Japanese actors and still sell your movie like hotcakes, congrats, you passed the course! Go buy a mansion somewhere.

I continue to maintain that capitalism and political correctness are about as incompatible as the former and communism. Why we in America insist on bunching them together, knowing full well they will effectively burst into flames, is beyond me.

It's about Japanese culture, you sod, not Chinese.

I like the woman playing the protagonist; I forget her name but she was in Croutching Tiger was she not? Aye, however, the part should be played by Japanese actors. My roommate and I could tell the difference watching clips between Japanese people and the Chinese actresses.

its not unlike having yule brenner play the king of siam....

or chow yun-fat for that matter.

Seriously, did you all flunk Business 101 or something?

I think we're missing the main point of producing a movie:

MAKE MONEY.

If you can get away with using Chinese actors as opposed to Japanese actors and still sell your movie like hotcakes, congrats, you passed the course! Go buy a mansion somewhere.

I continue to maintain that capitalism and political correctness are about as incompatible as the former and communism. Why we in America insist on bunching them together, knowing full well they will effectively burst into flames, is beyond me.

Did you flunk "Reading the first page 101";)

...huh? I don't think my university offers that course...

With that in mind, of course I read the first page, dimwit! I've got like the third post in the topic! Are you going to quiz me on it or something?