@kronda @GeekMelange say what you will about Keanu Reeves but he is 1/4 Chinese. Are you mad he isn't Japanese?
— TW: Dave (@Dave_Blogger) December 16, 2013
I’m mad that Hollywood so fucking racist and sexist and *ist. Whether Keanu Reeves is or isn’t 1/4 Chinese is irrelevant. Keanu Reeves presents as, behaves as, and is cast by movie makers as, a white dude.
The premise of the Ronin movie and all other movies in it’s category, is always, ‘Yeah, you’re all great warriors and whatever, but you really need a white savior to come and get you out of your mess.’ This is also why I hate Avatar, which just puts an alien spin on this concept.
Saying Keanu is 1/4 Chinese as a means to making this OK, is like casting straight actors in gay roles and saying it’s cool because they fooled around one time with their (same gender) best friend when they were drunk. Completely irrelevant if the goal is to have people who identify and are identified with marginalized communites portray those roles.
But that’s a separate conversation.
I would highly recommend perusing the #NotYourAsianSidekick hashtag on Twitter, started by @suey_park, which sparked this conversation.
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A quick Must Read. I have no time to follow this tag… @kronda: An answer to @Dave_Blogger about #NotYourAsianSidekick http://t.co/GxSs38uGZL
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You Mad? A few insightful words on Hollywood’s whitewashing of 47 Ronin, by Kronda Adair: http://t.co/mLxpLK7pQ3
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@kronda while I agree with you I wonder: is it racist to cast a Chinese man in a Japanese story?
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@kronda not trying to troll but is it simply a “not another white person” thing? Just curious
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@kronda Is Antonio Banderas as an Arab ok?
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@kronda or what about Jackie Chan in a Mandarin story? Not a perfect fit but still Chinese
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@kronda again, not trying to troll, just learn
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Dave, you’re having a different conversation than the one that was started in the original tweet.
I really don’t care about the examples you’ve given here. I care about the completely broken and *ist SYSTEM that results in the tired trop of ‘white hero saves entire group of marginalized people.’ OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I care that non-white, non-straight, non-male people don’t get to enjoy entertainment that reflects our lives unless it’s about ‘overcoming our lot’ or having a bit part as someone’s side kick or best friend.
I’m still looking into why comments are closed, but if you tweet replies to the original tweet, they’ll show up here.