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http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/26/doctor-strange-tilda-swinton-whitewashed-china
A Marvel screenwriter has hinted the studio made the controversial decision to “whitewash” Tibetan character the Ancient One in forthcoming superhero epicDoctor Strange to avoid upsetting China.
Some fans of the sorcerous hero, who will be portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, have asked why Tilda Swinton has been cast as Strange’s traditionally male and Asian mystical mentor. Now, writer C Robert Cargill, in an interview for the Double Toasted podcast, has suggested Marvel had one eye on sensitivities over Tibet in the world’s most populous nation.
“There is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine, that is absolutely unwinnable,” said Cargill, who co-wrote Doctor Strange with director Scott Derrickson and Jon Spaihts. “I’ve been reading a bunch of people talking about it, and the really frustrating thing about it is that most of the people who have thoughts on it haven’t thought it all the way through and they go, ‘Why didn’t they just do this?’ And it’s like, I could tell you why. I could tell you why every single decision that involves the Ancient One is a bad one.”
Describing Strange’s magical mentor as a “a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in [a] very weird political place”, Cargill added: “He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’”
Cargill pointed out that if Marvel had cast a Chinese actor, the studio might have risked attracting further indignation.
“If you are telling me you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the **** you’re talking about,” he said. “Oh, ‘she could be Asian!’ Asian? She should be Japanese, she should be Indian, really? The levels of cultural sensitivity around this thing is, everyone is staking out their one particular place and not realising that every single thing here is a losing proposition.”
Cargill also remarked on the lack of criticism for Marvel over the decision to cast Swinton in a traditionally male role.
“There’s not a lot of talk about, ‘Oh man, they took away the job from a guy and gave it to a woman,’” he said. “Everybody kind of pats us on the back for that and then decides to scold us for her not being Tibetan. We knew that the social justice warriors would be angry either way.”
Cargill’s comments cast a fascinating light on Hollywood thinking with regard to China, which is due to overtake North America as the world’s largest box office next year. It has become common for big budget sci-fi and comic book movies to feature Chinese stars in supporting roles, and Marvel even experimented with adding extra local scenes and plotlines for 2013’s Iron Man 3. Now it appears studios are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep local authorities happy and avoid the damaging withdrawal of a Chinese theatrical release date in a country that only allows 34 international movies to screen in cinemas each year.
A Marvel screenwriter has hinted the studio made the controversial decision to “whitewash” Tibetan character the Ancient One in forthcoming superhero epicDoctor Strange to avoid upsetting China.
Some fans of the sorcerous hero, who will be portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, have asked why Tilda Swinton has been cast as Strange’s traditionally male and Asian mystical mentor. Now, writer C Robert Cargill, in an interview for the Double Toasted podcast, has suggested Marvel had one eye on sensitivities over Tibet in the world’s most populous nation.
“There is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine, that is absolutely unwinnable,” said Cargill, who co-wrote Doctor Strange with director Scott Derrickson and Jon Spaihts. “I’ve been reading a bunch of people talking about it, and the really frustrating thing about it is that most of the people who have thoughts on it haven’t thought it all the way through and they go, ‘Why didn’t they just do this?’ And it’s like, I could tell you why. I could tell you why every single decision that involves the Ancient One is a bad one.”
Describing Strange’s magical mentor as a “a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in [a] very weird political place”, Cargill added: “He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’”
Cargill pointed out that if Marvel had cast a Chinese actor, the studio might have risked attracting further indignation.
“If you are telling me you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the **** you’re talking about,” he said. “Oh, ‘she could be Asian!’ Asian? She should be Japanese, she should be Indian, really? The levels of cultural sensitivity around this thing is, everyone is staking out their one particular place and not realising that every single thing here is a losing proposition.”
Cargill also remarked on the lack of criticism for Marvel over the decision to cast Swinton in a traditionally male role.
“There’s not a lot of talk about, ‘Oh man, they took away the job from a guy and gave it to a woman,’” he said. “Everybody kind of pats us on the back for that and then decides to scold us for her not being Tibetan. We knew that the social justice warriors would be angry either way.”
Cargill’s comments cast a fascinating light on Hollywood thinking with regard to China, which is due to overtake North America as the world’s largest box office next year. It has become common for big budget sci-fi and comic book movies to feature Chinese stars in supporting roles, and Marvel even experimented with adding extra local scenes and plotlines for 2013’s Iron Man 3. Now it appears studios are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep local authorities happy and avoid the damaging withdrawal of a Chinese theatrical release date in a country that only allows 34 international movies to screen in cinemas each year.
