Whitewashing: Because White People Are Sooooo Underrepresented

Left: Ghost In The Shell (2017) [DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Arad Productions, Paramount Pictures], Right: Ghost In The Shell (1995) [Bandai Visual, Manga Entertainment, Production I.G]

Throughout my life, I rarely saw any brown people in the media, much less Iranian girls. When I did see brown people on T.V., they were either minor characters, stereotypes, or both.

Recently, I discovered a film called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. All I saw was the word Persia and immediately got excited. I did some research on the movie, and lo and behold, Jake fucking Gyllenhaal is playing the lead role. A white man portraying a Persian prince. Disappointment replaced my joy.

Thanks, Hollywood.

Whitewashing: You Should Really Stop

Whitewashing is when the film industry casts a white actor in a non-white role.

The Last Airbender (2010) [Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures]

A classic example of whitewashing is Hollywood’s adaptation of Ghost In The Shell, as they have Scarlett Johansson play the role of Motoko Kusanagi, a Japanese character. Another movie guilty of this practice is Breakfast At Tiffany’s, with Mickey Rooney doing a racist portrayal of another Japanese character, Mr. Yunioyushi. There’s Aloha, where we have Emma Stone playing the half-Chinese, half-native Hawaiian Allison Ng. The Last Airbender’s cast is mainly white, despite the show it’s based on having no white characters whatsoever. Netflix even adapted a Death Note film based on the manga, Americanised it and had Nat Wolff play Light Turner (whose actual name is Light Yagami, but they changed that, too). These are only some examples.

The issues are that not only are non-white actors not given the same opportunities as white actors, but non-white people watching these films don’t get to see themselves represented. The latter is already a problem, so to have white people play roles made for minorities makes things worse. It’s a subtle way of telling us we don’t matter.

Reverse Racism isn’t Real, Karen

On the rare occasions that we get to see a non-white actor play a white character, those actors have to deal with immense hate (cough racism cough).

Let’s take the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, for example. In the animated 1989 film, Ariel is a mermaid with white skin and red hair. In the live-action remake, however, we have our protagonist played by Halle Bailey, a black woman. While there were fans who were supportive of the casting choice, there were others who were anything but that. From crying out about Ariel being white to telling Bailey she should’ve played Tiana instead, the young actress received a lot of negativity.

Left: Halle Bailey, Right: The Little Mermaid (1989) [Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Pictures]

Let’s discuss why this specific change isn’t a problem:

1. Ariel’s skin colour has nothing to do with the plot. Having her be black won’t change anything in the story. Besides, you do know that mermaids aren’t exclusively white, yeah?

2. The people telling Bailey to play Tiana instead are only further admitting that black people have little-to-no representation. White people have more than just Ariel; they have Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, Anna, etc. People of colour only have a few princesses that look like them. Black people only have Tiana. A black actress playing Ariel won’t change the fact that white people always have representation and will never need to fight for it.

3. “If the roles were reversed, and a white actress played Tiana, you would say it’s racist!” That’s because it is racist, Karen. Tiana being black is significant to her story. The Princess and the Frog is about her having to work hard to reach her goals given her circumstances (which is her being a black woman in the late 1920s in New Orleans). Besides, the roles are reversed; THAT’S THE PROBLEM.

Simply put, whitewashing is erasure; the other way around is minorities’ way of giving themselves the representation they don’t have.

Parting Words From an Angry Brown Woman

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios]

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: It’s not forced diversity; people just exist. I can assure you; it’s not hard to find a good non-white actor. There are plenty of them waiting for opportunities you don’t give them because diversity makes you uncomfortable. Give us proper representation so that no more children of colour have to look for it themselves.

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.

Queer Coding and Queerbaiting: No Homo! Unless…

Photo by Rene Baker, Unsplash

When people like to remind me that our society is so much better than it was about 50 years ago in terms of acceptance, I remind them in return that “better” doesn’t always mean “good”. It merely implies it could’ve been worse. When it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, they can get married now (in some places), they can adopt children (in some places), and they get to see themselves represented in the media.

Sort of.

Queer Coding: For a Little Bit of Backstory

Photo by Amy Humphries, Unsplash

For those who don’t know, queer coding is when creators give a character typically queer traits, all the while never explicitly labelling them as queer. This trope, for the most part, is neutral. It’s the historical context that’s the issue.

In the early days of filmmaking, the U.S. government discouraged any form of overt sexuality, fearing the influence the media had on the public. While LGBTQ+ depictions weren’t outright banned, shining a negative light on them was fine. This is where the problem with queer coding came into play. Male villains were effeminate; female villains, devious.

We can see plenty of examples of the bad guys being portrayed this way in Disney movies. There’s Ratcliffe from Pocahontas, with his concern for fashion. Scar from The Lion King is another gay stereotype, from the limp wrist to the sway of his hips as he struts. We also have Ursula, who was inspired by the late drag queen Divine. Maleficient, with her features drawn sharp to give her a more masculine appearance to juxtapose Aurora’s femininity. Etc. Etc.

Again, queer coding is technically neutral, and plenty of queer people still like these characters (including me). The problem lies in the villainization of queerness. Although we can now have LGBTQ+ onscreen, the harmful tropes haven’t gone away. Plus, another problem arose in the process.

Queerbaiting: Progress (Except I Lied About the Progress Part)

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique where creators hint at their fictional characters being part of the LGBTQ+ community but never depict them as such. It’s similar to queer coding, only the issue is they’re trying to lure in an LGBTQ+ audience by convincing them they’re going to get the representation they’ve wanted for so long. “Fake woke shit,” as I like to call it.

An example would be J.K. Rowling. With her only announcing that Dumbledore was gay after finishing the books and never showing his sexual orientation in the Harry Potter films, Rowling’s fans were rightfully skeptical. Even when the opportunity arose to show some proper representation in the Fantastic Beasts films, they got nothing.

We also have the live-action of The Beauty and the Beast, with LeFou and his little crush on Gaston. This comic-relief of a side character was already queer-coded in the animated film, but in the live-action, he’s just a little bit gayer. Staring at Gaston longingly and… yeah, that’s it. It’s enough that the producers can lure in an LGBTQ+ audience but not too much that they’ll lose their homophobic audience.

Fake. Woke. Shit.

Queer Words from a Queer Person:

Photo by Delia Giandeini, Unsplash

I’m not saying queer villains shouldn’t exist. What I am saying is that you should do more research when it comes to creating queer characters. When coming up with characters who are from marginalized groups, you must always take into consideration historical context. Even if you didn’t mean to write a gay character that plays into negative stereotypes, it’s the impact that counts at the end of the day. When creating a straight character, no one associates their flaws with their sexual orientation because people see being straight as the default; they see it as normal, human. Queer people don’t have that luxury.

The LGBTQ+ community has claimed some of these characters as queer; we don’t hate them. However, we shouldn’t have to decide their sexuality to see ourselves onscreen. Being LGBTQ+ isn’t taboo; we deserve to exist without being viewed as inappropriate. Even if accidental, creating a queer character that plays into harmful stereotypes can negatively affect the queer audience that is already so starved of seeing themselves accurately portrayed in the media.

If you don’t see the importance of representation, it’s because you’ve always been represented.

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.

Blindspotting: What Do You See?

Photo by Howie Mapson, Unsplash

Rubin’s Vase: The image is fundamentally ambiguous. People perceive a vase or faces, but not both at the same time.

This idea is where we get the title for this movie: Blindspotting.

“‘Cause it’s all about how you can look at something, and there can be another thing there that you aren’t seeing. So you got a blind spot.” - Valerie, Blindspotting.

This movie is one of, if not, my absolute favourite. Here’s what I see.

Taking place in Oakland, Cal., Blindspotting begins with our protagonist Collin (played by Daveed Diggs) on his last three days of probation. With his childhood friend Miles (played by Rafael Casal) by his side, we watch as our protagonist tries to start anew. However, when Collin witnesses a police officer shoot a black man in the back during a chase, he realizes he needs to prioritize his safety. In doing so, he must challenge his friendship with Miles.

Photo by Howie Mapson, Unsplash

Let’s begin with the culture. Blindspotting starts by showing us a quick peek at everything that is Oakland, from street art to sports to the community. You get a sense of what it’s like there. Plus, we get to watch our protagonists experience the way their home has changed over the years. They’d poke fun at/complain about the hipsters as well as how everything and everyone is now vegan. As comedic as their reactions may be to the change, it’s also, in a way, a little blue. Especially for Collin— he may be more willing to embrace the new Bay Area, but it adds more to his plate. Drinking a strange, “healthy” green juice may be a start, but he’s now a convicted felon. It’s going to take a lot more than that.

Next, we have the rapping. Throughout the film, we get to listen to our protagonists’ freestyle verses while they go on about their day. Whether they’re walking back home or on the job, Collin and Miles create art. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, who are also the writers of this film, have said it themselves: people won’t listen unless it sounds good. Using rap to grab our attention was brilliant, adding a nice sprinkle of black culture into the mix. The ending (which I will not spoil— don’t worry) does a splendid job with its use of rap to convey a powerful message about police brutality. With recent events involving the Black Lives Matter movement, Blindspotting can also be informative. We can all learn a thing or two.

Now, for our main characters. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal did a fantastic job playing Collin and Miles, respectively. Don’t get me wrong: Jasmine Cephas-Jones and Janina Gavankar did incredible jobs portraying Ashley and Valerie (again, respectively). However, I want to focus on our protagonists. These two didn’t fail to make me laugh at the sheer chaos they’d create along with their banters. Watching Miles lose his mind over how the hipsters have taken over Oakland and everything changing from their childhood is plenty entertaining. Collin, while he may be the more grounded one of the duo, is just as comedic as he witnesses Miles’s wildness unfold.

“But, if somebody points out the other picture to you, doesn’t that make it not a blind spot anymore?” - Collin, Blindspotting.

The comedy is what I mostly saw in the first half of the movie. Then you begin to recognize Miles’s spontaneity as recklessness. He alone is the chaos. You no longer snicker when you watch Collin try to calm his best friend down because you know Miles won’t get in trouble. The exhaustion in Collin’s eyes becomes apparent as you notice how others hold him responsible for both Miles’s actions and his own. One second, you’re chuckling as Miles waves around his gun; the next, you hold your breath when you see someone could’ve gotten hurt.

Photo by Howie Mapson, Unsplash

Blindspotting’s wildness made me laugh until tears formed in my eyes, and the dark realities silenced me while it kept the tears flowing. I saw culture, love and truth. Now, watch this film and tell me what you see.

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Warning: contains explicit language, sexuality and violence

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.

White Saviourism: No, You Didn't "End" Racism

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

I remember being in the eighth grade when my French teacher made us watch Freedom Writers for class. I suppose it was his fun little way of teaching us about prejudice and discrimination. Considering school rarely taught this kind of stuff, my young and impressionable brown self thought it was a very well-thought-out film.

It wasn’t until less than a year ago did I learn about White Saviourism, and now my views on Freedom Writers have completely changed. Despite not knowing any better at the time, I feel personally responsible for misinforming my entire class.

For those who don’t know, White Saviourism, also known as White Saviour Industrial Complex, is when a white person aids a non-white person in a self-serving manner. You can tell it’s a white saviour movie if the protagonist is a white person who is selfless, compassionate, and they “don’t see colour, they see people”. The concept of racism alone is shocking to them, and to find out the BIPOC character is dealing with such oppression motivates them to help. The non-white character tends to be either helpless or passive when it comes to the discrimination they face, and it’s the white protagonist that jumps in to save the day. Whether it’s because the black woman can’t go use the “Whites Only” bathroom or the poor Latina student has no role model, the white character throws on a cape and plays the hero. The racists in the film are so in-your-face to the point they’re inaccurately portrayed. Finally, the movie usually ends with the white “hero” ending racism, or, at the very least, making the world a bit of a better place.

The Help is a textbook white saviour movie. Claiming to be based on a true story, the film is about a white woman wanting to write a book about the hardships black maids face during the Civil Rights movement. Finding out her childhood maid faces oppression is what motivates our “hero” to write about these problems in the first place, making the black women in the story appear passive. In reality, black people were more than willing to share their stories back then as well as today. In fact, Ablene Cooper, one of the maids who worked for the author’s family, sued the movie for its “humiliating” portrayal.

This, of course, wasn’t the only movie to disappoint BIPOC. Dr. Don Shirley’s family condemned Green Book’s portrayal of him, as they made him appear estranged to not only his family but black culture as well. At one point in the film, the white hero (a racist white taxi driver) had to tell Shirley that it was Lil’ Richard playing on the radio. This was one of the many times the protagonist would imply that he was invested more in black culture than the queer black composer. “I live on the streets, you sit on a throne. So, yeah, my world is way more blacker than yours!”

In Gran Torino, our protagonist is seen as a hero when he helps out his Asian neighbours. However, at the same time, he himself is unapologetically racist. He does not grow as a person, nor does he realize his words are still harmful despite “defending” the Asian family. Instead, his casual racism is seen as a quirky personality trait, implying that as long as you have good intentions and do the right thing, you can say whatever you want.

These movies tend to reduce the BIPOC characters to their struggles while they give their white “heroes” character development and depth. White directors and white writers tell these stories from the lenses of white people, only to receive awards from other white people. Racism isn’t talked about on a systemic level; white people merely view it as prejudice, a problem they can solve with kindness and unity alone. This is their way of speaking about racism without making themselves uncomfortable.

Racism is not a comfortable subject. If minorities have to experience it, then white people should be able to stop prioritizing their fragility and comfort. Stop patting each other on the back for being a “good ally” when you’ve been dismissing the voices of the people you claim to be helping.

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.