Is White Washing Really Still A Thing?

(The shortened opening)

NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. Let's talk about white washing

(Immediately, a comment in the comments section below the video is typed in: "YOU'RE WRONG!" in capital letters over and over again)

NC: (holding up both hands) STOP!! (the typing stops) Obviously, this is a subject everybody has a strong opinion on, especially given the news recently.

(This is followed by clips of the upcoming film "Doctor Strange")

NC (vo): Two big movies have just done previews: a trailer from Marvel's "Doctor Strange"...

(Cut to a still shot of another upcoming film, "Ghost in the Shell")

NC (vo): ...and a still from Paramount's remake of "Ghost in the Shell".

(Cut to a shot of George Takei's negative review of "Doctor Stange" via Facebook)

NC (vo): The Internet flipped...

(Cut to a shot of Scarlett Johansson as Kusanagi in "Ghost in the Shell" compared side-by-side with the original anime version of Kusanagi, along with the message "White washing??")

NC (vo): ...as both films were accused...

(Cut to a shot of Tilda Swinton from "Doctor Strange" along with a message that the director reacted to the criticism of the film)

NC (vo): ...of white washing.

NC: Which, for those who don't know, is when a person who is supposed to be of a certain ethnicity is suddenly played by a white person.

(Cut to the same shot of Scarlet Johansson in "Ghost in the Shell")

NC (vo): In "Ghost in the Shell"'s case, people were upset because Scarlet Johansson was playing what was originally an Asian character.

(Cut to a clip of "Doctor Strange")

NC (vo): And in "Doctor Strange"'s case, a Tibetan man is now being portrayed as a Celtic woman, played by Tilda Swinton.

NC: This is a touchy subject that's making many people feel enraged. White washing is an art that... let's face it, white people have mastered bullshitting for years. (shows a chart, comparing the animated characters from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to the movie characters)

NC (vo): Which is all the more reason to get upset. People can't believe that it's still going on. (shows a poster of Roony Mary as Tiger Lily) Is America, home to so many different cultures and races, still resorting to the same tricks? (shows an image of Michael Fassbender as Etzio in the upcoming "Assassins Creed" movie) Have things really gotten better (shows a picture of an actor doing black face) or have we just disguised our hypocrisy even more?

NC: Well, for "Ghost in the Shell", a Japanese property, there is one group of people that, for the most part, doesn't seem to have that big a problem: the Japanese!

(Cut to clips from three different interviews with Japanese citizens. The comments were as followed: "She [Scarlett Johanson] looks like the character, so it's not a bad choice," "Yeah, it will more like anime-ish if actors aren't Japanese," "Beautiful, right?", and "Beautiful.")

NC (vo): Now, granted, we obviously can't speak for all of them, but when asking random Japanese people on the street what they thought on the casting of the film, most of them seemed pretty okay. Not only did they...

(Cut to a split screen image, comparing Motoko from the anime and Motako from the movie)

NC (vo): ...say she looked liked the character, but they also knew it was an American film, and American films mostly have white actors.

NC: (looking up in thought) I guess in hindsight, if Japan did their version of, say, "Superman"...

(Cut to a shot of a Japanese magazine advertising the "Superman" movie, with a Japanese person, who looks suspiciously female, in Superman's outfit)

NC (vo): ...and they cast a Japanese actor in the role, Americans probably wouldn't care.

(Cut to a shot of the original "Ghost in the Shell" anime cartoon)

NC (vo): I think most people are assuming, too, that because the film is made by Americans, it probably wouldn't take place in Japan. (shows posters and shots of "The Ring" and "The Grudge") The same way "The Ring" and "The Grudge" were Asian properties, but clearly weren't filmed in Asia and didn't star Asian people. Or the same way they made...

(Cut to shots of "Seven Samurai" and "The Magnificent Seven", shown side-by-side)

NC (vo): ..."Seven Samurai in the Old West". Eh, the first time.

(Cut to a montage of posters comparing old and new versions of films: "Godzilla (2014)" and "Godzilla (1954)"; "La Cage aux Folles" and "The Birdcage"; "The Departed" and "Infernal Affairs"; "Old Boy (2013)" and "Old Boy (2003)"; and "Let the Right One In" and "Let Me In")

NC (vo): In fact, there's tons of remakes of foreign films that have done this, as well as replaced the actors with white Americans, but have never gotten criticized, even to this day.

NC: (the image of Scarlet Johansson in "Ghost in the Shell" appears in the corner) So why is this one getting so beaten up? Well, there could be a couple of reasons.

(Cut to more shots of the original anime series and the remake)

NC (vo): One could be the character struck such a chord with anime fans that (shows another shot of Johansson with a message: "Would YOU Think Her Name was Kusanagi?") the identity was so tied to her Japanese heritage. Or, most likely, too, America has so many Asian-American actors, (shows a list of the movie's cast, which includes many Asian-American actors) some of which are even included in the film, (one more shot of the anime) that it seems pointlessly silly not to cast one in the leading role. They are still, after all, Americans.

NC: I also keep hearing that there's no Asian-American actors big enough to guarantee a good box office. First of all, there's tons of...

(Cut to a rapid-fire montage of Asian-American actors)

NC (vo): ...Asian-American actors, and many of them are very successful.

NC: But I know what they mean when they say none of them are (makes finger quotes) "as big" as Scarlet Johansson.

(Cut to a shot of a group of famous celebrities)

NC (vo): Sure, star power is important, but guess what: (shows the poster for "Captain America: The First Avenger") some of the highest grossing movies and franchises (shows a picture of Rey and Fin from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens") don't have huge names as the main characters. (shows the poster for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone") Who heard of Daniel Radcliffe before "Harry Potter"? (shows a poster of the first "Superman" movie) Who heard of Christopher Reeve before "Superman"? (shows a shot of a couple of "Avatar" characters) Most of the names in "Avatar" aren't that huge. (shows a photo of Harrison Ford as Han Solo, then a poster for "Star Wars: A New Hope") Harrison who? Star what? BOMB! (the word "BOMB!" appears on the poster)

(Cut to clips of "Doctor Strange")

NC (vo): But what about "Doctor Strange"'s case? Is there really a bias against Tibetan actors?

NC: Well... yes, but not in the way that you'd think.

(Cut back to "Doctor Strange")

NC (vo): You see, 18% of Marvel's motion picture income stems from China. (the phrase "18% of Movie Income = China" is shown) And guess who China is not exactly the biggest fan of? (to the sound of a ding, the map of Tibet appears) Correct.

(Cut to a side-by-side comparison of the original Doctor Strange comic character, a man, and the newer Doctor Strange played by Swinton)

NC (vo): So the choice was made to change the character so much, from a male Tibetan to a Celtic female, that hopefully it would be so different that nobody would notice.

NC: (laughing) You have totally underestimated your geeky fanbase! (shows two shots of Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton, both of whom played Batman, and then a shot of Batman from the comics) We get upset when a good-looking white man plays a good-looking white man!

(Cut to more clips of "Doctor Strange")

NC (vo): On the one hand, it's good to know that the American filmmakers don't have any real anti-Tibetan agenda. I mean, they're a business and they want to make as much money as they can. (shows a shot of the comic version of Doctor Strange) But, on the other hand, it's still ethically wrong. They're putting prejudice ahead of not making more money.

(Cut to a shot of a person holding up both hands, one raised higher than the other like a scale, each hand with a glowing dollar sign on it, one (on the higher-raised hand) glowing green, the other glowing red)

NC (vo): But let's be honest: this happens a lot in business. Like, all the time.

NC: And let's also be honest: we've let very similar choices slide recently.

(Cut to a shot of a girl in blackface and braided hair)

NC (vo): (mockingly) "Oh, what, you mean blackface..."

(Cut to a second shot, this one of Mr. Yunioshi, Mickey Rooney's character from "Breakfast at Tiffany's")

NC (vo): "...or that slanty-eye make-up that never fooled anyone? Come on! That's not us, that's the generation before us!"

NC: That stuff is, but (points at camera) you've been okay with a lot more than you think!

(Cut to a shot of a poster for "Aladdin")

NC (vo): In fact, we've grown up with it, mostly in cartoons. (shows shots of Apu and Dr. Hibbert from "The Simpsons") Apu and Dr. Hibbert? (shows shots of Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer) White guy. (shows shots of Aladdin and Jasmine) Aladdin and Jasmine? (shows shots of Scott Weigner and Linda Larkin) White people. (shows a montage of shots of different anime series, such as "Cowboy Bebop" and "Dragonball Z") Hey, you remember all those animes starring Japanese people? (shows shots of various anime characters, all accompanied by shots of white actors who did their voices in American dubs) Practically all of them are redubbed by white Americans! (shows a shot of the never-made "Cowboy Bebop" movie, along with a shot of Keanu Reeves") In fact, there was even a "Cowboy Bebop" movie in the works for a while that was going to star Keanu Reeves. And people were actually excited about it! Well, wait a minute! How come this gets a pass, (shows the same old shot of Scarlet Johansson as Kusanagi) but Scarlet Johnansson doesn't?

NC: But it doesn't stop there:

(Cut to a montage of the following shots: Belle from "Beauty and the Beast", alongside Paige O'Hara; Tina Belcher from "Bob's Burgers", alongside Dan Mintz; Tommy Pickles from "The Rugrats", alongside Elizabeth Daily; Neil Patrick Harris on "How I Met Your Mother"; Robin Williams in "The Birdcage"; and a group shot of the cast of "Monty Python's Life of Brian")

NC (vo): Belle's not French, Tina's not a girl, Tommy's not a boy, Neil Patrick Harris isn't straight, Robin Williams isn't gay, and, speaking of comedies, I don't think the cast of "Life of Brian" are actually Israeli.

(Cut to another montage, this one of the following shots: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Henry Cavill as Superman, Mel Gibson as ?, and Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter)

NC (vo): In fact, Britain and a lot of other countries have posed as us a lot. Some of our most famous roles are played by actors who are not American.

NC: And it even works the other way around:

(Cut to some alternating shots of characters played by Alfred Molina and Roma Maffia)

NC (vo): Performers like Alfred Molina and Roma Maffia. They've played almost every ethnicity there is because they look like almost every ethnicity there is.

(Cut to yet another montage, this one of shots of Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, Michael Clarke Duncan as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Will Smith as Robert Neville)

NC (vo): In fact, something that's getting a lot of praise is when a role that's meant for a white actor is now suddenly being played by a person of color.

NC: (waving dismissively) And I know what you might be saying: how is a person of color playing a white person's role any different from a white person playing a person of color's role?

(Suddenly, a new comment is typed in the comments section below the video: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????????)

NC: (holding up both hands) STOP!!! (the typing stops as he holds up both index fingers) I'm not going where you think I'm going.

(A new montage begins, comprised of shots of many characters of color played by whites. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: Marlon Brando as Sakini from "Teahouse of the August Moon", a person in blackface (likely Al Jolson from "The Jazz Singer"), a banned cartoon showing stereotypical African natives beating on drums, Katherine Hepburn as Jade Tan from "Dragon Seed", John Wayne as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror", and a Tom and Jerry cartoon where Tom has a record over his head while his eyes are Asian slanted)

NC (vo): The answer is obvious: because of the white washing we've had in the past. America clearly hasn't had the best record in terms of treating people equally. And it's obvious there has been years of keeping women, foreigners and anybody of color as somehow than lower than white men in both society and our media.

(Cut to a shot of another movie where a black man plays a gunslinger (don't know the movie, though, or who the actor is; maybe it's Samuel L. Jackson in "The Hateful Eight"))

NC (vo): Because of this, we're more open to allowing the gender or race of what was a white male changed to reflect the growing environment.

NC: But even taking race out of it, there's tons of similar white washing going on that we've just allowed.

(Cut to clips of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy)

NC (vo): I was actually shocked when they did "Lord of the Rings" and they didn't hire little people for the job. Now, don't get me wrong: the actors were all great; I had no problem with their performances, but the only time little people were used was when you saw the back of their heads.

NC: (looks around briefly) Why are we okay with that?

(Cut to a shot of the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz")

NC (vo): They can play supporting Munchkins...

(Cut to a shot of some elves from "Elf"; I'm guessing that's "Elf")

NC (vo): ...or elves...

(Cut back to more clips of the "Lord of the Rings" series)

NC (vo): ...but starring roles was asking too much? There's plenty of actors who are little people, and it's not like these were gigantic names. I mean, nobody's gonna see "Lord of the Rings" because it starred Elijah Wood; they're gonna see it because it's "Lord of the Rings". This is still a very similar form of white washing.

NC: (somewhat perplexed) Height washing? (suddenly points at screen) Copyright! (a message appears below Critic: "Height-Washing: Copyright - Nostalgia Critic")

(Cut back to the "Lord of the Rings" series)

NC (vo): You probably don't think this is a big deal, but if we kept to this exact way of doing things...

(Cut to a clip of "Game of Thrones" featuring Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister)

NC (vo): ...we wouldn't have the 31 flavors of kickass that is Peter Dinklage. This guy is so popular now that they're writing him in (shows a shot of Dinklage as Bolivar Trask in "X-Men: Days of Futures Past") roles that weren't even meant for a little person.

NC: If you were to recast Peter Dinklage's role on "Game of Thrones" with, say...

(Cut to a shot of David Tennant on "Doctor Who")

NC (vo): ...David Tennant on his knees, even though that's a brilliant actor, people would be offended to no end.

(Cut back to "Game of Thrones")

NC (vo): We love Peter Dinklage, and the idea now of putting someone like David Tennant in there would be insulting and bad taste.

NC: Yet we just gave the "Hobbit" trilogy millions of dollars...

(Cut to clips of the "Hobbit" trilogy)

NC (vo): ...and complained about differences from the book, rather than the fact that we're spending God knows how much to have people walk on their knees and do optical illusions because we just didn't put a real little person in there.

NC: However, as much as those prejudices really seem worthy of anger, it's hard to tell where to draw the line.