Xander ,'Dirty Girls'
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I think from a Japanese point of view, casting a Chinese woman is no better than casting a Frenchwoman. Asians don't all look alike to other Asians.
That's probably true, but there's also a lot of history behind the Japanese attitude there that, frankly, doesn't always reflect well on them. I'm not saying they should be forced to endure Zhang Ziyi as penance for their past imperialism, I'm just thinking that, as cultural slights by hamfisted Americans go, it's rather mild.
they should be forced to endure Zhang Ziyi as penance for their past imperialism
Maybe that's why there's all that backpatting. Revenge.
there's also a lot of history behind the Japanese attitude there
I wasn't thinking of an specifically Japanese attitude, FWIW. Just your average nationalistic don't-rule-the-world one.
I wasn't thinking of an specifically Japanese attitude, FWIW.
Oh, I know. You clearly made a comparison to casting non-Jamicans, so I get where you are coming from. That's where I was headed with the comparison between European nations, too. I think it was Betsy who pointed out that, to the Japanese, a Chinese actress would be particularly inappropriate.
I'm working on the part where, last I checked, Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi didn't speak English at all. And they are acting in an English-language movie? Are they going to be the kind of geisha that doesn't say anything?
(Also, you know, Mandarin accents in English sound nothing like Japanese accents of same, and Michelle Yeoh's accent is distinctively like neither of them.)
Ken Watanabe at least speaks reasonable English (and I think Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is an American of Japanese ethnicity, right?). Unless there is some optical poptitude planned, to distract one from the dialogue, this movie may have worse problems than the whole political "pan-Asian" issue.
No, Zhang Ziyi speaks English now. Don't know about Gong Li.
I'd imagine that their English is better than their Japanese, so it's a small blessing.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was born in Japan, but is American.
I'd imagine that their English is better than their Japanese,
Dunno why, but this sure made me snerk.
As most have said, I'm still getting the vibe of "hey, who's hot right now *and* Asian? Whaddya mean, there's a difference between 'em? At least we didn't cast anyone white!"
My husband is watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Talk about racial miscasting. Willem Defoe makes a terribly corny Mexican. Right up there with Charleton Heston in A Touch of Evil.
Worse than John Wayne as Genghis Khan?
Only Pauly Shore can credibly claim to have been worse than John Wayne as Ghengis Khan.