Monthly Archives: November 2019

Whitewashing…to appease China?

Leave a reply

As a person of multi-racial heritage, I am particularly sensitive to and tired of whitewashing and yellowface in film. Whether it is Scarlett Johansson’s Major in “Ghost in the Shell,” Emma Stone’s Allison Ng in “Aloha,” Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul in “Batman Begins,” the cringe-worthy casting of John Wayne’s Genghis Kahn in “The Conqueror” and the truly despicable caricature of Mickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast of Tiffany’s,” this history is a long trail of racial ignorance and insensitivity.

“Yao was born in the 1430’s, in the mystic city of Kamar-Taj, a village in the Himalayas area now known as Tibet.”
– from the Marvel Database
“…it was revealed that she was Celtic, as well as the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme who was responsible for safeguarding the world against mystical or magical threats.”
– from the Disney Wiki

One recent case of whitewashing was Tilda Swindon’s role as The Ancient One, a Tibetan monk who teaches and guides Dr. Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In the movies, The Ancient One is changed into a Celtic woman. Now, according to an article in CNET, that change may have been made to appease Chinese censors.

Read about how the lucrative Chinese movie market – second only to the North American market – exerts such pressure that Hollywood movies are being altered and censored to ensure access to that market:

Marvel is censoring films for China, and you probably didn’t even notice
– Jennifer Bisset for CNET, November 1, 2019

Remembering Traveling in Vietnam

2 Replies

As I continue to slog through removing pictures and videos from my Facebook account, the memories inevitably come rushing back. Here are three videos from a trip I made to Vietnam back in 2010:

Making a left turn in Vietnamese Traffic

When turning left, you just do it, regardless of the oncoming traffic. The oncoming traffic merely flows around you like water diverted around a rock or log in a stream. As a passenger, it’s pretty unsettling.

Riding as a passenger on a motorbike

Motorbikes are the most efficient mode of transportation in large cities. They can navigate the narrow alleyways and clogged traffic better than anything with four wheels.

Flooding in Central Vietnam

The central region of Vietnam, the narrow strip stretching from Nghe An (about 40 miles from Hanoi) to Bình Thuận (within 30 miles of Ho Chi Minh City), suffers major flooding almost every year. We got caught in this when attempting to drive the length of Vietnam from Hanoi all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City.

Eventually our van stalled out when the air filter became saturated, and we had to backtrack and seek refuge for a few days in Hà Tĩnh to wait for the high waters to subside. Losing those days meant we ended up flying from Vinh to Ho Chi Minh City. Thus I did not get to see the ancient Imperial City of Huế, Da Nang, or any of the other cities of Central Vietnam.