After
watching D. W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms
(1919) in class on Wednesday, and all of its horrendous attempts at
“yellowface,” I was reminded of the controversies of Cloud Atlas (2012).
*Disclaimer, I never saw the film.* The film includes actors Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, and
James D’Arcy, all white men, as Asian actors in yellowface. Guy Aoki, the founding president of the
Media Action Network for Asian America found many problems with the film beyond
just the lack of Asian actors. His
many responses include the possibility for Cloud Atlas to change Asian
stereotypes: “Cloud
Atlas missed a
great opportunity. The Korea story’s protagonist is an Asian man—an action hero
who defies the odds and holds off armies of attackers. He’s the one who liberates [a clone
played by actress] Doona Bae from
her repressive life and encourages her to join the resistance against the
government. It would have been a great, stereotype-busting role for an Asian
American actor to play, as Asian American men aren’t allowed to be dynamic or
heroic very often." He
further went onto to mention “Asian-Americans at the [preview] screening burst
out laughing because [Weaving] looked terrible – like a Vulcan on Star
Trek," and that the truly disturbing aspect of the yellowface for him was
“to
see poorly done Asian eye prosthetics to make Caucasian men look Asian,”
without taking into account facial structure of complexion.
James D'Arcy
Jim Sturgess
Hugo Weaving
The directors claim all of the racial-crossing in the film was to allow the actors to “take on multiple roles” and “to portray the continuity of souls” (Zakarin). Yet, unfortunately it reflects the same old racial pecking order that the entertainment industry has been practicing for years. The casting of this film emphasizes that white men have access to any role in terms of race even when it would have been more appropriate and almost easier to cast Asian or Asian American actors. Cloud Atlas begs the question of artistic licensing and whether or not that should shape our opinion in conjunction with the long tradition of Hollywood exclusion.
James D'Arcy
Jim Sturgess
Hugo Weaving
The directors claim all of the racial-crossing in the film was to allow the actors to “take on multiple roles” and “to portray the continuity of souls” (Zakarin). Yet, unfortunately it reflects the same old racial pecking order that the entertainment industry has been practicing for years. The casting of this film emphasizes that white men have access to any role in terms of race even when it would have been more appropriate and almost easier to cast Asian or Asian American actors. Cloud Atlas begs the question of artistic licensing and whether or not that should shape our opinion in conjunction with the long tradition of Hollywood exclusion.
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