The Watch A Female Employee Who Gives Permission For Things From The Manager OnlineMajor may be a cutting-edge cyborg capable of taking down even the most dangerous criminals, but even she's no match for the withering disdain of the internet.
Ever since Paramount shared the first image of Scarlett Johansson as the Major in Ghost in the Shell, the film's been under fire for its decision to whitewash the lead role, who is Japanese in the source material. So when the studio launched a viral campaign encouraging people to upload their own images and captions into a meme generator, some fed-up fans seized the opportunity to make their displeasure known.
SEE ALSO: Steve Aoki's 'Ghost In The Shell' remix is getting ripped apart by fansHonestly, it's surprising Paramount didn't see this coming. These crowdsourcing campaigns rarely go well — Exhibit A: Boaty McBoatface — and that goes double when a pre-existing controversy is involved.
Twitter user Valerie Complex got the ball rolling with some pointed commentary about the casting of Johansson over other, more appropriate choices like Rinko Kikuchi (the internet's fan-cast of choice for the role).
The Ghost in the Shell Website https://t.co/eqy8CpndC6 has a meme maker of sorts where anyone could "become Major" so I had some fun.... pic.twitter.com/EadKs04H9a
— VzA (@ValerieComplex) March 11, 2017
Others quickly joined in under the hashtag #IAmMajor.
I Am White. I Am Appropriated. #IAmMajor https://t.co/SrLHTgQgsT pic.twitter.com/KVzk4XAHqk
— Pink Veronica 🏳️🌈 (@riotgrrlriot) March 13, 2017
@ValerieComplex @weimingkam @KellyKanayama @JennLi123 pic.twitter.com/F4ExXetFuo
— David Lo Pun-ch Nazi (@helpmeskeletor) March 12, 2017
Speaking to Mashable, Complex explained why the Ghost in the Shellviral campaign rubbed her the wrong way — and why she decided to do something about it.
I didn't create the hashtag #iammajor, but I certainly hijacked it. I am not sure what type of response they were expecting with this meme generator, but I took it as an insult. So anyone can become The Major now? Is that some type of justification for the whitewashing they've done? I cannot speak for Asian women and I am not trying to speak for them, but it's clear how they feel about this. So I did what I did to stand in solidarity with them, and to send a message to Hollywood that we aren't going to sit idly by while they co-opt and transform stories seemingly meant for other demographics of viewers.
Of course, Ghost in the Shell isn't the only recent picture to co-opt Asian culture while downplaying or erasing Asian characters. People also used the meme generator to blast other examples of whitewashing, cultural appropriation and white saviors in Hollywood.
Marvel's Iron Fist, which has been slammed for (among other things) its queasy racial dynamics, was a target for the internet's scorn. As was Marvel's Doctor Strange, which famously cast Tilda Swinton as a character who is Asian in the comics.
@ValerieComplex @JennLi123 pic.twitter.com/fGLySmZv8z
— David Lo Pun-ch Nazi (@helpmeskeletor) March 11, 2017
Tilda Edition #IAmMajor https://t.co/Cyu5IjlDbJ @helpmeskeletor @KellyKanayama
— Wei Ming Kam (@weimingkam) March 12, 2017
And let's not forget the time Emma Stone played a part-Asian character in Cameron Crowe's Aloha.
@helpmeskeletor @weimingkam @KellyKanayama @JennLi123 pic.twitter.com/d4yCHK6YOr
— VzA (@ValerieComplex) March 12, 2017
There's a lotmore sass where that came from. The fact that Hollywood somehow still can't wrap their heads around this issue is tragic.
Ghost in the Shellis in theaters March 31.
Best portable power station deal: Save $179.01 on the EcoFlow River 2 Max
Remembering Freddy Plimpton
What Are Songs For?
Where Does “In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” Originate?
Best Max streaming deal: Save 20% on annual subscriptions
Victor Moscoso on Zap Comix, Learning, and Unlearning
In Chekhov‘s 200
Michel Houellebecq Has Been Kidnapped—Good for Him!
Q&A with tendercare founder and CEO Shauna Sweeney
Here's Frank O'Hara Reading from “Lunch Poems”
Every MCU movie villain ranked, from "Iron Man" to "Thunderbolts*"
Alice Neel’s Unpublished Illustrations of “The Brothers Karamazov”
Remembering Freddy Plimpton
Why Do We Personify the Weather?
Inside the Murky Process of Getting Games on Steam
Our Shrinking Vocabulary of Landscape
Behold: The Splendor of a French Waiter
An Excerpt from Francis Ponge’s “Soap”
Hurricane Laura's impact lingered with nightmarish mosquito swarms
“Readers Make Their Mark”: Marginalia Collected
Geoff Dyer and John Berger, 1984Radical Flâneuserie: Reimagining the Aimlessly Wandering WomanThe Airless, Lacquered Perfection of Steely Dan’s “Gaucho”Looking Back at the Literature of the Obama YearsFlying Carpets: 4 Paintings by David SchorrBeautiful Animal of the King: Zarafa’s Long Walk to ParisAntonio di Benedetto’s Zama As the Great American NovelDelivering Packages to the AfterworldSam Lipsyte on Mary Robison’s “Likely Lake”The Last Days of FoamhengeJeffrey Eugenides on “CarOn Transcribing the Lyrics to Pop SongsMarcy Dermansky Revisits Van Gogh’s FlowersO Death: Luc Sante on Spirit PhotographsLooking Back at the Literature of the Obama YearsStaff Picks: Our Favorite Reads of 2016The Making of a Comics Biography, Part 1The Empty Nostalgia of ‘The Sound of Music’Uluç Ülgen’s Intimate Conversations with Total StrangersThe Wonders of the Prelinger Archive This pic of the White House decked out for Christmas looks like hell on Earth If Trump doubts the 'Access Hollywood' tape, maybe Billy Bush can help Grad student created an amazing Rubik's Cube prototype for the blind Jeremy Clarkson is flabbergasted by Brexit and expects the lights to go out in the UK soon 8 meal prep resources that will make weekly cooking a breeze Lady Gaga talks about her experience of sexual abuse and the psychological impact of trauma How to see a map of all the photos you take on your iPhone Slack is down but it's okay because it's almost Friday Perspiration is now festive thanks to a sweat Tiffany Haddish had the distinct honor of teaching Barbra Streisand all about Cardi B Dua Lipa graced us with new rules to get through the holiday season The Ioniq 5 is Hyundai’s first electric car that can charge other EVs Fake Roy Moore accuser tries to trick the Washington Post and fails spectacularly EV company Fisker wants to build Pope Francis an electric Popemobile 'Town crier' who announced Prince Harry's engagement to Meghan Markle is 100% fake Prince Harry's response when asked about fiancée Meghan Markle is as perfect as the ring MSCHF's Chair Simulator is Steam's hottest game Dog, sick and tired of waiting in car, slams his paw on the horn 9 best tweets of the week, including Mare, LSD, and Macbeth The best Maxine Waters moments of 2017
2.7468s , 10130.421875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch A Female Employee Who Gives Permission For Things From The Manager Online】,Pursuit Information Network