Ridley Scott's new film The Martian has been the talk of Hollywood the past week, but unfortunately not all chatter about it has been positive.
The sci-fi drama has been fingered by critics as the latest Hollywood feature to cast a white actress as an Asian character. The source of controversy is the role of Mindy Park; who is played by Canadian actress Mackenzie Davis in the film. In the novel that the film is based on, author Andy Weir clearly identified Park as a Korean-American scientist.
The Media Action Network for Asian-Americans voiced their outrage at the casting choice. President Aki Aleong issued this statement to Variety:
"This insulting practice of white-washing has got to stop, it has been increasing in frequency. Today's audiences expect multi-racial casts in entertainment, as they reflect the multi-cultural environment in which they've grown up. In fact, three of the television series that are doing very well this television season star Asians actors: 'Fresh off the Boat,' 'Quantico,' and 'Dr. Ken.'"
The group also disagreed with the altering of NASA Director of Mars Operations Vincent Kapoor. In Weir's novel, the character goes by the name Venkat Kapoor and is clearly described as being of American-Indian descent. The organization pointed out that in Scott's film, his name is changed to Vincent Kapoor, and he's portrayed by British black actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The book version of Kapoor identified as a Hindu spiritually while the movie variant indicated that 'his father was "a Hindu" but that his mother was "Baptist."
"So few projects are written specifically with Asian American characters in them and he's now changed them to a white woman and black man. This was a great opportunity to give meaty roles to talented Asian American actors - and boost their careers - which would've enabled our community to become a greater part of the rescue team." said the statement.
