Fairly recently Disney Studios made a slew of announcements of bringing live action versions of animated Disney classics to the big screen. Though this news was first met with joyful cheers and adulation, Disney is under the radar for the Mulana’s live adaptation, as not everyone is thrilled with the decision. A group of activists have mobilised the public with concerns over who might be cast to play the part of the oriental heroine.
The “Tell Disney You Don’t Want A Whitewashed Mulan!” petition on Care2 has received almost 30,000 signatures in the past two days, alerting the entertainment conglomerate that selecting a white actor, regardless of her star power, is unacceptable.
With white actors often than not taking the title roles in blockbuster films, those looking for more diverse faces – especially in roles specifically for people of colour – are preparing for battle even before Disney reveals plans of a tentative cast for its leading lady in Mulan.
“This disturbing trend of whitewashing in big-budget movies can’t get a chance to take root in Mulan.” reads the petition.
The concern of the petition’s author, Natalie Molnar, arises from DreamWorks Studios’ decision to cast Scarlett Johansson in the live-action version of the 1995 Japanese animated movie Ghost in the Shell.
Hollywood has a long history of hiring white actors to play characters of a different race, even last year’s Exodus: Gods and Kings saw Christian Bale play the role of (which historically is of a Middle Eastern origin) Moses.
“Casting a Caucasian actor as a character of colour, regardless of reason, has a direct, harmful impact on not only the movie itself, but the audience, as well as POC members of the acting community,” the petition continues.
Critics of whitewashed casting say it makes movies less believable and contributes to the marginalisation of actors of colour.
As per a recent study, Asian actors made up approximately 4.4 per cent of speaking roles in major Hollywood films in 2013. White actors dominated almost 75 per cent of speaking roles, with black actors coming in a far second place at 14 per cent and Hispanic actors at less than 5 per cent.
As news of Disney’s next female star hangs in the balance, there’s a chance that the company will cast an Asian actress (it’s happened in the past); Chinese actress Ming-Na Wen voiced Mulan for the 1998 animated version. However, Disney has not issued an official response to the petition, yet.