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Ghost in the Shell has Changed the Name of its Main Character
- Thread starter LordOfLore
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I was asking because it clearly isn't for the nerds, and I wonder if the general public will give a fuck. Nerds won't make or break a movie but they can help amp the buzz of a movie.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I mean, you're probably right, I'm just concerned that there could be a real problem with word of mouth when people have declared they hate it and that its culturally offensive without having seen it.
M0nochromatic
Member
I wish they'd change the name of the movie as well.
ForsakenLotus
Member
Any chance the movie is supposed to have some subtext about the fetishization of American culture the way many Americans fetishize Otaku or Oriental cultures?
SuperStiltzkin
Member
I think it's more egregious to say that an ethnically Japanese woman with a clearly Japanese name is white because...reasons. It's carte blanche to cast a white person in any role regardless of race.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Ghost in the Shell is hardcore nerd, this is basically targeting the comicbook or sci-fi movie core.
imo.
What did he mean by this?
Member
At least when it was whitewashing exclusively, the argument could and was being made that the movie was only greenlit for ScarJo and that respect would be paid to the original series and its a huge honor to play The Major and yadda yadda puff talk puff talk
But a name change changes the narrative and makes it look like thestudio is scrambling to disassociate themselves with any controversy or conversations to be had by removing the original character all together. Its bullshit
But a name change changes the narrative and makes it look like thestudio is scrambling to disassociate themselves with any controversy or conversations to be had by removing the original character all together. Its bullshit
I watched the new trailer and I hate everything about this movie without even watching it
The whole point of the Majors issues stems from the fact that she was cyberised at such a young age that shes unsure if shes human at all
This movie makes it seem like she is made a cyborg way later in her life, and the process wipes her memories?
Its like they took Robocop and Jason Borne and added tits to make a terrible parody of GitS
The whole point of the Majors issues stems from the fact that she was cyberised at such a young age that shes unsure if shes human at all
This movie makes it seem like she is made a cyborg way later in her life, and the process wipes her memories?
Its like they took Robocop and Jason Borne and added tits to make a terrible parody of GitS
I'd rather the actress was of Japanese descent, or at least Asian, but it's not like a white person can't be a citizen of Japan. She could have Caucasian heritage, but there are plenty of ways she could still be raised in Japan by parents who gave her a Japanese name. I think that's a better representation of the manga than trying to rewrite Kusanagi as a white woman who isn't Japanese.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
That's the kind of bending over backwards reaching to justify whitewashing that I exactly don't want. It's why I hate the excuse that she's just in a white cyborg body. If you give Hollywood any kind of out to avoid casting a POC, they WILL take it.
Zoe
Member
Those are just the top searches that are only read as Mira. You can google some of them and find people with those names.
"I don't see color""I dont think it was just a Japanese story"
I see where you're coming from, but racial ambiguity is what allows Marvel to add diversity to their movies. Culture is important to a character, but racial heritage isn't. Whitewashing is bad because the scales massively tip in favour of white cinematic representation, but I think the argument that race isn't integral to all characters is sound. We shouldn't use it to add more white actors to movies for reasons of diversity, not because the argument doesn't make sense.
petran79
Banned
They'd rather watch Oshii's live-action movie Avalon. More relevant to GITS than this
pftttttttttttt
BobTheFork
Member
It's for people who have heard of the property but never seen it and don't already like it.
It's weird. It's like their first attempt to make a deadpool movie. They wanted people to see a deadpool movie 5-6 years ago when they were changing everything about Deadpool in Wolverine Origins.
Also, they were NEVER going to have the main character name in a US released movie be Motoko, ever, for any reason.
GameAddict411
Member
These sort of movies were supposed to appeal to fans of the original animation movies, but they instead lost focus and wanted a familiar face to cast the protagonist. They ended up trying to appeal to a wider audience and said fuck you for the fans.
Those are just the top searches that are only read as Mira. You can google some of them and find people with those names.
It has Slavic/Hindi/Latin origins
It'd still come off as making excuses to cast a white protag. Because that's exactly what they're doing.
I'm not giving them an out. They fucked up, and it's not okay. I'm describing a scenario that I think mitigates the damage. They whitewashed the racial heritage of the character; I'd rather they didn't whitewash the character too.
Zoe
Member
Names can be created independently. Are you going to tell me that Ken is not a Japanese name?
Hellwarden
Member
Man I have no faith in this movie at all.
Aye, part of what's good about GitS is that the Major is rarely in any existential danger, partly because she's that good and partly because the story isn't really about her experiences, it's about her perspective and pontificating on the nature of humanity in a world where machines can perfectly imitate life. The major villains like The Laughing Man and Hideo Kuze didn't challenge her directly, they challenged her worldview. Putting her in law enforcement was an important part of this, as a legal and political system built for humans may itself have little meaning in a cybernetic world, and she thereby questions what she's even fighting for.
But the technology was never "dangerous" in the way that the trailer and the movie seem to be portraying it. The tech was always perfectly safe, and the problems with it were more sinister for that fact.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
The problem is that this is in practical terms saying the movie shouldn't exist. The movie exists because Scarlett Johansson is playing the lead.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Fans of the original what? The original manga, it's inferior followup, or one of the 5-6 subsequent adaptations that also changed things from the original work, quite often for the better?
Also, considering how much of the imagery, setting and story is left intact, it feels unfair to say fans of the Oshii film are being left behind. They've known what they're getting for a year now.
Having a little bit of faith in this adaptation doesn't make anybody inferior to purist fans of the first animated adaptation.
What did he mean by this?
Member
But the lead isnt "Motoko Kusanagi" anymore so whats the point of any thing at all
Theyre just stealing the story and all the iconography
Paracelsus
Member
Those are just the top searches that are only read as Mira. You can google some of them and find people with those names.
Mira doesn't sound like a Japanese name coined by Japanese people conceived for Japanese people. Japanese. Japan.
Mira either is a balkan name or their way to spell "Milla". Your claim is that as long as you can type 紅愛 it's a Japanese name. It's not, it's Claire.
It appears to be made for me cause I'm liking the visuals
Langdon Alger
Banned
Exactly. They shouldn't have cast Scarlett in the first place, but since they have, it makes a lot more sense to change the character's name.
Dark Ninja
Member
Are eating crow threads still allowed this movie deserves one.
When I think of Mira, I think of Mira Sorvino.
I don't think they changed it because Mira is vaguely Asian and more phonetically pleasing to the ears than the attempted pronunciation of "Motoko" out of non-Japanese actors. But, I wouldn't put that reason past a studio suit.
But it's embarassingly the less shameful reason for it. You change Motoko to a non-Japanese name, you lose yet another essence of the original work.
I don't think they changed it because Mira is vaguely Asian and more phonetically pleasing to the ears than the attempted pronunciation of "Motoko" out of non-Japanese actors. But, I wouldn't put that reason past a studio suit.
But it's embarassingly the less shameful reason for it. You change Motoko to a non-Japanese name, you lose yet another essence of the original work.
They could have done a very tasteful look at body-identity in a world where you can have any body you want. A Japanese person wants to be a ScarJo and exploring those emotions and implications. The universe is soooooo rife with possibilities to pose metaphors for our current society. But hey, dumb Hollywood action movie!
Messofanego
Banned
The production design has been on point, but not much else. Not a fan of them recreating moments from the movies, but just not as good.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
We're not at that point yet. It's still an argument used to largely excuse whitewashing. If race doesn't matter, then the name shouldn't matter.
What's the difference between whitewashing the racial heritage of the character vs whitewashing the character? How does changing the name affect that, but changing the race not?
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I don't think you understand the meaning of the word "steal."
What? Have you seen the movie?
CloudyTuba
Member
Was there something wrong with the name Motoko?
:/
:/
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
You haven't even seen the movie yet.
Scarlett Johansson doesn't look like a "Makoto." There's both the fact that they didn't want it to appear like whitewashing to have an ethnically Japanese character that's just portrayed by a white character and the fact it would directly call attention to it if you gave her a Japanese name.
Dark Ninja
Member
No but this one could go either way and both sides have had very strong viewpoints since it was announced.
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