People are criticizing Matt Damon’s newest film for ‘whitewashing’ Chinese history
Damon plays the lead role in 'The Great Wall,' the largest film ever shot entirely in China.
The trailer for Matt Damon’s newest film hit the internet Thursday, and with it came a storm of controversy. Many people wondered why The Great Wall, which is the largest film ever shot entirely in China and is directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Daggers, the Beijing Olympics opening and ceremonies), needed to star a white man. Little is known about the movie, other than what is seen in the trailer — namely, a mysterious Godzilla-like monster is seemingly primed to attack the wall. While Damon does play the main character, the lead ensemble includes actors of a variety of nationalities. Damon and fellow American Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Boondock Saints) are joined by Chilean actor Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones), and a number of Chinese stars, including pop star Luhan, actor Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, later remade for American audiences as The Departed), and newcomer Jing Tian.In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Yimou explained that the film is more like a hybrid, a Hollywood monster film featuring elements of Chinese culture.“First and foremost, this is an English-language film, and a Hollywood blockbuster,” Yimou said. “It was already very clear in the script phase. This is a Hollywood monster movie and needs to be made in that style.”“It is synergistic filmmaking,” Yimou continued. “There’s a saying in Chinese: 借水行船 Use the water to move the boat. In this case, we are using Hollywood filmmaking to introduce Chinese culture.”Actress Constance Wu, who stars on the ABC sitcom Fresh off the Boat, posted comments to Twitter saying that the traditional excuses used for casting white actors in roles that could be filled by minorities — the most common being that big-budget movies need to cast big-name white actors to make money — are no longer valid.
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/759086955816554496
“We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world,” Wu wrote. “It’s not based in actual fact.”
“Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon,” Wu continued. “They look like Malala. Ghandi. Mandela. Your big sister when she stood up for you to those bullies that one time. We don’t need salvation. We like our colour and our culture and our strengths and our own stories.”
Wu wasn’t the only one who had something to say about the trailer and Damon’s role.
https://twitter.com/JSim07/status/758710320621756416
…why would white men need to be in a movie about the Great Wall, even if it’s a monster movie?
— Nicole Chung | @nicolechung on Bluesky (@nicolesjchung) July 28, 2016
Things You Can Count On: Hollywood can set a movie anywhere in the world, in any era of history, and always find a way to star a white guy.
— Phil Yu (@angryasianman) July 28, 2016
Found another preview shot of The Great Wall starring Matt Damon @angryasianman – he was in Qin’s army all along pic.twitter.com/NWSVOzkJSB
— Lo 玲 Targos 🍉 (@LoTargos) July 29, 2016
Others, including Wu, acknowledged that the Chinese financiers of the film likely played a hand in the casting choice, and that blame isn’t as important in this situation as awareness.
https://twitter.com/Akitron/status/759193687339347968
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/759191306417475584
The Great Wall is scheduled to hit theaters February 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVw9YdP1O-0
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