Whitewashing the Movies: Asian Erasure and White Subjectivity in U.S. Film Culture

Whitewashing the Movies explores the practice of excluding Asian actors from playing Asian characters in film, analyzing how this affects the representation of Asian/American stories and characters. It examines films produced in Hollywood, Asian American independent production, and US-China co-productions, contributing to contemporary understanding of mediated representations of race and producing a counter-imagination of Asian/American representation in Asian-centered stories.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 210 pages
\n Publication date: 15 October 2021
\n Publisher: Rutgers University Press
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Whitewashing the Movies delves into the pervasive phenomenon of excluding Asian actors from portraying Asian characters in film. Media activists and critics have expressed strong disapproval of recent decisions to cast White actors to portray Asians and Asian Americans in movies like Ghost in the Shell and Aloha. This book aims to examine the concept of "whitewashing" in narratives that prioritize White identities while marginalizing Asian/American stories and characters. By analyzing films produced in Hollywood, Asian American independent production, and US-China co-productions, the book seeks to understand the ways in which whitewashing contributes to the project of Whiteness and White racial hegemony. Through its comprehensive analysis, the book offers valuable insights into the impact of whitewashing on mediated representations of race and contributes to the growing body of research in Whiteness in media studies. Moreover, it presents a counter-imagination of Asian/American representation in Asian-centered stories, challenging prevailing stereotypes and promoting more inclusive and accurate portrayals in the media.

\n Weight: 308g\n
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 15 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781978808621\n \n