Death Note, the second major Japanese manga to be adapted as a major Hollywood production this year, is facing some of the same criticisms that its predecessor (Ghost in the Shell) did. Accusations of ‘whitewashing’ the film and its cast have hounded the Netflix film, especially as its release date has drawn near. Its director, Adam Wingard, was quick to point out that Japanese adaptations of western stories don’t worry over pulling in American cast members to stay true to the source material. And perhaps it’s not an issue. Release territories often cast film and television to best relate to their native audience. The Office (UK) already existed when the American version of The Office was released stateside. Both star an English-speaking cast, but producers must have determined that the American audience required something slightly different in order for the series to succeed. Whether or not American audiences are ready for a Japan-set and Japanese-starring adaptation is another matter. Some may welcome it, but it seems it may not be for everyone yet. And until the bottom line is not dollars, don’t expect filmmakers to be bold and take that leap.
What’s more troubling, in the case of Death Note, is that whitewashing here means not trading out Tokyo for Seattle, nor casting American instead of Japanese actors, but rather, trading out an intelligent, thoughtful, and emotionally controlled protagonist for the typical angsty, emo, American high school outsider. And in the case of Death Note, the presence of brains, or fully-functioning, strategizing, and highly calculating minds on both sides of the chess board is not only central to, but instrumental to the success of the story: it defines the saga. Without it, you get a very different, and arguably, inferior story.
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via destructoid
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