Japundit gets it wrong on MOAG

Japundit is celebrating its comment-generating post about the “controversy” over the Memoirs of a Geisha movie with a victory lap. But really, who cares? The blog, I assure you, is just playing into marketers’ hands.

What no one seems to be mentioning is that putting a Chinese woman in a Japanese role was more than likely an intentional decision by the filmmakers to generate buzz. Or even if the initial casting decision wasn’t made specifically to ruffle feathers, the race mix-up angle has been played up way out of proportion for that reason. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the race-sensitive Asians and their apologists (at Japundit, MutantFrog.com, or other public forums) would get their panties in a bundle if those ignoramuses in Hollywood confused Japanese and Chinese people, so why not exploit that to get people talking about a movie that would otherwise not be very appealing to an uninitiated audience?

Because realistically, a movie about a “geisha” probably couldn’t sell itself. Enough people in the States are vaguely aware of what a geisha is to the point of it showing up in the dictionary, but are Americans dying to see a tragic tale of star-crossed love between two stiff, unemotional Asians? Most people would understandably say, “Geesha what?” And as we all know, Japan isn’t nearly as sexy as it once was, and with Japan-China tensions being the hot-button issue that they are, a good bit of controversy never hurt anyone.

So when you go see this movie, enjoy — but just remember that your thoughts on race relations, your expectations of artistic authenticity, and all else you hold dear are all being carefully manipulated by well-paid and savvy hucksters.

7 thoughts on “Japundit gets it wrong on MOAG”

  1. I agree. this is really a Hollywood ploy.

    Call it a “Memoir of Thai Babe”. Everything would still be the same, except then they might need a Japanese actress to appeal to the Japanese market.

    The reason to choose a Chinese actress was very obvious, to access the Chinese market. As for the Japan market, the theme and the lead actor already catered for it. Hollywood would have loved a Korean actress as well, but (I heard) the offer was turned down.

  2. I disagree: I think Hollywood couldn’t care less about nationality; they’ve hardly ever given it much thought before. Rather, it’s the overreliance on “bankable” stars, known quantities which makes most of the decisions.

    I think you underestimate the romance with which the Geisha is still viewed in the US. Golden’s book was a huge hit (even Liza Dalby’s book is still in print), and the melodramatic and sexual nature of the situation, not to mention the visual potential and period drama, is pure B-movie gold.

  3. Am I the only one who thinks that the actress may have been chosen because the producer and director felt she was right for the part?

    Lucy Liu was born in Queens and is Chinese by lineage, but played O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Nobody was up in arms about that, is it just because nobody takes Quentin Tarentino seriously?

    Think of how many African American actors played Africans without ever once setting foot in Africa. Is that any more or less accurate?

  4. aburioe’s comments reproduced. Sorry again!

    In response to my post:

    yeah, a movie about a geisha couldn’t sell itself…the book only sold a bazillion copies in a bazillion different countries. And the book didn’t even have a beautiful actress prancing around the screen for ninety minutes. But then again, geishas are so mundane and ordinary…

    And in response to sun bin:

    Sun Bin, what are you talking about? Memoir of a Thai babe? Memoirs of a Geisha is an incredible story that millions of people will likely enjoy. The only difference is that they put a couple of actresses who aren’t Japanese into the movie. That’s it. It doesn’t mean they’ve sacrificed the story (although they might have…I’ve yet to see it, so I can’t say). But the actresses in question are superstars. The only reason they put them in the movie is that they are superstars…the fact that there will be some controversy is only icing on the cake.

    But Steven Speilberg doesn’t make movies these days with nobodies as the stars. If you can name for me even one Japanese actress that my mother in America will recognize, then you may have a point. But my point is that there isn’t one, which is why Speilberg wisely chose Zhang Ziyi, one of the most beautiful actresses in the world, to play the part. If you guys think it’s anything beyond that, you’re crazy. Hollywood’s in it for the money. If they can get Zhang and Yeoh, then why on Earth would you pass up the opportunity? They wouldn’t. This is an American film made in English for an American audience. The film loses little accuracy with the inclusion of Chinese actresses (at least from the perspective of an American audience). So MFT, like Japundit, might as well just let it go.

  5. what i mean is, it is a story. a story needs a placeholder.
    geisha is a placeholder, so is Japan, so is who plays the characters, if you do a search and replace and make a similar story with a dancer, or a socializer?
    is there major difference? yes, it would lose all the nuances for loyalists of the novel. but since it is an adaptation to a movie, it would be damned by loyalists anyway. so the difference is small.

  6. To me, the point is that these Chinese actresses are totally wrong for their parts (with the possible exception of Gong Li). Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh as Japanese ninja? Great. As geisha? Sorry, I’ll pass.

    Hollywood is clearly banking on what Jonathon has termed “known quantities,” actresses with name recognition. But I think the criteria were apparently “Are they Asian and famous?” rather than “Are they right for this part?” It’s a shame that they apparently forgot that the breakout hit Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon featured no such known quantities as far as the non-Asian world was concerned, nor was it in English, accented or not.

Comments are closed.