White Washing in Hollywood

Hollywood has a streak of what is referred to as whitewashing, which is racist and damaging to more than just the actors. Whitewashing or race bending is defined as “situations where a media content creator (movie studio, publisher, etc.) has changed the race or ethnicity of a character. This is a longstanding Hollywood practice that has been historically used to discriminate against people of color.”
Whitewashing in Hollywood is not a new phenomenon in any sense. Race bending has been around for a while. It seems more noticed now because of the strong fan base that many ethnic roles have. In the past the roles of ethnic parts still went to white actors. They would try sometimes to recreate the character by doing things like “black” or “yellow” face to represent black or Asian character respectively.
        The lead roles in many movies that were originally an ethnic party have gone mainly to white actors or actresses. This is something seen in many different popular movies. To name a few examples, “The Hunger Games” (2012), “Cleopatra” (1963), “The Prince of Persia” (2010), “21”(2008),“West Side Story” (1961), “Argo” (2012) . I could go on and on. The list is extensive and isn't limited by time, genre of movie, or sex.
Many would also say that with a lot of the examples of main characters being whitewashed that I gave that the actors were picked because they are just the right person for the job skin color be damned. This assumption is a huge part of why white washing in Hollywood is so damaging.
I do agree that the a part should go to the best actress or actor to play the part. However blatant lack of cultural representation is damaging to all those watching it. It takes power from those from an ethnic background and empower white privilege.
There is also the argument that casting directors must do what is best for their movies. Therefore if they have a choice of a more well known star who is white rather than an actress or actor of color, who better fits the description. The director will most likely go with more widely known actress or actor even though they do not fit the role. This is still unfair to the actors or actresses of color. They are denied the chance to ever even get the chance to reach the notoriety that more well known stars have.
There are many different reasons why race bending is wrong and damaging. Firstly, the lack of ethnic actors and actresses in mainstream movies, like any media it will affect those who view it. Young viewers of ethnic backgrounds will see the lack of representation of their race and wonder what is wrong with them. Why are they not white like Katniss. When the new “Pan” movie comes out, I am sure many young Native American girls will wonder why the Princess Tiger Lily character is white (Suede).
This is also seen in different cases where the antagonist is kept ethnic while the protagonist is whitened. This can be seen in even Disney movies. The best example is the Disney movie “Aldan”. Jafar, the main antagonist is darker than the rest of the characters and is the only character with an accent.  For a more modern, and not animated example, I have “Avatar; The last Air Bender”. The main cast completely deviates from the original cartoon cast. Except for the antagonist. The cast is all white except for him. Zoku, the main villain is played by an ethnic actor. These are also both movies aimed at a younger audience. The things may seem subtle but they play a huge role on how children especially of ethnicity will develop their sense of self.
Another harmful effect it can have is on  American’s already warped sense of history. There is already studies showing that American’s have a tendency take the history they see in movies as facts. Americans seem to be a tad bit gullible if they see it on television or in movies. So seeing no different ethnicity's than Caucasian in historically based movies can place the wrong impression on those who are not able to watch media critically enough to separate actual history from what is on the screen. An example of this is “Prince of Persia”, they used Jake Gyllenhaal, a white actor to portray a Persian prince. As well as in the movie “Noah”, where the entire cast is Caucasian.  Things like this tend to extenuate stereotypes and racial profiling.



Whitewashing in media, like all negative influences will create the wrong perceptions in youth and those who are unable to look at media critically. Whitewashing in Hollywood is racist and should be treated as such.