“I am hunted. I am the hunter. I am coming for them. I am Major,” Scarlett Johansson says in a new teaser for the upcoming live-action remake of the hallowed anime Ghost in the Shell. “Who are you” is the question put to viewers. Given the serious criticism for whitewashing a Japanese masterpiece, people took the opportunity to absolutely drag the production.
IAmMajor.me provides backdrops and stills from the film for people to add “I am…” captions that ‘represent themselves’. Suggestions include “strong” and “dreamer”. Taking Ghost in the Shell to task for hiring a white actress for the Japanese Major, the human cyborg that leads an elite task force against criminals for the government, people tried out “I am in love with white feminism” and “I am Hollywood’s latest white-washed victim”.
Several images shared on Twitter depicted Japanese actors such as Kaede Aono and Rinko Kikuchi, with one reading “I am right for the role”, “I am the woman that should’ve been cast”, and another, “I am…the perfect Major”.
Others used the opportunity to call out similar instances where Asian actors were sidelined in favour of white actors. Tilda Swinton in The Ancient One showed up, as well as Finn Jones in the Netflix series Iron Fist.
“Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive,” Johansson previously told Marie Claire. “Also, having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that – the weight of such a big property on my shoulders.”
