{ Dazed And Confused }

'Ghost in the Shell': 4 Japanese Actresses Dissect the Movie and Its Whitewashing Twist

THR invited the women to join a no-holds-barred conversation about cultural authenticity and why Japanese nationals fail to understand the race controversy: "People in Japan worship white people."

How did the movie compare with your expectations?

Traci Kato-Kiriyama: It was stunning visually, but emotionally it didn’t draw me in.

Keiko Agena: It was harder to watch than I thought it was gonna be. To get emotionally invested, you have to really care that she needs to find out who she is. But when she finally meets her mom, my gut felt so weird in that moment.

Kato-Kiriyama: That scene was devastating on all levels. It got me because of the emotion of the mother [veteran Japanese actress Kaori Momoi]. She’s really wonderful. That scene should have been beautiful, but Major had nothing in her eyes. Acting-wise, what a missed moment.

Atsuko Okatsuka: I wasn’t aware they were gonna explain the whitewashing. I thought it was just going to be an action film, no explanation, just go with the fact that it’s a future Japan with this robot cop. And then to be like, “Oh shit, I used to be a Japanese woman!” (Laughter) That was against my expectations.

How did you feel when that twist was revealed?

Agena: That was hard, y’all. Hard and awkward.

Ai Yoshihara: Major’s backstory is white people trying to justify the casting.

Okatsuka: And they f—ed up in the process because now it looks even worse. The text at the beginning of the movie explained that Hanka Robotics is making a being that’s the best of human and the best of robotics. For some reason, the best stuff they make happens to be white. Michael Pitt used to be Hideo.

Agena: That was the other cringe-worthy moment, when they called each other by their Japanese names. We’re looking at these beautiful white bodies saying these Japanese names, and it hurt my heart a little bit.

Kato-Kiriyama: It was supposed to be so touching and intimate, and it felt gross. And kind of laugh-worthy at the same time.

Okatsuka: I would have preferred them just using American names. “You used to be Bob.”

Leelah’s mom is trying to remove her suicide note from her blog (lazerprincess). Screenshot her words. Spread them like wildfire.

Apparently she doesnt care where she is trying to sleep.  “Who cares about your shop!”

can we just appreciate the fact that my best friend, who in the past struggled with an eating disorder, called out my gym teacher bc he says a size 3 for women is “ideal”

(((The average now for women is a size 14)))

what she says: I'm fine.

what she means: Rise of the Tomb Raider isn't coming out on the PS4 until late 2016, and while I'll be able to play it on my PC a few months after the XBox's release date, I will not be able to really enjoy the game to its full potential because of my computer's outdated graphics card and fear that it will overheat even with all of the options at their lowest setting and this is really distressing to me because I am a huge fan of the series and now I'm going to have to take the extra precautions to avoid spoilers a year before I can actually make a purchase that I am happy with.

Maths wiz Gemma Rowe has found the one problem her maths can’t solve: she’s in love with her female & super heterosexual best friend. 

My Kickstarter is live, guys! Support an indy queer writer who loves happy endings to write queer stories for you!

I’m a safe bet for your dough - I’ve finished and published two previous queer books, Under My Skin and Flesh & Blood. They both got great reviews - check them out if you want to see how I write!

Please reblog this far and wide so I can meet my funding goals and hopefully my stretch targets ❤

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