Quote: (03-24-2018 12:44 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:
Lone Ranger
Kung Fu - they didn't want to cast Bruce Lee, so they used David Carradine.
Tonto - portrayed by Johnny Depp.
Cleopatra - portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor
Genghis Khan - portrayed by John Wayne
Those were not created for a global, but mostly for a local Western market with 90% and Europe 98% being White.
If the Philippines had done those flics for their market, then all of them would be Filipinos. Also - Cleopatra may very well have been pretty white according to recent DNA tests. Those tests can be done and redone again and again becoming ever more exact in the future.
The difference to the past is that White historical characters are being changed in a still White-dominated country in order to show the middle finger to the Western history and culture. Those roles in the past were not created to enrage Mongol and Chinese people. The ones now honestly are.
And the casting choice of Johnny Depp was likely purely based on Depp wanting to do the project for some reason - they could not resist doing the project and had to go ahead with it despite him being an odd choice.
The Chinese for example cast Matt Damon into their Chinese Wall movie. Sometimes they even pick actors like Keanu Reeves for their movies just because they like him. And this is a Chinese decision - not even by Hollywood execs.
There were some more racists casting choices by Hollywood and I mentioned some above where they let Mickey Rooney play a Japanese bloke and comedic relief. But Genghis Khan was no comedic relief.
It's more akin to Shakespeare being played exclusively by men in the past, because it was the custom back then (stupid custom, but custom nonetheless and nothing seen against women).