Whitewashing The Great Wall: Should Matt Damon star in Zhang Yimou's blockbuster?

Matt Damon in The Great Wall by Zhang Yimou

SINGAPORE: When the first trailer for acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou's upcoming blockbuster The Great Wall was released on Jul 28, it was greeted with a sense of outrage in some quarters. The problem? One of the lead actors in the fantasy epic, which is set in ancient China, is Matt Damon.

Some Asian-Americans took to the Internet to express their unhappiness that a white actor had been cast in a role which, they argued, could and should have gone to an Asian. And there was added concern about the type of character Damon is playing.

In the trailer of the US/China co-production, Damon’s character says in English: “I was born into battle. I fought greed and gods. This is the war I’ve seen worth fighting for.”

Among many who criticised the casting and raised concerns over Hollywood’s regular whitewashing was Asian-American actress Constance Wu, star of the American hit comedy series Fresh Off The Boat.

“We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world … Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon,” she lambasted on Twitter. “They look like Malala. Ghandi. Mandela. Your big sister when she stood up for you to those bullies that one time.”

The controversy comes in the wake of a slew of other casting decisions that have seen Asian characters being played by white actors: Scarlett Johansson has been cast in the lead role in the remake of the classic Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell and Tilda Swinton plays a Tibetan character in Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

The trailer and its whitewashing hullabaloo might come as a bit of surprise to fans of Zhang, who is one of China’s most respected and revered auteurs. Known for his fiercely authentic films like 1990’s Ju Dou, 1991’s Raise The Red Lantern, 2003’s Hero and 2004’s House of Flying Daggers, he has won many international film awards. Celebrated for his faithfulness to the subject matter of his films, Zhang is also renowned for his recurring cinematic theme about the resilience of Chinese people in the face of hardship and adversity which he explores in many of films.

Responding to the racism furore in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Zhang asserted that his film is the opposite of what is being suggested by detractors and that Damon’s role was never originally conceived for a Chinese actor.

“For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience,” he said.

“I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry. Our film is not about the construction of the Great Wall … The arrival of (Damon’s) character in our story is an important plot point. There are five major heroes in our story and he is one of them - the other four are all Chinese. The collective struggle and sacrifice of these heroes are the emotional heart of our film. As the director of over 20 Chinese language films and the Beijing Olympics, I have not and will not cast a film in a way that was untrue to my artistic vision.”

However, despite the vigorous defence, one can’t help but wonder whether Zhang’s artistic vision might have been compromised a little by simple economics.

Billed as the most expensive production to be completed in China on a budget of a whopping US$150 million, The Great Wall will be the first English-language film directed by Zhang. In the light of the film’s ambitious goals to conquer both the U.S and China markets, some international casting might have been seen as a financially prudent strategy. And Damon, a bonafide global superstar, is one of the highest grossing foreign marquee names in China.

Said Singapore filmmaker Eric Khoo: “I think Zhang Yimou wants an international hit, so we have a white lead. And it’s not going to hurt the Chinese box office either. After all, these days every big budget film needs to cross US$700 million just to break even. It’s just the maths!”

It is also important to note that besides Damon, the production also stars a host of Asian big names, including Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau, Taiwanese heartthrob Eddie Peng and former South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO member Lu Han. And this is alongside a diverse cast like Willem Dafoe, Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal and Turkish actor Numan Acar.

But the possible economic pragmatism of the casting decisions hasn't satisfied Wu, who said in a follow-up tweet that it’s not about putting blame on any one individual but about “awareness".

She tweeted: “It’s about pointing out the repeatedly implied racist notion that white people are superior to POC (people of colour) and that POC need salvation from our own colour via white strength.”

Whether that criticism is valid for The Great Wall remains to be seen, with comments coming largely from people who have yet to see anything apart from a few minutes of footage.

This is a point made by Singapore director Boo Junfeng. “I haven't seen the film so it's hard to say what Matt Damon's character in the film really is,” he said, when asked what he thought about the controversy.

Zhang has also urged people not to rush to judgement: “I hope when everyone sees the film and is armed with the facts they will agree.”

In the meantime, how about this for a suggestion? Perhaps Zhang should cut a new Great Wall trailer showcasing the rest of the cast, not just Matt Damon. And if that's not on the cards, maybe everyone should wait to see The Great Wall before throwing bricks at it.