[JoshBB]

Originally Posted by Sleighmie

Why is the fact that it's a white actor important though? Surely the whole point of acting is that they're portraying someone who isn't them, so why should they have to be same nationality? If the movie itself is racist then that's a different matter but I disagree with the principle that if a character is asian they HAVE to pick an asian actor, regardless of who is best for the role, because that is positive discrimination, which is still discrimination.

I'm personally in favour of affirmative action, but that's another subject for another thread..

It matters because if an asian actor is playing an exaggerated asian stereotype, then it is still problematic though the asian audience may still see the movie and see it as light-hearted - something that is not attacking them. If a white actor plays the exaggerated asian stereotype, there is the real risk that it could be interpreted as racist because it can be very easily viewed as mocking and generalising an ethnicity.