inaba was the asian actress in the at&t commercials.
who is the asian actress in the at&t commercials?
inaba
na
na
when scarlett johansson was cast in the lead role of motoko kusanagi in "ghost in the shell", a live-action adaptation of the japanese manga, there was fan backlash over the casting as, since the story is located within japan, it was assumed that the actress to portray the character was meant to be of japanese descent, and numerous fans signed petitions for a recast. johansson addressed the issue in an interview for "marie claire" magazine, stating that she never would have accepted the role if it meant taking it from an asian actor. johansson explained how she accepted the part because the main protagonist was female and "having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity." activists groups, such as the media action network for asian americans (manaa) accused johansson of lying that she would never portray or attempt to play someone of a different race. their complaints stemmed in the idea that they believed hollywood was not allowing asians to portray asian characters, and instead, was hiring white actors to take roles that could easily have been portrayed by an asian actor and actress. asian actors such as constance wu and ming-na wen called for a boycott of the movie because they thought that it was unfair that the role did not go to an asian woman. the founding president of manaa, guy aoki, stated, "hollywood continues to make the same excuses, that there aren't big enough asian/asian american names to open a blockbuster film. yet it has not developed a farm system where such actors get even third billing in most pictures. without a conscientious effort, how will anyone ever break through and become familiar enough with audiences so producers will confidently allow them to topline a film? when will we ever break that glass ceiling?" the film spawned many different conversations on how to allow actors and actresses of minority groups to have the spotlight, as well as created discussions on how to end these endemic problems throughout hollywood. in contrast to the controversy, "ghost in the shell" series creator, mamoru oshii, defended johansson's casting and has even cited the casting being in line with the themes, story, and source material of the book, specifically saying "the major is a cyborg and her physical form is an entirely assumed one. the name 'motoko kusanagi' and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an asian actress must portray her...i believe having scarlett play motoko was the best possible casting for this movie. i can only sense a political motive from the people opposing it, and i believe artistic expression must be free from politics."
racebending