Anghus Houvouras on whether it’s okay to be angry about Jared Leto’s Yakuza movie The Outsider…
No. It’s absolutely not you mewling children. Spare me your indignation you pathetic, easily offended politically correct windbags already looking for the next ‘controversy’ to feign outrage over.
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Fine. I’ll elaborate.
People are stupid. That’s not exactly news. But the wave of political correctness sweeping through social media right now is approaching ludicrous speed. Most of the time these kind of outbursts leave me chuckling. When someone gets upset that Hollywood hasn’t cured all of society’s ills with whatever new movie hogging the cultural zeitgeist, I become amused.
Take for instance, Black Panther, easily the most culturally relevant movie in recent memory. A good film that has struck a chord with audiences showcasing a cast of characters that aren’t often the focus of big budget blockbusters. Certainly, it’s a reason to celebrate. Or is it? Apparently some people don’t think it does enough. Check out this story from the Washington Times
‘Black Panther packed with action, diversity – but no gays’
Cue the record scratch sound effect and coffee spit take. Seriously? Can’t we have even one week of being happy about what something is before we start trying to destroy it for what it isn’t? The phrase ‘I can’t even’ comes to mind, because it seems like there are those out there so unhappy with the state of the world that they are incapable of enjoying any progress or embracing common sense.
Take the upcoming Netflix original film The Outsider starring Jared Leto. The movie is about a captive American soldier in the final days of WWII, set free from prison with the aid of his Yakuza cellmate. However, he must repay his debt of gratitude by joining the criminal gang, aiding them in their nefarious activities. Seems pretty simple, right. Nothing here to get upset about. That is until the masses looking for something to be outraged about caught wind and started screaming ‘whitewashing’ faster than you can say ‘Tilda Swinton’.
This struck me funny. Jared Leto is playing an American soldier who becomes embroiled with the Yakuza. Why on earth are people getting upset? I mean, if the movie was called SUPER ASIAN JARED LETO I would understand the frustration. While discussing the subject on Twitter, someone tried to clarify the position of the angry social media mob.
To your first point: the majority of larger-budget, higher-profile movies are about white people in foreign cultures as opposed to vice versa. To your second point: that situation will never change unless people take risks with foreign movie stars
— Tyler ''pronouns idiot'' Foster 🤖 (@tylergilfoster) February 25, 2018
So people are upset that someone made a movie about the Yakuza with a white guy in the lead role. If only there were Yakuza movies featuring Japanese actors. Oh wait, there are. Literally hundreds of movies about the Yakuza made for decades featuring authentic Japanese actors playing the roles readily available for anyone interested in some gritty crime drama. Ironically, one of the top rated ones on IMDB’s list of Yakuza movies is called OUTRAGE.
The other counterpoint to my consternation was that studios are afraid to take risks with movies featuring minority actors. But here’s the thing. This is a movie written about an American who becomes entangled with the Yakuza. From the conception of this project, the focus was a fish-out-of-water scenario. This wasn’t Jared Leto snatching a part from an Asian actor or a character being altered. I’m all for taking risks with foreign movie stars, but the perpetually perplexed social justice warriors who exist in your social media feed are rapidly losing any shred of credibility when they so vehemently attack something as innocuous as The Outsider.
And the thing is, there is stupidity on both sides of the argument. Remember when people got worked up because Iron Fist was white? Even though he was super caucasian in the comics? That was stupid. Stupid to get angry over an accurate adaptation of the character. And remember when people got worked up because they cast Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch because he was white in the comics? Also stupid. Stupid because sometimes creators take risks and change things to try and put their own imprint on an adaptation. If you’re a comic purist or a racist, you were probably upset about a black Human Torch. That’s kind of sad in a way that I find difficult to express in words. It’s probably best expressed with a look of pity and disappointment. Like the kind your parents give you when they catch you masturbating to pictures of show ponies.
Getting worked up over The Outsider because Jared Leto is white is stupid. Getting upset that Black Panther didn’t do anything to further our acceptance of the gay community is stupid. These are idiotic arguments that make serious discussions on these topics more difficult.
Maybe you could ditch your hair-trigger on being triggered for a few weeks and focus on a real tragedy, like the idea that Lena Dunham could direct the Batgirl movie. Priorities, people.
Anghus Houvouras
