Matt Damon Responds To Claims That "The Great Wall" Movie Is Whitewashed

Matt Damon, the star of blockbuster flick The Great Wall, has finally responded to criticism that the film is another example of Hollywood whitewashing.

In a recent press conference for the epic movie, Damon said, "yeah, it was a f**king bummer" to hear about these accusations.

"I had a few reactions. I think I was surprised, I guess, because it was based on a teaser. It wasn’t even a full trailer, let alone the movie. So, to get those charges levied against you…" he said.

"To me whitewashing, I think of Chuck Connors when he played Geronimo… there are far more nuanced versions of it and I do try to be sensitive to that."

As the name would suggest, the film is set in ancient China. However, directors decided to cast Matt Damon - a white Hollywood star - to play the lead role of a valiant soldier.

The trailer itself stirred up a whirlwind of responses, many of which came from notable Asian-American commentators or actors.

Constance Wu, star of the comedy show Fresh Off The Boat posted a lengthy statement to Twitter about casting white people to play heroes in stories about people of colour.

"Our heroes don't look like Matt Damon. They look like Malala. Ghandi. Mandela. Your big sister when she stood up for you to those bullies that one time. We don't need salvation. We like our colour and our culture and our strengths and our own stories," she said.

In response to Damon's reaction at the press conference, Wu backed up her position by reinforcing the fact that her issue was not with whitewashing, but with white-hero biases.

I never said The Great Wall was whitewashing.It's not. I said it was white-hero bias. Those r two VERY diffrnt things so dont lump em togthr

— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) October 9, 2016

This kind of racial bias ties in with the "white saviour" myth, which makes frequent appearances in Hollywood films. The Great Wall definitely isn't the first (and probably won't be the last) film to perpetuate white-saviour characters.

If you're looking for other examples of white actors taking on Asian acting roles, look no further than the adaptation of Japanese anime Ghost In The Shell which cast Scarlett Johansson to play Major Motoko Kusanagi. Or, Tilda Swinton playing a character who was originally written to be Tibetan in Doctor Strange.

Popular blogger Angry Asian Man has also spoken openly about Hollywood's white-saviour bias.

"You can set a story anywhere in the world, in any era of History, and Hollywood will still somehow find a way for the movie to star a white guy."

Photo: YouTube