'Ghost in the Shell': 4 Japanese Actresses Dissect the Movie and Its Whitewashing Twist
How did the movie compare with your expectations?
Traci Kato-Kiriyama: It was stunning visually, but emotionally it didn’t draw me in.
Keiko Agena: It was harder to watch than I thought it was gonna be. To get emotionally invested, you have to really care that she needs to find out who she is. But when she finally meets her mom, my gut felt so weird in that moment.
Kato-Kiriyama: That scene was devastating on all levels. It got me because of the emotion of the mother [veteran Japanese actress Kaori Momoi]. She’s really wonderful. That scene should have been beautiful, but Major had nothing in her eyes. Acting-wise, what a missed moment.
Atsuko Okatsuka: I wasn’t aware they were gonna explain the whitewashing. I thought it was just going to be an action film, no explanation, just go with the fact that it’s a future Japan with this robot cop. And then to be like, “Oh shit, I used to be a Japanese woman!” (Laughter) That was against my expectations.
How did you feel when that twist was revealed?
Agena: That was hard, y’all. Hard and awkward.
Ai Yoshihara: Major’s backstory is white people trying to justify the casting.
Okatsuka: And they f—ed up in the process because now it looks even worse. The text at the beginning of the movie explained that Hanka Robotics is making a being that’s the best of human and the best of robotics. For some reason, the best stuff they make happens to be white. Michael Pitt used to be Hideo.
Agena: That was the other cringe-worthy moment, when they called each other by their Japanese names. We’re looking at these beautiful white bodies saying these Japanese names, and it hurt my heart a little bit.
Kato-Kiriyama: It was supposed to be so touching and intimate, and it felt gross. And kind of laugh-worthy at the same time.
Okatsuka: I would have preferred them just using American names. “You used to be Bob.”
