Jackie Chan’s role in ‘The Foreigner’ film criticised
HONG KONG: Martial arts icon Jackie Chan’s role in upcoming film ‘ The Foreigner’ has raised some concerns.
The film, directed by Martin Campbell, has Jackie Chan portraying a Vietnamese immigrant in London seeking revenge for the death of his daughter in a terrorist attack. He finds a British government official named Hennessey ( played by Pierce Brosnan) and hunts him down to get the names of the bombers to give them their just desserts.
Twitter user @ linhtropy made a thread about why she feels casting Jackie Chan as a Vietnamese character in a film directed by a non-Asian person is a problem. For one, not all Asian cultures are the same. She also referenced the troubled history between China and Vietnam, which has a unique power dynamic that many westerners might not be aware of.
Another Twitter user and Asian-American feminist blogger, @ reappropriate, also made a thread voicing concerns over the casting. The thread points out that the film is based on a book written by a non-Asian person titled The Chinaman, an anti-Asian slur. At the core of the issue, however, is representation. It’s been a problem facing Asian actors in America for a while now. An example is ‘Ghost in the Shell’.
The topic is also complicated by the fact that Jackie Chan is an important figure for many Asian people.
‘ The Foreigner’ is slated for release in cinemas on Oct 13.