‘Strange’ casting triggers hubbub
Since the recent release of a trailer for the upcoming film “Doctor Strange,” controversy has erupted over a character played by Tilda Swinton known as the Ancient One. Many have accused Marvel of whitewashing the character by casting the British-born Swinton as a character who is from Tibet in the original comics. Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the title role.
Now the movie’s screenwriter, C. Robert Cargill, has said that the casting decision was driven in part by a need to protect the lucrative Chinese theatrical market.
In a recent interview with the pop culture podcast Double Toasted, Cargill declared “there is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine that is absolutely unwinnable.”
He called the original character of the Ancient One “a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place. He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s … and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’ ”
As for whether Swinton’s role should nevertheless have been cast using an Asian performer such as Michelle Yeoh, a frequent suggestion online, Cargill responded, “If you are telling me you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the … you’re talking about.
“Oh, ‘she could be Asian!’ Asian? She should be Japanese, she should be Indian, really?” Cargill said. “The levels of cultural sensitivity around this thing is, everyone is staking out their one particular place and not realizing that every single thing here is a losing proposition.”
Noting that the decision was made by director Scott Derrickson before Cargill joined the project to cast the male role with a female performer, Cargill also added, “Everybody kind of pats us on the back for that and then decides to scold us for her not being Tibetan. We knew that the social justice warriors would be angry either way.”