A petition is going viral as fans urge Disney to cast an Asian actress for the role of Mulan in the upcoming live-action remake.
Since, the petition started, over 90,000 people have signed.
The petition creator Natalie Molnar aims to prevent a “whitewashed” version of Mulan. She points out movies like The Last Airbender, Pan and the upcoming Ghost in the Shell have all whitewashed the movie characters.
Children benefit from finding themselves represented in fiction, which is part of why campaigns such as #weneeddiversebooks are so vital. It also perpetuates a standard of beauty and goodness wherein whites are considered the ideal and norm despite that not only are Americans diverse, but the entire world is. As for the acting community, keeping diverse actors out of what should be diverse roles severely limits the number of roles they can get, especially a potentially name-making role such as Mulan’s eponymous character would surely be.
But, I find it extremely hard to believe that Disney would not cast an Asian-American actress for the role.
Considering how important the Chinese box office has become lately, it would be in the company’s best interest to cast a character that appeals to Asian audiences.
Mulan centers around a young woman who disguises herself as a man so she can join the army and fight in a war.
The character first appeared in an ancient Chinese poem, and it is currently unknown whether Mulan actually existed or if it is just a metaphor.
Mulan grossed over $300 million worldwide, when it was released in 1998. And while the movie has not announced the cast, it will be interesting to see how this all pans out.
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