Smith being Black = Whole Point of Book Ruined

You are all missing a very important point here.

However, before we get in to that, I can tell you that Japan is a very racist culture. If you want a glimpse in to how the Japanese view blacks, just consider how an African-American was viewed and treated in the American South say during the depression.

Okay. Now double that for the worse.

The Japanese are masters of reversing sterotypes and claiming that weterners harbor racial prejudice against asians, while they practice the very same thing to all other cultures. This was point that Crichton brought up.

In any event, you can agrue back and forth about casting and racism until the cows come home. I feel the main point to consider is this:

(warning: spoilers below)


In his book Crichton describes the Japanese culture and compares and contrasts it to American culture; his major theme in the novel is that the Japanese approach to business, life, and social situations is starkly different to those of the West.

To that end, Crichton describes how the Japanese use money and other pressures to influence events in their favor. It is their intimate understanding of American culture and our lack of understanding of the Japanese culture that provides them their greatest strength and asset.

What I find HIGHLY ironic is that in the novel, the actual murderer is a Japanese national, who kills the girl to advance his company's agenda and please his bosses.

In the movie, the bad guy murderer turns out to be an American lawyer, whose actions "dishonor" his Japanese masters. Typical sterotypical western view of Japan and Japanese culture.

How I would have loved to have been there when Crichton found out about that change and seen his reaction; everything he wrote about concerning Japanese influence and a reversal of sterotypes was born out.

After all, who owns a good chunk of Hollywood? Is it any wonder that the studio would not let a Japanese national be the heavy in the film?

AE36

I read the book a couple of years ago after having seen the movie several times. There is so much to this story I never have figured it all out. In the book the 2 cop characters are a lot more believable, they are not super-heroes. Police Departments are not staffed by Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes, or Segal or even John Wayne. In real life average detectives (not neccesarily swat types) would be no match for yakuza heavies. The characters get along better, instead of bickering back n forth. I definitely didn't see Smith as a black guy, and he picked that job to get normal hours and more time with his daughter. In the book you get a better feel for what Smith's job really is. In the book they hinted that the black security guard was more helpful because his Japanese bosses were racist. Eddie seemed like more of your average trust fund dope fiend rather than some black belt super ninja, and that other cop is a true antagonist rather than an annoyance.