Japanese Forest, Japanese Spirits... and a White Girl?

Well the 'venture into the unknown' is heightened by having a non-japanese person in the role. Her being an english speaker puts the movie in english (which helps) and puts us in her shoes as we would be english speakers in japan (assuming you're not japanese).

But it is a story of an American who went to Japan. Why is that so wrong? Does that not happen in real life? Are people not allowed to travel and experience things in other countries? Being from Ameica Diversity is completely normal. Maybe where you are from you prefer segregation?

I'll keep it short: You are racist.

I felt the same about Aloha(?) the one with Kristen Bell who was supposed to be Hawaiian and Asian...my ass!

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog

popezaphod-1

I know exactly what you mean. In 1995 Hollywood set a Film in my Homeland, the Film is called 'Braveheart' and cast an Australian as the main protagonist William Wallace, an Irishman as his best pal. There were only around 3 or 4 Scotsmen in the whole Film. Even the Armies depicted on screen were all Irishmen.
Absolutely disgusting, so it is. Boycot Hollywood now people, they're all fake and phonies.
Whatever next? A Film set in the Caribbean about Pirates and have an American as an English Pirate?? ha ha, that will never happen. NEVER i say.

Nothing is Black and White. Even Black and White are only extreme shades of Grey.

You do realize that people travel around the world these days, right?

Stop sticking to your segregation-driven racist ideology, moron.

Have a nice day.

Don't know if it's pointless to mention since it's been so long, but:

There are really no racial undertones here; I believe that is just modern-day paranoia on your part.

As far as the film is actually concerned (and why it actually works), this is about a foreigner and her hubris toward another country's superstitions.

The Japanese respect the forest for what it is, yet she does not buy into it, carelessly refusing to heed the warnings and shrugging them off as ridiculous; she has an important task and no time for local superstitions.

What happens, ultimately, is what usually happens when hubris is exercised: humility is exacted.

Additionally, this is why the forest gets her and not her sister; her sister deliberately went there, understanding and respecting the lore. Her sister was also living in Japan, making her a local who realized the place for what it was.

Her twin (Sarah) went in search of her, not believing on the "foolishness" of what, in her mind, amounted to a ghost story and nothing more; she had sadness in her heart - she worried for her sister, and was haunted by a childhood trauma. Her twin (Sarah) was vulnerable to the forest, and therefore was manipulated.

Sarah felt her twin sister (Jess); knew she was alive and refused to listen to the locals; Jess knew her twin sister (Sarah) was dead, and that is why she did not insist on going into the forest to look for her at the end of the film.

Jess honored the forest and knew it was pointless, and a risk, to go after her twin when she knew the forest had gotten to and taken her.