**This is so much more worse than whitewashing**
-----TAKEN FROM THE LOVE LIFE OF AN ASIAN GUY (facebook) because everyone needs to know-----
**This Is So Much Worse Than Whitewashing**
*Why I'm Boycotting Hollywood's Newest Movie "The Forest"*
As an Asian-American, I am no stranger to seeing my people whitewashed on the silver screen. It happened in "The Conqueror" when John Wayne played Genghis Khan and it's scheduled to repeat in 2017 when Scarlett Johannson stars as as Major Motoko Kusanagi in "Ghost in the Shell."
But NONE of these films compares to the whitewashing in Hollywood's newest movie "The Forest." This is by far the most sickening, low-class piece of *beep* I have EVER seen. Before I talk about why this is possibly the worst whitewashed Asian movie in history, you NEED to understand the context of this story and what "Forest" this movie is referring to.
Here's the scoop.
West of Tokyo, Japan at the base of Mt. Fuji is a stretch of forest called Aokigahara. Aokigahara is known for its lush and green foliage that remains fertile all year long. Walk along the trails and you'll see petite trees that ebb and flow with the wind and a ground painted with a thick layer of furry moss. But underneath this excessive life, woven between the leaves and bushes, is the exact opposite of life: death.
For 30 years, residents of Japan have come to the Aokigahara forest to commit suicide. Most hang themselves, others overdose on medication, and a select few hide deep in the woods and force themselves into dehydration and starvation. Rotting corpses hang from the branches and skeletons with the clothes intact are scattered all around.
In Japan, suicide is a national crisis. While America ranks 50th in yearly suicide rates, Japan is at a chilling 17th place with an estimated 70 suicides per day. Some are pressured into suicide by the stress of Japan's overwhelming work culture while others do it because of unemployment. One major factor that isn't as highly recognized due to Japanese social stigma is depression and mental health.
Japan's rigorous culture of conformity heavily stigmatizes those with mental health issues. Many Japanese have grown content with suicide and see it as a "reasonable" solution. In reality, suicide is an epidemic and is the second leading cause of death in the country.
*Why "The Forest" Is Worse Than Regular Whitewashed Hollywood Films*
"The Forest," a HORROR movie which stars a BLONDE WHITE GIRL, takes place in Aokigahara. So not only did they whitewash a movie and sidestep the opportunity to cast an Asian actress, they COMPLETELY DISRESPECTED the fact that Suicide Forest IS A REAL *beep* PLACE where the Japanese go to end their life. And it's not like these suicides happened 400 years ago. This is happening RIGHT. NOW. Over one hundred bodies are found in Aokigahara every single year.
To put this into perspective, imagine if a white-skinned Italian film director made a movie about police brutality and anti-Black violence in America, filmed the movie in America, but cast non-Black Italian actors.
The ABSOLUTE WORST thing about this film is the erasure of mental health issues among Asians worldwide. The model minority myth doesn't just assume that Asians are universally intelligent or rich, it also assumes that we're able-bodied and don't suffer from mental illness.
NO ONE talks about mental health among Asians. NO ONE talks about disabled Asians. Why? Because everyone believes that we're rich and smart enough to access healthcare.
Newflash: WE AREN'T
"The Forest" had an opportunity to address an issue that is LITERALLY killing Japanese citizens by the thousands. An issue that would have hit home with many Asian-Americans who also suffer from mental illness and depression. But instead of reaching out and confronting a problem that exists and is on-going, Hollywood turned it into a horror movie and whitewashed its cast, thus dehumanizing not only Asians around the globe affected by mental health, but those who have already committed suicide.
Words cannot describe my level of disgust. Hollywood can dehumanize me all it wants. It can cast me as the Asian side-kick in every movie, emasculate me with characters who never get the girl, and erase my history by whitewashing Bruce Lee or Sesue Hayakawa. But why this? Why erase mental health among Asians? Why stab an already invisible community that is suffering in silence?
*beep* this movie.
*beep* whoever this *beep* actress is for taking on the role.
And *beep* *beep* *beep* Hollywood for *beep* ON those affected by mental health.