Constance Wu Slams Matt Damon
Constance Wu got furious and feisty when she criticizsed the casting of Matt Damon in The Great Wall, set for release in 2017
The movie features Matt Damon as the hero that saves China from a mythical beast. What’s even weirder than the magical creature is Matt Damon trying to play a Chinese soldier. Whitewashing seems to be a trend in Hollywood right now, as Asian roles are being casted by Caucasian actors, rather than actual people of colour.
Wu typed up a lengthy Twitter post as to why she was against the casting, writing: “We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world. Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon. They look like Malala. Gandhi. Mandela… Rather, it’s about repeatedly pointing out the racist notion that white people are superior to POC (people of colour) and that POC need salvation from our own colour via white strength.”
Critics point out that Asian actors wouldn’t bring in as much revenue as typical Hollywood actors do. Constance also slammed that ideology, saying that respect is much more important than money is and: “If white actors are forgiven for having a box office failure once in a while, why can’t a POC sometimes have one?”
We should have Wu playing the heroine in this movie instead of Matt Damon. It would be a culturally appropriate movie as well as being feminist! Does Hollywood even have movies like that?