No. Just NO.

[starlady]

I had heard, vaguely, that Warner Bros. is in talks for the rights to a live-action movie of Bleach.

inkstone found some choice comments (amongst, I should note, other people rightfully saying "Oh Hollywood no!") about the prospect:

Alright, just calm down. Look, this does not need Asian actors. There's nothing particularly Asian about the show except for the names, and those can be changed. A good cast and well-executed plot does not depend on racial preference. If it's going to suck, it'll suck just as much with Asian actors who can pronounce "the original" names as opposed to anybody else.

I'm not saying that the characters aren't Japanese, but there's nothing important to the plot that is so distinctly Japanese that it can't be easily changed. Sure, if you want to get down to it, many of the elements are based in random bits of Japanese spiritualism, but the end product is not distinctly foreign in its undertaking. That would be like saying that a Japanese based on Batman would have to use Caucasian actors.

No, actually, "if it's going to suck," it will be because of attitudes like this person's, which enable studios to get away with whitewashing and appropriation scot-free, and rake in the cash doing it.

inkstone and the commenters there have done a great job of unpacking all the things wrong with these sentences, so go read them.

---

Elsewhere on the Internet, Amanda FUCKING Palmer hates product placement, thinks Lady Gaga's songwriting is "terrible" and…wait for it…says that

@JoanArkham ironic product placement is only ok if you take no money & beyond that give all the income to something ironic. like the Klan.

Dear Amanda Palmer,

This shit is not ironic. Nor is it cool or edgy. And neither are you.


The link goes to a graphic, potentially triggering post by sparkymonster comparing product placement with the actual deeds of the KKK. Read it if you think you can. ETA: la_vie_noire picks out a great comment by hotcoffeems at this post.

(First link via inkstone, here.)

Comments

[recessional]

I have to admit, I always wondered when Amanda Palmer was going to cross the line. But she put me off from the get-go, so that's probably a little spiteful of me.

Ugh, though. Ugh.

[starlady]

I don't think I'd ever heard of AfP until Neil Gaiman started dating her. But the whole Evelyn-Evelyn thing was just unacceptable, and so is this.

[recessional]

She had gone the rounds of my peripheral awareness as the BEST THING EVER and OMG SUCH BRAVE ART and STANDING UP TO HER LABEL etc. And I looked at her and went "ah. Someone is trying very hard to be a very unique snowflake - the uniquest snowflake in the yard! Someone likes shock tactics. I wonder how this is going to go."

She falls into a Type I grew up around too many of, I guess, which made me leery of her right away.

[starlady]

Yeah, I knew people like that in high school. Which, you know. High school.

[aquaeri]

Yes, there was a point in Evelyn-Evelyn where I thought "the only thing this is missing is some explicit racism" and this does feel like "yay! She's confirmed my bad opinion of her!"

[csg-dear4life.livejournal.com]

A BLEACH MOVIE!???? 0__0

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

I'm very skeptical.

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

First I've heard about this (the Bleach film, not the Palmerfail), and thanks for bringing it to my attention. The fail is sadly all too predictable.

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

Entirely predictable.

Also, don't mention it. :-) I am very much a subscriber to the idea that problematizing things by pointing them out is a step in the right direction.

[li-vox-il.livejournal.com]

As long as it doesn't end like the Dragon Ball movie (which is problable), is fine. Sadly, these companies search for profit and they might put on effects and other things (their concept of fanservice) to make it "sell more".

[li-vox-il.livejournal.com]

Oh, and btw they are streaming the first Eden of the East movie~ It's already here! :3

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

I downloaded it and am going to watch it as soon as I can! I'm so excited.

You're lucky!~

[li-vox-il.livejournal.com]

I don't know Japanese, so I will have to wait for subs.
Tell me if it's good =D I've only seen the first 5 minutes (it was in English) and I loved it!

Re: You're lucky!~

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

I will definitely post my thoughts on it. I loved the series so much.

[spacevlad.livejournal.com]

A live-action Bleach movie would be epic fail (speaking of Bleach, I need to catch up on that again....it's the only anime/manga thing I keep track of anymore even remotely). There are a lot of intellectual property stuff they talk about making into a movie that never really gets off the ground though. Metroid. Halo. Castlevania.

Then again, there are a lot that do. *gulp*