What is the connection between John Wayne's "The Conqueror" released in 1956 with the recent gambling movie "21" in 2008?
If you guessed "whitewashing history" then you get a cookie. A lot of people have called it racism, while other say it was just intelligent casting. Those who say it's intelligent casting reason it's because Jim Sturgess (a UK actor who starred in "Across The Universe" [ATU]) can attract viewers. Those who enjoyed his performance in ATU, which are women (probably below age 21) and guys who enjoy musicals will watch this movie too. Nuff' said.
This reason goes hand in hand with the idea that he will give the studio more of a return on their investment than a Asian-American actor, much less a whole ensemble cast of Asian-Americans. This same tired line was probably first used when John Wayne wanted to play the role of Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror." Believing a white lead will make more money than an Asian lead, and let historical facts be damned.
To be honest, I've read a lot of bulletins and arguments regarding this topic. The defenders of the movie argue that:
1) It's all about money and they are just protecting their investment.
2) The story is about gambling and the ethnicity of the students wouldn't have mattered for the movie, which is also to say that it wouldn't have mattered in real life.
3) The MIT Blackjack team was a club/organization/business that had multi-ethnic and both sexes for its members.
Which is what the book (eventually the movie) drew its inspiration from and nullifying any reason why Asian-Americans should feel cheated by MGM, it's Producers, and Casting Directors. The very reason I am writing this blog is to clarify and shed light to the people in the dark. To let them see why Asian-Americans feel cheated and insulted, along with vandalizing the rich cultural history of America.
1) The MIT blackjack team was multi-ethnic. It started with Strategic Investments, which eventually failed. Then a spin-off called the "Amphibian Team" was created. From the Amphibian team, another spin-off called the "Reptile Team" was created by Jeff Ma and Mike Aponte. It was this team called the "Reptile Team" that the book is based on. This team was all Asian-American and was the most successful team in the history of the MIT Blackjack team (to date).
You can even reference it from the Discovery Channel Special "Breaking Vegas." Where they were mentioned briefly. Go to TIME CODE 4:32 - 4:43 on this youtube video called "Breaking Vegas Part 18 of 19."
Mike Aponte, better known as MIT Mike and one of the legendary players the book and movie is based upon even had this to say about "Breaking Vegas" in an interview with Blackjackinfo.com.
RS: How accurate was the Television Show "Breaking Vegas"?
Mike: It was a bit dramatized, which was to be expected. One thing that struck me was that "Breaking Vegas" was based on Strategic Investments and the show made it seem as if everything was great on SI. They glossed over the fact that in the end Strategic Investments failed, and didn't make much money. The show made it seem as if Strategic Investments dissolved because the team decided to move on to other things, but the reason it broke up was because SI didn't do very well.
Even the TV show glossed over the actual team that the book and movie was inspired by, completely glossing over the fact that the most successful team in the Clubs History was an Asian-American team who was able to evade the casino security the longest, which enabled them to win more money in a longer period of time.
2) Yes, the story is about gambling. But ignoring the ethnic backgrounds of the MIT Reptile Team would be to ignore the very reason why they succeeded. Along with the conflicts and drama that comes along with the risk they placed themselves in. Ignoring their race is ignoring who they are, how they grew up, and any influence their family or heritage had in making them achieve that status.
I explained it like this to my younger sister.
Imagine YOU became the first woman to set foot in Mars. Then they made a movie about you, but instead of an Asian-American actress to play you, they cast a black-male or a white-female-tomboy. Having those changes in the script and character, changes the story. It negates the obstacles you had to overcome to be the first PERSON to set foot on Mars. May they be challenges due to your sex or ethnicity. It also takes away any advantage you may have had or used, to achieve your goal of setting foot in Mars.
Being a writer, I understand how changing the sex or ethnicity of a character dramatically changes the "story." Which is why the movie "21" becomes formulaic and boring. Although it was #1 for 2 weekends in a row, I doubt it will go any farther than that, since most of the reviews for it are not too flattering.
3) To argue that the studios was just protecting their investment is baloney. Protecting their investment cost them 2 weeks on the #1 spot, but will now go down in history as another Hollywood movie that is racist, bigoted, and had casting discrimination. Then to make matters worse, will probably lose the Asian and Asian-American fan base that would have bought the DVD in support of the all Asian-American cast... that the studio didn't have the balls to cast.
MGM studios also missed an opportunity to make history and try casting an Asian-American ensemble cast and bet that it would succeed in the USA and in international markets. Because if they had done so, they would have had the support of Asians and Asian-Americans as being visionaries who made a movie about an extraordinary achievement by Asian Americans. Instead, they will now be seen as bigots and thanks to the Internet, people... (not just Asian-Americans) will ask the denizens of the world to boycott this movie. Just like VELCROFATHOMS of youtube who is not Asian-American, but understands how insulting it is to white-wash history and achievements by people of color in American History.
I can go on and on about how disappointed I am with:
MGM Studios
Its Producers:
William S. Beasley .... executive producer
Dana Brunetti .... producer
Michael De Luca .... producer
Ryan Kavanaugh .... executive producer
Brett Ratner .... executive producer
Kevin Spacey .... producer
and Casting Agency:
Lauren Grey (as Lauren Gray)
Francine Maisler
These are the people who had the power and control to make the important decisions that we are debating today. I personally don't blame the actors for this faux pas, but one actor I am disappointed in is Kevin Spacey who was an actual producer and could have had an influence in making sure it was an Asian-American cast.
If any of you doubt my reasoning and research, please view the links/sites below to understand where I found my material.
Articles:
Genghis Khan and John Wayne Review by SOMA
Blackjackinfo.com - Complete interview with Mike Aponte (AKA: MIT MIKE)
WIRED Magazine - Hacking Las Vegas
MIT NEWS - Film loosely based on MIT blackjack team opens Friday
GOLDSEA - Asian American Mike Aponte Inspiration for Box Office Topper 21
The Yale Herald - Do you know where the Asian leading men are?
Wikipedia Articles:
MIT Blackjack Team
21 (2008 Film)
Youtube.com videos:
Breaking Vegas
Jeff Ma on KRON 4 with Gary Radnich
Jeff Ma on SiTVdotCom during the movie premiere.
Mike Aponte on FOX 5 news
Mike Aponte on Ultimate Blackjack Tour (UBT)
I hope this article shed some light as to why there is so much controversy about this movie and why you should avoid it in theaters and DVD. Not only because of its bigoted casting, but because of its negative reviews that it's a cookie cutter movie and nothing fresh comes from it. Something they could have avoided if they used and Asian-American cast that had the conflicts and dilemmas of Asian-Americans who were expected to get a degree in Medicine or Engineering, only to graduate (or drop out) with millions of dollars due to their skills in Blackjack.
So I hope I enlightened you today with another Euphemism.
Money = Reason for Bigotry.
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