Summary: Ghost in the shell was originally a Japanese manga written by Shirow Masamune, which inspired the animated film (directed by Mamoru Oshii), eventually leading to the 2017 film adaption that features Scarlett Johansson. The franchise is based on a futuristic Japanese city that has integrated cybernetic technology into daily life. This futuristic society has begun to integrate the internet and cyberspace into the human condition (life and body). It has gotten to the point where human consciousness has been successfully integrated into an artificial body. The main character (Major Motoko Kusanagi) is part of a police squadron called Section 9, which fights against the 'Puppetmaster' who is able to hack the minds of other humanoid cyborgs. The overall theme consists of an exploration of what it means to be human. Is consciousness (the ghost) in an artificial body (the Shell) still human?
Controversy: Based on a Japanese manga, which designates a futuristic Japanese city as the setting for the plot, there has been a huge controversy about the casting and deculturalization of the 2017 film. The media action network for Asian Americans has condemned the casting of Scarlett Johansson as the leading actress of the film, saying the film industry has whitewashed the role of a traditionally Japanese character (1). Sarah Ahern, a staff writer at variety, talks about the outrage in the Asian American community about the inherent notion that there aren't any Japanese actors/actresses who are capable of starring in a 'blockbuster film' like Ghost in the Shell (1). Furthermore, these movies reinforce our perception of the ideal body and culture--one that is white. Despite supporters claiming that Ghost in the Shell does not whitewash (see below), there are various elements in the film that blatantly signal whitewashing in its purest form. Throughout the film, for example, we see a futuristic Tokyo "which happily hatches on to the imagery from the [animated film] and manga that are [in themselves] inspired by modern Tokyo," while purposely casting mostly non-Japanese actors (2). In other words, the 2017 movie was created to model the Japanese society from the original manga without the Japanese people, taking advantage of the culture without acknowledging the people. As such, we are again reinforced with the idea that "whiteness is default," and that they should be cast above Asian Americans because they are superior then people of color (2).
The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged the controversy and invited four Japanese Actresses to review the movie, giving us an inside perspective to see the whitewashing of one's own culture (see video).
Opposing viewpoints: Supporters of the film justify the casting of white actors in Ghost in the Shell, saying that as a cybernetic society there is a neutralization of culture and race. Furthermore, they rationalize this whitewashing with the idea that you cannot whitewash something that has not racial identity (3). To them, Major (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a robot, which can be represented by any race (in this case caucasian). As such, with the ambiguity of what constitutes a human being, it is unclear whether a cybernetic entity can be given a race.