The Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time is an action film that was adapted from a video game about an adopted Persian prince named Dastan (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who must save the world from his evil uncle's plot to go back in time to kill his brother so that he can become the ruler of the Persian Empire. In the video game, Dastan has a dark complexion, black hair and other characteristics that make him a character of color. Furthermore, not only is Dastan a character of color in the video game, but many of the historical princes have been of color. Nevertheless, Jake Gyllenhaal, a white actor was casted for the role, creating a sea of controversy relating to whitewashing in the film industry. In addition, none of the main characters in the film are are of Iranian descent or Muslim descent. Jehanzeb Dar, a filmmaker and blogger who was initially excited about the production about a Persian-based film, was surprised (and insulted) to hear about the poor (and white) choices that were made during casting (1). Interestingly, Cyrus the Great, the emperor of Persia from about 590 BC to about 530BC was also a person of color. This discrepancy between history and the video game that the film is based on has only one explanation: Whitewashing.
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