When thefirst trailerfor Marvel’s psychedelic-tingedDoctor Strangearrived, the reaction from fans was mostly positive, but there was one glaring aspect of the movie that became a hot topic of conversation over the next few weeks. We knew long ago thatTilda Swintonwould be playing the character of The Ancient One, a mysterious figure who teaches neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) the ways of the mystic, but seeing just how steeped in Asian culture the film actually is, and how devoid of actual Asianpeopleit is, rubbed many the wrong way.
DirectorScott Derricksonresponded recently on Twittersaying he is “listening and learning,” and now Marvel Studios PresidentKevin Feigehas chimed in during an interview with Deadline:
“We make all of our decisions on all of our films, and certainly onDoctor Strange, for creative reasons and not political reasons. That’s just always been the case. I’ve always believed that it is the films themselves that will cross all borders and really get people to identify with these heroes, and that always comes down to creative and not political reasons. “
And when it came to casting The Ancient One, Feige says they hit upon the idea of gender swapping the role in an effort to avoid the racist caricature of the comics:
“The casting of The Ancient One was a major topic of conversation in the development and the creative process of the story. We didn’t want to play into any of the stereotypes found in the comic books, some of which go back as far as 50 years or more. We felt the idea of gender swapping the role of The Ancient One was exciting. It opened up possibilities, it was a fresh way into this old and very typical story line. Why not make the wisest bestower of knowledge in the universe to our heroes in the particular film a woman instead of a man? We made changes to some of the other key character in the comic for similar reasons. Specifically, castingChiwetel Ejioforas Mordo and there’s a character named Wong, who is a very big part of comics, and we cast this amazing Asian actor [Benedict Wong] and modernized that role and his talents people will begin to see as materials on the film begin to come out.”
But while Feige says they feel their take is progressive, he acknowledges the criticisms lobbied against the movie:
“The truth is, the conversation that’s taking place around this is super-important. It’s something we are incredibly mindful of. We cast Tilda out of a desire to subvert stereotypes, not feed into them. I don’t know if you saw [Doctor Strangedirector] Scott Derrickson’s tweet the other day. He said we’re listening and we’re learning, every day. That really is true. As long as we’re starting on this topic, it means so much to us that people know that. We also know that people expect actions and not words in a Q&A, and I’m hopeful that some of our upcoming announcements are going to show that we’ve been listening.”
Indeed, while Marvel is certainly making strides with films likeBlack PantherandCaptain Marvel, and the cast forCaptain America: Civil Waris definitely diverse, it does also come off as a bit odd to seeDoctor Strangedrawing so heavily from Asian culture with nary an Asian in sight. Of course judging the film based on one trailer is unfair, and we’ll have to wait until we see the full movie to assess whether the criticism is warranted, but it’s nice to know that Feige and Derrickson are willing to acknowledge complaints rather than simply brush them off with a “we know better” attitude.
