What do Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone and Marlon Brando all have in common? All three of them have been cast to play Asian characters in Hollywood films, the most recent of them being Johansson, whose casting as a Japanese woman in the upcoming Ghost in the Shell has caused controversy amongst those who have accused the filmmakers of 'white-washing'. White washing refers to casting white actors or actresses to play non-white characters. The practice is rampant in Hollywood: Johansson is only one in a long line of actors who have played characters of a different race to their own.

For instance, Exodus: Gods and Kings was slated in the media after it emerged that the cast of the movie – set in Ancient Egypt – would comprise almost entirely of white actors. Likewise, recent movie Pan was criticised for casting white actress Rooney Mara as Native American character Tiger Lily. Among its many sins, The Last Airbender failed to cast any Asian actors for its three main characters (although the villainous “fire tribe” remained dark skinned.) Even popular franchise The Hunger Games has been accused of white washing, after the "olive skinned” woman author Suzanne Collins describes in her books was portrayed by white-skinned-blonde-haired Jennifer Lawrence.

In spite of this, many sideline commentators have argued that white washing is not problematic and that the best actor for the job should be cast, irrespective of race (or, in fact, gender.) It is worth noting that, in the last few years, there have been a few non-white characters cast to play white roles. Recently, Annie was remade with both the titular character and her adoptive father played by black actors. Likewise, the role of Hermione in upcoming play The Cursed Child is to be played by black actress Noma Dumezweni. Idris Elba is tipped to play the next incarnation of James Bond and there have been ongoing cries for a person of colour to play the titular character in Doctor Who for years. However, these are isolated cases that have been met with a strong backlash on the Internet.

There is a fundamental difference between why casting a white actor as a different race is problematic, while the reversal is not. This comes down to a question of representation. When I read Harry Potter as a girl, I never imagined Hermione to be dark skinned but what I did imagine is that she would more or less look like myself, minus the glasses. I had the privilege of assuming that she would look like me because all of my female literary heroes (though outnumbered) did tend to look like me. When there were female characters in the books and movies that I loved, they tended to be white women — Mulan doesn’t count but then again who doesn’t look up to Mulan?! All women, irrespective of their race, face the same problem: when most of the main characters of books and movies are men, we subconsciously end up associating ourselves with them. We become used to never seeing a woman as the lead character, it becomes normalised. The same phenomenon happens for people of colour; like women, they are vastly underrepresented in the media, and in Hollywood in particular.

This is harmful because it perpetuates stereotypes of marginalised groups. Take for instance the recent American drama Selfie. Although not a brilliant show in many regards, Selfie was unusual in that is cast Asian actor John Cho as the romantic lead, paired with Doctor Who star Karen Gillan. Watching it, I realised how unusual it was to see an Asian man as a romantic lead. Often, they are relegated to background sidekicks (think Sulu in Star Trek), as nerdy and socially awkward minor roles (think Lawrence in School of Rock), or as hyper-feminised and played for comedic laughs (Leslie Chow in The Hangover.) Very rarely are Asian men portrayed in lead roles or as romantic leads. This perpetuates and plays into the stereotype that Asian men are somehow 'less masculine' or 'less attractive' than other men.

When we whitewash Hollywood movies, we create a norm that is harmful. That norm is nearly always white, male, heterosexual and cisgendered. We deny the same opportunities and media representation to different races and genders. We create a narrative where the only stories worth telling are those of white men. We create a culture where not only are people of colour not being cast in 'race neutral' roles, they’re not even being cast in roles written for their own race. Whitewashing plays into a system of institutionalised and systemic racism and for that reason it can never be justified in an unequal society.