A distinction that will become salient as we proceed:

The Ancient One, in the comic books, comes from a village in the Himalayas called Kamar-Taj. It is implied that this fictional village exists in the current, real-world location of Tibet, but Kamar-Taj is presented as separate and apart from Tibet. Kamar-Taj, a fictional location that is not Tibet, is also home to the Doctor Strange movie’s version of The Ancient One.

Cargill continues:

“The Ancient One was a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place. He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘hey, one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world, we’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’”

From later in the interview:

“I’ve seen a lot of people, and the thing that makes me pull my hair out is, someone people are like, ‘well, why not cast Michelle Yeoh?’ I’m like, well, first of all, Michelle Yeoh is awesome. I would love to make a film with Michelle Yeoh. If you are telling me you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

This is the part of Cargill’s argument that most major news outlets have chosen to focus on, providing Marvel and Cargill unearned cover in the name of unhindered capitalism and geopolitical sensitivity.

Lost amidst the oft-repeated invocation of China as a force that must be capitulated to in order for American movies to become profitable is the fact that Cargill’s essential position is fundamentally incorrect.

“Acknowledging that Tibet is a place” is not the same as declaring that Tibet is an independent state. The latter has been a hotly contested political issue for over 50 years, and any property taking a side would certainly risk the film’s chances of distribution in China. The former, however, is simply a fact, not a geopolitical statement. It is possible, in other words, to acknowledge that Tibet is “a place” without taking the further step of declaring its sovereignty.

Furthermore, the Chinese acknowledge the existence of the Tibetan people, because, again, their existence is a fact. In addition to China’s unwillingness to show the film Seven Years in Tibet, Brad Pitt was famously banned from entering China, but the film and actor didn’t face repercussions simply due to acknowledgement of the existence of Tibet and its people. The issue there was that Seven Years in Tibet portrayed the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of free Tibet, in a positive light. No appearance or potential appearance of the Dalai Lama has been discussed in connection with Doctor Strange.

It’s difficult to judge Cargill’s argument here without knowing for sure how well he understands the actual geopolitical issues and sensitivities surrounding China’s relationship with Tibet. At face value, though, it appears that one of Cargill’s arguments against casting an Asian person in a major role is to associate, with China and Tibet, the same kind of mysterious, inscrutable, and ultimately inaccurate traits that we’ve often seen unfairly affixed to Hollywood’s Asian characters.

Again, though, all of this is immaterial, given the fact that Marvel and Cargill have avoided the issue altogether by placing The Ancient One in Kamar-Taj rather than Tibet.

Cargill’s admonishment of those who would rather see a Chinese actress play a Tibetan suggests that the Ancient One must be depicted as Tibetan in the film, rather than as the ethnicity of the actor or actress cast. The fact that, when Doctor Strange releases, we’ll see Tilda Swinton playing a Celtic version of The Ancient One, disproves the writer’s own notion.