Well, Roy Lee, one of the producers of the upcoming Netflix Death Note film â€” which is based on the manga of the same name â€” has heard the cries of whitewashing elicited from its trailers, and he doesnâ€™t seem too happy about it.

â€œI can understand the criticism … if our version of Death Note was set in Japan and [featured] characters that were Japanese-named or of Japanese ancestry.â€ However, seeing that the film ISNâ€™T set in Japan, he doesnâ€™t think thatâ€™s a fair criticism of the film.

â€œIt is an interpretation of that story in a different culture, so there are going to be some obvious changes. Some people will like them, some people may not. [But the changes were necessary to] make it more appealing to the US or to the English-language market.â€

This would ignite criticism that, by default, studios are assuming that adapting to American culture instantly means white, when the country is made up of immigrants. But, crying whitewashing would be a bit of a misnomer, according to Roy.

â€œ[Of the key actors,] one of them is Asian, one’s African-American, and three are Caucasian. Saying ‘whitewashing’ is also somewhat offensive [since] one of our three leads is African-American.â€

â€œPeople can criticize it, but I’d say that they should see the movie first. Then they could accuse us of not having a diverse enough cast â€¦ just judge the movie after it comes out.â€

Fair enough.

Just to speak on behalf of those crying â€œwhitewashing,â€ however, it becomes less (at least to me) about retaining the culture from a great story, and more about not allowing opportunities for actors of other races to lead a film. Studios, at some point, need to realize that theyâ€™re catering to more than one group of people, and that the films should reflect that. Heck, just take a look at one of the more quietly diverse franchises out there â€” Fast & Furious, which currently only consists of two male leads of its core cast.

The diversity doesnâ€™t need to be made to make a message, but it would be nice if it better reflected the experience of many Americans.

But thatâ€™s just my personal perspective. Whatâ€™s yours? Do you care who gets cast as what, or do you think Hollywood should start taking more chances (given that the actors can perform the role well enough, of course)? Let us know in the comments down below!

Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.

SOURCE: Buzzfeed