It’s no secret that sometimes movies can be offensive, especially when they have to represent a minority – ethnic, religious, or any other gender. It’s actually quite often that the characters involved fall short, whether it’s their script, casting, costumes, or any other aspect that might affect the viewer’s perception. Just think of the story that an animated feature film is about. Pocahontas, one of the names often criticized in this sense: a girl who was only 10 years old at the time of her first meeting with John Smith, according to the latter. Barely seventeen years old, Matoaka was kidnapped and baptized by the British colonizers, and within a year or so gave birth to a son from her marriage to John Rolfe. It’s easy to see how the grown, attractive woman portrayed by Disney could be denounced and accused of reinforcing the stereotypes and fetishization that Native American women often fall victim to. And it is the abuse of traits drawn from myths and stereotypes that is the main culprit behind many of the cases collected in today’s gallery, ranging from the representation of characters belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, to cases of whitewashing, all the way to social satire, according to some, above the mark. From Aladdin To Thorpassing through Breakfast at Tiffany’s AND Ghost in armorFind below 10 movies that are considered highly offensive because of their characters.
Since the casting of Scarlett Johansson for the lead role was announced, complaints, calls for a boycott and petitions for the actress’s dismissal from the project have begun on the Web. The reason is known to everyone: the Caucasian in the role of a character of Asian origin in the manga did not like the fans, who immediately shouted whitewashing.
According to some members of the Arab community, the main character of the classic Disney cartoon should be considered blatantly offensive. The reason is very simple: while the hero looks like any other Disney character (except for a slightly darker complexion), the villain Jafar instead reflects the typical Arab appearance in every way. In short, because despite both having the same origins, only the villain has these distinctive traits?
According to the LGBT community, which has widely criticized him, portraying the character of Benedict Cumberbatch would be a real crime against transgender people.
The first God of Thunder movie was heavily boycotted by American white supremacists who found the presence of an actor like Idris Elba as a Scandinavian character traditionally portrayed as white offensive. In addition to this, they accused the film of wanting to “rewrite European folklore”.
Well, how could the controversial character of Sacha Baron Cohen be absent from such a list? Several accusations have been made against him: he is a racist, he is an anti-Semite, he is a misogynist and much more. As if that weren’t enough, Borat offers a very offensive portrait of Kazakhstan and its people, depicting them as backward, ignorant and living a lifestyle that contrasts sharply with that of the West. As you understand, the Kazakh government did not take it very well …
Knowing that a famous comic book villain like the Mandarin would appear in the film was very exciting news for MCU fans at the time of the announcement of the third installment in the franchise. Especially knowing that a star like Ben Kingsley will play him. In short, so much hype to find out, with the release of the film, that the character turned into a kind of joke. Well, know that many today cannot forgive this, considering it extremely offensive to the real character and fans. Thankfully, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will soon introduce real Chinese to the MCU, so Marvel Studios will finally have a chance to redeem itself. Will they succeed?
Compared to him, the Major played by Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell is nothing. And it’s no surprise that the Asian killer, played by Mickey Rooney in a cult with Audrey Hepburn, is considered one of the most offensive characters of all time. Not only is he a Chinese man played by a Westerner, but he follows the old and derogatory stereotypes of big-toothed Asians… not really.
On paper, the Farrelly brothers’ film was supposed to be a film about accepting yourself and your appearance. However, on the big screen, the two directors did not spare themselves from various jokes and unsuccessful jokes about fat people and their physical form. The final message of the movie? Being fat is bad. Needless to say, many viewers didn’t like it…
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The Last Temptation of Christ
Many believers did not like the image of Jesus that Martin Scorsese wanted to give at all. The reason? Well, in the film, he is shown as the most ordinary person, full of doubts, paranoia and weaknesses. A portrait that is certainly very different from how it is perceived by the Christian community.
Everyone knows that Jar Jar Binks was the most hated character in the Star Wars universe. Not only is the character completely annoying to many, but in addition, he is also accused of being a caricature that makes fun of the African American community by tracing its stereotypes.
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