This month, it was announced that Scarlett Johansson would play the lead role in “Ghost in the Shell,” the first American adaptation of the popular anime book series about a female cyborg cop. Given the paucity of roles written for East Asian actresses, it is absolute tone-deaf bullshit that ScarJo took this role. What’s interesting: I believe this choice stemmed from her long-term, Scorpio-style campaign to subvert mainstream Hollywood’s endless wave of wife and prostitute roles. For ever since she broke out in 2003’s “Lost in Translation,” Johansson keeps playing against type – subverting her good looks by playing cartoons of femininity that, in many cases, are not even human.
Consider these six roles. Continue Reading →