Six months after the initial trailer for Doctor Strange debuted, and following the controversial reactions to the film’s whitewashing of the Ancient One, initial reviews emerged. While many critics seemed to enjoy the movie itself, a crucial question remained unaddressed in many mainstream outlets. This isn’t a review of Doctor Strange as a film, but a critical look at the reviews themselves. The focus: how accurately and respectfully did these reviews portray Asian American concerns regarding the whitewashing of the Ancient One? This analysis examines several prominent reviews through that lens.
IGN: Ignoring the Whitewashing Issue
“Controversies around changing the Ancient One from the comics aside, Swinton’s ethereal, unique presence feels right at home here, playing this serene yet oh-so powerful character.”
IGN’s review casually dismisses the significant “controversies” as simply “changing the Ancient One from the comics.” The term “whitewashing,” a far more accurate and loaded descriptor, is conspicuously absent. This phrasing minimizes the valid concerns of Asian Americans and sidesteps the racial implications of casting Tilda Swinton, a white actress, in a role traditionally depicted as Tibetan in the Doctor Strange comics. It’s a swift dismissal that prioritizes praising Swinton’s performance over acknowledging the ongoing discussion about representation in Marvel movies.
Grade: F
IndieWire: Gender Bias Overshadows Racial Erasure
“Worst of all, ‘Doctor Strange’ more dramatically underlines Marvel’s gender bias than any previous film, if only because there’s a striking contrast between the trite dude superhero and the mesmerizing lady guru who passes her power onto him.”
Doctor Strange movie poster featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, highlighting discussion around Tilda Swinton casting controversy for The Ancient One role in Marvel's Doctor Strange.
IndieWire’s review, while attempting to engage with cultural commentary, strangely pivots to gender bias, completely bypassing the racial whitewashing at the heart of the Ancient One casting. Critic David Ehrlich points out gender disparities within the film, noting the contrast between the male superhero and the “lady guru.” While gender representation is important, framing it as the “worst of all” while ignoring the erasure of Asian representation is a glaring oversight. It effectively erases Asian Americans from a conversation about diversity and representation in Doctor Strange, focusing solely on a different, albeit related, issue.
Grade: F-
Polygon: Downplaying Eastern Culture and Whitewashing
“People seek out the magic of the Mystic Arts when they’re at their lowest low, searching for physical and emotional healing after all other hope has been lost. Strange, of course, only seeks answers from the East after he has exhausted everything that Western medicine has to offer. (There are no atheists in foxholes, eh?)”
Polygon’s review takes a dismissive approach to Eastern culture itself, framing Doctor Strange’s turn to Eastern mysticism as a last resort after Western medicine fails. This subtly reinforces a hierarchical view of cultures, with the “West” as the default and the “East” as a place of mystical cures for those who have “lost all other hope.” Furthermore, while acknowledging Wong’s character improvement from the comics, the review remains conspicuously silent on the Ancient One’s whitewashing. This selective acknowledgement suggests a discomfort with directly addressing the more significant issue of racial erasure in Doctor Strange.
“Though Wong doesn’t have much to do in this film, his character is still a step up from the ethnically insulting ‘tea-serving manservant’ he is in the comics…”
Grade: ethnically, F
Variety: Minimizing Whitewashing as a Stereotype Avoidance
“…much has already been written about the casting of the white-skinned Swinton in a role originally conceived as an old Asian man (as if the world needs yet another Mister Miyagi/Pai Mei stereotype), when the only real disappointment there is that the practically extraterrestrial star wasn’t asked to play the title role…”
Variety’s review downplays the whitewashing controversy by framing it as an attempt to avoid Asian stereotypes like “Mister Miyagi/Pai Mei.” This argument suggests that the only alternative to whitewashing is to perpetuate offensive stereotypes, a false dichotomy that ignores the possibility of nuanced and respectful Asian representation. The review then bizarrely claims the “only real disappointment” is not casting Swinton as Doctor Strange himself, completely missing the point of the whitewashing critique. It trivializes legitimate concerns about representation by mischaracterizing them as mere stereotype avoidance, showcasing a profound misunderstanding of the issue.
Grade: Wax on outta here with this
USA Today: Performance Justifies Whitewashing?
“…Swinton adds sass, emotional depth and a little frailty to the wise-warrior archetype. Her performance will put to rest any remaining concerns about the character not being the Asian man of the comics.”
Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Marvel's Doctor Strange, a casting choice criticized for whitewashing an originally Asian character, as discussed in movie reviews.
USA Today’s review takes the problematic stance that Tilda Swinton’s performance somehow justifies the whitewashing of the Ancient One. It suggests that a strong performance from a white actress can “put to rest any remaining concerns” about erasing an Asian character. This argument is deeply flawed, implying that talent negates the issue of racial representation and that a good performance by a white actor is a sufficient substitute for authentic diversity. It completely disregards the importance of seeing Asian actors in significant roles and reinforces the idea that Hollywood can simply cast white actors in Asian roles as long as they perform well.
Grade: 100% pure poop
The Hollywood Reporter: Condescending and Dismissive of “Alarmists”
“Looking like some kind of exquisite alien rather than a leftover Hare Krishna, [Swinton], too, has trippy phrases at her disposal…”
The Hollywood Reporter begins with a bizarre and racially charged comparison, suggesting Swinton looks like a non-human alien, preferable to a “leftover Hare Krishna,” a deeply insensitive remark. It then proceeds to condescend to those concerned about whitewashing:
“Politically correct casting alarmists may stamp their feet about a white woman being cast as the supreme custodian of knowledge at a Himalayan retreat, which is, in fact, a thoroughly interracial establishment. But this is obviously nothing like Sam Jaffe playing the High Lama in 1937’s Lost Horizon…”
This review resorts to name-calling, labeling critics as “politically correct casting alarmists” and infantilizing their concerns as “stamping their feet.” It attempts to minimize the issue by arguing that the setting is “interracial” (as if that negates whitewashing) and by drawing a false equivalency to a film from 1937, as if progress shouldn’t be expected. This approach is dismissive, condescending, and completely fails to engage with the substance of the whitewashing critique against Doctor Strange.
Grade: Two stamps of my tiny feet
ScreenCrush: Passive Acknowledgment, Active Whitewashing Ignored
“In practice, [Swinton] delivers a very strong performance… On the other hand, it is a little disconcerting that a movie set almost entirely in Nepal, with characters dressed in Asian-inflected costumes, features so few Asian actors.”
ScreenCrush comes closer to acknowledging the issue, noting it’s “disconcerting” that a film set in Nepal with Asian-inspired costumes features “so few Asian actors.” However, this acknowledgment is relegated to a secondary point, almost a footnote. Furthermore, it only addresses the lack of Asian actors, passively framing the issue. It conspicuously avoids confronting the active replacement of an Asian character with a white actress in the casting of the Ancient One. While a slight improvement over other reviews, it still falls short of a meaningful engagement with the whitewashing controversy.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel McAdams in Doctor Strange, picture used to illustrate the review analysis concerning the movie's casting and handling of Asian representation issues.
Grade: C+
The Daily Beast: A Nuanced and Complete Perspective
“…Doctor Strange, the latest comic book movie that ensures that the entitled white heroes of the Earth and beyond will keep inheriting the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
“…[Doctor Strange] is yet another white male Chosen One destined to excel within an exotic culture not his own, an issue the film doesn’t bother trying to address. (It doesn’t sit quite as glaringly tone deaf, at least, as Marvel’s upcoming small-screen series Iron Fist whose white male protagonist inherits the MCU’s only other Asian-influenced mantle.)”
“Anyone looking for an answer to Doctor Strange’s streak of Orientalism won’t walk away satisfied…”
“Swinton is effortlessly excellent in her role — one that was gender-flipped, in a progressive move for strong female representation in the genre, at least…”
The Daily Beast, reviewed by Asian American critic Jen Yamato, stands out as a stark contrast to the other reviews. It directly addresses the issue of whitewashing within the broader context of Marvel’s representation issues. Yamato accurately labels Doctor Strange as another example of a “white male Chosen One” appropriating “exotic culture.” The review doesn’t shy away from using terms like “Orientalism” and clearly articulates the disappointment for those seeking acknowledgement of these issues within the film. Crucially, it manages to separate the critique of whitewashing from a simple dismissal of the film, acknowledging Swinton’s performance while still holding the film accountable for its problematic casting choices. This nuanced and comprehensive approach highlights the value of diverse voices in film criticism, especially when addressing issues of representation and racial bias in movies like Marvel’s Doctor Strange.
Grade: A… ZN
In conclusion, the majority of mainstream reviews of Doctor Strange failed to adequately address or even acknowledge the significant issue of whitewashing the Ancient One. Many reviews minimized the controversy, dismissed it entirely, or deflected to other issues like gender representation. Only The Daily Beast, through the perspective of an Asian American critic, provided a nuanced and comprehensive analysis that properly contextualized the whitewashing within broader issues of representation and cultural appropriation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This disparity underscores the critical need for diverse voices in media criticism to ensure that issues of racial erasure and misrepresentation are not overlooked or minimized in discussions of popular films like Marvel Doctor Strange.
