Annihilation should have done its homework when it comes to whitewashing

Star Natalie Portman and director Alex Garland have both addressed the controversy surrounding the upcoming sci-fi adaptation.

A lot of people, myself included, have been pumped to see Annihilation, the second feature film from Ex Machina director Alex Garland. Its story appeals to the intersectional feminist in me: a diverse group of women set out to finish a job that men couldn’t do.

Once I remembered Garland’s interest in gender and power dynamics — which is on full display in Ex Machina — Annihilation became a must-see.

I’m still psyched for Annihilation‘s release next week, but now my inclusivity spidey senses are tingling for another reason. As you’ve probably heard, the film has been called out by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and American Indians in Film and Television for whitewashing Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh’s characters. Annihilation‘s cast is undeniably diverse — it includes Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Sonya Miznuo, Oscar Isaac, and Benedict Wong — but the film is still following in the unfortunate footsteps of Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and Ghost in the Shell.

Per Deadline, Portman and Leigh’s characters were originally written as being of Asian descent and half-Native American/half-white, respectively. Annihilation is based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, the first book of his Southern Reach trilogy. The biologist (Portman) and the psychologist’s (Leigh) racial identities weren’t mentioned in Annihilation but were specified in its sequel, Authority.

According to Garland, the Asian and Native American erasure was unintentional, as he had only referenced Annihilation when making the film. He claims it was an honest mistake and praises those who have brought attention to whitewashing in the media:

"“This is an awkward problem for me, because I think whitewashing is a serious and real issue, and I fully support the groups drawing attention to it,” Garland said..“But the characters in the novel I read and adapted were not given names or ethnicities … As a middle-aged white man, I can believe I might at times be guilty of unconscious racism, in the way that potentially we all are. But there was nothing cynical or conspiratorial about the way I cast this movie.”"

This would be a fair defense if Authority had been published, say, six months ago. However, it wasn’t: the book was published in May 2014, a good chunk of time before Garland officially signed on to the Annihilation movie.

The truth is the film had franchise potential; the fact that its source material was part of a trilogy was never a secret. I would think that the minimum research in adapting a book to film would include finding out what shapes the characters’ unique identities (i.e. gender, race, background).

Garland or someone on his crew could have done that but didn’t.

Like Garland, Portman was also unaware that Authority described the characters as non-white. “Well, that does sound problematic, but I’m hearing it here first,” she said in an interview with Yahoo. She added:

"“We need more representation of Asians on film, of Hispanics on film, of blacks on film, women and particularly women of color, Native Americans — I mean, we just don’t have enough representation … And I hope that begins to change, because I think everyone is becoming more conscious of it, which hopefully will make change.”"

I’m glad Garland and Portman understand why this is an issue and that they both seem genuinely committed to better representation in entertainment. Garland should also be commended for recognizing his privilege and unconscious bias.

However, I find it truly hard to believe that none of the creative staff on Annihilation knew or at least heard that VanderMeer revealed the biologist and psychologist’s races in Authority.

Someone could have found that out in two seconds with the help of Google.

Next: Reed Morano should direct a Star Wars movie

If nothing else, this situation goes to show that fact-checking matters, just like representation. If you’re passionate about adapting a work of art, then prove it and do your homework. The same rules apply if you’re passionate about inclusive representation.

Annihilation hits theaters February 23.