You’re right, how can racism against Asians be a problem in Asian countries if everyone there is Asian?

I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. If the majority of white male portrayals were evil and inept, then I would agree that it was problematic. But that’s not the case. For every negative portrayal, there are many more of positive white male portrayals.

And I think you are drawing the wrong conclusions. I’m not saying every character needs to be positive. I’m saying we need more balanced representation in the media. Once we do that, then this stereotype wouldn’t exist, and then it would be acceptable. Until then, perpetuating it is harmful.

And if you refuse to believe that perpetuating stereotypes is harmful to society, then I think we will just have to agree to disagree.

It is not, and that's what makes the fate of Kyoko all the more problematic.

Imagine you are a POC that has been silenced and objectified throughout your life. You see this Kyoko character and immediately feel empathy for her. You hope she finds her voice and frees herself of abuse.

And then this scene happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxXrccK4S3I

It's literally a slap in the face. Her abuser ultimately decides her fate. She's left as a meaningless pile of scrap. Ava benefits, but doesn't care at all and just takes off. Can you imagine how this would make you feel? Is this the resolution you hope for? Do you see how this is problematic?

Kyoko was just a tool for Nathan, and was just another tool for Ava, and ultimately just a tool for the filmmaker. The film never subverts the stereotype.

It really is tragic, because the film is otherwise expertly crafted and would have been one of my favorite sci-fi movies ever.

First off, I agree that the article is reaching a bit, and I don't personally agree with everything said 100%.

With that said, I still stand by my statement that Ex Machina does an extremely poor job with Asian representation. I would have agreed that objectification would be a good thing thematically. The big problem is with the resolution. Kyoko never gets her voice. She never gets her freedom. For her, the objectification was literately just objectification, and the worst kind.

If you think this is too "woke" then perhaps you and no one you care about are not affected by this problem. I would urge you to be a bit more empathetic about the problem. This type of media can get ingrained into our subconscious and have real world affects.

With all that said, I appreciate the conversation, and even if you don't end up agreeing, thanks for listening. I think more open and civil conversations about these topics are needed in society.

Thank you for taking the time to read through the article and at least consider the perspective.

The creator might not have intended to reinforce stereotypes, but the result of perpetuating can still be as damaging. Hollywood has a long history of objectifying Asian women, and this is particularity egregious case of it. Any stereotypical portray can be justified as coincidence, but I'm just saying we can be better than that.

As for your counter argument. I think if Ava was Asian, that would be fair. But Kyoko is the one that is dehumanized and sacrificed, which I consider to be an invalidation of the counter argument.

I know you are joking, but I just wanted to point out that the difference is that in Schindler's List, you empathize with the Jews. In this, Kyoko is basically objectified and dehumanized. People of color already have issues with representation in media, and it further reinforces stereotypes. I hope you can understand what it can be damaging to the community.

This article goes into more depth:

https://medium.com/science-technoculture-in-film/objectification-and-abjectification-in-ex-machina-and-ghost-in-the-shell-b126b8832a1d

But TLDR, >!the character of Kyoko needlessly reinforces the negative stereotype of subservient Asian woman. It would have been a great ending that she gets revenge on Nathan, but she ultimately dies in the process, ultimately reinforcing her, and her identity as a means to an end.!<

Good sci fi content, but horrible representation of Asians in the film. It deserves a lot of backlash for it.