Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing – but it has a chance to go even further

Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing – but it has a chance to go even further

Will Yun Lee as Takeshi Kovacs and Dichen Lachman as Reileen (Picture: Netflix) Warning: Contains sp..

Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing - but it has a chance to go further
Will Yun Lee as Takeshi Kovacs and Dichen Lachman as Reileen (Picture: Netflix)

Warning: Contains spoilers for Netflix‘s Altered Carbon.

Altered Carbon paints a future where bodies are a replaceable commodity across sex and race, a vision particularly timely as we move toward normalising gender-fluidity and balancing race representation.

Unsurprisingly, Altered Carbon’s premise has raised eyebrows now whitewashing is a prevalent issue. Originally depicted by Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee, ex-military trooper Takeshi Kovacs’ digitally stored conscious is placed in a white male ‘sleeve’ by Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) to solve the mystery of his own murder.

We later discover this new sleeve, played by Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman, is of former Bay City (previously San Francisco) policeman Elias Ryker. His body however was selected against his will for malicious reasons by Bancroft, which becomes particularly haunting for police officer Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda).

Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing - but it has a chance to go further
Kovacs is placed in Joel Kinnaman’s sleeve (Picture: Netflix)

It looks and sounds highly suspect in the opening episodes, but Altered Carbon U-turns intrigue from Kovacs present to his past sleeves – establishing a world which transcends the initial dystopia and small-scale murder mystery we’re initially presented with.

Whereas blockbusters like 2017’s Ghost In The Shell cast roles of Asian origin with American actors, Altered Carbon doesn’t go against its source material. In Richard K. Morgan’s original novel, Ryker is white, Kovacs is of Japanese and east European descent, and their character background’s serve crucial story purposes which also play out in the show.

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While Kinnaman and his ever-present nakedness forms the main vessel, Kovacs’ past as Will Yun Lee, and in another Asian sleeve as Chinese-American Byron Mann, is depicted in flashbacks throughout. Arguably the season’s best episode is entirely focused on this history; unravelling the relationship between Lee’s Kovacs and his sister Reileen, giving emotional weight to his re-sleeved existence in the present day.

Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing - but it has a chance to go further
The standout episode is centred entirely on Kovacs former sleeve (Picture: Netflix)

This episode in particular is a major turning-point for Altered Carbon, not only for opening the backstory, but for marking the moment Kinnaman’s presence feels largely inconsequential. While Ryker’s sleeve is a logical plot point (and, cynically, marketable eye-candy), you soon realise Lee’s Kovacs is the heart of the show – someone you want to see on-screen to feed more revelations going forward.

It’s something which works against Kinnaman’s performance in the closing episodes, who doesn’t possess the same chemistry opposite Dichen Lachman’s Reileen. But it raises a dilemma which is exciting for the show’s future – how does a character continue inside a body they’re not comfortable with over long periods? Without the interpretive freedom of Doctor Who, it becomes Freaky Friday on a blockbuster binge scale.

Altered Carbon subverts appearances of whitewashing - but it has a chance to go further
Altered Carbon is a show where race and gender are generally meaningless (Picture: Netflix)

It’s why Kinnaman is perfectly right to call whitewashing claims against Altered Carbon ‘lazy’. It’s a surface-level, reductive interpretation of a show which can flutter between races on a whim – with the choice of an athletic Caucasian male reflecting looks the wealthy elite, like Bancroft, desire and idolise in their social circles.

As Kinnaman’s Kovacs leaves Poe’s AI hotel in the season’s closing moments, it feels likely we won’t be seeing his sleeve return for a potential season two. The actor has even stated outright himself, noting how the second book in Morgan’s series takes place on an entirely different planet.

Altered Carbon therefore has a huge opportunity for bigger and bolder casting decisions in the inevitable coming seasons. In a future where race and gender are no longer barriers, the show is an excitably tangible creation which could veer in any direction. Whitewashing? Netflix have the ingredients for the most forward-thinking show on the box.

Altered Carbon is currently streaming on Netflix.

MORE: Altered Carbon review: A thrilling series just getting comfortable in its own sleeve

MORE: Joel Kinnaman hits back at ‘lazy’ whitewashing claims over Netflix’s Altered Carbon

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