Earlier this year, a major Hollywood studio announced that it was planning to produce a live-action remake of the Japanese manga and anime "Ghost in the Shell." The backlash from cultural critics in the United States and Europe was swift. They deemed that casting Scarlett Johansson in the role of cyborg policewoman Major Motoko Kusanagi was a form of "whitewashing" — where white actors are cast in non-white roles to appease Western audiences. What's more, her character's original Japanese name has been removed from the script; she will only be referred to only as "the Major."