KAHHHHHN!!! Or, To Boldly Be Damned If You Do....

 The latest installment of the 'reimaged' Star Trek is quite good, IMHO.  The last movie "Into Darkness" brought back an old villain from the past.  Somehow, Kahn Noonien Singh got promoted into Kirk's nemesis, probably because the first Kahn was played by Ricardo Montalban, someone who is often equally OTT as the great William Shatner himself.

Kahn, preparing for his scenery eating contest with Captain Kirk.

In the movie, however, the very good yet very white actor Bennedict Cumberbach was cast in the role.  Ostensibly because the producers did not want to cast a non-white as the villain and possibly be seen as racist.  They were trying to avoid any accusation that, by casting an Indian or Middle Eastern actor, or at least a non-white actor, that they were saying that all non-whites are crooks.  Its understandable and somewhat justifiable concern.

Silently thanking all the fanboys that turned his role into Kirk's nemesis after only one appearance!

On the whole, fans and audiences didn't seem to have much problem with it.  However, there was some backlash, the website racebending.com being one example.  

The article you can read at that link sums up, much better than I, the problems with the casting. 

Basically, there's a long an complex story, full of theory and observation behind this casting choice.  But this is not the reason I am writing this entry today.  

Obviously this was a bad choice.  I love Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock.  He's a funny and wonderful actor.  But he should never have been cast as Kahn, period.  

Kahn Noonien Singh.  Funny, he doesn't look Khanish!

You see, the bottom line is that I think the flak JJ Abrams would have got had he cast a non-white as Kahn is, in the end, less damaging to all involved than casting who he did.  Had a non-white played Kahn, the non-whites may have been upset, the Sikhs and Indians may have raised eyebrows and voiced concerns that they just get to be the villain (but a cool one at that!)  However, you know, I don't think they really would have minded as much as this face-egg white-out that they got.  One of the biggest roles for a non-white of India to come along in years, albeit a villain, and the part goes to a guy who's skin is whiter than chalk.    

That's where it really hurts.  That's a blow below the belt.  Racebending.com put it much better than I can, how this act whitewashed out the fact that Kahn is meant to be from the Indian subcontinent.  

They should have just bit the bullet and cast a nonwhite for Kahn.  Even one of us Latinos like ole Rrrrrricardo MontalBAN! (I loved that guy!).  I love Star Trek and Sherlock, but this casting, it was really a slap in the face.  I don't blame central Asians being upset about it at all.