Netflix’s New 76%-Rated Sci-Fi Banger Accused of Whitewashing

Summary:

• 3 Body Problem, new Netflix ’s #1 show, is an adaptation of Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel, which follows a group of Chinese scientists in a search for aliens.
• This novel was long considered unadaptable, until the release of the Chinese series in 2023 and the new massively popular westernized version.
• The latter is now receiving lots of criticism concerning erasing China from both the setting of the series and the origin of the cast members.

The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin’s 2006 book, became not only one of the most successful sci-fi novels of the 21th century, but also one of the most desired sources for filmmakers to adapt.

Only in 2023 we saw its first movie adaptation, the Chinese series Three-Body, then the story was handed over to the Western producers, which resulted in the recent premiere of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, created by D. Benioff and D. B. Weiss.

The book, telling a story of an astrophysicist encountering an alien civilization from a nearby space system, seems really tough to adapt. Its special focus on Chinese culture, the action set in different timelines and even realities and the constant use of terms from orbital mechanics were long considered too complicated for the average viewer.

The Game of Thrones ’ creators’ vision of Cixin's novel, which aired on March 21, now seems to gain mostly positive reviews, which praise its science fiction aspect for the most part. However, aiming to convey the scientific side of the book, decorating it with perfectly made visual effects, the showrunners almost got rid of its cultural centricity.

It turned out that the new series is set in London instead of modern China, showing us its original country of action only in flashbacks. Besides, only two of the main roles went to actors of Chinese descent, while other Chinese characters from the book are played by white, Black, Pakistani, and Mexican actors. According to the showrunners’, all these changes were intended to tell a better global story, comprehensible for all people.

In this connection, 3 Body Problem is now widely accused of whitewashing, with thousands of viewers claiming its unfair westernization. It is concerned that there was no problem with Asian culture and actors featured in the industry’s worldwide bangers, such as Squid Game, Parasite and Beef, so there’s no clear need for Netflix to hide behind the “faithful” aim to create a global story and, therefore, to whitewash the story.

“Western audiences have been able to understand completely fictional worlds like ones filled with giant blue aliens and talking trees,” fairly admits Redditor @foolofatooksbury.

You can compare the two takes on Cixin’s brilliant novel, the one made by the Chinese, which is available on Prime, and the new one of Netflix’s Western production.

Source: Reddit