Recently actress Constance Wu called out Hollywood's tired and repeated tendency to cast white males as the leads and saviors in films that center around minorities story wise, and raised the issue with The Great Wall film starring Matt Damon. Think Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai.

According to Wu, people of color are tired of Hollywood pushing white male saviors. There is definitely truth to this, as can be seen by the widespread coverage of her case. For this she should be applauded.

While there must be appreciation that Wu has the courage and conviction to speak out about this topic, there are some things that need to be clarified.

Chinese in China are not especially interested in the movie because of Matt Damon. His role is definitely to appeal to foreign audiences. The Great Wall has several famous Chinese celebrities including the likes of Andy Lau and Lu Han.

It would be quite the assumption to believe that the foreign male savior narrative is going to somehow overpower die-hard Chinese fans' excitement seeing their celebrities on screen. That is what they will take from the film. This matters because such a narrative isn't something we want Chinese to accept or get used to. Most Chinese will probably see Damon saving alongside and with Chinese saviors.

The Chinese backers of the film are ignorant. They are simply not aware of these types of race issues. While not excusing them of their responsibility, it is worth noting that they aren't pushing the idea of Chinese needing to be rescued by a foreign male on purpose. Neither were they the ones who wrote the story. I am sure they will be quite surprised at the backlash because it is unlikely they have any clue about these issues at all. This topic isn't really discussed in China, despite the efforts and repeated warnings of some.

There are opponents who say that it is just a fantasy film and there is no need to make an issue out of this. It is a very unconvincing excuse. When there is such desperation to stop people from talking or caring about this topic, something is clearly up.

Wu talked a lot about people of color, not Chinese. "Our heroes don't look like Matt Damon. They look like Malala. Ghandi. Mandela." It is unclear whether Wu would have any issue if Damon's role was replaced with another actor of color. What is clear is that it would be just as ridiculous in the Chinese context. Therefore it is necessary to make sure Chinese reject these narratives in its entirety, and not pretend that simply swapping one foreign male with another makes everything fine.

Wu is centered on women. "Well excuse me for caring about the images little girls see." Chinese must learn to spot these agendas, because letting them lead opposition will leave issues not in their agenda ignored. She is 100 percent correct about the effect these narratives have on girls and the expectations of "nerdy white kids." There is nothing wrong with Wu focusing on girls.

However there is something wrong with having someone who only focuses on girls spearheading an issue that affects both genders. This issue affects boys as well. China needs films that make clear that Chinese boys can be heroes as well, films that give them role models they can aspire to be like day to day.

Wu did a fantastic thing in fostering discussion about this. It was perfect for speaking up for people of color as well as girls.

However, to say this automatically addresses the Chinese context would be short-sighted and flat-out wrong. These issues are legitimate and are not going away. Therefore it is important that the discussion happens in China, but in a way that takes the Chinese context into account.

The author is a writer from KultureMedia, a media watchdog on behalf of Asian Americans. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn