Hollywood movie posters in Taiwan with Oriental eyes and features? Here in Taoyuan City near the train station at the local movie theater near my apartment, I have noticed that many of the movie posters that are painted on canvass and hung up above the box office portray the Caucasian actors, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Stars War people, etc, as having Asian features, in other words, almond-shaped eyes and shorter noses. The printed posters from Hollywood are the same as seen worldwide, but the specially painted canvass posters here seem to transform the stars from Caucasian looking people to slightly Asian looking people. I guess this is normal, since the artist, a middle aged man probably, is “seeing” things thru his own cultural filter, so Tom Cruise changes a bit as he paints.
My question is this: has anyone else ever seen this here in Taiwan, or am I imagining things? I also noticed this in Beijing movie posters and in Korea and Thailand when I visited. I’ve never been to Japan so I don’t know how they do it there, but I assume maybe this is an Asian wide phenomenon.
If it’s true, I mean, if my eyes are not deceiving me, then the question is why? Does the boss ask for this slight change to the original or is it all unconcious?
I don’t have any samples to show you but there was a huge movie poster from Beijing reproduced in the Taipie Times last week on its business pages, and it was a handpainted poster, so the Stars Wars stars had almond shaped eyes etc.
Any longtime expats here know if this is true or if this is a new phenomenon and always done like this?