13 Most Controversial Movie Moments Of 2017

12. A Whitewashed Protagonist - Ghost In The Shell

The Moment: Not only was the original manga's Japanese protagonist Motoko Kusanagi re-imagined as a white woman played by Scarlett Johansson, but the final movie even transforms this into a plot twist, where Johansson's Mira Killian turns out to be Japanese all along, having had her brain inserted into the shell of a white woman.

Why It's Controversial: There was a major PR s***storm about Hollywood's Ghost in the Shell adaptation as soon as Johansson's casting was announced, and this reached an even more infuriated apex when the film was released and its smug plot twist was revealed.

Many who have been calling for greater representation for Asians in adaptations of properties that are culturally their own, such as Ghost in the Shell, felt that the twist was trying to have its cake and eat it, by confronting the controversy as an actual plot point (and a "gotcha!" moment, no less).

To many, this just wasn't good enough.