Sakura of DOOM

I think you're right about one reason for the "color-coding," as it were, but there's a bit of an unfortunate side effect that feeds back into the idea that light-skinned people don't have ethnicities and people of color are "more in touch with nature" because they're more in touch with their savage natures. You've even got Trinity the White Girl Raised by Natives, as it were, along with Morpheus the Magical Negro. I would love to have seen that character played less, "I believe in you! You are the One!" and more, "I'm invested in you because I might be able to train you to save mankind, but you're not the only candidate, and I will drop you if you don't work out." It would have made more sense, I think.

One thing that struck me when watching the movies was a comment Neo makes about a place that serves "really good noodles," and we see business signs in...I want to say a form of Chinese characters, though I could be misremembering. So it would have made sense to surround Neo with Asian friends and co-workers, which would have reinforced the Asian part of the actor's heritage, and coded the character differently. Such a choice would have run a risk with the stereotype of "emotionless, sheep-like, and all technologically gifted," but I think having Neo's club friends also be Asian would have offset that. The casting of Keanu could have pushed some boundaries that it ended up...not. It was the "part-white" that was emphasized, and I love the first movie (and parts of the second and third), but I can't help imagining how much more they could have been.

One of these years, I'll make it. I just have to plan seriously in advance, and probably have a fair chunk of change to put into it, since I'm not a good candidate for a roommate for even one person. Feh.