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The Last Airbender
This upcoming movie release will suck huge.
Caucasian Heroes + Middle Eastern Villains = Epic Fail.
The Super Bowl spot reminds us of what the movie could have meant. A large budget film portraying heroes of color in a positive light.
Instead, it shows the continuing Hollywood tradition of whitewashing – which is itself a direct descendant of
practices of blackface and yellowface.
The bottom-line is that this production, from the very first casting call,
worked to marginalize and exclude performers of color.
There is a persistent myth and belief that actors of color cannot carry films. This bias has been apparent for decades, since the era of Charlie Chan – the most popular film character of the 1930s, based on an actual Asian American police officer… played by a Caucasian actor in yellowface:
For the Charlie Chan films and television series, the main actor had to be white.
The performers of color – people of genuinely Asian descent – could make appearances as family members or other background extras. That was then and this…
…is now.
Eighty years later and still people of color are only allowed in the background. An entire tribe populated using extras from Greenland – a nation that is almost 90% of Inuit heritage – is championed by two Caucasians.
Again and again, Caucasian performers are deemed the “most capable” to portray stories about people of color – even if the casting directors have to rig in favor of Caucasian applicants. This is not an isolated incident – whitewashing is the industry standard, whether a film is based on Asian-inspired fantasy or actual Asian Americans.
From 21 to The Prince of Persia, Extraordinary Measures to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, faces of color are denied the opportunity to portray even their own people, their own history, their own unique part of the American cultural landscape.
At least Hollywood stopped taping their eyes back.
…in this film, anyway.
more articles and blogs here
or here.
Full Trailer:
From rogerebert.com
Q. Regarding the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan vehicle "The Last Airbender," what do you think about the whitewashing of the production so that all of the original Asian cultural landmarks, architecture, philosophy, and costume design are being retained while they cast white kids to play the main characters?
Arlene C. Harris
A. Wrong. The original series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts.
Caucasian Heroes + Middle Eastern Villains = Epic Fail.
- Jackson Rathbone
The Super Bowl spot reminds us of what the movie could have meant. A large budget film portraying heroes of color in a positive light.
Instead, it shows the continuing Hollywood tradition of whitewashing – which is itself a direct descendant of
practices of blackface and yellowface.
The bottom-line is that this production, from the very first casting call,
worked to marginalize and exclude performers of color.
There is a persistent myth and belief that actors of color cannot carry films. This bias has been apparent for decades, since the era of Charlie Chan – the most popular film character of the 1930s, based on an actual Asian American police officer… played by a Caucasian actor in yellowface:
For the Charlie Chan films and television series, the main actor had to be white.
The performers of color – people of genuinely Asian descent – could make appearances as family members or other background extras. That was then and this…
…is now.
Eighty years later and still people of color are only allowed in the background. An entire tribe populated using extras from Greenland – a nation that is almost 90% of Inuit heritage – is championed by two Caucasians.
Again and again, Caucasian performers are deemed the “most capable” to portray stories about people of color – even if the casting directors have to rig in favor of Caucasian applicants. This is not an isolated incident – whitewashing is the industry standard, whether a film is based on Asian-inspired fantasy or actual Asian Americans.
From 21 to The Prince of Persia, Extraordinary Measures to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, faces of color are denied the opportunity to portray even their own people, their own history, their own unique part of the American cultural landscape.
At least Hollywood stopped taping their eyes back.
…in this film, anyway.
more articles and blogs here
or here.
Full Trailer:
From rogerebert.com
Q. Regarding the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan vehicle "The Last Airbender," what do you think about the whitewashing of the production so that all of the original Asian cultural landmarks, architecture, philosophy, and costume design are being retained while they cast white kids to play the main characters?
Arlene C. Harris
A. Wrong. The original series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts.
Tags: airbender, last, racebending, shyamalan, whitewash
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by TheLilBeast on -
Ummmn....who fucking gives a crap if thier not asains. I've been saying this millions of times but it really doesn't matter. In the show they don't even explian if the characters are asian or not. I don't remember the creators of the show saying "by the way there asain..BYE!!!!". Yeah..sure...they use an anime type style of animation but fucking made by Americans. Doesn't mean there asain.
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Permalink Reply by rokrok on -
If this visual essay does not convince you, then nothing will.
In the commentary, one of the creators states that Katara was designed based on "authentic Inuit" characteristics.
And I don't remember the creators of the show saying, "by the way they're white.. BYE!!!"
oh no, not the "made by Americans" argument again.
Yes, the franchise was fucking made by Americans. Doesn't mean they're white.
Out of the 14 million+ Asian-Americans and 4 million+ Native Americans, they couldn't find any talent?
Now that's some ol' bullshit.
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Permalink Reply by TheLilBeast on
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dude...That's the shit I'm trying to get across you ignorant dumb fuck. ...ok...maybe i shouldn't called you that but whatever. The creators didn't even fully explian if they're asains, white, black or whatever the fuck.
ohhhh yeah "In the commentary, one of the creators states that Katara was designed based on "authentic Inuit" characteristics!!!" YAY Like that really explians shit. :P
So who really cares?
And yes the made by Americans agruement. I always have to use this because there's no way to get out of it or going against it in anyway. If it's made by americans..it's made by americans. Yes..they use anime...doesn't mean there suppose to be asian and not white or the other way around. The visal essay was some racist bullcrap. Like I said, they used anime. It's a supposed to look like that.
...or maybe you just hate white people...
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Permalink Reply by rokrok on
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I guess being Asian,
when I see characters in Asian attire, fighting with Asian martial arts with Asian architecture in the background, in a story influenced by Asian mythology, folklore, and philosophy, I automatically assume the characters are Asian. From my perspective, the universe didn't include 1 anglo-saxon character.
The visual essay was some racist bullcrap?
The creators flat out say that Katara is Inuit and that doesn't really explain shit?
Ok this is where I decide to stop arguing with you.
And
I don't hate any race.
I hate the people in power making these decisions.
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Permalink Reply by TheLilBeast on
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I guess being Asian,
when I see characters in Asian attire, fighting with Asian martial arts with Asian architecture in the background, in a story influenced by Asian mythology, folklore, and philosophy, I automatically assume the characters are Asian. From my perspective, the universe didn't include 1 anglo-saxon character.
ok, that I understand. But the thing is there not actally saying that they are asians and they should be. I mean the creators didn't make one compliant when M. night annouced the cast. Isn't that telling you something? I don't know but all I'm saying is sure they use all those things to come up with the series and the it's background but if they don't really say there actally asian then there probably not. You don't have to be asian to be fighting with asian martial arts. It's like me with The Boondocks. They act black abd speak black(or at least hood like blacks) so I automatically say there black. Why? Because they actally do explian there black and they draw them like there black. Here in Avatar, they do have some kind of asain overtone but they don't go and explian that they are actally asain.
The visual essay was some racist bullcrap?
The creators flat out say that Katara is Inuit and that doesn't really explain shit?
Ok this is where I decide to stop arguing with you.
Sigh...you are seriously missing the point!! Yeah, the creators explian one thing...about one character...and that's it!!! They don't explian the characters as a whole they only explian one character..just one and that's doesn't really explian much. This is where I want to stop arguing with you. and visul essay was some racist bullcrap. Why? because it's complete going out it's way saying "There asain! asain I tell you!!! White people shouldn't be in this! white people and any other race!! Asain 4 life!!!"
And
I don't hate any race.
I hate the people in power making these decisions.
well that's life buddy...get over it...
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Permalink Reply by Chig Champa on -
"well that's life buddy...get over it..."
I'm going to build a time machine and go tell Harriet Tubman, Ralph Abernathy, Victoria Gray Adams, Ella Baker, Stokely Carmichael, Shirley Chisholm, Vernon Dahmer, Annie Devine, Medgar Evers, James Farmer, James Forman, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, T. R. M. Howard, Jesse Jackson, Clyde Kennard, Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Viola Liuzzo, Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Bob Moses, Rosa Parks, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, Fred Shuttlesworth, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, The Little Rock Nine, John Newton, James Somersett, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, Nelson Mandella, and the countless others, that hey... that's just life.... get over it...
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Permalink Reply by TheLilBeast on
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................................ ......................................
........oh god.........lol.....that had nothing to do with what I was talking about.........my god lol... Just fuck it..
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Permalink Reply by Chig Champa on
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Yeah, when it's your race being ignored, abused, or persecuted, you can't wait to be all over that shit.
But when it's somebody else's... hey, that's life, get over it.
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Permalink Reply by rokrok on
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@LilBeast
So you are saying that,
If they made an animated series based on African martical arts, mythology and folklore,
And the creators did not flat out say that the characters are African, but they wear traditional African attire, and fought in Dambe, Evala and Nguni
you wouldn't mind if the live action film producers changed the race of the heroes to caucasian and kept the villains African?
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Permalink Reply by Chig Champa on
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Beast, do everyone a favor... go away again...
The pictures shown by Rokrok clearly illustrate the racial features and origins of just about every character on the show.
I've never even seen Avatar, but going off these screenshots I could easily conclude where each character is from racially and geographically.
If the obvious visual allusions and numerous cultural references aren't a dead enough giveaway, then do me another favor and remove your testicles, because I don't want you contaminating the world with your massive amounts of stupidity.
What the fuck more do you want? Do you want each character to bring up what race they belong to in casual conversation?
"Hi, I'm Aang, and I'm Tibetan! Try these eggrolls, Katara!"
"These eggrolls are delicious, did I mention I'm an Inuit?"
Not everyone is you, Beast. Some of us don't feel the need to remind everybody what race we belong to every five minutes.
"ohhhh yeah "In the commentary, one of the creators states that Katara was designed based on "authentic Inuit" characteristics!!!" YAY Like that really explians shit. :P"
Yeah, it does. It explains that Katara is an Inuit, you fucking retard.
Pull your head out of your ass and realize that there's more than two races in this world.
You keep going back to the show being made by Americans, as if that means anything.
Americans can't make a show where the main characters are Asians, Inuits, or any other race for that matter?
How utterly ridiculous.
I'd love to see you act so blasé and apathetic when they cast an iconic black character with a white actor.
Speaking of which, I heard they're going to remake Roots, starring Jimmy Fallon as Kunta Kinte.
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Permalink Reply by TheLilBeast on
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*sigh* Look man, I'm not trying to be the mean guy or say this race should be this or this race should that!!!!
If I came off that way then my bad. I'm just fed up with this bullcrap and may have came off the wrong way. I just don't remember the creators saying that the characters are any race at all. Maybe I'm just looking at it that way because I don't know all the much. And the whole "made americans thing" sorry for that too.
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Permalink Reply by Chig Champa on
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Why do you even talk, when you clearly have nothing to say?
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