The Last Airbender

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Permalink Reply by Chig Champa on May 25, 2009 at 8:54pm

Well, I'd like to say I'm upset over these Inuit characters being portrayed by white people, but Hollywood's been putting brown paint on white actors for so long people rarely even notice it anymore.

Hell, even when they have Indians playing Indians, there's always a white main character....

It's not surprising that Hollywood is just a bigger version of MTV. They like to pretend they're doing something (in Hollywood's case, they like to pretend they're being diverse), when in reality they're doing basically the exact opposite.

I'm sure the makers of this film will point out that 90% of the cast are of mixed ethnicity, and they're being so diverse and racially inclusive, while skillfully ignoring the fact that the 10% of the white actors will all be main characters and that the hero of the film will most definitely be white.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 25, 2009 at 9:38pm

QFT

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Permalink Reply by Lab Rat on May 25, 2009 at 10:55pm

Maybe I'm reading too much into Chig's (I'd like to say I'm upset… but) comment. Nevertheless, it does appear that he’s been lulled into a sense of apathy to the practice of “whitewashing” a cast. At the very least he seems desensitized to the act to the point that it doesn’t upset him.

Yet somehow you’re OK with it.

I thought you would ask him to take up arms, join you as you rage against the machine, or at least expound on the reasons he should care; but apparently your convictions have their limits.

By the way, I’m not all that upset about it myself.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 27, 2009 at 1:13pm

I apologize if I come across like a Jehovah's Witness trying to convert you.

This controversy hits me at home
as an artist, an Asian, and a parent.
I know that not everyone is offended by this casting decision. So, I can't make you get upset.
Either you care or you don't. All I ask is you to understand my perspective.
You may interpret my rants as overreacting and silly, but does that make me wrong?

I don't expect Chig to join me as I rage,
but, I believe he is smart enough to not pay to see this movie.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 25, 2009 at 11:19pm

I agree with Chig's assessment about the presence of such blatant discrimination we’ve seen. As I have mention in my replies to you, racial discrimination has been and continues in entertainment. I thought that was clear. My point has been that I think the filmmakers of this live action adaptation have been accused of discrimination a little too quickly. Should the casting of white leads be questioned? Yes, if and only if, the casting process was only limited to white actors. Then it becomes a case of discrimination. However, I think it's wrong for people to say Paramount was looking to “white-wash” the film intentionally with the purpose of promoting discrimination toward Asian leads.

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Permalink Reply by deathlyhallowsseeker on May 26, 2009 at 1:54pm

The casting of Sokka and Katara is the only thing that bothers me in the movie so far. I really think they should have casted other actors, it's a shame.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 26, 2009 at 2:30pm

Whenever casting is done for a property that many people are invested in, there are going to be those that may not like some decisions. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. I mean who hasn’t questioned a decision that has dealt with their favorite property/franchise. As a fan, you only want it to turn out the best it can possibly be. However, in this case, my only concern case is those behind the movie are being accused of racial discrimination a bit quickly.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 27, 2009 at 1:13pm

This is what the casting call sheets looked like:

Main cast:
[ AANG ] 12-15 years-old, Male, ''Caucasian or any other ethnicity''.
[ KATARA ] 14-17 years-old, Female, ''Caucasian or any other ethnicity.'
[ SOKKA ] 16-20 years-old, Male, ''Caucasian or any other ethnicity''.
[ ZUKO ] 16-20 years-old, Male, ''Caucasian or any other ethnicity'

Extras:
''NEAR EASTERN, MIDDLE EASTERN, FAR EASTERN, ASIAN, MEDITERRANEAN & LATINO Ethnic groups.''

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 27, 2009 at 2:01pm

While the wording here is suspect and I can’t find the original source of the casting sheet (direct me please), the casting was open to all ethnicities. Therefore, I don’t see how groups like MANAA can immediately jump on the filmmakers for intentionally trying to “white-wash” the production with the intent of further diminishing the viability of Asian leads.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 27, 2009 at 2:23pm

this site highlights it and has a link to the source:

Paramount was smart and covered their asses by wording it, "...or other ethnicities".
But, you got to admit that its pretty shady. If they claim, that they were trying to make the cast "diverse". Why didn't they just put "open to ALL ethnicities"?

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 27, 2009 at 3:57pm

Thanks for the link. Like I said, the wording is subject. However, they could have done this to specify that Caucasian actors can come out for the lead roles, as they were making the cast inclusive. Again, I’m against accusing someone of racial discrimination until there is clear evidence of such. The wording of the casting call sheet isn’t clear evidence, even though it can be seen as "shady". At this point, it just seems like bad wording to me. I mean, if we are going to base racial discrimination on poor wording, I think we need to find something a bit more conclusive.

Also, as I read through the article, they're calling discrimination because they claim Caucasian actors are depicting ethnically Asian protagonists. However, all the nations in the film aren’t designated as Asian. Therefore, the Caucasian actors are not going to be made up Asian. So, I thought that argument was a bit off.

Also, I know we disagree about the designs of the animated leads. However, this site helps depict how Katara and Aang with features that clearly define their nation’s influences within the show. The designs of Zuko and his family have always been more consistent with their inspiration behind their nation. These designs were what I was referring to in previous posts. This is why I said a group like MANAA could have questions the final designs in the show originally, especially if they are upset with the direction of the live-action film.

Also, just to reiterate, I have no problem with people questioning the casting. I’m just worried about throwing out accusations of racial discrimination a little prematurely.

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Permalink Reply by Hassan Khan on May 26, 2009 at 11:17pm

you guys are in minority
most of the fan base is satisfied with the casting
here is the poll
http://forums.avatarspirit.net/index.php?topic=16620.0

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