If it's crap... We'll tell you

The Last Airbender

This upcoming movie release will suck huge. Caucasian heroes + Middle Eastern Villains = Epic Fail.

Oh well...
I guess that gives us a year until the franchise dies.

This Washington Post article should have killed production.

As if the MANAA blog and the East West Player Letter was not enough.

But, then again,
I could have sworn that Jackon Rathbone's comment would have stopped production...

"I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan," Rathbone told MTV.com, presumably just before his publicist sat him down for a chat about political correctness. "It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."

Washington Post replies,
"But the only thing some fans will suspend are their plans to see the movie when it opens in summer 2010"

HAHA!
more articles and blogs here.

Update:
Protesters from the New York Casting Call in February
reported that the casting director are casting around the race of the lead roles chosen,
so this is how the tribes will break down:
Water Tribe = White People
Fire Nation = Middle Eastern People
Earth Nation = "Asian" People
Air Nation = White People

Tags: airbender, last, post, the, washington

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kamikaze222 on July 30, 2009 at 9:03pm: Who knew Iron Man was such a pussy. Goddammit, everyone has to have a fucking freak out whenever someone states their opinions. Go have angry sex with your pittbull Iron Man, instead of attacking everyone that does'nt agree with you. You're acting like Bill O'reily and Obama.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin French on June 6, 2009 at 1:38am: You're just totally right, rokrok.
Although, I've gotta say, they totally should've cast Native Americans/Inuit as the Water Tribe.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Shinigami64 on May 28, 2009 at 6:52am: http://www.matt-thorn.com/mangagaku/faceoftheother.html

Read this.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Universal Guardian on May 28, 2009 at 8:09pm: Well played, Shinigami64.

There are also books on anime, such as "The Anime Companion" that gives a lot more on the subject.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rusty Shackelford on April 9, 2009 at 11:48pm: Now actually have bit more respect for the movie; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Eyeball Kid on March 3, 2009 at 4:55pm: Honestly, after reading the article, I think it's blown a little out of proportion. Animation is tricky because its details can't be taken literally. I always figured Aang was white, Katara and Sakka were black, and Zuko would be equivalent to near-eastern. Many seem to think that it's about Mongolian or Cambodian culture, but the cultures and ethinicities are fictional in the first place. No one was complaining about the white voice cast for the original show.

I understand why people are fighting for this. Screen work for Asians is scarce, and the actors have to really fight for every role they can get. At the same time, it does leave me a little curious to see how people would respond to a Doug adaptation.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Iron Man on March 3, 2009 at 5:01pm: My mother gave me the same advice, that's it I'm not paying her to suck my dick again.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jon, Chicago's Mindfreak on March 3, 2009 at 9:13pm: it does leave me a little curious to see how people would respond to a Doug adaptation.

Well obviously whoever played Skeeter would have to get a skin pigmentation to look bluish green.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Eyeball Kid on March 3, 2009 at 11:26pm: Would it be racist to recommend David Cross?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jon, Chicago's Mindfreak on March 4, 2009 at 1:24pm: YES!

David Cross is not green you bigot!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by rokrok on March 3, 2009 at 11:59pm: The details can't be taken literally?
You mean the details of their names, mythology, folklore philosophy, spirituality, diet, fashion, martial arts, ideologies, architecture, calligraphy and facial hair?
How many white people do you know rock a Fu Manchu Mustache?

Yea, the story is fictional, but why does the default race have to be white?
Why couldn't Frodo be Filipino and 007 be Korean?

Quite a few of the voice actors were asian-american
including Dante Basco and Mako.
And why would we complain about the voices?
In Mexico, the show is dubbed in Spanish.
Does that make the characters Mexican?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Eyeball Kid on March 4, 2009 at 10:13am: On the flip-side, how many unibrowed Asians do you know?

007 can't be Korean because the MI-6 is UK organization. Britain is not a fictional culture. It would be different if he worked for the Tea Nation. Frodo absolutely could've been Filipino.

You defend the voice cast by citing the same role played by Dev Patel in the film. How is that any less tokenism? (I don't know who's cast for Uncle Iroh in the film.)

My point in bringing up the voice cast is that it features white actors playing non-white roles. They're simply using animation instead of make-up. Asian actors are still getting the short end of the stick. There's nothing wrong with the casting that wasn't wrong with the original show. The only difference is that now it's in the foreground, and you have to acknowledge it.

I'm curious if you were equally offended to hear that Keanu Reeves was cast as Spike Spiegel in the upcoming Cowboy Bebop movie.; ▶ Reply to This