Entry tags:

avatar, avatar: the last airbender, the last airbender

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

Remember, the key is to not sound like a douche. You wanna come off better than this dude.


AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - fans and race-respecting people, unite!
DISCLAIMER - If you are remaining neutral/not interested, dudes, that's all good and fine. This is not meant to be an attack on you. Ahaha quite the contrary! The following 'questions' have been real and true reactions to the casting of A:TLA and my reactions/responses, nothing else.

What's the deali-o?
EW released the casting of the upcoming Avatar movie, and the main cast of Asian-influenced/Inuit-influenced/PoC characters have all been slated as white actors.

So what, as long as they're good actors, right? Best actor for the part and all that.
Acting ability aside, no it is NOT RIGHT. The Avatar animated series is mired with and 100% composed of Asian influences. The world, the cultures, the people, the costumes, the script, the belief systems, the references, the mythology - everything is Asian-or-Inuit based. This is a fact, not fandom's wishful thinking. A FACT. Casting all-white actors to play roles that should go to fully capable Asian/PoC actors is insulting and discriminatory.

As for acting ability: I refuse - refuse - to believe that there are ZERO Asian and/or PoC and/or mixed-race actors to play these parts. It's a pathetic idea that only white kids were capable of acting and looking like all four main roles.

Finally - since when has Hollywood been concerned about Oscar-worthy performances from child actors in action/fantasy movies? The main Harry Potter kids definitely looked like the characters - but could they act? Not really. When did we collectively become so particular for superb child acting? Answer: Lame reason to defend whitewashing.

Well I am a fine thespian who only likes good actors, you're a big meanie for judging based on race alone/ This is Affirmative Action/political correctness/reverse racism at its worst!/ Everyone's always so mean to poor downtrodden white actors!

Uh....

Most thespians can read, right? Then read this.

But kids wanna see white actors! They think the cartoon's all-white anyway! Won't someone PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN.
Tell that to the ginormous population of non-white kids who love the series. Yes, they count. Anyway, kids aren't idiots. If you make a movie and cast people of colour (POCs), they aren't gonna cry to mommy and say "WHO IS THAT?! I WANT THEM TO BE WHITE. NOW. I'M SCARED OF THIS THING ON THE SCREEN, MOMMY." Kids don't want to see anything - they need to see diversity and cultural interest. And as adults, that's our responsibility to ensure cultural respect. Not white-wash.

But that's just the movie-making business. Blame the execs. There's nothing we can do, whatev, meh, suck it up, I'm not surprised anymore, my name is Eeyore, etc
This has to be the lamest excuse EVER. I don't even know how I should address it, it's so stupid. If you want to remain sheeplike, defeated and complacent, fine. Go back into your cave. Stick to being a consumerist drone, I hear it's what Hollywood likes. Oh, and, excise your mind of box-office Asian-cast money-maker movies. *gasp* Is there really such a thing??

The show is American, so the parts should go to American actors!
Sure I agree, buddy! Wait. Wait. Oh my god, did you not realize that there are Asians and PoC who are also American? Here's another fact to blow your mind: Asian people can speak fluent English! Breathe, remain calm. I know it's a crazy idea at 'American' doe not equal 'white', but there it is.

But so-and-so character has pale skin, big eyes and light eyes! Those are Caucasian features! Therefore he could be white!
FACT ONE: Not all Asians have dark skin
FACT TWO: Not all Asians have small ickle tiny eyes
FACT THREE: Not all Asians have dark eyes
FACT FOUR: Many Asian children have giant melon eyes. BECAUSE THEY'RE CHILDREN.
FACT FIVE: Asian people have many many differing facial features too! Just like Caucasian facial features! Zowie! Zoinks! Zounds!

They are all dressed in blatantly Asian-style clothes and follow many Asian-influenced precepts. I don't know how many times I can say this. So just once, just this once just accept the possibility that a kid dressed in Tibetan monks clothing who subscribes to a Buddhist-type religion should therefore be Asian. Yes, pale skin, big eyes and all.

No, but Water Tribe have blue eyes, and Earth Kingdom have brown/green eyes. That's so much more a white trait than Asian, so they're white, right?
Not entirely true. Blue eyes do exist for non-whites. ZOINKS!

Regardless, Avatar is a cartoon influenced by Asian/Inuit/non-European concepts, but the races are fictional. The creators use eye colour to denote the fantasy races - blue for water, brown/green for earth, etc.

Okay, well see? The world is plainly a fantasy world with fantasy races that have no specific correspondence to any Earth race; so why not LET THERE BE WHITE?
BECAUSE WHITE IS NOT THE DEFAULT. FANTASY =/= WHITE.

(quoth tablesaw)- There's also the argument that because the series is set in a fantasy world, there isn't actually any intersection between race and skin color as it exists in our world (ergo, somehow, everyone should be white), an argument also used in the Earthsea adaptations.

Also - Marjorie Cohn, Executive VP of Nicklodeon herself has said that Avatar is an 'fantastical Asian world' (source). I don't think she means everything else is Asian-influenced...but the peoples are still white. Yeah. That makes sense.

(One more to add!)
OMG stop saying everyone should be Asian! It's a fantasy world, they shouldn't all be Asian! All-Asian casts are illogical!
....but an all-white cast is okay? Okay....

Please understand- most people aren't asking for ALL-AZN, they're asking for diversity. Just like the Avatar cartoon shows racial diversity - fictional races or no - a little casting diversity would be um. Correct.

Honestly, if you can't tell that Avatar:The Last Airbender is an Asian-based fantasy world (as opposed to say, a European-based fantasy world like Middle Earth?), I....I dunno what to say.

I think Toph could be played by a Latino girl, she's not necessarily Asian. Therefore you're somehow being crazy and Asian-obsessed.
Um...good for you? I'm not arguing about what PoC can possibly fit what character, I'm arguing about an all-white cast for non-white characters. Open your eyes - we're in agreement.

Why do people need to argue so hard against this racial representation uproar, that they have to start saying stuff like this? It's...amazingly horrible.

But they're voiced by white voice actors in the cartoon! So why are you all angry at the movie casting?
So...by this logic, I should be rabid that Apu Nahasapeetapetalan is voiced by Hank Azaria, or that the dragon-thing from Mulan is voiced by Eddie Murphy or that Bender is voiced by Joe DiMaggio? OH MY GOD.

SCAR FROM LION KING IS VOICE-ACTED BY JEREMY IRONS AKA...A HUMAN. GASP. THIS IS HORRIBLE. Despite us never seeing them during the cartoon, apparently voice actors must always be exactly whatever they're voice-acting! Because a cartoon and live-action are so very, very similar, yeah? Yeah.

But they look white!
Okay well, words aren't making a difference to you, so maybe images will?

Okay, how about this lesson in Cartoon Art 101.

No? Okay, how about this--
(quoth aang_aint_white): There's more to a character's ethnicity than the way their face is drawn. And just because a character design doesn't have exaggerated ethnic features doesn't mean they then "default" to white. That kind of thinking is exactly what this campaign is trying to fight against.

Clothes and names and culture and the setting they live in say as much about their ethnicity as the way their faces are drawn.

My PoC friend says/I'm PoC and I say it's okay, so shut up why are you complaining?
Via Appeal to Melanin This is an attack wherein a non-brown person attempts to negate the argument/complaint/insight of a brown person by claiming the non-brown opinion is...backed up by a black or brown or chinese or filipino or puerto rican etc friend who feels the same way.

Guess what - I have an opinion too! And it doesn't agree with yours, or your PoC friend! Whatta crazy concept that PoCs can have varying opinions on things!

It's just a movie, chill out.
I'm glad you think it's just a movie. Must be really nice to have such a life where you don't feel discrimination, and therefore cannot possibly conceive how it must feel to have something that clearly celebrates multiculturalism taken away from you. Great! Just don't tell me to 'chill out' because I'm angry. I can make my voice heard and I want to entreat others as well. So let us cute widdle PoCs make our cute little grr!fight and you can run along pretending racism is over, okay?

Yeah but so-and-so PoC was cast as white!character in some other movie; and I'm not all angry about that!
(quoth cereta) - Because, you know, trying to increase representation of a group that is underrepresented and whitewashing an entire cast are TOTALLY THE SAME THING.

I'm curious to know more. Are you the only person angry about this?
Why no! I have a link Roundup HERE - READ WHAT OTHERS SAY. And the list keeps growing, and this keeps me happy and proud.

Screw the Man! I'm interested and outraged! What can I do?
GLAD YOU ASKED!! As it so happens, I have a list.


WRITE LETTERS.
Letter-writing campaigns may seem a little dated, but no other method compares to killing trees to get your point across. Online petitions never work and emails can be filtered and ignored. Letter-writing is tangible and, if we can get enough angry people writing enough letters, it can make a difference.

aang_aint_white -
Read the lastest news on the letter-writing campaign. - This is the best place to start. Here you'll get information on who to write in Paramount as well as to the producers of The Last Airbender movie.

Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall
Kennedy/Marshall Company
619 Arizona Avenue, Fl. 2
Santa Monica, California 90401
USA

CONTACT THE MEDIA!
Avatar: Publicity Wanted! - email info on big online news blogs/sites you can send a news tip. SPREAD THE AWARENESS:
perezhilton.com: perez@perezhilton.com
gawker.com: tips@gawker.com
io9.com: tips@io9.com
jezebel.com: tips@jezebel.com
huffingtonpost.com: scoop@huffingtonpost.com
filmschoolrejects.com: editors@filmschoolrejects.com
scifi.com (Fandom section): scifiwire@scifi.com
onthemedia.org: http://onthemedia.org/contact/email/form
laineygossip.com: lainey@laineygossip.com
deadlinehollywooddaily.com: deadlinehollywood@gmail.com
latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture: patrick.goldstein@latimes.com
hollywoodreporter.com: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/about_us/contact_form.jsp
variety.com:news@variety.com
awn.com: Annemarie Moody(News Editor) annemarie@awn.com
24hrs.ca: news@24hrs.ca, Editor-in-Chief: dean.broughton@24hrs.ca
metronews.ca: vancouverletters@metronews.ca (or toronto, montreal, calgary, halifax, etc)
canoe.ca: http://www.canoe.ca/Help/feedback.html
cbc.ca/thehour: thehour@cbc.ca
and
FAIR's Media Contact List

Getting a big newsreporter (online, on tv or on paper) behind a cause can be its greatest route for publicity. Media helps people pay attention, listen and treat the issue as an important one.


-- Americans! Write a letter/contact the Media Action Network for Asian Americans. I think this is something they'd be VERY interested in knowing. I hope. Email and/or call them, and find out and then tell me!






Tips on Letter Writing
I'm stealing this wholesale from aang_aint_white, cuz they say it best--

1) Be respectful and professional in your tone. If you're rude they'll just ignore you.

2) Stay focused on the issue. Don't get into your feelings about the specific actors and their merits, don't offer suggestions for other actors. Just explain that you're offended they chose white actors to play Asian characters, that you expect them to change their policy, and that if they don't you will not support their film with your money.

3) If this impacts you personally -- because you're a parent, because you're Asian-American, because you're a minority actor or actress who has a hard time finding work -- feel free to add a few sentences about that, too.

4) Keep it brief. They're busy people who won't read your letter at all if it's too long.

5) Double-check your letter for spelling and typos.



Who Can Write Letters?
- Concerned parents
- Bored parents
- Adorably tearful children
- Savvy teenagers
- Fans of the animated series
- Fans of things other than the animated series
- Fans of having race representation in film
- Grandparents
- Angry people
- Righteous people
- White people
- Black people
- 'Other' people (AKA '...and the rest')
- People who don't live in America
- People who do live in America
- Online nerds
- Geeks who like to be angry about things
- People who've never touched a computer in their lives
- Your RL and online friends
- That guy in school who crushes on you and will do anything you ask

Spread the word! Pass this link on. Tell everyone you know. Ask them to write letters and mail them in.



What To Say
- Focus on stating who you are. If you're a fan, say it. If not, SAY THAT AS WELL. It's the issue that's the concern, not a person's SokkaToph shiplove.
- Explain politely (as you would to a child) why this all-white cast is upsetting/offensive and discriminatory.
- Talk about the impact this has within your personal community and yourself (family/circle of friends, etc)
- Don't make threats! But use a firm tone.
- Read 'Tips on Letter Writing' (scroll up)



What Then?
- Mail your letter and comment here to tell me that you have! I wish I could bribe people with promises of art or money, but what I CAN do is bribe you with money going elsewhere.

Okay, this is impromptu, but for every letter you send, I will donate $1 PER LETTER to MANAA - the Media Action Network for Asian Americans.

For a maximum donation of $100. And of course, I'll provide proof so you know I'm not a lying bastard.

- Tell your friends! Tell everyone you know!!! Our voices can only be heard if there are a lot of them yelling at once. So spread the word.

(244 comments) - (Post a new comment)

la_fono 2008-12-11 07:17 pm UTC (link)

I am well baffled by this. I've never seen the cartoon, yet I know it's set in asia/an equivalent version of, just from the visuals. *boggle* You know what this reminds me of? That James Bond film (You only live twice, I think) where Bond is hiding out in a monastery? Temple? Dojo? And in order to disguise him they apply shoe polish and give him eyeliner. *FACE. PALM.* (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

glockgal 2008-12-11 11:36 pm UTC (link)

I know, right? Even as a casual person who's seen images from the cartoon, one would assume that, you know, if everything ELSE looks Asian...shouldn't it stand to reason that the characters be as well? This concept is apparently EXTREMELY BAFFLING TO MANY. *shakes head* And in order to disguise him they apply shoe polish and give him eyeliner OMG AHAHAH YES. And I have to laugh or else I'd cry. OH GOD. LOL. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - gal_montag, 2008-12-12 04:30 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - tsubaki_ny, 2008-12-13 07:31 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - teenygozer, 2008-12-13 11:30 pm UTC (Expand)

bossymarmalade 2008-12-11 07:19 pm UTC (link)

I'm so happy for all the people who aren't surprised. That's a real comfort to me when I see a complete lack of representation of my ethnicity; I cuddle their lack of surprise close to my heart and think, "oh, maggie, how foolish you are to be hurt when people do/say things that bash one of the elemental components of who you are! If you could only learn to Not Be Surprised by attacks on your existence, everything would be okay!" Which is to say, GO YOU, WITH THIS EXCELLENT POST. I support it 100%. (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

notrafficlights 2008-12-11 08:20 pm UTC (link)

In my defence, I wasn't surprised because this is M. Night Shamalamadingdong we're talking about here, one of the biggest, painfully mainstream conservative egotistical douchebags to make films since I don't fucking know when, and definitely not someone with any capability of addressing race in his films, if past examples are good to go by (which is doubly strange given his ethnicity). I was horrified when I found out he was making the film but that set my hopes for anything in it being in any way good or right at a very, very low level. That doesn't negate my anger, though. Hell man, I think we need to do more than write letters. Can somebody contact a media organisation or something in the US to get this more publicity? It's always good to have a Big Friend on your side when doing these things. Edited at 2008-12-11 08:21 pm UTC (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2008-12-11 08:30 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - notrafficlights, 2008-12-11 08:35 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-11 11:37 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - fable, 2008-12-15 08:14 pm UTC (Expand)

	chrismm 2008-12-11 07:33 pm UTC (link)
	This is awesome--thank you! Also, I kind of love this so much: But that's just the movie-making business. Blame the execs. There's nothing we can do, whatev, meh, suck it up, I'm not surprised anymore, my name is Eeyore, etc *g* I dunno, it just makes me all heart-eyed at you. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-11 11:45 pm UTC (link)
	LOL nawwww, thank you!! I just have to confess while I'm on my rant train - the Disney version of Winnie the Pooh? HATE IT. Every characters is compeltely passive-aggressive in unique! and different! ways. LOLZ OMG I'M GOING TO DISNEY HELL. XD XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

	heather11483 2008-12-11 07:36 pm UTC (link)
	But kids wanna see white actors! WAT. I do hope no one actually said that to you. *directs the idjits to Disney Channel, which has more diversity in its shows/sitcoms than almost any other network* (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-11 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	Not to me - but yes man, YES. THIS WAS ACTUALLY SAID IN REPLY TO ANOTHER PERSON'S POST ABOUT THE ATLA CASTING. I KNOW. LIKE WTF, EH? Ahahahaah also - good call about pointing out Disney!!! For all its evil, it sure does its best to show diversity. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - lunarennui, 2008-12-15 05:33 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-15 06:17 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - lunarennui, 2008-12-15 06:34 pm UTC (Expand)

vikingcarrot 2008-12-11 07:50 pm UTC (link)

While I am in full support of your drive here, I find it vaguely insulting that your words here are aggressively suggesting that anyone who isn't outraged or bothered by the casting of this film, or interested in fighting over it is either racist or ignorant of the racial politics going on. That's... not cool. And for the record, I'm pretty outraged by the casting. (Replies frozen)(Thread)(Expand)

glockgal 2008-12-11 08:01 pm UTC (link)

It's more in direct reaction to some of the responses I've been seeing. All of the questions I put up there have been actual comments made by non-trolls in a variety of different LJs and LJ communities. All of them. So if anything, it's my reply to those attitudes expressed that's directly specific to this ATLA situation, and not to passer-bys. Noooo god no, I'm not saying or implying anyone is racist. *facepalms self* However yes, I have encountered people who are displaying racist tendencies, borne out of ignorance. That's srsly a discussion for another day, ahaha. I've had it too many times IRL. Anyway, I'm not really sure how I can quantify this in my OP to ensure that passer-by people don't feel attacked. :/ That's not my intent, but I don't want to lessen my tone because I really AM quite mad at these supposed 'reasons'. It has been disclaimer'd! Right at the top, so no one can miss it. Hopefully that'll lessen any offense and provides a good compromise between my feelings and other people's. Edited at 2008-12-11 08:10 pm UTC (Replies frozen)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - vikingcarrot, 2008-12-11 08:12 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2008-12-11 08:17 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - vikingcarrot, 2008-12-11 08:27 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-11 08:22 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - vikingcarrot, 2008-12-11 08:25 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-11 08:31 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - vikingcarrot, 2008-12-11 08:53 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-11 09:02 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2008-12-11 08:31 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-11 08:40 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - notrafficlights, 2008-12-11 08:25 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2008-12-11 08:33 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - notrafficlights, 2008-12-11 08:37 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2008-12-11 08:04 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - cereta, 2008-12-11 08:41 pm UTC (Expand)

	sparrowette 2008-12-11 07:51 pm UTC (link)
	My letter is signed, stamped, and in the mailbox. I'm not as up in arms about this as most people, I think, but I know if it doesn't change I'm not watching any of his movies that follow, either. He's got kids, he should be putting his foot down and demanding the movie preserve the multiculturalism of the show. :| (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:01 am UTC (link)
	YOU ARE TEH BOMB. He's got kids, he should be putting his foot down and demanding the movie preserve the multiculturalism of the show. :| Exactly. EXACTLY. *enthusiastically shakes your hand* (Reply to this) (Parent)

simmysim 2008-12-11 08:07 pm UTC (link)

I agree that they should've used Asian actors, I think not doing so is offensive. But this here: Kids don't want to see anything. I mean it's an anime. The characters have extremely Caucasian-esque features. Kids are going to expect to see something like that when they hear "IRL AVATAR MOVIE!", want to, because that's what the show looks like, and I really wouldn't think that's wrong of them. Not to the point that they'd dislike Asian casting, but I do think it would throw a good amount of them. But again, yes, I'm actually pretty shocked they didn't go with Asian actors, it's not as though there's a lack of them, and the main cast is all new comers anyway. Edited at 2008-12-11 08:08 pm UTC (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

bossymarmalade 2008-12-11 08:13 pm UTC (link)

I think what she means is that kids aren't sitting around thinking, "gee, I hope when I go to see that Avatar movie that all the characters are white!" despite the popular Hollywood conception that for anything to sell it MUST BE WHITE. Kids (and read this as "white kids", because that's the target audience apparently) do not literally and coherently WANT the characters to be white. And if we're going on the idea that kids want to see an exact representation of the cartoon, well, they're going to be disappointed by the bleached skin of the Water Tribe, that's for sure. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - ali_wildgoose, 2008-12-11 08:34 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-12 12:17 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - quietrevolution, 2008-12-12 05:18 am UTC (Expand)

Bad HTML! Bad! - tsubaki_ny, 2008-12-13 07:23 am UTC (Expand)

	jbmcdragon 2008-12-11 08:13 pm UTC (link)
	Hey, Glock! You should read this, because this guy has my constant respect and admiration, and he can likely fuel your arguments. I'm all for fueling sound arguments. ;) *hugs* Keep gettin' the word out. Nothing is final until they start shooting. :P J (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:23 am UTC (link)
	That is brilliant, thanks so much for the link!! It's given me another way to resolve some of the reactions going around, for which I'm very happy. I want to say something to tablesaw other that "FUCK YEAH", LOLOLOL! Must think on it - I've added the link to my previous post of awesome rants posts. *hee* (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - tablesaw, 2008-12-12 08:55 pm UTC (Expand)

tomscribble 2008-12-11 08:16 pm UTC (link)

guh. Kids don't know what they want, they will watch whatever they get, dammit. I'm sick of grown-ups deciding "what kids want" instead of admitting it's just what they want their kids to see. Anyway, kids are so much more astute and upfront. I remember wondering why people were called black and white when they were obviously varying shades of brown and pink. Apart from that, I linked to this on my dA page, and will now get out my writing desk! I think the points you make are ALL TRUE. I started reading some of the 'omg get real' comments on EW and thought "these people must not even know what the word 'privileged' means." (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	tomscribble 2008-12-11 08:17 pm UTC (link)
	and I totally forgot for the third time, to make some comment about Dr Fu Man Chu or however you spell him. Yay for the dumb-ass photo (I don't even know if it is Fumanchu on that photo, but something like him). (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-12 12:29 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - tomscribble, 2008-12-12 01:25 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - opal_skies, 2008-12-12 03:04 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - tomscribble, 2008-12-12 01:24 pm UTC (Expand)

	notrafficlights 2008-12-11 08:28 pm UTC (link)
	You are awesome! \o/ *writes* Mine might take a very long time to get there, though. :( Stupid international mail system. Can I add in the letter I want them to remove M.Night and put him somewhere far far away from anything resembling Avatar canon? *shudders* (Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal 2008-12-12 12:32 am UTC (link)

AHAHA YAY BEBE FOR BEING AWESOME. And man, did I pick a wrong time to letter-campaign or what? Christmas season?! Whoops, five THOUSAND MAIL LOST, OH WELL! Can I add in the letter I want them to remove M.Night and put him somewhere far far away from anything resembling Avatar canon? *shudders* How about far away from everyone? Including his children, for informing them via casting that they should be ivory skinned, green-eyed beauties in order to be in his movie about INUIT CHILDREN. GOOD JOB, M NIGHT. SELF-CONFIDENCE = YAYE. (Reply to this) (Parent)

marag 2008-12-11 08:35 pm UTC (link)

Here via my flist :) I've written my letter, but it's not printed or in the mail yet because a) my daughter is demanding attention and b) the printer is all the way downstairs ::snerk:: Seriously, on behalf of my husband and I, who are both Avatar fans, thank you, and I will put this letter in the mail later, because I'm outraged. (As I said elsewhere, I'm somewhere between "Ha ha, very funny! Where's the real cast?" and KILLMAIMDESTROY...leaning toward the latter.) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:33 am UTC (link)
	Nawwww, give your daughter love! Better yet, make her write a letter too. I love the idea that kids can get in on this as much as parents, heee. Nothing like a wee one to tug on even the coldest producer's heart strings! AND THANK YOU. <3333 "Ha ha, very funny! Where's the real cast?" I KNOW, RIGHT? GYAHHHH! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dramedy 2008-12-11 08:54 pm UTC (link)
	TIME TO GET MY BITCHFACE CALM TONE AND REASONABLE ARGUMENT ON. I will work on this as soon as I'm not at work. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:33 am UTC (link)
	THAT'S RIGHT, BEBE. HIGH FIVE. XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

	raggedann 2008-12-11 09:19 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you! *runs off to friends with information* (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:33 am UTC (link)
	YAY!!! Spread the word, ILU!!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tracy_loo_who 2008-12-11 09:21 pm UTC (link)
	When I first saw the subject of your post I did this big omghadnoideatheyweremakingamovie squee, but now. D: D: D: I will write once finals are over next week! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:34 am UTC (link)
	I know, right? I'm still trying to get over my "WTF ARE THEY DOING" about this, LOL. And thank you, bebe!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	shabzilla 2008-12-11 10:01 pm UTC (link)
	Gad I told my sibs about this and came back to them asking me if it was a joke. >:| Joining the letter-bandwagon. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Exactly, dude. Exactly. I mean especially Jesse McCartney, I was soooo convinced it was a joke for like a day. Gyah! (Reply to this) (Parent)

vejiicakes 2008-12-11 10:25 pm UTC (link)

I'm so beyond pleased and grateful for all these helpful, informative, proactive posts cropping up in response to yesterday's righteous ranting (often made by the same people, so that's awesome). We've united already in the indignation and offense with snark and angry words--now it's time for polite but strongly worded action! I'm hitting up all the resources outlined here and in AAW and Ali's posts, and then going back to studying for finals. GREAT post, Glock! (This was an afterthought but really, with all the people doing the, "They're drawn with kinda white features though," in spite of every signifier otherwise of the cultures of Avatar, there should be some reflection on: 1) If they truly DO believe that these characters ARE WHITE, then what does it say that everything else about these characters and their environments are Asian? Do they not see how insulting that is in and of itself IF that were true?? "All Asian setting--all white people!" Why do they believe that's a defensible, and preferable, canon? 2) If they don't believe they are any particular set of races that could correspond to ours IRL, but understand that due to the roughly homogenous appearance of each respective nation in the Avatar-'verse that certain casting choices MUST be made to reflect that in a live-action version, here's the thing: If the entire culture of the nations are broadly Asian or Inuit, shouldn't the burden of proof be on them to make a really good case for why on earth these people should be white? Why is the burden of proof on US to make the argument that the people in a broadly non-white culture should be, well, NON-WHITE? (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	bossymarmalade 2008-12-12 12:09 am UTC (link)
	I AM TOTES IN LOVE WITH YOU RIGHT NOW. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - vejiicakes, 2008-12-12 12:24 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-12 12:48 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - chiromancy, 2008-12-17 04:58 pm UTC (Expand)

	trolleys 2008-12-11 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	You are THE shining example of AWESOME. Just sent out two letters. ♥ (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:48 am UTC (link)
	WOOTS, you are made of awesome, thank you!! <3 <3 (Reply to this) (Parent)

	elaby 2008-12-11 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you for posting this! I haven't yet seen any ATLA, but so many people whose opinions I respect think it's the awesomest thing ever. This casting thing is outrageous and made of WTFery. Thank you for this information; I'll comment again when I've written my letters. (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	elaby 2008-12-12 12:11 am UTC (link)
	And written, posted, and stuck in the basket nailed by the door to be mailed tomorrow! (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2008-12-12 12:49 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - elaby, 2008-12-12 01:00 am UTC (Expand)

(Anonymous) 2008-12-11 11:38 pm UTC (link)

you know, I'm pretty sure all the races in this show are supposed to be different/non-existent in our world--although the *culture* is def. Asian. If i were to say what race they are closest with, however, I would say that the fire and earth nations are most similar to Asian, where the water tribes is more like Latino or Hispanic, and the air nomads are most like white people. Sorry, that's just how they look--whether or not they made the show have such strong Asian influence. Now, this isn't exact. I mean, come on, in the water tribes everyone has darker skin and blue eyes, and the fire nation have *gold* eyes! I think they went with a very creative route so that *new* races were created for this, so I don't think it can be so easily said that Aang, or any character *is Asian* (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:27 am UTC (link)
	LOLS Srsly, I won't bite you if you aren't anonymous. I enjoy discourse. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2008-12-12 03:02 am UTC (Expand)

amanuensis1 2008-12-11 11:52 pm UTC (link)

Feel free to disagree with or illuminate anything I say here. My beef with extra-racial casting (is that an acceptable euphemism? dunno) is when the character's race/nationality is significant to the storyline, and they completely chuck that significance. I don't have a problem with it when they lift the story completely and set it in the nation of the new adaptation. For example, Ringu being turned into The Ring and set in the U.S., well, yeah, I get what they're doing. So if they're setting Avatar in a different civilization altogether, where the culture/race/etc. is predominantly white, I wouldn't have a problem with the casting. I might not like the change itself, in which case I just wouldn't go see it, but I wouldn't think of it as offensive. Just not my preference. But if the setting isn't changing and they're casting white actors, yeah, that makes me mad. (Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal 2008-12-12 12:54 am UTC (link)

Yarrrrrrr, I totally agree. I found and continue to find nothing extraordinarily wrong or offensive about supplanting plots from various movie industries - Hollywood, Bollywood, Euromovies, Hong Kong - they've been doing it for decades, and why not. If a story is good but needs to be tailored towards the audience and therefore many cultural things change, then fine, whatevs it's all good. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but it's definitely not discriminatory in any way. But yes - when a story remains in the original setting/environment/culture but the characters themselves are switched out for white actors, I just can't abide. This is a really good point though and I LOVE that you brought it up. Nummy food for thought and good material for debate! XD (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - amanuensis1, 2008-12-12 01:37 am UTC (Expand)

	itsbeenvery 2008-12-12 12:16 am UTC (link)
	I'M GOING TO DO THIS TOMORROW AT WORK! Kind of sucks that a lot of students are in exams now b/c given that there are a lot of schools with thousands of full-time students - putting up printed posters around campus would probably get some to write in (do you think it would be too late if I put them up in Jan?). (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:55 am UTC (link)
	WOOT WOOOOOOT!!! Naw, I'm guessing the movie would be put on hold during the hols anyway. It's still in pre-pro and all that!!! YOU ARE AWESOME. I LOVE YOU FOR DOING THIS!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	reallycorking 2008-12-12 12:24 am UTC (link)
	AHHHHH GLOCK, thank you for being so awesome!! Will be writing a letter pronto!! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 12:55 am UTC (link)
	WHEEEEEEEE HOORAYYYYY!!!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	vissy 2008-12-12 01:26 am UTC (link)
	Letter to the Editor Producers done did. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 01:34 am UTC (link)
	YOU = WIN. *MWAH* SANK YOUUUUU!!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	brown_betty 2008-12-12 02:07 am UTC (link)
	You rock! But you may find that you have to keep adding dumbass arguments. There's always more dumbass. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	There's always more dumbass. THIS MUCH I AM FINDING OUT, LIKE WHOA. Seriously wtfery with all of these idiot arguments. People always find new and exciting ways to gobsmack me! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dahemo 2008-12-12 02:23 am UTC (link)
	I love you, dude. Seriously. I'm currently reading through everyone's posts on this so I can compose an epic letter of outrage. I think I have just about enough material now! Also, icon!love. XP (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2008-12-12 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	HOORAY you are so much awesome. Thank you!!! *MWAH* (Reply to this) (Parent)

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