NO KILL I ([info]glockgal) wrote,
@ 2009-02-05 17:29:00
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Entry tags:avatar, avatar: the last airbender, the last airbender

AVATAR: PROTEST IN PHILLY!
OMG people, I am so excited about the protest in Philly regarding the Feb 7th casting call which asks for extras who are:

Near and Far Eastern, Middle Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean and Latino.
Keep in mind that the casting call for the LEAD CHARACTERS was:
Caucasian, or any other ethnicity.
-- A wonderful explanation on The Language of Casting by the amazing [info]vejiicakes

--Happy news: the Organization of Chinese Americans plan to attend the protest as well!! HOMG YAYE. For updates and to plan with others, check out AAW's Entry or the group on Facebook

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AVATAR: DEV PATEL as ZUKO
I am really pleased that we have dealt with this surprise!recast that Paramount has tossed at us and we have remained unified. High five to all of us! As always, [info]aang_aint_white says it best - A Step in the Right Direction...But We Have a Long Way to Go! For any thoughts that people may have about Zuko being an anti-hero and therefore not cast as 'brown evil guy' against 'good white people', consider this (quoth [info]jedifreac):
"He becomes a hero, then, by rejecting his brown daddy and his brown daddy's invading horde, after the white heroes teach him the error of his ways? This is going to be so awkward."
Because exactly. EXACTLY.

Also, there's a great article written at The Kosmopolitan Online examining Hollywood Whitewash in the Era of Change. Great stuff!

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LULZ? OR, OH GOD WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?
Off the topic of Avatar casting, but still interesting to note that the market audience The Last Airbender is targeting, they look up to this:

I mean, not that I expect much - if anything - useful or constructive from Miley Cyrus, but did she have to go and be downright destructive?? Unbelievable how many reasons why people are defending her actions. Don't read the comments in the Gather.com article. Just, don't.

(42 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]zinaya_y2kewel
2009-02-06 01:40 am UTC (link)
But there's an Asian guy in the Miley picture and he doesn't care!

Sorry, had to say it.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 01:44 am UTC (link)
*stifles laughter*

OMG you're right! If he thinks it's okay, then we ALL SHOULD. I hear coloured people think as a conglomerate. *nods wisely*

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[info]zinaya_y2kewel
2009-02-06 02:02 am UTC (link)
Wait now, it depends. I'm Black so my opinion comes first on racial issues. It takes like three Asians to override my decisions, four if I'm being sassy that day.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 02:11 am UTC (link)
Wait wait - you're black?! There are black people in fandom?? I wish I knew how to draw characters like you in my fanart, but I don't know enough about your culture. So sad! ***CUTESYPOUTZ***

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[info]zinaya_y2kewel
2009-02-06 02:20 am UTC (link)
Photobucket

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:29 am UTC (link)
*chokes* I am so keeping this on hand so I can use I every time I encounter stupid!racefail!argument. BRILLIANT.

I can nab it right? Oh please? MOMO ON HER HEAD!!!

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[info]zinaya_y2kewel
2009-02-06 03:38 am UTC (link)
Go for it. My friend found it and emailed it to me so I have no credits other than AvatarSpirit.net on the pic.

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[info]waywardradish
2009-02-06 01:50 am UTC (link)
With regards to Miley Cyrus...

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 01:53 am UTC (link)
My sentiments exactly. In fact, can I just spam that wee baby across various actions of FAIL?

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[info]son_of_darkness
2009-02-06 01:55 am UTC (link)
...

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 02:03 am UTC (link)
Ohhhhhh dude; the scary part being how many people probably take that song seriously. Like dear Miley up there.

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[info]jedifreac
2009-02-06 02:26 am UTC (link)
You might want to mention, and I think it's okay to point this out, that OCA Philly was referred to this protest by a person who wishes to remain anonymous--but was a major player who worked on the animated series.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:40 am UTC (link)
Wow, really?


I think I'm just gonna take a moment and revel in this thought. *HEEEEEEEE*

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[info]jedifreac
2009-02-06 08:40 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I thought I sent you the email? Do you know what I'm talking about?

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 08:17 pm UTC (link)
What what what? I may have missed the email due to my organizational incompetance! D'oh.

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[info]vejiicakes
2009-02-06 07:10 am UTC (link)
WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN

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[info]callmesandy
2009-02-06 02:33 am UTC (link)
I really think Miley should think about hiring better people to teach her to apologize and not be made of more fail. At the very least.

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[info]bossymarmalade
2009-02-06 03:08 am UTC (link)
Also to teach her that there are other ways to end a sentence besides an exclamation point, because DAYUM.

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[info]callmesandy
2009-02-06 04:51 am UTC (link)
She's very enthusiastic about being wrong and racist!!!!

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:31 am UTC (link)
I don't know about that; does Billy Ray believe in teaching her things? *ponders thoughtfully*

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[info]callmesandy
2009-02-06 04:52 am UTC (link)
He believes in making money. And you can make more money if you're not a racist stupidhead! I sincerely hope.

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[info]bowdlerized
2009-02-06 02:47 am UTC (link)
Caucasian, or any other ethnicity.

?!? WTF

Trying to think of a witty rejoinder, but I can barely wrap my mind around this statement.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:32 am UTC (link)
I know right? It was bad enough to see that, and then to see it side-by-side with the casting call for who they want for extras (everyone! exept Caucasian), it just. I just. And yeah. No witty rejoiners here, either.

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[info]impertinence
2009-02-06 02:55 am UTC (link)
damn it, miley cyrus. I sort of liked you. >:(

also, I haven't been commenting much, but I've been following the ongoing Avatar stuff and I'm really, really glad you and other fandomers are being so vocal about it.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:35 am UTC (link)
Boo-urns indeed! She was a blip on my radar and it kinda sucks that this was the way she got my attention. :/

Dude, thank you so much! I love hearing that, I really really do. <3 <3

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[info]rotae
2009-02-06 03:12 am UTC (link)
I wish I was in the USA :C I'd totally go to that shiz. Hire a van and kidnap all my friends so they could come with me XDDDDD

You know, I'm surprised that they didn't cast Miley as Katara! She's so right for their image!!

Peace,
Rotae

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:36 am UTC (link)
Ahahaha! The Airbendermobile!! Now I want one too. XD

OMG Miley as Katara, ahahahahah! I think her PR is too clever to attach her to the TLA Failboat of Fail. ;D

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[info]sirena_lune
2009-02-06 02:27 pm UTC (link)
Miley as Katara would make me CRY. *is terrified of her* >_>;;

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[info]nightchik
2009-02-06 03:25 am UTC (link)
Keep in mind that the casting call for the LEAD CHARACTERS was:

Caucasian, or any other ethnicity.

I don't think I caught that before.

WHAT.


I feel I have cracked Hollywood's clever code.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 03:37 am UTC (link)
They seriously get away with this and I'm like, only now realizing! EYES. SLOWLY. OPENING. IN HORROR.

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[info]vejiicakes
2009-02-06 07:27 am UTC (link)
WIN FOR OCA! (I hope they are or have been well informed on the situation. I'd hate to hear about people discounting their voices--because you already know there will be some--because of some simple, fannish distinction about who these characters are, etc..)

With Rickets' sorta-recent announcements on the people they're looking for (which is either a lie or "okay, NOW we're gonna do this..") I'm starting to wonder if Shyamalan and co. mean to treat the "Avatar" world as something more of a westernized, all-ethnicities-under-one-nation thing. I feel like that's a fine enough treatment, except I also feel like SOME sort of "Avatar"-important message gets lost by intermingling ethnicities within the nations at the start of the movie canon. I mean, it certainly didn't seem like some creative oversight that the nations were so homogeneous, and it was after Aang and his multi-national friends brought peace to the world that we saw him, Fire Nation and Water Tribe people sharing tea and lounging in Earth Kingdom clothing (for non-sneaky purposes)--like an image of what the future held for the four nations when they no longer held completely to themselves. If the nations are already intermixed then the whole oomph of the Gaang's collaboration is... not so interesting -_-

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 05:38 pm UTC (link)
Wheee! Did you get my email? I sent it to your vejita4eva email? XD

My guess - if they are going for the global-diverse thing is that they'd keep certain groupings within certain Nations? So for example like...Air nation would be uh, Norse/Northern Euro/Anglo? But...still dress like Tibentan monks. Or maybe not.

Regardless, if they WERE thinking of going all global cultures, imo that would take A LOT more planning and restructuring than if they just went the formula that Bryke has already preconceived for them - IE a thoughtful dividing/enmeshing of different East Asian cultures per Nation. Also, global still doesn't equal three white leads and one brown. At least, not in the world I live in.

Then again, I'm actually expecting Paramount Pictures to think of anything beyond the Almighty Dollar? Feh.

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[info]vejiicakes
2009-02-07 06:09 am UTC (link)
I did, and replied to it! Um, though I guess it might've just gone to one of you.. Well anyway, all I replied was, "What jedifreak said!" so yeah, I'm game! :D (Eeep, I'm nervous!)

I don't even know why they'd bother with Avatar if they were just going to restructure all the cultures and message of intercultural collaboration (I mean, if the nations are already multi-peopled, then there's just no significance there when the Gaang proves it can work, y'know?) But then, I don't know why they'd bother with Dragonball if they're just going to make Goku an emo American teen. Different interpretations of the important bits -_-

Also, global still doesn't equal three white leads and one brown.

Fuck NO it doesn't! (Unless it's Hollywood. Then it's pretty much a HUGE, global-scale, massively interracial and intercultural ideal if you've got the one token PoC in an Anglo group. TWO PoCs in a chiefly Anglo group = HOLY SHIT THE COLOREDS ARE COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK.)

I mean, I certainly expect studios and producers to keep their eyes on the box office and make decisions accordingly, BUT I'm also of the opinion that they can find a balance between the Almighty Dollar and pictoral integrity. And with source material like "Avatar", that balance could be achieved EASILY, as has been demonstrated already with the widespread success of the series itself. GAH T_T

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[info]reallyreally
2009-02-06 08:43 am UTC (link)
Caucasian, or any other ethnicity

Then why even specify "caucasian"?!? Jesus.

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[info]jedifreac
2009-02-06 09:33 am UTC (link)
Because they've gotta mention that we're the Others, duh.

'Cept not the Others on LOST. Cuz all of those Others are white.

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[info]glockgal
2009-02-06 05:40 pm UTC (link)
The subversive coding behind language is so palpably racist and yet so accepted as the norm. And marketing agencies/studio execs take full advantage of that to immediately weed out who they don't want and then claim that it's 'colourblind casting'. It's disgusting, innit.

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[info]vejiicakes
2009-02-08 12:27 am UTC (link)
Someone was like, "Maybe they just wanted to make sure that Caucasian actors knew they weren't just taking Asian actors, like we assumed they would?"

YEAH, CAN'T HAVE THE MOST FREQUENTLY CAST AND CATERED TO DEMOGRAPHIC THINKING THINKING THEY ACTUALLY MIGHT NOT GET PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR ONCE. WHAT A TRAVESTY THAT WOULD BE.

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[info]silvrsolace
2009-02-06 06:01 pm UTC (link)
Lord! your big sis told me about this last night, and I just about fell off my couch, in fact, it spurred like a 2 hour conversation about people of color in the media having to walk the fine line of being "white enough" to appeal to broadcasting executives, while showing just enough of their ethnicity to not lose their marginalized audiences....

The brown as evil and being redeemed by the dominant culture being perpetuated by M. Knight...I didn't think they could making the casting issue even worse, but they managed it didn't they! I have to go buy my protest button and postcards now!

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[info]tomscribble
2009-02-06 11:19 pm UTC (link)
uh... that Miley cyrus photo. needs to be photoshopped with a speech bubble coming out of the Asian guy's mouth saying "HELP I AM SURROUNDED MY IGNORANT RACIST F*CKWADS." or something.

YAY on the protests! It must be done.

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[info]p_a_sabrina
2009-02-07 02:33 am UTC (link)
Exactly what I was thinking, too! Seriously, the Asian guy doesn't look as if he's feeling very comfortable among his 'friends'. D:

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[info]dawnkiller
2009-02-09 01:55 am UTC (link)
Not Avatar, but I found this randomly and thought of you. It's an article by Ursula le Guin called A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci-Fi Channel Wrecked My Books.

Yeeeah.

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[info]xneoninja
2009-02-21 12:17 pm UTC (link)
lol This movie is gonna be one sweet remake of the Ember Island Players. Who woulda guessed.. one episode of the series made into real life. Hollywood sure does know how to nail epics.

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