Entry tags:

avatar, avatar: the last airbender, the last airbender

AVATAR: It's a white, white hero's world.
AVATAR: AIR AND WATER = WHITE
There was a small but successful protest in Flushing, New York which has all been recorded here. The most disturbing discovery being that, according to what the auditioning actors told our protesters (quoth sidepocket_pro):

The casting director inside said that they are casting around the race of the actors they have chosen, so this is how the tribes will break down:
- Water Tribe = White People
- Fire Nation = Indian People
- Earth Nation = "Asian" People
Which if rumors are correct, the final puzzle piece is:
- Air Nation = White People

And this is what it means:

• The two nations that contribute the three main heroes of the film are now (conveniently) white.


• Even when people disagreed about Aang's race, most people agreed that yes, Sokka and Katara are definitely darker-skinned characters and look to be Inuit-based. The Water Tribe was - on whole - the darkest-skinned characters in the show, and they were the heroes Their nation has been completely white-washed.


• Oh! But guess who the dark-skinned ACTORS get to now play in the movie? THAT'S RIGHT, THEY ARE NOW THE VILLAINOUS NATION.


• This Asian-based fantasy world is now composed of: generic!Asian (periphery roles), South East Asian (villains) and two nations of generic!white (heroes). ONCE AGAIN, WHITE IS THE DEFAULT "RACE" FOR FANTASY CHARACTERS

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THE WASHINGTON POST has written an article about the casting of The Last Airbender! (OH! If you keep getting the login screen, read the article HERE.) And I am loving this Casting Director Ricketts more and more with every gem that drops from her mouth:

"There's been some talk that we're casting authentic Asians as a response to the backlash, which is totally wrong because our world is multi-ethnic and the 'Avatar' world will be multi-ethnic.'"

O RLY, MS RICKETTS?? Then why is the Inuit-based nation now white? ANYONE WITH EYES could tell that the Water Tribe was not white, even Jackson "I need a tan!" Rathbone. So is the Water tribe now gonna be Nordic? Or Icelandic? Or vampiric? The paler they are, the better the hero, amirite?

Anyway, bless the Washington Post, they did a bang up job of reporting. The best (saddest?) bit is on the last page with the quintet of hopeful actors and DeeDee Ricketts' 'helpful' advice.
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Let me get a few things clear, since there are a lot of people who have a thousand different opinions about what and who aang_aint_white is:

1) People who are protesting this do not hate white people. People who are protesting this do not have a political agenda. People from all spectrums of politics and race support this cause.

2) AAW is not composed of a handful of disgruntled nerdy white fans who scream racism but sekritly just want some other pet actor to play the roles. We are not all-white and the only thing that concerns us about this casting is white-washing, yellowface and discrimination.

3) AAW isn't composed of disgruntled Asians with nothing better to do than pick on honest-working white actors and innocent!sweet!Hollywood. We are not all-Asian and we are concerned about the systemic racial bias in Hollywood that has been going on for decades. If we don't speak up, this will continue.

kthnx!

(51 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	spookshowbaby 2009-03-02 03:49 pm UTC (link)
	What? Wait, WHAT? Edited at 2009-03-02 03:49 pm UTC (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-03-02 05:46 pm UTC (link)
	*hed spinz* SRSLY. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - spookshowbaby, 2009-03-02 06:36 pm UTC (Expand)

furiosity 2009-03-02 03:50 pm UTC (link)

This is making me angrier every time I see anything relating to it, because they just. don't. get it. I have not even seen Avatar (yet; it's on my list of things to watch) but at this point, if they don't change the casting, I'm definitely going to skip this movie and tell everyone I know not to bother with it and watch the anime instead. I'll even lend them my DVDs. (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	unlovablehands 2009-03-02 03:57 pm UTC (link)
	I was angry about this before I saw anything of the show outside of some stills, but when I actually saw the show, I got even angrier. Somehow. Casting these characters as white is just so patently ridiculous. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2009-03-02 05:48 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - ani_bester, 2009-03-02 06:52 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2009-03-03 01:23 am UTC (Expand)

	trumpeterofdoom 2009-03-02 03:54 pm UTC (link)
	I'm sorry, but what the fuck is a fake Asian? Does this idiot think we're faking our ethnicities to get on a movie that will cast us as villains? I just. What the fuck is an authentic Asian then, in her world view??? (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	bossymarmalade 2009-03-02 05:37 pm UTC (link)
	Don't you know anything? An authentic Asian is a Korean in a kimono! *spits* (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - cathybites, 2009-03-02 05:55 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - bossymarmalade, 2009-03-02 06:08 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2009-03-03 01:25 am UTC (Expand)

incapricious 2009-03-02 04:01 pm UTC (link)

ARGH. So so so horribly wrong. D: Also. I have to admit I never ever noticed how prevalent the "white hero saves the non-white people" thing is in Hollywood, but now that I am aware of it I see it everywhere and it makes me so angry -- that it is there and that I never noticed before. I keep meaning to thank you for posting about this and helping educate me and probably others so: thank you. ♥ (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-03-03 01:27 am UTC (link)
	Me and you both, bebe! I never really thought about it before either; and now, when I realized just HOW many films have PoC background and a white hero it's like...it's like taking the red pill. Can't go back now. :D (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - incapricious, 2009-03-03 01:34 am UTC (Expand)

	rotae 2009-03-02 04:13 pm UTC (link)
	Entirely Asian world. With 50% of the nations being populated by white people. Hmm. Why does the mathematician in me go ≠? This is just... I'm surprised I'm not onto the acceptance part of the grief that follows this DESTRUCTION of Avatar... I'm still firmly stuck in the ANGER part of it. Peace, Rotae (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	lucky_starr17 2009-03-02 08:01 pm UTC (link)
	I don't think anyone is moving toward the acceptance part. My gears are stuck in wtf!rage too :| (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - glockgal, 2009-03-03 01:29 am UTC (Expand)

	bakedfish 2009-03-02 04:15 pm UTC (link)
	"No, he shouldn't smile," a casting assistant tells him. "They don't like people to smile because it's not how you really look." Oh for frak's sake. Gah! (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	glockgal 2009-03-03 01:31 am UTC (link)
	If I can get any joy out of this, it's seeing how the Casting Director continues to make an idiot out of herself and think its PERFECTLY OKAY. Then I remember how many OTHER people in this world think her idiotic words are perfectly okay...and then I get upset again. FAIL. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - tallycola, 2009-03-03 05:50 am UTC (Expand)

cathybites 2009-03-02 04:17 pm UTC (link)

"Here, this will erase any trace of Virginia," says the casting director, wrapping Neou in the brown smock. WHAT. THE. FUCK?! ARRRRGH!!! but, dude. It's awesome that the Post picked up on the story, and while they didn't come right out with a bias, I got the feeling that the writer thought the casting director was a moron and that this whole thing is bullshit, too. So YAY! for that. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-03-03 01:32 am UTC (link)
	YEAH. YEAH. I JUST. I CAN'T. SPEAK. I totally agree! I love how subtly he points towards our issue being the valid one. Thank GOODNESS! Go WaPo! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	melisus 2009-03-02 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	OMG THE FAIL NEVER STOPS WITH THIS THING. I still can't get over the idea of Dev Patel as Zuko. Every time I look at him I just instantly think of the Water tribe character and want to cry because it could have been oh so right, but instead is now oh so wrong. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-03-03 01:33 am UTC (link)
	I know. One one hand I want to allow some commendations for actually deeming PoC worthy of lead roles. On the other, casting all the 'darkies' as the baddies just MAKES ME WANT TO POUND MY HEAD SO HARD. FREEAUURRGH (Reply to this) (Parent)

	quietrevolution 2009-03-02 05:38 pm UTC (link)
	Concerning your clearing up-ness: A-FUCKING-MEN!!! Seriously, accurate representation =/= hating white people/sekrit agenda/disgruntled Asians (Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal 2009-03-03 01:38 am UTC (link)

I KNOW, RITE? It's like okay - if we're not a bunch of 'whiny pasty white fans who only want so-and-so to play their fave character' it's a bunch of 'angry Asians who get over sensitive about everything and only care about political correctness and not artistic integrity'. AHAHAHAH WHICH ONE IS IT?!!?!? Seriously, accurate representation =/= hating white people/sekrit agenda/disgruntled Asians And apparently, DeeDee Ricketts thinks it's just a bunch of people whining about inconsequential fannish things in a beloved story. You know, like...racism. *ROLLS EYES* (Reply to this) (Parent)

	buttfacemakani 2009-03-02 05:40 pm UTC (link)
	Why does Bryke not say anything :I (Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal 2009-03-03 01:43 am UTC (link)

I think due to Paramount's continued unresponsiveness not only to us, but to MANAA, EWP and all of the newpapers/websites, they have opted for staying silent, ignoring everyone and hoping protesters will lose interest and go away. And sadly, I'm guessing that because Paramount > Nickelodeon > Bryke, they're under strict policy to not speak up about it either either. Ohhh the glorious power of the entertainment corporation. :/ However, it's nice to know that we do have some Avatar:TLA-related supporters who wholeheartedly agree with us, like Giancarlo Volpe to name one. (Reply to this) (Parent)

djinnj 2009-03-02 05:45 pm UTC (link)

The thing about this division of the nations by race is that it's new, too. Clearly, this is only something they've done since they hired on Patel, because prior to his hiring the extras casting was open to all ethnicity and race, despite the fact that there were only white principles. The extras casting calls are different now that they're making the nations look racially homogeneous within their borders. This sort of casting is something I have always thought would have been a sensible way to approach making Avatar more than 'just Asian' if they wanted to (although it makes the incognito parts difficult), but doing it after the fact, after having hired only white principles initially, shows they're still scrambling to figure out the casting, which is pretty sad this far into the process. But this also tells me the complaints and stink are working on some level. They just can't figure out a way of fixing it because they're completely half-assed. (Reply to this)

ashkitty 2009-03-02 06:10 pm UTC (link)

Let me get a few things clear... Among other things, people who are protesting it want their STORIES TOLD TRUTHFULLY. People make stories a certain way for a reason; if you're telling a story about Saxons or Vikings then by all means cast it full of white people, but if the story is about Asians, Inuits, native Americans, Polynesians, or anyone else, for fuck's sake cast it that way. It should not be so HARD. :p (Reply to this)

	star54kar 2009-03-02 06:17 pm UTC (link)
	Hey dear, I'm sorry this is very much an off topic comment but I just noticed that there is a post over at forbiddenawards that concerns you. It's time sensitive and is in regards to a nomination and I thought you might want to know. http://community.livejournal.com/forbiddenawards/60589.html (Reply to this)

	tammylee 2009-03-02 07:39 pm UTC (link)
	nnnnngggggg... Oh! There goes that vein again, throbbing on my temple. My heart hurts to see the epic fail. (Reply to this)

lucky_starr17 2009-03-02 08:06 pm UTC (link)

AAW is not composed of a handful of disgruntled nerdy white fans who scream racism but sekritly just want some other pet actor to play the roles. We are not all-white and the only thing that concerns us about this casting is white-washing, yellowface and discrimination. ...If we don't speak up, this will continue. EXACTLY. I'm an African American girl and I'm pissed off as hell. Discrimination is discrimination, regardless of who it's against. (Reply to this)

itsbeenvery 2009-03-02 08:43 pm UTC (link)

"When you take a beloved story that has a fan base, you'll never be able to make everyone happy," says Ricketts, the casting director, who was not involved with the casting of principal roles. It says she wasn't involved in the casting of the principal roles, but from her other comments it seems like she can't even appreciate or understand why people are objecting. As a casting director don't you have some sort of professional responsibility to see that film version represents the source-material characters to a certain degree? On other considerations connected with the film industry, given that none of the white actors cast are big names, it's not like re-casting would see a huge shift in their box office take. Specifically regarding Aang, it's not like kids enrolled in marital arts classes is a new and/or rare thing in America. The idea that the boy cast in the role was the only one deemed good enough is very hard to believe. (Reply to this)

	tomscribble 2009-03-02 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	huh! sounds like the casting of AVATAR: THE LAST FAILBENDER. I thought the Washington Post article was good, it seemed to let the facts speak for themselves, quite clearly, without ever directly saying "Look this is racist!" (Reply to this)

dahemo 2009-03-02 11:01 pm UTC (link)

Jesus fucking Christ. You know, I'm trying to remain optimistic and hopeful about this whole thing, but I have this creeping realization that the people involved in making this production are so stupid that they aren't actually capable of doing a good job. I've said this before, but I am white. And this bothers me deeply, not just because of the offensive white-washing, but because these people clearly do not give a shit about honoring the source material. They're being so culturally insensitive about a show that is saturated in very specific cultures. It's like...I don't know if you took Lord of the Rings and transplanted it to the Caribbean or something! It's outrageous! I did really like this bit: "I definitely need a tan," Rathbone told MTV.com, presumably just before his publicist sat him down for a chat about political correctness. (Reply to this)

	cellia 2009-03-02 11:20 pm UTC (link)
	ugh. So much FAIL. I'm so impressed with all your work on this. (Reply to this)

	amanuensis1 2009-03-03 01:49 am UTC (link)
	Oh, GOD, just when you thought it was safe to peek back in the "well, we're making it a DIVERSE cast" excuse files... (Reply to this)

	lizamanynames 2009-03-03 02:50 am UTC (link)
	*SPEACHLESS WITH RAGE* (Reply to this)

	bookofjude 2009-03-03 04:18 am UTC (link)
	I am now reminded of the Sci-Fi channel monstrosity that was Legends (of/from?) Earthsea. (Reply to this)

	mangagirl 2009-03-03 04:43 am UTC (link)
	... it's a multi ethnic world without black people? Or latino... ... and where all the bad guys are middle eastern. OK. That's not poking a bee's nest with a stick or anything. -_-; (Reply to this) (Thread)

	caterfree10 2009-03-03 09:00 pm UTC (link)
	and where all the bad guys are middle eastern. OK. That's not poking a bee's nest with a stick or anything. -_-; Technically they're Indian, but it's pretty damn close anyway. Srsly, this is why A Horse and His Boy will likely never see the silver screen. BECAUSE IT'S OFFENSIVE (even if I love the Narnia books to bits and pieces X3). (Reply to this) (Parent)

fidrich 2009-03-03 11:08 pm UTC (link)

Slow on the uptake, I know, but it just occurred to me that if the film is as uncompromising in its criticism of imperialism as the show is, we're going to have a young Indian boy learning from the white heroes that his culture has corrupted Firebending into being about ~*~hatred~*~ and ~*~anger~*~. Because dark-skinned people are savages posing under a veneer of civility, amirite? Oh, and the genocide of an entire white people by a race played by Indian actors will be a major plot point. The more I think about this the more I want to cry. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	caterfree10 2009-03-04 12:42 am UTC (link)
	THIS. I just- it PAINS me to see this crap being put into such an amazing show like Avatar. It doesn't deserve this crap. *wibble* (Reply to this) (Parent)

teejaybee 2009-03-05 02:17 am UTC (link)

What the f*ck does an "Asian" look like anyway? Like a Turk? A Hmong? An Aeta? A Sri Lankan? An Afghani? What?? As a person of Chinese and Filipino descent who's been living in the United States for eight years, I've really come to detest the way the term "Asian" is used to exclusively identify a person bearing the physical characteristics of the ethnic majority group in East Asia. "Asians" come in every color, worship different gods and goddesses, and do NOT exclusively practice a monolithic culture that revolves around martial arts, dragons, chopsticks, and red lanterns. (Reply to this) (Thread)

waffled_flambe 2009-03-14 12:21 am UTC (link)

I don't know why people can't get it into their heads that Asia consists of more than just Chinese/Japanese/Korean people. I mean, just look at how they divided the races: - Fire Nation = Indian People - Earth Nation = "Asian" People Do they not realize that India is a part of Asia? I mean, seriously, how ignorant can you get?! Ugh, I just...don't know how, in this day and age, people can screw up this badly. And every time it just gets worse. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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(51 comments) - (Post a new comment)