We'll let the show speak for itself.

[aang_aint_white]

Many people have been telling us we shouldn't be offended. And of all the arguments we've been presented with this past week, the most common is also the most surprising: "These characters look white to me."

We considered writing an essay about the ethnic makeup of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but then we realized we could never be as eloquent on

Comments

[pikabot]

*applauds*

[aang_aint_white]

We do what we can <3

[glockgal]

This is the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.

Not just because it pretty much exemplifies everything we've been saying in pictures, but also because I'm reminded of how carefully constructed and designed this animation is, from architecture, to costume design to colour schemes.

My god. The thought of turning this into the live-action, CGI version of 3 Ninjas just...makes me shudder even MORE now.

[pikabot]

Hey, I hope you aren't harshing on Three Ninjas! That shit was so cash back in the nineties.

[glockgal]

Why hasn't the boxed trilogy special edition die-cut cover with director commentary been released yet???!!?? Now there's a cause to get worked up about!

[pikabot]

Seriously. I would give my left nut for that!

Haha, oh god, the movies were seriously so awful, but they were so quintessentially Nineties that you sort of can't help but love them anyways.

aang

[anonymous]

I agree that sokka, katara and zuko look indian/eskimo/asian, but aang is as white as he could be. Same goes for toph (although it will be a long time before she will be casted).

Re: aang

[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.

However, this journal isn't a forum for debate on this subject -- there are plenty of other places to do so. For that reason, I'm going to freeze this thread.

[tallycola]

...I don't see anything Asian in this.

Hahahha nah I'm just kidding. That was gorgeous. Thanks for letting me relive one of my favourite things ever.

Anybody who thinks Aang is white: he has big eyes because he is a child. When his hair grows in he is obviously Asian. Go look at a Chinese baby and tell me it doesn't have big-looking eyes for it's head.

Sokka <3

[tallycola]

Also, Pajiba has blogged about this.
http://www.pajiba.com/the-last-airbender-gets-a-cast.htm

[aang_aint_white]

Thanks for the heads up -- just added it to the linklist! It's a huge relief to me that non-fandom blogs are picking this up. Also, I've tabbed open their review of the series as a whole, and I predict it will totally make me cry.

[akiko]

Whiter than Mormon Jesus is my new favorite phrase.

[sevendials]

Are you familiar with this article?

The Face of the Other

It's intended for an audience of anime and manga fans and is not about Avatar per se. That said, it's a useful rebuttal if someone throws the whole 'but the characters all look white!' argument at manga and anime fans which doesn't rely on the old chestnut that the Japanese all secretly want to be American, and I think it applies here as well. The fundamental arguments still apply given that the default setting in the Avatar world, as it is in most anime and manga, is very clearly Asian. Why should they have to signpost that the characters aren't white until specifically proven otherwise?

Awesome picspam, by the way. I have got to watch this show sometime soon.

[aang_aint_white]

Thank you so much for the link! I'll definitely be reading it later this afternoon.

And I'm glad you enjoyed the screencap barrage -- it's a beautiful show. <3

[allyndra]

That was an excellent essay. Thank you for linking it.