Round Two: FIGHT!
Hope you all had a great holiday! As for us, we're back from our hiatus with news, more addresses, and some things to keep in mind.
Here's what's going on right now:
• We've changed our strategy a bit. We'll be writing to TWO different addresses -- the film's two producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, at their production company; and ( Read more... )
Here's what's going on right now:
• We've changed our strategy a bit. We'll be writing to TWO different addresses -- the film's two producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, at their production company; and ( Read more... )
"December 25, 2008
To Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Marshall:
I'm writing today in regards to the cast of the upcoming Nickelodeon Film, "The Last Airbender." On December 9th, Entertainment Weekly published an article revealing director M. Night Shyamalan's hoped-for cast for the film. I must tell you that I am deeply offended by the unthinking decisions he and Paramount Pictures have made.
The Nickelodeon show "Avatar: The Last Airbender," on which this film is based, featured Asian and Inuit characters in a fantasy setting inspired and informed by a variety of Asian and Inuit cultures. The characters fight with East Asian martial arts, have Asian or Inuit features, dress in Asian or Inuit clothing, and write with Chinese characters. The cast and setting were a refreshing departure from predominantly white American media and myth. This was, in large part, the reason for the show's appeal to and inspiration for many Asian American children, a demographic, I should point out, that is both large and quite affluent.
I am outraged to read that the four actors selected to play the lead roles are all white. While I understand that the casting is not final, the statement has already been made: this film will take a culturally Asian and Inuit world and populate it with white actors. Orientalism this obvious and this dramatic is inexcusable, and I would urge Shyamalan and Paramount Pictures to reconsider their unfortunate casting choices. Asian characters in a world built from Asian cultures should be played by Asian actors.
Let me point out that I teach in a school district that is large, upscale and very, very diverse with an emphasis on Asian immigrants and their descendents. Should Paramount insist on continuing with this obnoxiously wrong-headed casting decision, I will make every effort to point it out to my Asian students and to spread the information out to my numerous Asian colleagues on the faculty. This should make an interesting experiment on who has more influence over children’s viewing habits, don’t you think?
Sincerely,
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