*sigh*
Friend-of-friend:
TS3 should be good but why the boycott on TLA?
Me:
Short answer? Racism. Long answer-- they took a fantastic, sensitive, well-made cartoon that was respectful and loving of its roots in east Asian mythology, martial arts, and languages, cast the (Inuit and Tibetan-parallel) main characters as white kids, cast the (Chinese-parallel) villains dark-skinned, replaced the genuine Chinese calligraphy with Asian-looking nonsense, and generally white-washed one of the most socially-forward cartoons I've ever seen.
Also M. Night decided Sokka being funny didn't serve the narrative he wanted to tell, so screw the director. :P
Me:
Although I could probably have just linked to this. :P
The Last Airbender Movie Casting | Activism at Racebending.com
www.racebending.com
Ensure that your local film critics are aware of the way "The Last Airbender" discriminated against actors of color. (more...)
Friend-of-friend:
That is a load of bullshit! They may not be the best actor selection but even if they were the same race that doesn't mean they could act or would be better. I think you are taking way to much time to find racism in everything. You are letting people push you into believing one thing. Need I remind you the director is not Caucasian. He doesn't care about color he is looking at what he sees as the character. There aren't always the perfect actor out there. Yes, he took out Sokka's big humor but he wanted to focus more on the serious story than the child's version. This is a vision an artistic visioning of the directors. This is an art form and this is how he see's the world. As for this darker skins on the other side thing I can't even tell you how many times people have done that to the "the white man". I think you are just looking for faults. When you should be enjoying the story and the beauty of the art. You are too worried about the color of ones skin to realize in truth we are all just people and these people have worked hard to make this movie. I don't see the actors screaming racism? I don't see any of this but a few small groups of people holding on to racism. I noticed Sokka and Katara are white but just said what but then realized there was probably a reason like we couldn't find a black girl that was fitting. If this racism is true that I want some research with facts not opinions.
ETA:
Me:
... oh lord. Can we not argue about this on Sam's birthday thread?
Friend-of-friend:
I just feel you are boycotting for a stupid reason. Come on it is just a movie!
Me:
Look, like I said, I don't want to argue about this on Sam's birthday thread. I feel my feelings are valid, and I can and will vote with my money against institutionalized racism, even in "just" movies, just as I will choose not to see movies steeped in sexism, or will choose to tell all and sundry not to read an anti-feminist anti-fat acceptance book.
Friend-of-friend:
I give up, think what you want but I see no valid racism and will not judge the movie until I've seen it with my own two eyes.
Me:
... look. It *is* racist to cast *white* actors in roles that are obviously *PoC*. It is RACIST to cast WHITE leads into an ASIAN story, and only let PoC play incidentals and villains. It was RACIST when it was Dragonball, it was RACIST when it was Fu Manchu, it is RACIST to have a PRIVILEGED actor being "the best choice" to tell a MINORITY'S story.
It is valid racism to tell people of color that they cannot be heroes on-screen. It is valid racism when, out of the hundreds of Asian-American actors in Southern California, the "best choice" is MORE white-skinned heroes. It isn't violent racism, it's not lynching them and calling them terrible names, but it is racism, insidious invisible racism because white people like you and me don't notice it, because the heroes look like *us*.
M. Night is taking an explicitly Asian world, a world that THE CREATORS have said is Asian, and telling us he is colorblind, so it's okay that he's not treating it with the respect it deserves. It's fantasy, so it's okay that the heroes are all magically white-skinned, while all the evil people are dark skinned (those evil south-asians, having more melanin!). It's fantasy, so he can dress all the girls as if they were DEAD by wrapping their clothing the wrong way, and the only east Asian actor with a major role is Suki, and they can call the REAL MARTIAL ARTS that all the *bending was based on "unrealistic".
There is valid racism there, and just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it does not exist. We are not a post-racial society. Colorblind casting by an Indian director where EVERYONE IS STILL WHITE is *not* *colorblind*.
And it is my choice to say I will not see this movie.
TS3 should be good but why the boycott on TLA?
Me:
Short answer? Racism. Long answer-- they took a fantastic, sensitive, well-made cartoon that was respectful and loving of its roots in east Asian mythology, martial arts, and languages, cast the (Inuit and Tibetan-parallel) main characters as white kids, cast the (Chinese-parallel) villains dark-skinned, replaced the genuine Chinese calligraphy with Asian-looking nonsense, and generally white-washed one of the most socially-forward cartoons I've ever seen.
Also M. Night decided Sokka being funny didn't serve the narrative he wanted to tell, so screw the director. :P
Me:
Although I could probably have just linked to this. :P
The Last Airbender Movie Casting | Activism at Racebending.com
www.racebending.com
Ensure that your local film critics are aware of the way "The Last Airbender" discriminated against actors of color. (more...)
Friend-of-friend:
That is a load of bullshit! They may not be the best actor selection but even if they were the same race that doesn't mean they could act or would be better. I think you are taking way to much time to find racism in everything. You are letting people push you into believing one thing. Need I remind you the director is not Caucasian. He doesn't care about color he is looking at what he sees as the character. There aren't always the perfect actor out there. Yes, he took out Sokka's big humor but he wanted to focus more on the serious story than the child's version. This is a vision an artistic visioning of the directors. This is an art form and this is how he see's the world. As for this darker skins on the other side thing I can't even tell you how many times people have done that to the "the white man". I think you are just looking for faults. When you should be enjoying the story and the beauty of the art. You are too worried about the color of ones skin to realize in truth we are all just people and these people have worked hard to make this movie. I don't see the actors screaming racism? I don't see any of this but a few small groups of people holding on to racism. I noticed Sokka and Katara are white but just said what but then realized there was probably a reason like we couldn't find a black girl that was fitting. If this racism is true that I want some research with facts not opinions.
ETA:
Me:
... oh lord. Can we not argue about this on Sam's birthday thread?
Friend-of-friend:
I just feel you are boycotting for a stupid reason. Come on it is just a movie!
Me:
Look, like I said, I don't want to argue about this on Sam's birthday thread. I feel my feelings are valid, and I can and will vote with my money against institutionalized racism, even in "just" movies, just as I will choose not to see movies steeped in sexism, or will choose to tell all and sundry not to read an anti-feminist anti-fat acceptance book.
Friend-of-friend:
I give up, think what you want but I see no valid racism and will not judge the movie until I've seen it with my own two eyes.
Me:
... look. It *is* racist to cast *white* actors in roles that are obviously *PoC*. It is RACIST to cast WHITE leads into an ASIAN story, and only let PoC play incidentals and villains. It was RACIST when it was Dragonball, it was RACIST when it was Fu Manchu, it is RACIST to have a PRIVILEGED actor being "the best choice" to tell a MINORITY'S story.
It is valid racism to tell people of color that they cannot be heroes on-screen. It is valid racism when, out of the hundreds of Asian-American actors in Southern California, the "best choice" is MORE white-skinned heroes. It isn't violent racism, it's not lynching them and calling them terrible names, but it is racism, insidious invisible racism because white people like you and me don't notice it, because the heroes look like *us*.
M. Night is taking an explicitly Asian world, a world that THE CREATORS have said is Asian, and telling us he is colorblind, so it's okay that he's not treating it with the respect it deserves. It's fantasy, so it's okay that the heroes are all magically white-skinned, while all the evil people are dark skinned (those evil south-asians, having more melanin!). It's fantasy, so he can dress all the girls as if they were DEAD by wrapping their clothing the wrong way, and the only east Asian actor with a major role is Suki, and they can call the REAL MARTIAL ARTS that all the *bending was based on "unrealistic".
There is valid racism there, and just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it does not exist. We are not a post-racial society. Colorblind casting by an Indian director where EVERYONE IS STILL WHITE is *not* *colorblind*.
And it is my choice to say I will not see this movie.