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I cried yesterday because I had to explain to Adrian why the Avatar issue bothered me. Whenever there is a dispute about race, people come in and start talking about circumstance, business, and other problems in the world none of which address the core issue. I will try to explain my core issue as simply as possible:
How is it NOT completely fucked up that people think they won't sell a movie just because the main actors look like people like me? How is that not off-putting?
This is what you're saying when you're saying it's just business:
1) That the production company is just doing business.
- This of course is just the plain text of what you said. We already knew that and that's not why we're complaining.
2) That doing business requires making decisions that optimize profits.
- This is an important implication for your point to have any relevance to the issue, but of course we already knew this too. This implication makes matters worse because you're saying...
3) You can't have Asians as main characters to optimize movie profits.
4) Because no one wants to watch a movie about Asian kids.
And then you sit there and expect us to accept that as a simple truth about the world.
1) Fuck you too.
2) It wouldn't cost any more money to employ Asian actors. The only added cost /might/ be in the casting, which in comparison to the rest of the movie budget, is a tiny and flat cost.
3) This series was clearly inspired by Asians in the first place; why is it so hard to be true to the spirit of the work?
4) Now try to imagine Slumdog Millionaire with the three main characters as white.
How is it NOT completely fucked up that people think they won't sell a movie just because the main actors look like people like me? How is that not off-putting?
This is what you're saying when you're saying it's just business:
1) That the production company is just doing business.
- This of course is just the plain text of what you said. We already knew that and that's not why we're complaining.
2) That doing business requires making decisions that optimize profits.
- This is an important implication for your point to have any relevance to the issue, but of course we already knew this too. This implication makes matters worse because you're saying...
3) You can't have Asians as main characters to optimize movie profits.
4) Because no one wants to watch a movie about Asian kids.
And then you sit there and expect us to accept that as a simple truth about the world.
1) Fuck you too.
2) It wouldn't cost any more money to employ Asian actors. The only added cost /might/ be in the casting, which in comparison to the rest of the movie budget, is a tiny and flat cost.
3) This series was clearly inspired by Asians in the first place; why is it so hard to be true to the spirit of the work?
4) Now try to imagine Slumdog Millionaire with the three main characters as white.