AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
I'm back, and still angry!
Over the course of the past few days, I find it amazing just how vociferously people will argue why an all-POC/Asian/diverse cast isn't a good thing. No matter what you say and how many facts you point out, they just will keep saying "PROVE IT TO ME." or "THEY AREN'T ALL ASIAN" (therefore, the entire argument for diversity is moot?) or "AVATAR IS A FANTASY".
I'm amazed. 'Amazed' to rhyme with 'disgusted'. That people feel an irrational need to argue against diversity and racial representation in a movie...I just. I JUST. GYAH THE MIND BOGGLES. WHY MUST THEY DO IT.
So I've found a set of periphery links that relate to this issue, the best ones listed here --
-- The Unapologetic Mexican Glossary - In particular, the White-Magik Attack and the Appeal to Melanin.
After trolling all the blogs, I have seen EVERY example of the Wite-Magik Attack being used in varying degrees. Uncanny, innit?
-- Racial Drawing 101: The Crash Course - Given the many arguments of 'BUT SO-AND-SO CHARACTER LOOKS WHITE', I guess the concept designers at the Avatar studio just never took SecretAsianMan's Crash Course. The fools!
-- To put it all in perspective, we now have not ONE, but TWO versions of Avatar RaceFAIL Bingo Cards! HEE!
-- Not for the faint of heart - The Art of Defending Racism by yeloson - a scathing and yet eerily accurate summary of all the many arguments used to defend racism. It might not be an easy read for some people.
-- A beautiful, positive spin: PoC Daily, on InsaneJournal. No child actors (the Mod doesn't want to run the risk of creep factor, understandably) but a gorgeous, stunning array of PoC performers. It'll help you open your eyes.
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So...yeah. I'd really love if we could get some form of media coverage on this. One awesome person (tallycola?) wrote a letter to Stephen Colbert, but his and Jon's seasons are over for this year, dang.
It's also too bad colleges and schools are closed, because I figure their radio programs would be good venues for grass roots publicity (OKAY YES, I ASSUME AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE RADIO STATIONS BECAUSE OF 90210, LOOLOLOLOLOL). Anyway, the point being that I want to think locally.
There are some great connections via Fair.org, but I think this kind of scoop would appeal to entertainment-focussed news shows/magazines? Hmmm.
--------------------------
In other news, I'm bringing back my 8 Days of Happy Meme--
The rules are that for 8 days you have to post something that made you happy that day. Tag 8 people to do the same. DAY 5: yuletart has started and it looks AWESOME!!! Also artlulz is a new art chat community, full of fun and crack and artists. Good times.
And remember:
aang-aint-white
and
Debunking the Arguments and What Else You Can Do
I'm back, and still angry!
Over the course of the past few days, I find it amazing just how vociferously people will argue why an all-POC/Asian/diverse cast isn't a good thing. No matter what you say and how many facts you point out, they just will keep saying "PROVE IT TO ME." or "THEY AREN'T ALL ASIAN" (therefore, the entire argument for diversity is moot?) or "AVATAR IS A FANTASY".
I'm amazed. 'Amazed' to rhyme with 'disgusted'. That people feel an irrational need to argue against diversity and racial representation in a movie...I just. I JUST. GYAH THE MIND BOGGLES. WHY MUST THEY DO IT.
So I've found a set of periphery links that relate to this issue, the best ones listed here --
-- The Unapologetic Mexican Glossary - In particular, the White-Magik Attack and the Appeal to Melanin.
After trolling all the blogs, I have seen EVERY example of the Wite-Magik Attack being used in varying degrees. Uncanny, innit?
-- Racial Drawing 101: The Crash Course - Given the many arguments of 'BUT SO-AND-SO CHARACTER LOOKS WHITE', I guess the concept designers at the Avatar studio just never took SecretAsianMan's Crash Course. The fools!
-- To put it all in perspective, we now have not ONE, but TWO versions of Avatar RaceFAIL Bingo Cards! HEE!
-- Not for the faint of heart - The Art of Defending Racism by yeloson - a scathing and yet eerily accurate summary of all the many arguments used to defend racism. It might not be an easy read for some people.
-- A beautiful, positive spin: PoC Daily, on InsaneJournal. No child actors (the Mod doesn't want to run the risk of creep factor, understandably) but a gorgeous, stunning array of PoC performers. It'll help you open your eyes.
--------------------------
So...yeah. I'd really love if we could get some form of media coverage on this. One awesome person (tallycola?) wrote a letter to Stephen Colbert, but his and Jon's seasons are over for this year, dang.
It's also too bad colleges and schools are closed, because I figure their radio programs would be good venues for grass roots publicity (OKAY YES, I ASSUME AMERICAN SCHOOLS HAVE RADIO STATIONS BECAUSE OF 90210, LOOLOLOLOLOL). Anyway, the point being that I want to think locally.
There are some great connections via Fair.org, but I think this kind of scoop would appeal to entertainment-focussed news shows/magazines? Hmmm.
--------------------------
In other news, I'm bringing back my 8 Days of Happy Meme--
The rules are that for 8 days you have to post something that made you happy that day. Tag 8 people to do the same. DAY 5: yuletart has started and it looks AWESOME!!! Also artlulz is a new art chat community, full of fun and crack and artists. Good times.
And remember:
aang-aint-white
and
Debunking the Arguments and What Else You Can Do