To my friends who are also Avatards
So, we all know what is going down with Paramount Picture's "The Last Airbender," which is going to based off of the Nickelodeon series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and will be directed by M. Night Shyamalan (who, might I add, is Indian-American).
If you haven't already heard, the proposed cast for the four main roles, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Prince Zuko - who are all Asian and Inuit inspired - are going to - yes: Caucasian actors.
No.
Just, no.
We cannot let this happen. We let this slide, and that's it. Not only will we let the producers get away with butchering a beloved series like they have to nearly every original series (by making it into a movie), but we are going to allow blatant racial discrimination to pass by us.
"What's the point? We can't do anything about."
That's bullshit. If my fore-fathers and mothers from the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the Latino, Asian, and Native American civil rights movements that followed, have taught me anything, its that you do have a voice on these kind of matters, and that if we stick together, we can make a distance.
So my friends, this is what needs to be done.
Go to the LJ community "Aang Ain't White" and follow the directions posted. If you can't find it, here's the link:
http://aang-aint-white.livejournal.com/646.html
If you want some motivation, here's my letter:
To Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Marshall:
I am writing today in regard to the recently revealed casting for the upcoming Nickelodeon Film, “The Last Airbender.” Entertainment Weekly published an article revealing director M. Night Shyamalan’s hoped-for cast for the film, and I am not only offended, but disappointed by the decisions he and Paramount Pictures have made.
The Nickelodeon show “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” on which the film is based on, featured Asian and
Inuit characters in a fantasy setting inspired by not only East Asian and Inuit cultures, but by Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern (including North African), and Southeast Asian cultures. As a Black-American Indian, seeing an elemental television series that was inspired by a world other than medieval Europe enthralled me, and Avatar: The Last Airbender quickly became one of my most beloved television series. However, upon hearing that the main cast - who are Asian and Native American influenced - will be composed of Caucasians, I was flabbergasted.
Though I hold no bad thoughts toward the recommended actors and actress at hand, I am outraged that the director and Paramount would propose that non-white characters would be played by white actors. To me, this is no better than the casting of blackface, yellowface, and redface actors that portrayed African, Asian, and Native American characters in early movies, which are thought of as the archetypes of racial stereotypes today. This will not only allow Orientalism, discrimination, and ignorance to spread, but will also send the message that actors with predominate European ancestry can always play ethnic minorities, but the minorities themselves cannot. How can I tell my nephew, who is Afro-Asian, that he can do anything despite his bi-racial background if a Caucasian child is granted the role of an Asian Indian, or even an Afro-Asian? This proves that Hollywood is still discriminatory toward minorities in America, and this decision for the casting of a multi-ethnically influenced movie is a mockery to every race and ethnicity represented in it.
If Paramount Pictures continues to go forward with this cast, I will not be supporting this film, and I will encourage my friends and family to do the same.
Sincerely,
The Spirit Mage
Thank you, my friends.