re: Avatar casting news

[odditycollector]

This is so much fail I am not even up to the level of coherent argument. Which is why I linked to vagabond_sal's, instead of the article direct. Or here's vejiicakes' take.

I will add for the audience that if this doesn't snowball into a bad press *nightmare* for the film, there is no justice in the world.

 
(PS. Someone needs to write a snarky little AU bit for racismisover.blogspot.com. I am not up to it at the moment, but it cannot be only my soul that feels the lack in the universe!)

Comments

[vagabondsal.livejournal.com]

I cannot even. I feel personally offended by this. What. What. I don't devolve into incoherency very often, but -- what?

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

That is also where I am.

Jeffs, I honestly thought that whatever else they were going to screw up with the movie, the *casting demographics* would be relatively ok. I do not even understand what just happened.

Well, okay, I lie, I do. But. But.

But.

[carmiel.livejournal.com]

Followed links; looked at available photos

My background: My son and my mom! are big Avatar fans. I've seen most if not all of them on Cartoon Network.

IMHO, the two characters from the water tribe, Soka and Katara, never looked asian to me at all. The link I followed did not have a pic of the person cast as Aang. I did think the way he was drawn looked asian and I hope the martial arts expert from Texas who's been picked to play him looks the part.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

the two characters from the water tribe, Soka and Katara, never looked asian to me at all.
To me, they read as from a culture very similar to the Inuit or Yupik peoples. But regardless, I don't think you can argue that they are meant to be *white*.

[carmiel.livejournal.com]

Just to explain why the actors cast as Soka and Katara aren't bothering me, (different subject from the person cast as Aang totally) I lived in Fairbanks Alaska for 3 years, and the native peoples I met there did have *very* pale skin and black hair. Kinda reminded me of the person I know now who immmigrated(sp?) to the US from Norway. She also has very pale skin, but black hair. (shrug) Must be the artic cold in both locations.

[brownbetty]

That said, we're not talking about people/characters with pale skin/black hair, which could describe many different ethnicities; we're talking about characters who inarguably come from a specific (non-white) culture, who are visually coded non-white, with darker skin than others in their world, being represented by white actors. Unless the actor cast is a native Alaskan with fair skin, I don't think the fact that fair-skinned native Alaskans exist should excuse the fact that a character meant to be read as belonging to a non-white people is being played by a white person.

[elgatocurioso.livejournal.com]

Really I wouldn't care one iota if a Tom Sawyer adaption was made with asian actors. *shrug* (I couldn't think of anything "whiter" than Tom Sawyer in the 60 seconds I bothered to consider the subject).

I highly suspect that many films and/or plots get recycled internationally with no one caring that the characters do not happen to look the same as in the original.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Second point first, Avatar is an American original 'toon.

First point second, I do not even have the mental energy. It is like you have wandered in from the bottom quartile of a first year cultural studies class from a poorly-written 1980s movie where the protagonist learns Important Lessons about inclusion and understanding. I mean, you are that character who sits in the back of class in an early scene and raises his hand with incisive comments like, "I don't know why we still need to keep talking about slavery. It was so *long* ago, and now black people get to live in *America*." THAT IS YOU.

There is a fish macro that would be entirely appropriate here, but I cannot be bothered to find it for you.

[brownbetty]

The thing that gets me is that the one feature which cannot be described as in any way stylised, skin tone, got totally ignored too.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Please, Betty. Katara and Sokka are depicted with blindingly bright blue eyes. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find actors of appropriate ethnicity with blindingly bright blue eyes?

Priorities plz!

[brownbetty]

They seem to be having troubles with people of inappropriate ethnicities too, from those pics. They look green, except the kid whose eyes are supposed to be orange; his look blue.

[a-nation-of-one.livejournal.com]

I've never seen an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Regardless, this pisses me off. I'd bet good money that it never even occurred to the film-makers that "Aang" wasn't supposed to be a ghost-white pretty boy. He's the title character, after all! "'Aang,' eh? I'm pretty sure that's pronounced 'Doug.'"

Gosh, that lead actor guy is such a twerp. I wish to punch him. This is completely unrelated to him being cast as a character who is supposed to be Asian. That part certainly doesn't help, however.

-m

[a-nation-of-one.livejournal.com]

I now realize that I completely misread the article, and twerpy kid is actually playing the title character's friend, who is also clearly not white. The two pictures are in the exact same pose, and I assumed they were different interpretations of the same character. This renders large portions of my previous post null.

But still. C'mon, guys.

-m

[sockich.livejournal.com]

........

...............

....yeah, no, I don't even know what to say. I just. Seriously? Fucking seriously?!? *STAB STAB STAB*

[marag.livejournal.com]

Yes, I too am not up to the level of coherent argument. I'm pretty much still at either "Ha ha funny joke, now where are the real cast members" or KILLMAIMDESTROY.

[cereta.livejournal.com]

This is just so not okay, and I don't understand how anyone can think it is. Well, I do understand. I just think they're really fucking wrong.