Avatar: The Last Airbender Casting Controversy Continues
Online protests hoping to protest the casting of M. Night Shyamalan's live-action take on AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER are continuing.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reported in December that Shyamalan offered the roles of Aang to karate-trained Texan Noah Ringer; Sokka to Jackson Rathbone (TWILIGHT); Katara to Nicola Peltz (DECK THE HALLS); and Zuko to Jesse McCartney, all Caucasian actors to portray Asian characters.
The casting announcement sparked a controversy, and many accused Paramount and Nickelodeon of "whitewashing" the film. Rathbone told MTV News earlier this month that, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."
Some of the blogosphere protest was documented on gossip site i09. And a letter-writing campaign was started on a LiveJournal Page.
Via CARTOON BREW, comic book artist Derek Kirk Kim is protesting as well: [AVATAR is] wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture. Everything from to the costume designs, to the written language, to the landscapes, to martial arts, to philosophy, to spirituality, to eating utensils! -- It’s all an evocative, but thinly veiled, re-imagining of ancient Asia."
He continues, "Imagine if someone had made a “fantasy” movie in which the entire world was built around African culture. Everyone is wearing ancient African clothes, African hats, eating traditional African food, writing in an African language, living in African homes, all encompassed in an African landscape...but everyone is white. How offensive, insulting, and disrespectful would that be toward Africans and African Americans? How much more offensive would it be if only the heroes were white and all the villians [sic] and background characters were African American? (I wince in fear thinking about THE LAST AIRBENDER suffering from the latter dynamic -- which it probably will.)"
Writer Madeline Ashby also pointed out that studio casting of animes AKIRA and COWBOY BEBOP have handed the lead roles to white actors, excluding Asians. Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt are both attached to AKIRA and COWBOY BEBOP just got Keanu Reeves to star, although Reeves is of Hawaiian and Chinese descent.
The AVATAR film, titled THE LAST AIRBENDER, is set for a July 2010 release. Shyamalan is writing, directing and producing the film.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reported in December that Shyamalan offered the roles of Aang to karate-trained Texan Noah Ringer; Sokka to Jackson Rathbone (TWILIGHT); Katara to Nicola Peltz (DECK THE HALLS); and Zuko to Jesse McCartney, all Caucasian actors to portray Asian characters.
The casting announcement sparked a controversy, and many accused Paramount and Nickelodeon of "whitewashing" the film. Rathbone told MTV News earlier this month that, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."
Some of the blogosphere protest was documented on gossip site i09. And a letter-writing campaign was started on a LiveJournal Page.
Via CARTOON BREW, comic book artist Derek Kirk Kim is protesting as well: [AVATAR is] wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture. Everything from to the costume designs, to the written language, to the landscapes, to martial arts, to philosophy, to spirituality, to eating utensils! -- It’s all an evocative, but thinly veiled, re-imagining of ancient Asia."
He continues, "Imagine if someone had made a “fantasy” movie in which the entire world was built around African culture. Everyone is wearing ancient African clothes, African hats, eating traditional African food, writing in an African language, living in African homes, all encompassed in an African landscape...but everyone is white. How offensive, insulting, and disrespectful would that be toward Africans and African Americans? How much more offensive would it be if only the heroes were white and all the villians [sic] and background characters were African American? (I wince in fear thinking about THE LAST AIRBENDER suffering from the latter dynamic -- which it probably will.)"
Writer Madeline Ashby also pointed out that studio casting of animes AKIRA and COWBOY BEBOP have handed the lead roles to white actors, excluding Asians. Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt are both attached to AKIRA and COWBOY BEBOP just got Keanu Reeves to star, although Reeves is of Hawaiian and Chinese descent.
The AVATAR film, titled THE LAST AIRBENDER, is set for a July 2010 release. Shyamalan is writing, directing and producing the film.
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well just to let you know they did not do well macthing up the charathers with the people in the movie and another thing you made not be trying to seem racism but if you sit down and watch the whole series you will notice there are about three main charathers and two of they are no shade or skin tone near "white" excuse my language and the guru at the end is definetly not "white" excuse me again. not being mean but yes some of the charathers are white.
I think everyone knows that the animated characters represent Asians in everyway. They are not depicted as anything but positive. I think everyone should appreciate that. However, I agree that the director, and producers should be more concerned with the way movies have always changed things to give more "superior imagery" to the white race. It's fact. I think people who are not familiar with Anime should take a look at all the shows out there. The characters all look "white". Does that mean the creators are ashamed of who they are? It's just cartoons. We should be more concerned with the positive images and help get them out there. Someone should make more Japanese and Chinese Anime with the characters representing those cultures in truth. I am Native American and I haven't seen many true examples represented in film either. Can't actors be found out there that represent everyone? It's a shame that it took a cartoon to get people talking again about the realism of negativity. It is 2010, I had hoped things had changed.
What the he'll do you mean by they don't look black? African American people come in many shades and colorsnin case you never realized it. SMDH
I just don't understand how the original artiss of the cartoon don't have the characters looking completely Asian (yes the surrounding areas and the writing and architecture are all Asian), but if they wanted to show them with there being no question of their race, it could have been done. So maybe you all can boycott them for not being specific enough. Geez it's a movie. The characters were generalized (in the cartoon) for a reason; so all kids could identify with the characters.
Everyone who is bitching about this movie being "whitewashed" is an idiot.
It has one (repeat that) ONE! white character in it.
has no one noticed that the “white” sokka and katara in the movie appear more native american than anything else? Im cherokee and despite whatever their heritage may be, they honestly look more like my people than some european white folks. After that of course the entire fire nation is eastern indian… And every single bit of casting released to date for anyone earth nation all seem to be asian. The only “white” character in there so far is ang… and since he is “the last airbender” I doubt there will be many other white people in there.
So each nation in the film has its own ethnicity it would seem. The movie hasn't been whitewashed. Its been diversified!
You know what is truly annoying? People like you. White kids have a million and one fantasy heroes to look up to. Your being Asian doesn't make it okay for Hollywood to take away Asian kids' heroes by painting them white. If you don't want to stand up for Asian representation in the media then why don't you shut up and sit down?
I'm asian but I'm protesting because can't you guys even tell from the trailers that the cast members are diverse and it's NOT only white people and no asian people. Seriously you guys should be open-minded about this. I know Avatar was influenced by Asian culture but not all of the characters are Asian. And to those who are boycotting should seriously stop because it is annoying
i'm asian,and big fan of this show.could u imagine hw i disappointed.i would see this movie as another hollywood show.
The animated cartoon The Boondocks's characters DO NOT look black. Their names are but they sure don't look Black. The only one that remotely looks Black is Uncle Ruckus.
In the hypothetical feature film version of The Boondocks, let's cast Haley Joel Osment as Huey! See what happens and if people are ok with it.
They characters are clearly MEANT to be asian, as evidenced by the allusion to ancient asian cultures, the written language in the show, the eating utensils, the accents of many ancillary characters. It's a cartoon, of course they won't look like real people. But just like The Boondocks is clearly has African Americans as its subjects, Avatar is OBVIOUSLY supposed to be Asian subjects.
So they don't have overly slanted eyes, so they MUST BE white. If everything else is asian/inuit wouldn't logic dictate that they are of that ethnicity?
If you know nothing about anime, please stfu. Also, the creators have stated that they are Asian, look it up on youtube. And also how many white people do you know grow out their hair black and straight like aang did in season 3.
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