The Associated Press has run a new article spotlighting the supposed whitewashing of both The Last Airbender and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Michael Le of Racebending.com naturally wasn’t silent on the matter.
“To take this incredibly loved children’s series, and really distort not only the ethnicity of the individual characters but the message of acceptance and cultural diversity that the original series advocated, is a huge blow.”
However, Paramount was quick to come to M. Night Shyamalan’s defense.
“Night’s vision of ‘The Last Airbender’ includes a large and ethnically diverse cast that represents cultures from around the world.”
We shall see if the fans and general public will accept these casting changes once The Last Airbender arrives in theaters July 2.
Tags: Michael le, paramount, Prince of Persia, racebending, Sands of Time, shyamalan, whitewash
May 27, 2010 at 11:00 am |
LOL That article was pretty slanted too. they allowed someone to post their counter-arguement, then posted a response from the Racebenders that was frankly untrue and left it at that.
Plus I’d love to see someone mention all the roles of white charactrs who were turned into minorities for film (Nick Fury, Kingpin, Heimdall, The Honeymooners, Walking Tall, based on a real man, btw) but of course that’d be racist to complain about, it seems.
But if you want an indication of how the general public is reacting to this… let’s just say the Racebenders are experiencing some backlash, especially after someone decided to post that if you even see the movie, you’re a racist. I think this is gonna hurt them more than help.
May 27, 2010 at 4:14 pm |
Oh you forgot “I am legend”, The female lead for “the time Machine”, Harvey Dent on the Tim Burton’s “Batman” and Did you know That Morpheus was supposed to be white. This role was offered to Anthony Hopkins and Jean Connery Before it was ever offered to Laurence Fishburne.
May 28, 2010 at 12:18 am
And in the end, did it matter? Were they not good films? or in the case of the bad ones, did it have a single thing to do with an actor’s ethnicity?
May 27, 2010 at 12:13 pm |
>message of acceptance and cultural diversity
>we’re mad about white people being in it
May 27, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
I think this whole “racebending” thing is racist. They’re saying characters can’t be white because of their depiction in the series, however, the Indian cast who are playing the Fire Nation, even though they were Chinese in the show as well, aren’t getting accused of being “racist”. WHITE =/= RACIST. I’m getting tired of the racist comments always being directed towards white people. It’s simply in The Last Airbender’s case. They got the main character’s first (who fit the part through acting, not through color) and then base the culture around them. How stupid would it look for Katara and Sokka to be white and walking around their village full of natives? Pretty stupid if you ask me. It’s not “white-washed” it’s simply a movie and it’s a business choice, not a racist choice. Get off your high horse.
May 28, 2010 at 7:25 am |
Katara and Sokka WILL be walking around in a village filled with natives.
May 29, 2010 at 2:32 am
Err… Have you even seen the movie yet? How do you know for sure whether the Southern Water Tribe is entirely populated by Inuits, save for Katara, Sokka and Gran Gran? It’s likely that there are other Caucasians living in the SWT, just that we haven’t seen them yet since the movie isn’t even out. Besides, Gran Gran might not have been the only one from the Northern Water Tribe who migrated to the South Pole, there may have been others from the NWT who migrated along with her. After all, aren’t the two Water Tribes suppose to be sister tribes? It’s possible that there have been a series of migrations taking place over time between the two tribes.
May 27, 2010 at 1:34 pm |
Racebending = racist jerks!
“The greatest illusion is the illusion of seperation.” – Guru Patik
AM I THE ONLY ONE TO REMEMBER THIS LINE?! Epicness!
May 27, 2010 at 4:17 pm |
BRAVO!!
May 27, 2010 at 5:44 pm |
I am disappointed in myself for forgetting that line, but it is FAR too true for us to ignore it. That’s the thing about Avatar- it was a kid’s show to teach us how to A) tolerate other people whether they’re from different races or countries and B) show that people can change. That is what these “racebending” fanatics need to learn. We all need to learn to tolerate each other and you know, you can’t control who is being cast in a film unless you are the casting director, producer or director. End of story.
May 31, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Yes! Thank you!!!
May 31, 2010 at 4:21 pm |
Nope, you’re not the only one
I remind these boycotters all the time about this.
May 27, 2010 at 1:37 pm |
Also, no matter how you look at it, it is simply ignorant to judge the quality of a movie based solely o nthe ethnicity of actors. It is ignorant to suggest that everyone who sees it will enjoy it and is racist/white. It is uncalled for to assume that all those to see this movie are white/racist.
It is horrific that the shows message is being ignored by Racebenders, even though they themselves set out to defend it.
RACE DOESN’T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 27, 2010 at 3:22 pm |
I loved the final casting of PoP, all the characters are well portrayed, they changed Farah for Tamina, but have you see iranian men and women? or turkish? I went to turkey and have iranian friends, and a lot of them have blue eyes and have tanned “white” skin, so what is the problem?
May 27, 2010 at 4:58 pm |
Their problem is that he’s white. End of story.
May 31, 2010 at 3:16 am
The persian empire at the time was huge and encompassed the Jewish territories as well. Jake Gyllenhaal is Jewish. Thus, your point is moot.
May 31, 2010 at 1:01 pm
@ Phoenixfilms Um…. that’s not MY point. That’d be the point of those complaining.
What actually makes the point moot is that the Persians of 500-600 AD were of Aryan descent. Fair skinned, some even with blonde hair and blue eyes.
May 27, 2010 at 9:12 pm |
Lol well, the modern definition of racism is “whites vs any other ethnicity”. You could complain about MANY blacks, asians, hispanics, etc who all replaced originally white characters, but that would be “racist”. This whole term has become so one-sided, and has so much baggage to it. Honestly, when I was little I didn’t even known whites COULD be racist, since every racist act I witnessed as a child was some black person showing hatred or violence towards whites. Then as I grew older I learned that these anecdotal accounts do not portray a race as a whole, but merely individuals. By seeing it in this way, I was able to look past my previous worldview and could accept other races as the same as me…. however, it seems many (such as those who work for racebenders) have not taken this outlook, and continue to see whites as “horrible” based on anecdotal or false accounts. I honestly don’t know WHAT to do about this, because it stretches so much farther than just the movie industry… my 2 friends both applied to college, and one of them is black and the other is white. They are both very bright people, but it just happens that the white boy got much higher grades (after all, they are different individuals with different personalities, just as we all are). Well, when applying to colleges, the colleges emphasized what race you were. In the end, my friend who is white was rejected, while my friend who is black was accepted. I love both my friends and I am proud that one of my friends was accepted, but I am saddened by the rather-obvious reason for it.
Yes, this is an anecdotal account, but it is representative of a larger problem. This whole mentality of “I HAVE to treat [insert non-white minority here] with a high level of respect or I’ll be racist”, and pretty soon you find many who are racist against whites. I thought Martin Luther King Jr said “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” So why do these sites place such importance on skin color and ethnicity.
Some even use the excuse “natives can look just like the actors that are played, so why not replace them with natives?”. AGAIN this is pointing at just the subconscious mentality that they HAVE to be born native to that place, that they HAVE to be a minority or it just isn’t as good. I personally am appalled that a birth certificate means more to these people than personality, skill, or dedication.
May 27, 2010 at 9:55 pm |
Yep. Said something similar myself on the ol’ YouTube.
I’m quite infamous with those guys.
May 27, 2010 at 10:00 pm |
OH MAN, THE WHITE MAN IS SOOOOO OPPRESSED YOU GUYZ. EVERYBODY IS SOOOO RACIST AT HIM! BOOHOO.
Because it’s not about the fact that our culture caters to white men as default in everything and POCs are just trying to even that out. Racism towards white people is no where in the same ballpark of the long and continuing history of racism POC have to live with. You can say, “Being racist at all is wrong!” and you’d be right, except it’s like a man with a papercut telling a man with his limbs cut off that his pain is the same. Get some perspective on things. You just sound like ignorant elitists from another planet.
May 28, 2010 at 7:03 pm |
Seriously. You wanna know the racist history of POC too? Cuz I can name it. Let’s see: centuries before white men enslaved blacks, blacks enslaved whites. The Moors invaded Europe out of Africa and engaged in the religious and ethnic repression of the peoples under them. You’re hardpressed to find a single Asian nation that doesn’t engage in racism even today or who hasn’t committed genocide against a particular ethnic group in their own nations. The list goes on.
NOW: why aren’t people all over them for this? Is it mayhaps because they’re capable of realizing that these people aren’t the ones who were killing and oppressing? Yet for some reason, “all white folks by default have it easy”. All white folks by default are racists. All white foilks by default have to prove their “innocence” by laying down and submitting to the accusations and whims of anyone with a different skin tone or they’re racist.
Why is this double standard allowed to exist? Why is it that no one is allowed to be upset about discrimination but POC? Are you saying we’re not allowed to complain because in your opinion we haven’t suffered enough?
Do you know what all else white folks did? White folks risked their jobs, reputations, even lives to help POC escape oppression. Withe folks fought, bled and died in a war to end the greatest oppression of all. White folks marched, were beaten and even hung along side POC in order to have them granted equal rights.
Yet somehow, I guess it’s not enough, right? You want MORE blood? Payback? What exactly is it that you need to see before you’ll heed the words of Dr. King? Or will you ever?
May 31, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I’m sorry, but are you serious??????? “What exactly is it that you need to see before you’ll heed the words of Dr. King?” …. Are you serious????? … So fighting for fair and equal representation for the least represented among us (in the case of “Airbender”, Asian and Asian Americans) is somehow …. fighting against White people? Forgive me, but last I checked, this was supposed to be about The Last Airbender, not about The White Man’s Burden.
It’s funny that many of the very same people so upset at the Racebenders movement for speaking out against the casting of Non ethnic (East Asian) LEADS (key word) in an Asian Fantasy World, always manage to make this a conversation about black, yellow, and brown vs. white.
This has nothing to do with your whiteness (assuming you are white), it’s about FAIR and EQUAL representation in the media. It’s about giving children of ALL ethnic backgrounds in this “melting pot” that is America, where the population of “minorities” in on track to exceed the number whites in this country, an opportunity to see themselves on the screen. As hero’s, as good guys, as love interests, not insignificant set dressing, sidekicks, secondary roles, stereotypes, and villains (that we’re used to). And comments like this, I’m sorry to say only showcase your ignorance.
You mention Dr. King towards the end of your statement, but having the read the entirety of your comment, forgive me here, but I’m just being honest (please explain if that was not your intention) … you sound like an angry backwards bigot, or an incredibly confused and blatantly insensitive fool, using Dr. King’s message of fairness, respect, and equality as an excuse to spout your very silly stance that somehow white people are actually the ones being discriminated against. White actors/ actress in Hollywood are not at a loss for work and representation. In fact, they are over represented, with something like 80-90% of roles given going almost exclusively to white performers, and something like 70-80% of those going to men. That leaves a very small amount of roles left for women and everyone else. So, in the cases of “Airbender” and “Prince”, I don’t think it would have hurt anyone to throw underrepresented groups like Asians and Middle Eastern actors a bone, and an unfathomable opportunity to star in major motion picture about their own cultures. As a minority actress myself I can vouch for how difficult it is to find roles, let alone have someone take a chance on you. And movies like “Airbender” and “Prince” should have and could have been just the vehicles to showcase up and coming minority talent. This is an industry based on who you know NOT what you know. Talent is usually icing on the cake, but not a key ingredient for success.
This is really all I’m going to say on the subject for now, though I could go on. It just infuriates me that people always make these straw arguments that haven’t a damn thing to do with this fight is about. “Airbender” got the ball rolling, but it’s bigger than that. As I said, this is not a fight AGAINST white people or white actors, it a fight FOR everyone else. It’s not about black, yellow, and brown vs. white, the Racebenders fight is about finally breaking a ceiling so that black, yellow, and brown actors/ actresses can finally share the stage and spotlight in the same capacity as our white counterparts.
For you and others who have a problem with it, fine. You want to see the movie, fine. But don’t belittle an entire movement or the intentions of those involved when you have zero understanding of what they are actually trying to do. Just as I cannot assume from a couple of clearly bigoted statements made by those in favor of the casting that everyone who likes the cast is somehow a closeted racist, nor can you assume from some similarly worded statements by those against the casting that the entire Racebenders movement is somehow racist against white people. FYI, I’m not a member of the Racebenders, just someone who supports what they are trying to do.
May 31, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Yes “Jay” I’m dead serious. Do you know what I’m basing this on?
Statements made by the very people running the movement. I’ve had more than a few personal encounters with them. I have cases where they’ve commented and openly said some frankly very offensive things.
I’ve also happened to see that (El GASPO!) Ther ARE several leading characters that are Asian!
As well as several that are Indian. Do they not count? Zuko and Iroh, Toph and Suki, they don’t count? that’s what you’re saying?
And Lady, I suggest you take a good look at history. Persians circa the 6th Century were, in fact, white people. Aryan descendants. that his proven historical fact, confirmed by someone who specializes in entertainment on the Middle East and is Iranian himself.
If I may quote from Aiden down there:
“As published in the LA Times:
“Asked point blank by the Times of London, “Isn’t Gyllenhaal a bit pale to play a Persian?” Bruckheimer delivered this history lecture. “Persians were very light skinned,” he said. “The Turks kind of changed everything. But back in the 6th century, a lot of them were blond and blue-eyed.”
[Reza] Aslan confirmed the veracity of Bruckheimer’s historical appraisal. “Iranians are Aryans,” Aslan asserted. “If we went back in time 1,700 years to the mythological era, all Iranians would look like Jake Gyllenhaal.” ”
FYI, Reza Aslan is the co-founder of BoomGen Studios, which is a consultation and niche marketing firm specializing in creative content about the Middle East that was hired by Disney to work on the PoP film. Also, Reza is himself Iranian…”
And as for TLA, when you have a cast that embodies the very message of the show, of Dr. King himself, where all are, in fact, represented… I find it very hard to be against that. in the end, we’re all human.
May 27, 2010 at 10:13 pm |
Thank you so much everyone! You brighten my day because I know I’m not alone in this. This movie should be amazing– if not, then it has nothing to do with skin color. I doubt I’ll be dissapointed, however!
May 27, 2010 at 10:34 pm |
one thing id like to know.. these racebenders/people who have an issue with the movie’s casting of people not in their favour, how many of them are there? are there a lot? they’re fighting a lost cause, why be so passionate for something so pointless.
May 28, 2010 at 9:33 am |
I’m ready for this “movement’s” 15 minutes of fame to be over. . .
They number in the thousands but the fan base for the series numbers in the millions. They speak for less than 1% of the total fan base yet they claim to speak for all. Furthermore they condemn anyone who doesn’t agree with their opinion.
I just hope they have a lot of energy because they will need it to keep this level of outrage up for the next 6 years. I also wonder what their rhetoric will look be when movie 2 comes out. I’ve already seen people paint Toph as a “minor” character (because it suits their rhetoric). If she’s a “minor” character in the movie then she’s been a minor character all along in the show because that’s who the character will be based on.
May 28, 2010 at 11:49 am |
You’re argument is fair and just. As a black person, it has always been people always treating with slight hesitation. People need to rap their head around what is racist. Maybe we have gone so far out of the way to be racist we have fallen back in again. I am a complete rebel against racebender, however, they do have a good point against whitewashing. I believe it is hard to judge whitewashing when it comes to adaptations for obvious reasons.
Also, there is a difference with prince of Persia and avatar the last airbender. Prince of Persia is set in Persia with Persian characters. Avatar is based on the culture of different places and combine them as a setting for a completely new world. It is not fair, In my opinion. To compare the two.
One more thing, we live in a completely diverse world. There is no way in this day and age, that a film like pop would have pure, pure, pure white people in it. And only white people.
May 28, 2010 at 12:59 pm |
This is so stupid. When the original show came out. Asians were saying it was a cheap imitation of anime. Now it seems Asians are upset that Asians aren’t being cast in the movie.
Racebenders don’t have a clear understanding of the casting process. And did you all forget that M. Night is casting them. You can’t really beleive he is biased towards white people.
May 28, 2010 at 10:03 pm |
What are you talking about?!The racebenders understand the casting process REAL well. The casting call was a bit specific about the race of people they wanted to cast as the leads. It said “Caucasian and any other ethnicity”.
I’d also like to point out for the millionth time that Avatar is based on ASIAN culture. The creators of the show went out of their way to make sure that they got everything right – that everything in the Avatar world was was the same as ancient Asian culture and beliefs. They went as far as to learning martial arts themselves just so they could interpret it well in the series. They had respect for the culture.
AND Mike and Bryan aren’t exactly FOR the casting either.
Avatar is cool because of the culture and myth put into it. It’s cool because it was different from any other American cartoon I’ve seen. Many fans fell in love with it because of that. True fans would stay true to the series.
Go ahead and watch the movie. OBVIOUSLY no one can stop you. You have your opinion and the racebenders have theirs. And the racebenders are not condemning people who don’t share the same opinion as them…you guys seem to be doing that, calling the racebenders stupid even though you don’t know EVERYTHING that they’re about and the things they stand for.
By the way – just a quick note, Sifu Kisu, the martial arts expert that worked in the series, supports the Racebenders.
Wouldn’t be surprised if my comment is not published but I’m hoping it does.
May 28, 2010 at 10:26 pm
You wounded me with that barb Lucy.
May 28, 2010 at 10:47 pm
LOL so based on one casting sheet and regardless of the actual casting breakdown that the directors were given, you’re gonna cling to a poorly worded casting call that doesn’t exactly say “White only” in the first place? LOL! WOW!
Not to mention the Asian culture IS present in the film, in fact with greater detail. Surtas in Aaang’s tattoo, names being pronounced correctly, the philosophy, architecture, still there.This is M. Night’s freaking mythos, people. He was raised on stuff like this, he knows what it requires.
Never ceases to amaze me how you guys auto assume you’ll be victimized on a blog that’s allowed you to post your beliefs freely in the past. that’s always golden.
May 29, 2010 at 4:43 am
Actually beardofpower, they haven’t always posted my comments otherwise I wouldn’t have said that.
That’s exactly the point. If everything else can be Asian why can’t the actors? It’s not just one casting call sheet…it basically meant that other races were second choice. I don’t know if you know this but even Zuko would’ve been played by a Caucasian. Remember the same Racebenders protesting against that? That’s why they re-cast Zuko as Dev Patel. Zuko was to be played by Jesse McCartney and Admiral Zhao by Jason Isaacs who voices the same character in the series. Yes, I know that Jesse McCartney had to do a concert but they could’ve easily gotten another Caucasian actor but they didn’t BECAUSE of the protesting.
I do respect the fact that Night is putting in the details and other cultures. So what exactly does the movie “require”? The series already had enough detail as well as a perfect plot and history.
Sokka and Katara are Caucasians, in an Inuit village which is poor…then they find out that their actually from the Northern Water tribe which consists of mainly Caucasians and is more developed than that of the South. And it still doesn’t make sense as to why they don’t look like the others in the South. It was just their grandmother that was from the North, their grandfather could’ve been Pakku (which I doubt since Gran Gran didn’t like Pakku and ran away while they were engaged) but there’s more of a chance that it was an Inuit so their Father was half which made their mother full Inuit since he couldn’t have gone all the way to the North to get married which make Sokka and Katara more Inuit than Caucasian.
May 29, 2010 at 7:05 am
Just to clear something up; besides some vague references made by Isaacs himself, he has never been mentioned by the production company as a viable live action Admiral Zhao. To imply that he didn’t get the role as some form of “damage control” over racist casting choices is incorrect. Mandvi was already being vetted for the role of Admiral Zhao, when the term “race bending” was created. Also, not to imply any sort of restriction on opinion, I would like to remind everyone, this film has been made. As in, the casting choice is irreversible.
May 29, 2010 at 7:19 am
Alright, let’s break this down again, shall we?
We have a casting breakdown that lists nothing about ethnicity, everything about personality. We have a casting call put out by one distributor (there were more, btw) that was poorly worded, yet not exclusive. We have M. Night’s confirmation that the first choice for Zuko was NOT Jesse McCartney, but an Ecuadorian young man who had to drop out. We have M. Night somehow just happening to schedule his camps at the same time as Captain Star Power’s concerts, little too coincidental to be an accident IMO, but that’s my opinion and nothing more. We then have Dev being cast, who M. Night had been interested in as well since his first line read for him. We have the Fire Nation thus being cast to reflect their main figurehead, which means that yes, even Zhao must change. (In other words, Zhao would have to be white if Zuko was, but since he’s not, he can’t be). We have Nicola Peltz being M. Night’s choice for the role back when he first pitched the film idea for Paramount. Therefore her family must be portrayed as such as well. We have a nation of mixed-ethnic Air Nomads, We have an entirely Asian Earth Kingdom. We have a kid who looks near Identical to Aang playing Aang. We still have every cultural marking from the show, and MORE, considering what was placed into Aang’s tattoo as well as correct pronunciation.
We also have you somehow assuming a young lady from the Northern Water Tribe is somehow going to split for the Southern Water Tribe completely alone. A trip completely solo to the other side of the world would be unlikely, but no one can confrim or deny that, so…
But most importantly of all: we have an immensely diverse cast in a film based on a series that carried the message that no matter who’s done what to whom in the past, those reflect on those individulas, not the people as a whole, and that we are all one race of people. That’s essentially personafied in this.
Now I’m sorry if somehow seeing a certain skin color on screen makes you unable to see that, but perhaps you just missed the point the whole time. it may do you some good to rewatch the series and take the message to heart.
Either way, know this. I’m seeing this film. Maybe more than once. And I’m shwoing my ticket stubs on YouTube and sending that video right to Racebending. Because I refuse to let a bunch of narrow-minded race-baiters shove me around.
Have a nice day.
May 30, 2010 at 5:15 am
@beardofpower
“We also have you somehow assuming a young lady from the Northern Water Tribe is somehow going to split for the Southern Water Tribe completely alone. A trip completely solo to the other side of the world would be unlikely, but no one can confrim or deny that, so…”
Exactly. Although it’s not confirmed yet, I doubt Katara, Sokka and Gran Gran are the only Caucasians in the SWT. As far as we are concerned, Gran Gran might not have been the only one from the NWT who migrated to the South Pole as there may have been others who went along with her. Of course this is just speculation, but it’s a plausible explanation on why Katara and Sokka resemble more of their Northern relatives than their Southern ones.
Besides, the extras used for the SWT are NOT entirely pure Inuits, but are actually Inuit-Danish MIXED, which makes up most of the population in Greenland due to Denmark having sovereignty over that place for centuries.
May 29, 2010 at 2:53 pm |
I don’t think it’s the fact that white people are in the movie, I think it’s that in the series there are no other races besides Asian and natives. There’s Chinese writings everywhere and styles of fighting, in the television series, but in the movie there isn’t a single Asian. I’m African-American and I am offended by the casting job that M. Night decided to do. There were no complaints about the SERIES not having Africans or Europeans (Caucasians) and you see how well it did so why change it? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Also they took out the sense of humor that was in the television series, for what? I have the foggiest, but he (M. Night) decided to do it. I feel the sense of humor gave the show a tid bit of realism to it by showing that through all of what was going on, they were still kids and found time to joke and play because that’s what children do. Another thing is that M. Night has it so that the fire and water nations can ONLY bend if there is fire or water around, when clearly they state in the show that the Fire Nation draws their power and source from the sun. Do you know how off it would look for the fire nation to walk around during the day with torches for just in case they need to bend? Basically what I’m saying is, like i mentioned earlier (“if it ain’t broke don’t fix it), that the director isn’t staying true to the series and that’s what, I believe, people are upset about.
May 29, 2010 at 3:45 pm |
I still say the largest mistake was the changing of name pronunciation. I was watching the episode The Siege of the North , and Hahn (Yue’s fiancé) mispronounces Sokka’s name as Soak-a (the film approved pronunciation). In the past, the mispronunciation by Hahn would make me chuckle, but now it makes me ill to know that I’ll have to hear it throughout the entire film.
May 29, 2010 at 6:57 pm
And I’m sure the folks that actually use these names would say the same about the show. Personally, I don’t care either way.
May 29, 2010 at 7:04 pm |
Dude, it’s the same principle with the Water Tribe. They draw power from the Moon, yet they still have to have a source to bend from. This actually balances it out.
Secondly, the humor is more subdued, but it is in there. There just isn’t time to fit the bulk of the story, which IS serious, into a film if you include constant little diversions. Plus if a line involving Appa in the novelization is any indication… Sokka is still Sokka.
Thirdly, The fighting styles are still there (and are frankly practiced everywhere by everyone, but hey) as is pretty much every single other cultural marker.
And finally: “Not a single Asian in this movie”? I guess Randall Duk Kim in the trailer don’t count.
But seriously the ENTIRE Earth Kingdom is Asian as well as many of the Air Nomads, who are a little bit of everything.
This frankly helps illustrate the entire point of the series, too.
May 30, 2010 at 1:01 am |
When I first heard that Sokka and Katara were going to be white, I thought M. Night was being a little racist of white people actually, lol. So it is funny some people are saying the opposite. I mean he is Indian, and he said in a video that Zuko was his favorite character, and Zuko is now Indian. And he made the other characters of Katara and Sokka have a Russian look. So the opposite kind of makes sense too.
Which reminds me. Polish, Italians, Irish, Portuguese, Russians, etc are all considered “White”, think about it. So on what planet in the universe that has humans would there be no white people??? I’m Sure M. Night was just trying to keep things more realistic.
May 31, 2010 at 12:40 am |
Personally, I’ve considered the arguments of the racebenders with an open mind, and don’t think that there’s enough to give credence to the huge fuss they’re stirring up (or that they want to stir up).
As for accusing PoP of whitewashing? That’s a massive fail right there.
As published in the LA Times:
“Asked point blank by the Times of London, “Isn’t Gyllenhaal a bit pale to play a Persian?” Bruckheimer delivered this history lecture. “Persians were very light skinned,” he said. “The Turks kind of changed everything. But back in the 6th century, a lot of them were blond and blue-eyed.”
[Reza] Aslan confirmed the veracity of Bruckheimer’s historical appraisal. “Iranians are Aryans,” Aslan asserted. “If we went back in time 1,700 years to the mythological era, all Iranians would look like Jake Gyllenhaal.” ”
FYI, Reza Aslan is the co-founder of BoomGen Studios, which is a consultation and niche marketing firm specializing in creative content about the Middle East that was hired by Disney to work on the PoP film. Also, Reza is himself Iranian, so you can hardly accuse him of being biased against Persian actors.
May 31, 2010 at 11:26 am |
I have to say that it never fails to amaze me how truly blind some people are, then I have to remind myself that those who tend be blind to issues of discrimination tend to have never and will never be on the receiving end of it. Therefore, they have the choice and the privilege of ignoring it. That’s when you get those who say things like:
People who argue that movie is racists/ discriminatory are the real racists … How? I guess MLK was racist, too. (pointing out racism/ discrimination doesn’t make you racist, it usually makes you the minority, no pun intended)
It’s a cartoon, it doesn’t matter who they cast … Really? So the cast of the live action Rugrats movie could be cast with a bunch of little Black and Mexican babies. And the live action Jimmy Neutron can be East Indian or Japanese. The live action Boondocks should be cast white, right?
I’m post racial, I don’t see race, I’m colorblind … That’s sounds really swell, but in a situation like this, that is nothing more than an excuse to continue being willingfully ignorant to an issue that you obviously don’t understand and clearly don’t want to. (So yes, it is a bit like sticking your head in the sand)
The characters look white … To you, maybe. And you know what, that’s fine, whatever floats your boat.
There’s nothing at all Asian about the cartoon … except for the names … oh and the clothing … and the architecture, calligraphy, martial arts, belief systems, customs, traditions, mythology, eating utensils, and anyone over the age of 15 (but of course we all know everyone starts out white and turns ethnic at puberty, I was white as a kid too, I turned black at 12) … There’s more I’m sure, but I’m not as well versed as some.
They chose the best actors for the job … (as an actress myself, and a damned good one I’ve been told, I find this hard to believe) All of the best actors in Hollywood just happen to white? Oh, I’m sorry, the best CHILD actors, I get it! Brandon Soo Hoo, you mean Brandon Soo can’t act …
The kid playing Aang looks Asian, and might actually be Asian … And he may. Not. My sister looks Asian, a little dark, but she gets pegged for Filipino all the time, wait, maybe she is, because slanty eyes are exclusive to Asians, just like Blue and Green eyes are exclusive to White folk, right?
It’s a fantasy world, not the real world, so it doesn’t matter what race they are … Exactly, just like it didn’t matter in LoTR … wait, oh no, I mean, just like it didn’t matter in Harry Potter … oh, wait. Hang on, I mean just like it didn’t matter in Clash of the, oh, that’s no good either. Give me some time, I’ll find one … Ah ah! Earhsea! Talk about your colorblind casting.
The fact is, to those who have an issue with the “Racebender Movement”, it’s obviously not your fight anyway, so you have no reason to be upset. If you’re happy with the cast, fine. If you think this just a bunch of folks wasting their time with nothing else better to do. Fine. But I for one, as a minority, as a female, and as an actress, am glad to see people taking a stand against this. I have been in this industry since graduating college. I remember having a casting agent come to our school to tell us (I went to an HBCU, by the way) that the industry although, it has and is making strides, is still an unfair industry. We were told back then, by this white casting agent, that many of the roles he gets are for exclusively white characters, mostly males, and that if were we going to make a name for ourselves that we would have to depend on more than just our talent, because at the end of the day, talent isn’t what production companies are banking on. It’s profitability. And White sells. (His words not mine, and five years later it still applies)
I took what he said, but it didn’t become real until I got into it. Having agent after agent tell me how great I was, then get the “You know, you’re really talented and it’s rare that we find such ‘raw’ talent, but we were really planning on going with a more ‘traditional’ casting.” (That’s code for White, for those unfamiliar) … It’s more than just disheartening, it’s infuriating. I went into acting because it’s my passion, and as a kid I didn’t see enough POSITIVE ‘real looking’ black female role models. (No offense to Halle and Zoe). I’ve landed many roles in spite of it, I must admit. Apparently, not only am I talented, but I’m exotic and sexy, and to hell with classical training I make a great vixen, or hoe, or bitch, or bitchy vixen. I love all genres and want to play all types of characters, but I am constantly relegated to the bitchy best friend, the ho’ish best friend, just the best friend, the abusive mother, the crackhead, the crackhead mother, the first to die (and I know it), or on a positive side, the slave – you know, black roles. This is what minorities in this industry are faced with. So, when an opportunity like this one comes along, where minorities actually have or should have a chance to play the hero, a hero that comes from a world inspired by existing cultures and in the case of Airbender, Asian, and in a non-stereotypical way and the opportunity is squandered in a backwards attempt at diversifying a show that was already diverse, it’s no longer just about the show, it’s not just a cartoon anymore, it is discrimination regardless of intent. And yes, it should and needs to be address, because if it’s not, if everyone sits on their hands and makes excuses, or allows themselves to be dazzled by the ‘friggin’ awesome special effects!!!’ then nothing will ever change. Nothing in this world matters, because nothing in this world happens until it happens to you.
May 31, 2010 at 12:59 pm |
LOL Here’s the problem. Brandon Soo Hoo looks nothing like Aang. Noah both looks like and can act like him. that trumps it.
Secondly, I DO love how you’re willing to overlook the fact that there are Asian, Indian, black and Biracial actors in this cast. Which speaks volumes to me that th]e ones who can’t see past sking color is you guys. And don’t try giving me any crap about the Earth Kingdom being minor when they’re the entire focus of Book 2/Film 2 and Toph is not only a main character, but arguably the most popular.
And finally, when you’re whining about getting stereotypical roles… why are you so upset that they didn’t cast Asians in stereotypical roles? Oh, but then they did… just not the right ones, I guess?
May 31, 2010 at 4:40 pm |
This response is a mixture to ALL of your comments I’ve seen on this article’s page:
Look Jay, before you start calling others ‘ignorant’ just because they don’t agree with you, read this. We are all human, we who’re all for this movie are NOT racist or ignorant, the casting is diverse and NOT racist and the casting practices for this movie were FAIR. It was an OPEN CASTING CALL, so stop your whinning and stop covering these facts with your lies just because you’re butthurt about the ethnicities of the actors. Not wanting a specific ethnicity in this movie is very racist, even towards white people; if you believe that racism towards white people doesn’t exist then YOU are the ignorant fool. Why don’t you take a few history lessons and see for yourself that many times ‘white-skinned’ people were being tortured and treated badly. Guru Pathik in the show even SAID, “The greatest illusion is the illusion of seperation.” so why don’t you take his wisdom and put it to good use instead of whinning about the actors ethnicities. And also, the show was taking place on a FANTASY world, where there was NO ASIA, only Water, Earth, Fire and Air nations. There might be Asian themes in the show but that does NOT mean the characters were defaulted into being Asian or any other ethnicity! Which means it’s perfectly fine for a person of any skin color to play them in the movie. You have to learn to accept this and move on with your life and worry about other things more important. If you don’t want to see this movie, fine, don’t, but don’t tell others not to see it because you think it’s racist and don’t call them racist or ignorant. And also, don’t spread lies about it like I’ve seen many other boycotters do, it just shows you want to shove your ideals down their throats which is very annoying.
June 2, 2010 at 1:38 pm |
“It’s a cartoon, it doesn’t matter who they cast … Really? So the cast of the live action Rugrats movie could be cast with a bunch of little Black and Mexican babies. And the live action Jimmy Neutron can be East Indian or Japanese. The live action Boondocks should be cast white, right?”
Sure, why not?
As far as I know, the race of the babies in Rugrats was never that important to the storyline – but then, I haven’t watched it in a long time.
Meanwhile, I’m pretty certain race has NOTHING to do whatsoever with Jimmy Neutron’s storyline, save for moments when Shean (sp?) alludes to his Spanish heritage, but then you don’t have to be of Spanish origin to be a part of Spanish culture, so no problems there. In fact, it’d be pretty groundbreaking to have a Japanese character who was raised in the Spanish culture.
I haven’t seen The Boondocks, so I’m not sure what that’s about. If race does play a role in the storyline, then yeah maybe switching the races could be a problem, I don’t know.
However, that does not apply to Avatar. The world alludes a lot to Asian cultures, no doubt about that, but is there anything about the characters that say that they have to be Asian or else the storyline would make no sense?
Not really, mostly because it’s not our world.
I’ve always thought that Racebending was just a bunch of people who are mad that the movie characters don’t look like the cartoon characters pretending to care about race while surrounding a small, core group of people who actually does care about the racial representation and all that good stuff.
June 2, 2010 at 3:56 pm
The majority of the movement is just that.
June 2, 2010 at 1:59 pm |
Oh yeah, and as for this:
“The fact is, to those who have an issue with the “Racebender Movement”, it’s obviously not your fight anyway, so you have no reason to be upset.”
It’s hard not to get upset when you also say:
“I have to say that it never fails to amaze me how truly blind some people are,”
Great, so we’re blind for disagreeing with you. Nice.
June 2, 2010 at 10:20 pm |
That’s it. I’m seeing this movie for the characters . . . mostly for Dev Patel. My favorite actor. I support the Racebender cause, I suppose. Just not the way people talk about Dev especialy. Like he didn’t audition for Zuko on his own free will . . . and like he won’t be a damn good one a that! The very best, i’m sure. Because he’s Dev . . . not because of his race and skin color.
That doesn’t mean anything, right?
June 4, 2010 at 4:29 pm |
Myself, my 14 year old step-son and my 3 year old son are all fans of Aang and company. From the TV spots and trailers I’ve seen the effects look outstanding. I wouldn’t expect any less from ILM but effects can’t carry a movie.
The actress for Katara seems whiny and weepy….huh?
Sokka and his sister are caucasion (maybe Saami) in a village of Inuit…what?
They appear to be digging Aang out of the ice…ok, way off.
Suki and the girls are sans make-up….getting worse.
Aang…why so serious…your character isn’t like that at all.
The more I dig the worse it gets.
I’ll see it on cable or at a $1.00 vending machine.
The casting choices will be their own reward.
Oh and by the way, I’m a long-time DareDevil reader/fan and loved Michael Clarke Duncan as The Kingpin.
June 4, 2010 at 6:03 pm |
bearing in mind, of course, that Katara did have her emotional moments, those folks there are actually Inuit-Danish mixed, and Katara and Sokka’s family came from the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka makes a simple crack in the ice and Aang comes out on his own after his giant globe rises up and that film trailers tend to focus on the serious moments. (Even in most of Jackie Chan’s films, and he’s hilarious)…
And who DIDN’T like MCD as Kingpin? Best person out there to play him, I think, the only truely good thing about that movie, and an ingenious method of using his suit to make him appear fat and have him all muscled underneath. An excellent compromise.
June 4, 2010 at 6:52 pm |
I don’t think there was racism intended in the cast at all. This is probably what happened… M. Night wanted the different areas of the Avatar world to be different ethnicities, because it is a whole world and not just part of a world.
Early on he wanted Commander Zhao to be played by his voice actor in the show Jason Isaacs. That meant the fire nation would be a European look. So he got interested in Rathbone and Peltz. Rathbone said early on that he was auditioning for the roll of Zuko, but he was so good as Sokka that he was switched. M. Night also said Peltz was so good an actress he would not do the movie without her. So he made her his sister Katara.
The fire nation eventually got switched to mostly Indian (because of the good acting of Patel, Curtis, and Toub. And I think M. Night always planned on keeping the Earth Kingdom mostly Asian.
Noah, who is half Asian both looks, acted, and has the martial arts experience for the part of Aang. M. Night even said, he found Aang in the world and just made him an actor.
So in the end M. Night looks like a white guy who is racist. But he is really just an Indian Director who focuses on how well people interact with each other and not skin color.
June 18, 2010 at 5:00 am |
Alright, I’m gonna put MY two cents in this.
Yes, i’m mad about the whitewashed cast. Not because ‘oh, them white folks dun took them spots! oh lawdy! What we gon’ do!?’ I mean, this cartoon was inspired by the exotic cultures of the inuits and the asians. Let’s face it: Asians-Americans arent reconized in alot of movies or in any movies at all. If they arent named Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Bruce Lee, they wont be known or seen at all. Think about it.
Everyone saying ‘oh! the Racebenders are complete idiots and their info isnt justified!’ or this and that. Seeing from BOTH sides, gotta see that the main leads being casted as white will put thorns in people’s side. As I dont like the whitewash, i’m MORE upset that they’ve casted these people and we dont know how well their acting skills are.
Jackson Rathbourne(This i’ll be a bit biased since i am anti-Twilight)being cast as Sokka, it put a slight thorn in my side because I dont want to look at Sokka and all i see is Jasper from Twilight on the screen. But aside from the whole Twilight thing and aside from his skin, he may pull it off. But then again, being in Twilight, he was a side(more background) character aside from Mary-Sue “Bella” Swan and Sparkly “Edward” McBloodSuckFairy and Jacob
Nicola Peltz…I’ve NEVER heard of this girl in my life. I know people said ‘oh! She came from Deck the Halls!’ Seriously, I’ve not seen one movie that showed her acting skills because(as i’ve read up)she’s recieved such background roles, how are we certain that she’ll be the ideal Katara? Seriously? She doesnt have to be the big big names and such but i’d like to atleast say ‘Where have I heard that name before? OH! I didnt know that she came from that movie! yeah she’s gonna rock this movie!’
Dev Patel…Well, I liked him in Slumdog Millionaire. To take a character whom has the greatest character development will be a challenge and i hope he pulls it off VERY well. And since he doesnt count within the ‘whitewash’, it’s weird to see Zuko as an Indian than Japanese. That’s me though. But either way i hope Dev Patel pulls it off very well
Noah Ringer…No comment. he looks pretty similiar to Aang but when you’ve watched the series for so long and are accustomed to his high voice, it’s weird to hear this actor with a deep voice playing him. It’s probably me.
I dont like the white wash but I’d rather see actors who arent BIG names but I can say ‘Oh! they came from this/that movie!’ than actors who were pretty much just actors who were just at the side and have never taken a lead role in their life. It’s one thing for an actor to spring out of no where and their names are immediately in life, it’s another if actors have been there but no one has ever heard of any other movie they’ve played in.
Literally.
June 18, 2010 at 5:01 am |
Ugh crap
*Lights
June 19, 2010 at 12:12 am |
Well, this is gonna be interesting to reply to.
First and foremost: I reffer you to M. Night’s reasoning behind his choices:
“Well here’s the thing. The great thing about Anime is that it’s ambiguous. The features of the character are an intentional mix of all features. It’s indented to be ambiguous – that’s completely it’s point. And so when we watch Katara, my oldest daughter is literally like a photo-double of Katara in the cartoon. So that means that Katara is Indian, correct? No, that’s just in our house. And her friends that watch it, they see themselves in it, and that’s what’s so beautiful about Anime. When we were casting, I didn’t care who walked through my door. Whoever’s the best for the parts, I’m going to figure out like through a chess game. Ideally we separate the nations ethnically – ideally. But I don’t know how or what it’s going to be. It was so fluid, the casting.
For example, if you found a great brother, but it didn’t go with my favorite Katara, then I couldn’t use him. Theoretical things like that would happen. There was an Aang that I really loved, but he was like 5 foot 10. There’s all kinds of issues that come to the table. I kept having a board of all the people that I was considering. There was at one time a – I think their background was Chinese – a Sokka and Katara. One of them was a better actor than the other, and I was gathering my pros and cons. “Let’s say that was that, what would the Fire Nation be?” And you just do that. Being without agenda and letting it come to the table. Noah’s like a photo double for the cartoon; I mean he’s literally spot-on. To me, the best part is, I didn’t really know their backgrounds. Noah, for me, has a slightly mixed quality look to him – so I cast Airbenders as all mixed race. So when you see the monks and that stuff, they’re all mixed. And it kind of goes with the nomadic culture that over the years all different nationalities came to the table. The Fire Nation was the most complicated. I kept switching who was playing Zuko. It was such a complicated and drawn out thing about practical matters. The first person I was considering for Zuko was Ecuadorian. So I started thinking that way. And then when that person couldn’t do it, the second person who came in was much more Caucasian. I was like, “well then we have to switch the others. Alright, now how are we doing this?” What is the Earth Kingdom was always the issue because the second movie is so dominated by that group, and will represent most of the movie, but it has a small, small part in the first movie. That was important. It just sort of came into being and started to distill.
Dev came into the picture really early on – he had auditioned for me in London. He’s kind of like a sweet guy, but he did such a great reading. I always go for the actor. When I was doing The Sixth Sense, you literally read the script of The Sixth Sense and [Cole’s] dark haired, black eyed. I always pictured the kid from Searching for Bobby Fisher as the lead of The Sixth Sense. “We are not casting hiring any blonde L.A. kids, okay? Don’t even bring them in!” And Haley came in… “You got the part!” How can you not have him play the part? So that’s always been my lean. I have hopes of what I want them to be. My hope was that this movie would be incredibly diverse. When we look back on the three movies, without peer, they were the most diverse movies of all time. And that is the case when you watch the movie. It’s not like an agenda like when you see a picture of a kid’s school with kids on the swings and there’s one from each background – it’s not like that. It’s a real thing. This nation has this ethnicity and when we go deep into that culture, we’ll see more and more of that. Again, Dev ended up being my choice for Zuko. I looked for an uncle that could be in that realms. For a moment there I thought of Ben Kingsly. Shuan Toub, who I loved in Iron Man, took us into kind of a Mediterranean, Arab and Indian world. I can go as far as that. That would be the breadth of the Fire Nation – that kind of look.
For me, Nicola had a lot of Russian qualities and European qualities, so that’s where I was going to go there. Just like that, whoever we ended up with, I said that’s their nationality. Suki was Jessica, who is a mix of Pilipino and stuff. So the Earth Kingdom is going to be all Asain. Toph now will have to be Asian. Like that. I looked at the board and I said “this works for me.” And there’s a section of that’s African-American cause it’s such a big land I felt you could have some diversity in there as you travel through the different cities. So, more so than the show, it will have a much more diverse ethnic background. It’s not an agenda for me, but it’s something I’m super proud of; that when my kids look at, or any kids look at it, they’ll see themselves in the movie.”
Second of all, I’m gonna say this: It’s GOOD to have unknown actors play these kinds of roles. Seriously good.
Now would you like to hear why?
Because the moment you bring in a well-known actor to play a lead… it just becomes another of “their” movies. Another chuck Norris movie, another Jet Li movie, another Jackie Chan movie, another George Clooney movie, another Cameron Diaz movie, etc. They associate it less with the characters and more with the actors. It ruins the mythos… I can’t tell you how ticked i was going in to see LOTR only to hear girls behind me somewhat loudly fangirling over “Orlando Bloooooom!” every time he came on screen. It’s refreshing to know that the most we’d have to worry about that with is Jackson Rathbone, and since he’s not a huge character in those films (and I didn’t actually even know he was in them until I was told) we shouldn’t have to worry about that near as much.
And finally, in terms of Noah’s voice… it’s not actually deep. What you heard was a clip of audio from when he was in a highly emotional state. If you really wanna hear his actual voice… go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCMVVhkZVIo
And to see Jackson act like Sokka… here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ9BHQnVuCs
June 24, 2010 at 5:04 pm |
Just because the this fictional world is based on Asian culture, doesn’t mean the people in this fictional world have to be asian.
One of these characters are black in the movie. (The Fortune Teller) I’m surprised people arent complaining that she isn’t asian.
What if the actor who portrays Haru is non Asian? Like Black, or something. What if the best actress for Toph ends up being is a 10 year old latina girl?
I see no difference. This isn’t about white washing, this is about making every character East Asian. Calling this movie white washing when the numbers prove it’s not (6 credited actors for this film are white 18 others are non white) It’s just being being against a movie that has more non Asians than Asians (Even though most of the non Asians are also not White) and masking that hatred under the guise of white washing.
July 1, 2010 at 3:54 pm |
Race is an issue here. This is an Asian/Inuit based fantasy. Prince of Persia is about a Prince of Persian decent. The princess is Indian. Strangely enough, her servants were actual Indians.
The only people making it an issue are those who continue to cast white actors in cultural roles that clearly non-white.
Would you have absolutely no problem with every hero in LOTR being played by non-white actors? With the servants, background, and villains remaining white?
How would you feel if this were a routine practice something, when depicting your race onscreen?
July 19, 2010 at 5:53 pm |
I love how black people can be a part of ANY conversation about race even when its not about them lol!
To those who were quick to point out those “white” roles that went to blacks. I suggest you read the blog the “yellow face” over 90 asian roles played by whites actors throughout this century ( no I didn’t count the eurasian 3d renders ).
Othello has been played by white actors until well 2005,there are actual pictures of those “black faces” of from the 1920s till the 80s.
There are countless of other examples by I am sure you all can use your search engine. It will refresh your memory. I have the remind you all that we are talking abour lead roles ,those are the most importants.Nobody ever remember a sidekick , perhaps only when the plotlines are centered around that particular character ( which is rarely the case ).
I have never seen an asian actor “steal” a cherished lead role from a white actor, this is not going to happen in my lifetime .Most times when there is an asian role it is always .
a- a supporting role
b- the actual asian is female AND Eurasian
c-she is just the white male’s mattress ( dragon ball, the mummy etc.. )
Do I need to remind you how famous hollywood actors played hispanics and native americans ( to death ) , egyptians, syrians . Hell white actors have played EVERYONE.There are so many examples in the contemporary cinema.
Oh oui , no wait Mickey Rourke is going to play Gengis Khan and Angeline Jolie is going to play an egyptian.Its not like we don’t have enough good actors who can tackle this canvas.
I watched my favourite show “Castle” uninterrupted for 22 months.There is just one minority in the whole show, and guess what.She plays a total of 19 seconds per episode and 24 sec at most.And most times she talks about some random cuts and bruises and then “clack ” she disappears.Even the random witnesses in the crime scenes gets more airplay.I am laughing right now because this ridiculous.
Post scriptum. This is for the grammar “Têtes à claques” Fichez-moi la paix!.