~00TheFool

of the Major Arcana

Profile

Gallery

Prints

Faves

Journal

About Me Member deviantART Loather 00TheFool16/Female/United States

Recent Activity Deviant for 1 Year
Needs Premium Membership

Statistics 10 Deviations
76 Comments
1,139 Pageviews

Newest

Halfway
by ~00TheFool

Gaia: Suurie
by ~00TheFool

You've Got The Wrong Guy
by ~00TheFool

Commssion: Swift
by ~00TheFool

Browse Gallery

Random Favourites

sketch-WIP-etc-duct-tape-idk
by *NorthernBanshee

Lookin for my Home
by *wakkawa

Your Song
by *wakkawa

duedate....
by ~blacksataguni

Browse Favourites

Watchers

*somecanadiangirl	~2013
~OoO-kawaiiObsessed	~DioDellaMorte
~juliajulia129	~Bricru
~BaconLady	~purplepenguin25
*pinkversusblack	~jjck003

Fave News

1790 Love Unites Print Remix Contest w/ Shepard Fairey - Nov 13, 2009
37 Matchbox Twenty Madness Contest! - Sep 21, 2009
2594 The Beasts of 9 Creature Contest - Sep 1, 2009
87 CSS journal ---feature--- - May 25, 2009
53 Learning CSS: Getting Started - Apr 30, 2009

Why I suspect Discrimination in The Last Airbender

Sun Jul 26, 2009, 4:48 PM

Mood: On Strike

^{(I know no one will read this but I need to vent)
*update: added the EWP to the employees
**updated: MANAA letter situation with Paramount}
***Sifu Kisu holds up racebending sign and Mike and Bryan drew Aang 'more Asian' in SDCC'09 Poster (OMG FTW)

The characters are Asian and the parts were hand rolled to all white actors.

I don't need to explain why I would find this a little fishy.
Still don't think it's Discriminating?

Name one American movie in 5 Mississippi's on the top of your head that didn't have to do with Asia or Asian culture or martial arts that had an Asian Actor as a strong lead role without the need of help from some white dude/sidekick.
Then
Name one American movie in 5 Mississippi's that had no ethnic specifics with a White Actor as a strong lead role.
Which was a lot easier?

Discrimination Symptoms

They Hand rolled the parts
Meaning closed audition. M. Night already had in mind who he wanted. They didn't even try to look and audition for other actors that had better similarity or better acting skills.

They hand rolled Zuko to Jesse McCartney
You really think the people were thinking "We need the best actors in the business!" when they chose Pop singer Jesse McCartney to play the most complex character in the whole series? If you seen this guy act, all the parts he played were either himself or some one dimensional pretty boy next door that all the girls go googoogaga over-- basically himself again.
and may I quote his exact words of his interview when he was casted:

The original Katara and Sokka are NOT EVEN literally white
Enough said.

Evil Brown guy chases Three White Minors around the world
quoted from Racebending.com
* The Fire Nation (genocidal villains) will be brown/SE Asian.
* The Earth Nation (indecisive, saved by white heroes) will be East Asian and African.
* The Air Nomads (peace-loving, oppressed saviour and hero) will be Caucasian.
* The Water Tribe (oppressed, Inuit-based, brown-skinned, brave heroes) will be Caucasian.

I don't see the diversity when Caucasions are still majority having occupied two tribes, not to mention they're good-hearted tribes. And Asians and Africans are clumped up together in one tribe. Not to mention there will still be Caucasians in the Fire Nation.

"Caucasian or any other ethnicity"
Exact description for the casting call for main roles.
If they were looking for any ethnicity there is no point to put "Caucasian" in there. Last time I checked that was any other ethnicity too.

"If you're Korean, wear a kimono. If you're from Belgium, wear lederhosen."
Courtesy of Casting Director DeeDee Ricketts. This is when they were casting for extras and wanted them to be of traditional clothing. Yes he said those exact words, not to mention he also said to those who didn't come in traditional clothing,
"It doesn't mean you're at a disadvantage if you didn't come in a big African thing. But guys, even if you came with a scarf today, put it over your head so you'll look like a Ukrainian villager or whatever."

In for "Authentic Asians" a.k.a Darker skin extras
After they replaced Jesse McCartney with Dev Patel as the 'like Evil Prince' they ofcourse needed darker skinned extras.
What Casting Director DeeDee Ricketts said,
"There's been some talk that we're casting authentic Asians as a response to the backlash, which is totally wrong because our world is multi-ethnic and the 'Avatar' world will be multi-ethnic."

Description for Extras in the call sheet:
"Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean & Latino ethnic groups"

The only thing these races have in common is their dark skin. Sir Ricketts if you say you are hiring authentic Asian well Mediterranean & Latino ARE NOT ASIAN. So wait, it's not that the Indians are the only bad guys in Avatar no no it's "Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean & Latino ethnic groups" basically anyone with dark skin and the main good tribe are white. Gotcha.

Casting Director was laid off after a month the cast and extras was picked
All the letters and mail in concern of the cast can't be officially answered anymore

White Actors are more accepted for non-ethnic roles
Courtesy of UCLA Research Center (2006)

Casting Breakdown by race:
Lead Roles by Race:

An Asian Actor Real Time Experience at the Aang Audition
Full Comment: [link]
So... my 12-yr old Asian (Filipino) American son auditioned for Aang but obviously didn't get the part. See here: [link]

Since all his interests are leading him into the entertainment industry, he took a small acting and modeling workshop back last Spring. Earlier this month we took a trip out to Hollywood to meet with a talent agency for representation. We were told they couldn't represent him because it "conflicted with another client". Being new to the industry, I kindly asked what that meant and the response was "he has a similar look to a child we already represent".

Look? He was there to seek represenation for his talents. Not his Look.

Employees of the original Avatar series find it wrong
Of the few employees that had shown any sort expression of the film all appeared to be negative. At least from what I have found.
- Avatar's Episodes Writer/Storyboard Artist/Director/Character Designer/Assistant Director/Background Giancarlo Volpe posted in his Deviant Journal [link] about his thoughts:
  This blog entry sums up my feelings exactly. Thank you, Derek Kirk Kim for spelling out the situation so eloquently.
  [link]
  In a related note, apparently they have open casting for extras. People of all ethnicities are encouraged to apply:
  [link]
  Notable quote:
  Deedee Rickets, the casting director for the film, said "We want you to dress in traditional cultural ethnic attire," she said. "If you're Korean, wear a kimono. If you're from Belgium, wear lederhosen."
  Umm... I thought kimonos were Japanese and lederhosen German.
  SIIIGHHHH
- Martial Arts Consultants Sifu Kisu quotes:
  "Now I'm hearing people are so surprised that a caucasian kid was cast as the Asian lead?
  
  SHOCKING NEWS!!
  
  Kindda like the Kung Fu TV Series when David Carradine beat out Bruce Lee for the lead. I mean goodness we all know David Carradine was by far superior in the martial arts compared to Bruce Lee, go figure"_{*this made me lol}
  
  This will probably be the coolest movie I will never see.
  
  Well when I first saw the trailer I got excited because the special effects looked great (barring the ((less than polished)) martial arts staff sequence which I overlooked with sympathy 'cause I told them "how" to make it right and apparently the martial art is not priority...) the more I hear about elements related to the film, the fact the guy lies about the silliest things, the race issue (sad) all puts it way on the back burner of my movie go see list.
  
  Well first I would have trained the boy for an extended period of time in the BASICS of Martial which is the biggest problem I have in watching it he hasn't internalized them. As far as what I would have choreographed? If you are a fan of the series then you already know....
  
  Trust me they are seeing how the fans react but Nick Animation, Bryan and Mike HAD NO SAY IN HOW THE FILM WAS CAST so please give those guys a break. It is quite apparent what their casting choices would have been from the 7 years of work they put into the animated series.
  If you see them don't give them a hard time please
  he took a picture with a racebending sign: [link]
  FTW
- Avatar's Calligraphy and Translation Consultant Dr. S.L. Lee:
  Went on an interview on KFPA 94.1 fm about the Discrimination behind the film and what the original Avatar series was truly about.
  Interview can be downloaded and listened here:
  [link]
  or
  Interview can be read here:
  [link]
- The East West Players (one of the founders, Makoto Mako Iwamatsu voice of Uncle Iroh) which have several members who performed voice work on the original Avatar have written a letter of Paramount in concern of the casting and major removal of Asian culture in the Last Airbender movie.
  Letter can be read here: [link]
  Given that AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER is so clearly based on and inspired by ancient East Asian, South Asian and Inuit civilizations, it is a major lost opportunity for the producers not to have aggressively sought out Asian talent for the lead roles. The fact that Dev Patel apparently has been cast in one of the four lead roles is a positive step but it certainly does not excuse the filmmakers from being insensitive to the negative ethnic and cultural implications of using whites to either "look like" ethnic peoples or to inexplicably lead such peoples as if they are white saviors.
  
  The members of East West Players include:
  - Dante Basco (Prince Zuko), one of the stars in EWP's latest play, IXNAY.
  - Tim Dang (Yon Rha in "The Southern Raiders"), EWP Producing Artistic Director
  - George Takei (The Warden in "Imprisoned"), Chair of the EWP Council of Governors
  - James Hong (The Mayor in "Avatar Day", an Air Nomad Monk in "The Storm"), EWP Founding Member
  - Daniel Dae Kim (General Fong in "The Avatar State")
  - Lauren Tom (Joo Dee)
  - James Sie (The Cabbage Merchant)
  - Sab Shimono (Monk Gyatso, Master Yu)
  - Tayako Fischer (Lo and Li)
  - Tsai Chin. (The Fortuneteller)
Paramount Dodges MANAA Questions and Meeting
The MANAA (Media Action Network for Asian Americans) sent a simple yet detailed letter to Paramount on February 11 [link] (before casting was final and filming began) in concern of the casting choice and to arrange a meeting for discussion and explanation.
This was the chance, the chance for Paramount to change our mind, to convince us that they were NOT being Discriminatory. To end it ALL. If they can convince the MANAA that what they were doing was not Discriminatory then that would have been enough for anyone who was against the casting to change their mind and believe so too. Like I said, this was their chance
Unfortunately Paramount responded [link] over a month and half on March 25 when the cast was official and filming has already begun. As expected they left a short and vague letter, part of it saying this:
The four nations represented in the film reflect not one community, but the world’s citizens. These societies will be cast from a diversity of all races and cultures.
In particular, the Earth Kingdom will be cast with Asian, East Asian and Africans.

The MANAA responded on April 9 [link] re-enforcing their statements and questions and dare some more including, requesting again, for a meeting.
After practically another month of no response from Paramount on May 5 the MANAA felt like there was no option but to go public [link] .

Why didn't Paramount take up on this huge chance? If they were really truly not being Discriminatory there wouldn't be that much of a problem with the MANAA's meeting. Hmmm...

I would also just like to state the fact that Paramount claimed what the Earth Tribe will have saying it adds to the what is the diversity to the Last Airbender. Again, all it is is a lame excuse to call it diverse. What it really is is the left over races clumped up in one nation while two other nations are dominated by Caucasians. If they really were trying to be diverse here then they would no problem in making one nation Caucasian, one African, one Asian, one Hispanic, etc. etc.
That would have been diverse. Not 50% Caucasians, 25% Dark Skinned Ethnicities, 25% "any other ethnicity"

MIKE AND BYRAN MADE AANG'S EYES MORE SLANTED IN SDCC'09 POSTER

[link]

significantly

right

_{or that your possibly indenial}

There is a lot of talk that the people in Avatar are not Asian but in fact white regardless of the obvious environment and appearances of Avatar. Sometimes it feels like unless you have a huge race stamp on your forehead your automatically white, as if Caucasian is some default raceless race.

Why is it so hard for people to accept the fact the main hero of a great TV show is NOT white for ONCE?

I think I'll go over the show too if someone still think otherwise.
Courtesy of all the guys over at the *Avatar's Asian Quick-Reference Archives*
[link]

Avatar: An Essay in Images
[link]

The Language of Casting
[link]

Do Anime Characters Look "White"?
-[link]
-[link] _{this video is actually interesting to watch even if you don't agree.}

The Slanted Screen Documentary (feat. Mako, the voice of Iroh)
-Part One:[link]
-Part Two:[link]
-Part Three:[link]
-Part Four:[link]
-Part Five:[link]
-Part Six:[link]
-Part Seven:[link]

Architecture in the World of Avatar
[link]

Fashion in the World of Avatar
[link]

Writing in the World of Avatar
[link]

Influences on Avatar: The Last Airbender
Main Article: [link]

Stylistic Influences:[link] Stylistic_Influences

Cultures:[link] Cultures

Martial Arts:[link] Martial_Arts

Weaponry:[link] Weaponry

Religious Influences:[link] Religious_Influences

Direct Avatar to Real-Life Image Comparisons
[link] _video
[link] _video
[link]_image

Quotes from the Creators:

Well, Bryan had worked with Eric Coleman, the head of development at Nickelodeon, and we knew that Nickelodeon was looking for a [particular fantasy] kind of show, so we kind of took that directive and set about creating our own mythology. And we wanted to base it in Asian rather than European background, and use the elements; to use martial arts as kind of the basis for the magic in the show… even though we don't call it "magic," it is the supernatural element of the show.

"The best anime balances great action sequences with humor and emotion, something we try to do on Avatar. We love all the films of Hayao Miyazaki, especially Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Both movies deal with spirituality and the environment in an entertaining way. Also, there's a lot of great animation."

"Asian cinema is really good at action comedy. Shaolin Soccer is one of our favorite movies. It has tons of fantastic action and lots of funny moments. Some of the effects provided inspiration for how bending moves might look on the show."

"Actually, Katara's like, hair loops, the hair loopies... They used to hang down, uh, just loosely and [animation director] thought that would be too hard to animate. And, um, thought they'd be moving around too much. So, he had the idea to tie them back, which actually ended up being an authentic Inuit hairstyle."

"Yeah, early on… Mike and I just bought dozens of books. You know, learning kung fu, hands-on, and not just copying stuff out of a movie, we really, really wanted to understand it. And you know, there's so much to learn, we're still researching, all of the really rich cultures and proud traditions, and so, we're just trying to pay homage."

You know Bumi lived over 100 years. We had kind of set it up. It's not so foreign in Chinese mythology to have like the Taoist immortals, these characters or legendary figures who lived 500-600 years. It wasn't one of the earliest ideas we had, but pretty early on Mike and I were of the idea that these people with such enhanced Chi fields might live a longer time. We've shown that Kyoshi was a pretty robust person."

"It's an ancient city and it's definitely been very cut off from the rest of the Earth Kingdom throughout the ages. It's kinda based on Chinese History. How the Forbidden City was off on its own and the Emperor wouldn't leave there...the safety of their kingdom...very often. It was also an interesting idea that a kid could be raised in this super confined area and never have seen the outside world. So yeah, Ba Sing Se's isolation is a tradition that's gone back for a looong time. "

"Ozai is not like some kind of palace dweller. We will say that. I'm not sure how much he's ventured out into the world, but he's not like the Earth King where he's isolated. The Fire Nation is a little more 'hands on'. It's not uncommon that you will have to fight or duel for political or military positions or purposes. There's a big difference. I think in the Fire Nation, unlike in Ba Sing Se, if there's a prince who's 30 years old, he's probably fought pretty intensely a few times. Had to prove his worth. Not unlike Japanese Samurai in their day. They had to make a name for themselves, they had to have some fame..."

"If you look back on the great swordmasters of Asian history, a lot of them were artists, poets, masters of tea ceremony, actors, and the like."

"The Blue Spirit mask in our real world is a wizard mask in Chinese opera. We used the traditional design almost verbatim, except for coloration differences which we took upon ourselves."

Original Concept of Avatar
before Nickelodeon told Mike and Bryan to go for a more generic Anime appearance.
Aang: [link]
Katara: [link]
Zuko's Eyes: [link]
Aang: [link]
Zuko: [link]
Katara: [link]

I know what you are thinking. Discrimination in this Day and Age? Ofcourse not. We have a half black President, Discrimination is practically gone in America so all of this is just a misunderstanding. In everyday American life I believe that is the case but it's different on the silver screen. I personally don't think that the casting director actually thinks that Asian/Indian/Intuit actors can't act. Hollywood thinks that the majority can easily relate to white people = more money.
Let alone people think Americans are white people when it comes to ethnicity. Even my mother thinks white=American.

This especially occurs in movies that are meant to be a Blockbuster hits, movies that are more for money then the sake of making a serious movie. I think a great example of a Blockbuster movie is Transformer 2. It had a huge budget, it was filled with action pack robot fighting, gun shooting, awesome cg effects, big name celebrities, all the girls were freaking hoooot, romance and constant comical relief, what more can you ask for? Movies like these are meant to entertain and make money regardless of what it takes being it having many definite loopholes, irrelevant dirty comedy, stereotypes, one dimensional characters, bad script, etc. Nevertheless I found the movie entertaining.

Same applies with Avatar, they're hoping it to be a big Blockbuster hit. Which is why they filled the teenage characters with actors who are either beautiful or have big names regardless of race or having little to none similarity with the original characters. They even let M. Night's name before the movie title.

A good example of a good movie was Slumdog Millionaire. An American film which sole purpose was not to only entertain but to send a moral message. This movie again is American yet they manage to fill the Indian characters with an Indian actors and they looked 'everywhere' not only in India, not only in Britain they even looked in the slums themselves. Keep in mind this film didn't even had enough money to even make the film.

Also, Leonardo DiCaprio will be directing the Live Action adaptation of the Japanese Anime Akira created by Katsuhiro Otomo which takes place in Tokyo, Japan and have Japanese characters. DiCaprio has casted himself to play the main Japanese character Shotaro Kaneda... who is Japanese.

No Comments | Previous Journal Entries