There were other things I wanted to be writing about today, but then I realized that this movie is coming out on Thursday, in three days, and that if I didn't tackle this now then it wouldn't be relevant anymore.
If you're a close friend, or someone I complain to, then you've definitely heard me talk about this before. If you haven't, then great, because this is actually something I feel pretty strongly about.
Originally this post was really content heavy. I had written out a brief introduction on the show the movie is based off of, highlighting the efforts its two creators took to make it as true to their vision as possible. The first few paragraphs were bloated with facts and figures, but. . . well. . . it was too much. I'm going to try to make this as simple as I can, and leave you to do your own research.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show set in an Asian-influenced world, and based on traditional Asian culture. More than that, it's a cartoon which manages to balance a childish sense of humour with tenets like honour and responsibility, fantastic concepts for characters and settings, and (to use a word much too overused) epic fight scenes. It's basically the perfect show for anyone who likes anything about cartoons.
Upon first hearing that there was going to be a movie, I was excited. I actually first heard about The Last Airbender film before I had even heard anything about James Cameron's movie. When I heard that Shyamalan was directing I was anything but discouraged; I really trusted him to bring this to the big screen, and to do it well.
Then came the casting. The three protagonists, Aang, Sokka, and Katara were cast as Caucasians, meaning that their respective nations, the Air Nomads and Water Tribe, would be of the same race. The main antagonist, Prince Zuko, was cast as East Indian, and his people, the Fire Nation, were subsequently cast as people of a darker skin tone. The Earth Kingdom, the fourth nation and essentially extras in the first film, was largely cast with Asians.
To put it plainly, this film will feature three white heroes battling against brown enemies to protect the Asians.
I think it needs to be understood that I don't exactly blame M. Night Shyamalan. He said he saw the actress who he wanted to play Katara, and knew he needed her in the film; I respect that. I'm a big fan of what he's chosen to do with visual effects, going above and beyond what others might settle for. he's made great decisions in putting this world on the big screen, and that's great. All in all, I don't slam his vision for this film.
I just don't think his vision is what we need right now. As it is, Asian actors are really only cast in either kung-fu movies or as comic relief. I know it can be argued that The Last Airbender is basically a kung-fu movie, but really it's so much more- it's a rich, complex world, has the possibly of two more sequels, and has an immense fanbase. The thing is that this was more than a movie, it was an opportunity.
Here was the perfect chance for Hollywood to cast Asian and Pacific Islander actors in roles that their audience would understand from watching the show. Perhaps even more importantly, here was the opportunity for a film franchise to have Asians as lead actors, to have Asian actors that could one day be household names not just because they could do martial arts, but because they could act, too.
The Last Airbender, to me, is a missed opportunity.
On top of that, it saddens me that there are kids all over the world who love this show, and who are confused that the characters they once thought were just like them are actually white. I mean, that's a confusing prospect, isn't it? It would be like a Superman movie where Superman is Indian, or a movie based on The A-Team where B.A. Baracus is Japanese.
I've said a lot, and I have more to say, but I'm going to stop here. I had to do an exhaustive amount of research on this for a school project (which I got a C+ on, thank you, professor), and I know that there are a lot of people out there who feel the way I do. Suffice to say, I've decided to boycott this film to show that I can't get behind the casting decisions that have made. I'm not telling you not to see it, I'm just letting you know that I won't be.
Before anyone comments, yes, I know that the Air Nomads in this movie will be of all ethnicities, since they are nomads.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, it would be really cool if people would comment and tell me what they think about all this.
Lastly, people might say that the casting was colourblind, and that it was equal opportunity, but that really isn't true. See this link:
http://www.racebending.com/v3/background/caucasian-or-any-other-ethnicity/
Lastly, lastly, here is a comic about all this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/24/heresies/
Well, I love a good boycott, so I'm with you on this one.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I am in total agreement with you. The characters in the cartoon are Asian, they should be cast as such. Casting them as caucasian, I can imagine, is pretty insulting to Asians everywhere.
But this is typical of the attitude of superiority we have in the west. Sure, it would make more sense to cast Asian actors to play Asian characters, but thats not what most American expect to see. A caucasian American, or most people in the global west, can't easily identify with an Asian protagonist, it wouldn't be as well received, and thus would make less money. Its easier to sell a white face to a white audience than it is an Asian. Even to blacks and Hispanics, I suspect, a caucasian protagonists would be easier to identify with, because Eastern culture is so far removed from them too. It is just the implicit attitude of us in the West that the Western world is normative and all else is abnormal. This attitude can be seen everywhere, from painting of Jesus as a white guy, to casting Tom Cruise as a samurai.
It is really unfortunate but I think the casting choice was simply in line with the marketing strategy that would make the most money. I can't think of any box-office best seller which had an Asian cast in the lead role (with the exception of Jakie Chan or Bruce Lee, but as you said: Comedy and Kung-Fu).
Also, think about the recent Dragon Ball movie, how many Asian leads were there in that movie? Goku was played by a caucasian. Granted there were plenty of Asian roles in the movie, but Goku, the most iconic character of the Dragon Ball series, was some white guy! And as I recall the movie crashed and burned in the box offices.
Its unfortunate that what was, as you said, an opportunity to make a quality film turned out to be just marketing-as-usual. Shyamalan is just selling a product to make the most money in the box office possible.
...Oh, and lol @ Morgan Freeman.