We'll let the show speak for itself.

[aang_aint_white]

Many people have been telling us we shouldn't be offended. And of all the arguments we've been presented with this past week, the most common is also the most surprising: "These characters look white to me."

We considered writing an essay about the ethnic makeup of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but then we realized we could never be as eloquent on

Comments

[tallycola]

...I don't see anything Asian in this.

Hahahha nah I'm just kidding. That was gorgeous. Thanks for letting me relive one of my favourite things ever.

Anybody who thinks Aang is white: he has big eyes because he is a child. When his hair grows in he is obviously Asian. Go look at a Chinese baby and tell me it doesn't have big-looking eyes for it's head.

Sokka <3

[tallycola]

Also, Pajiba has blogged about this.
http://www.pajiba.com/the-last-airbender-gets-a-cast.htm

[aang_aint_white]

Thanks for the heads up -- just added it to the linklist! It's a huge relief to me that non-fandom blogs are picking this up. Also, I've tabbed open their review of the series as a whole, and I predict it will totally make me cry.

[akiko]

Whiter than Mormon Jesus is my new favorite phrase.

[omnicat]

Seconding you. Thirding and fourthing too, if you don't mind. ;D

Anybody who thinks Aang is white: he has big eyes because he is a child.

This is especially obvious if you look at Toph and her parents. *nod* Her eyes are as wide as they get, but I'm willing to bet that if we were ever to get to see her when she's the age her parents are now, she'd have similar features.

[aang_aint_white]

Keep in mind, as well, 1) that these are stylized animated characters, and that relatively wider, rounder eyes help make Toph and Aang look younger, 2) their clothes and names and culture and the setting they live in say as much about their ethnicity as the way their faces are drawn.

I say this only because I know this argument is coming up frequently in many places, and it seems prudent to mention a couple ways you can respond. <3

[omnicat]

Yeah, I've noticed. I've been reading other people's reactions to the news, and it's unbelievable what kind of excuses some people come up with. @_@

But what's also amazing is how many people have collectively cried BULLSHIT on this scam of a casting. :D

Thank you for opening this journal and setting up a place where fandom can gather!

[tallycola]

Yes. They still get smaller in relation to their heads as your head grows as you become an adult.

And that doesn't change how in animation shorthand big eyes = child like innocence, not anything to do with race.

[aang_aint_white]

Just stepping in to remind everyone that this journal isn't meant to be a forum for debate, so be gentle, all right? <3

That said, I think it's safe to say everyone on this thread is on the same side. ^_-

[notsheniqua]

I know this is completely off topic, but where did you find your icon? I feel I need the same.

[generic_geek29]

Same with Toph, most people argue she's not Asian because she has huge eyes, but she's a little girl and blind. Her nose and other features is very Asian, I have a friend with some Chinese ancestry who has the same nose, she's also as tiny as Toph. She could have played Toph if they wanted ethnic people and buddy wasn't so shy.