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[glockgal]

AVATAR
aang_aint_white has a new post Round Two: FIGHT! which has some great new information. Check it out!

I'm starting to get comments from people saying this now:
-- These crazy race-obsessed Avatar fans all hate these INNOCENT CHILD ACTORS. I pity the poor darlings. I'm so magnanimous! WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN....okay. No fan is gonna hate

Comments

[glockgal]

AHahahaha! You've debunked my statement! WHAT DO I DO NOW, OH NOES. XD XD

What people seem to be saying is 'Yes, we are aware that it's Asian-influenced and there's a lot of things Asian about it. But we still think white people are just fine to play the main roles. Asian ppl can play side characters, and that's okay! Nicola Peltz can just get a tan! I'm colourblind! etc'

And this is apparently reasonable arguments.

OMG DUDE. I think you would LOVE Avatar, srsly. It is so fun and hilarious and fantastic!

[vejiicakes]

It's been maybe about ten hours since coming up from the comments on a forum thread on this topic (you know, the one that came up on the A-A-W LJ) and I'm still formulating this response to all the massive amounts of jackassery I'm seeing there and it's just.. too... m-

Okay, one, it's gotten really really lengthy. I'm all quoting books and shit and yellow/brown/blackface, I'm jumping over to Kal Penn and his "where's your turban?" interviews and rambling about Rita Moreno (a Puerto Rican actress in West Side Story put in darker brownface to LOOK MORE PUERTO RICAN so audiences wouldn't confuse her with the white actress they put in lighter brownface who was involved in the "interracial" romance in the movie) and linking Beau Sia and THERE IS SO MUCH OMG. WHY IS THERE SO MUCH.

Anyway. And TWO, there is SO MUCH INTERSECTING of so many DIFFERENT sorts of racist assumptions (asking that they cast Asian actors = shipping over actors from Asia and waiting for them to learn English badly? REALLY?) and white privilege (won't someone

[glockgal]

To not spam AAW, this --

I feel like your forum should host a contest for the Just Doesn't Get It award and the Condescending Caucasian Ignorance award.

GOD. YES. OH GOD. The smug, offended, passive aggressive attitude displayed on that forum is embarrassing and disgusting. My ears started to flame red when I got to like, page 2 when they actually started making fun of racial discrimination. Oh. WOW. Just

[ali_wildgoose]

The smug, offended, passive aggressive attitude displayed on that forum is embarrassing and disgusting.

At least it's a ready source of quotes if you need to prove to someone that people are ACTUALLY defending this shit?

*DESPERATELY LOOKS FOR UPSIDE*

[jedifreac]

People are like this because this kind of casting happens so often and no one says anything. It's so frequent it becomes normal, and then what's normal becomes okay. And it really disgusts me that the producers of "The Last Airbender" have taken something inspired by non-eurocentric cultures to continue the perpetuating the trend.

[glockgal]

Seriously? I have people I can lean back against and email and vent to and be like "SKDFJHSKFHDFKJDSHFOEJIREHIFDSKFJDKFH" so that when I get to talking to strangers, I can be polite and patient and perfectly PoC.

You surpass the strength I have, bebe and I really just hope you too have people and support on the side to help you fight your fight when you feel tired and beaten down by ignorance.

I think if anything, when I get tired, you are one of the people I think of to inspire me. I love your bravery, like. So much.

[glockgal]

So I've hit a wall where I can successfully stop being angry - when the other person starts saying "Well you are sooooo big on your [air quote]cause[/air quote], why not do something about it instead of wasting your time, talking to me?" and/or "Well, I suppose you're trying to do something even though letter-writing is lame and so are you ahahahaahah" and/or "I respect your opinion, but it doesn't matter to me", I've taken it as a victory of sorts. They're no longer interested in my PoV, which suits me just fine. As I know you've found out, it's not about winning over the world, it's about doing something about it!

Oooh baby, now you got me all fired up! Rwaor.

[katho]

I have been watching this mostly from the sidelines, but

[glockgal]

Ahahah what is this crazy dreamworld where racial representation exists in Hollywood and there is no issue with white-washing non-white characters?! Can I go there?

The only explanation we have surmised for Shyamalan (after the initial WTFery) is that he was completely overruled by Paramount's concern for marketability and their conviction that PoC leads do not make money. Which, for many many directors, creators, actors etc, is par the course. But not right.

[vejiicakes]

Eeee~ I adore.. well, most of Flower Drum Song! :D There was some weirdness in that while they didn't yellowface-up any Caucasian performers in the Asian roles, they DID give the role of the Chinese auntie to an African-American woman... but that was the only role I know of that involved such casting, and that's still a damn sight better than they're doing now!

I mean, as a contemporary viewer and sort-of an insider (Japanese-American), obviously it's dated in its ideas on more than racial topics, but I guess I always appreciated that it was about Asian Americans, (instead of stuff like Mikado or King and I about "those silly backward foreign people in foreign lands doing foreign things wearing foreign clothes" and also not even remotely close to accurate) or just Asian immigrants, and explored that aspect at the forefront. I can't imagine how many non-Asian Americans went to see that film in the '60s and were like, "Holy crap, some of those yellow folk act like.. like... real Americans!" Okay, I can't claim to know what the

[jedifreac]

I can't imagine how many non-Asian Americans went to see that film in the '60s and were like, "Holy crap, some of those yellow folk act like.. like... real Americans!" Okay, I can't claim to know what the reaction would really have been like for a '60s audience, but I think Flower Drum Song gave it a fair shot and did something well and truly revolutionary for their time.

You're telling me. My dad used to have celebratory beers whenever he saw an Asian person on TV. I remember he was like "They LET AN ASIAN BE on Gilmore Girls?!?!" It blew his mind. Poor guy.

That was several years ago. I don't want things to still be like that TODAY dammit.

[bossymarmalade]

Sequential Tart editorial to add to your links! There should be an article coming as well, but I'm not sure when the writer's submitting it. :/

[glockgal]

HURZAYZ!!! I'm gonna keep this to link to when I make my next Avatar post. XD XD

[jedifreac]

Hey, would you be interested in contacting Ursula LeGuin through her agent? After all, the same thing happened to her beloved Earthsea. Maybe she can make a statement of solidarity to help motivate us? Can't hurt? If you do, I'll do it...