Comments | glockgal: I kinda want to cry. WITH ANGER.

glockgal

I kinda want to cry. WITH ANGER.

Jan 15, 2009 21:32

AVATAR

From SequentialTart.com - editorial that ties the Last Airbender casting to the Josh Tyler article. Good reading!

An hilarious entry on The Playlist about the casting and about the fans. XD ( Read more... )

avatar, the last airbender, avatar: the last airbender

Comments 83

tallycola January 16 2009, 05:38:08 UTC

I didn't have any hard feelings on Jackson Rathbone either, until I read that quote. What a boneheaded thing to say. I'm just waiting 'til he pulls a Twilight and says he's 1/16th something-or-other to make it all okay. Also, way to alienate your built-in audience.

BAH.

glockgal January 16 2009, 05:43:17 UTC

He's not alienating anyone. He's just making it easy for his fans to feel all right with equating ethnicity to a pricey tanning salon appointment.

*takes a breath*

ani_bester January 16 2009, 05:47:42 UTC

So . . . I become Asian every time I get a sunburn?
*head desk*

It's such a flip and disrespectful thing to say, especially given the HORRID history of white people in ethnic roles that Hollywood has.

I was shocked that anyone would say something so foolish.

glockgal January 16 2009, 05:51:15 UTC

I WANT to say he's young, but...I don't even care about that. I'm really just amazed that MTV thought it was a-okay to post something like that and think it makes him sound completely rational.

....And then to watch in horror as his fans agree with him. Is this really how we're teaching girls and women to think? 'Who cares, as long as HE'S pretty, LOL'? GAHD.

Thread 16

florahart January 16 2009, 06:27:26 UTC

Just for fun, I just asked my 13 year old son, who is white and, you know, a teenage boy, if he had any particular sense of the racial backgrounds of the characters in this, or what race would rationally be cast in a live-action movie, because he likes a lot of manga/anime-type things so is familiar with the source material. I didn't tell him why I was asking.

After he got done telling me the show is lame (I have no opinion, as I have never seen it), he was all, well, main guy, I would say is Asian-and-white mix, just because of some of the things that come up. The rest of them, I think are like, Eskimo or Inuit or some kind of group that's north Asian. So I would think they would cast at least Japanese or Korean actors or something.

I don't know whether he's right about the north thing, because again, ain't seen it, but my point is, I sort of think if a 13 year old white boy can work out that an Asian cast would make sense in five seconds, the adults doing the casting maybe need some remedial thinking exercises. Heh.

glockgal January 16 2009, 06:34:03 UTC

FOFL first off, I loooove that your son is all "THIS SHOW IS LAME" considering he was originally the target market Nickleodeon was aiming for. Proving once again how badly out of touch market researchers can be. *hee* Your boy just cracks me up, I love it!

Second - yeah see? He can easily connect that Asian-based fantasy world = Asian characters; it's not a difficult connection! Though according to some people, even though 99.9% of the show's entirety is Asian/Inuit based, they still don't get what's so wrong about casting all-white actors for the main characters. I just. I wish more kids were like yours, babe.

tallycola January 16 2009, 06:42:06 UTC

He also doesn't need stereotyped renderings to recognize a drawing as someone who isn't default-white.

And given how many stereotypes he must see on TV, I can only imagine good parenting managed that.

So kudos to you, florahart!

*seeing red* jedifreac January 16 2009, 06:36:16 UTC

So apparently I'm bad at suspending belief.

Re: *seeing red* tallycola January 16 2009, 06:43:20 UTC

Pretending Will Farrell could be a figure skater for an hour and a half is suspending belief.

Believing white people dressed up as other ethnicities and prancing around talking about "honour" and "my people" is just embarrassing!

Re: *seeing red* tallycola January 16 2009, 06:45:29 UTC

That should actually read, like:

Watching white people dressed up as other ethnicities and prancing around talking about "honour" and "my people" is just embarrassing!

I FAIL at LJ commenting and should just go to bed. Hope I didn't leave an ugly "deleted comment" tag on here!

Re: *seeing red* glockgal January 16 2009, 06:44:15 UTC

You and me both. Le sigh. I guess we just haven't seen enough movies with yellowface to realize how skilled these white actors are at it. My bad.

...I mean, it's not as if there are any Asian-American actors who can play the roles. That's like wishing for a unicorn to appear.

(The comment has been removed)

glockgal January 16 2009, 06:47:10 UTC

Ohhhh go on then. I can't resist your incredible slag-powers! *coy*

kcchiefs91 January 16 2009, 07:03:52 UTC

ha! hes hardly a child actor since he's in his early twenties and he plays a Cullen in the Twilight franchise so hes not going to be hurting for work in the future or face time in the media.

I can understand why he's excited about expanding his acting resume its just to bad he's doing it with this movie...which any person should know takes more then a haircut and a tan to suddenly look Asian. good lord

glockgal January 16 2009, 07:11:34 UTC

I know he's 24. But I still need to disclaimer before anyone jumps down my throat for wanting to take jobs away from young white actors and give them to all those well-known, popular young Asian actors. So unfair!

Yeah, it's too bad he felt he could give an opinion on white-washing Avatar. But, he did - quite blase and dismissive - and now it's there for everyone to read.