They cast a pair of white kids for the parts of Katara and Sokka. The characters in the show are *clearly* of inuit descent in culture and coloration (except the blue eyes, but that's because it's an animation...).
The cast the entire Fire caste as East Indian (note: the show portrays them as largely evil and militant. They look asian/white in that anime way). And I believe they cast the Earth caste as a single race as well.
The funniest thing of all? None of the cultures in the show were actually that tightly "a single ethnicity" except for the fire caste.
Mostly what Fin said. Also, given the nature of the show, it was a perfect time to showcase Asian actors who often get shuffled aside, but instead it went to a bunch of white kids with popularity.
Frankly I think that the whole racefail stuff is a bunch of horse hockey. If that's where things go south for you, don't watch the movie. I don't care what race is depicted under which role as long as the actors do a good job portraying the characters. Hell they could all be those green girls from Star Trek for all I care. Shall we get upset about the Princess and the Frog since there's a token black princess in the mix? Or shall we get upset that there's a definite Native American cast to the tribal communities in Avatar?
Personally I'm going to watch the movie and try to enjoy it for what it is.
I'm lost. What do you mean by "shall we get upset that there's a definite Native American cast to the tribal communities in Avatar"? The Princess and the Frog thing doesn't help to clarify what you might mean, since I don't think that the Princess in question is a token anything, given that the majority of the (non-animal) cast is black
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I think my attempts at being brief may have clouded my point somewhat. I was trying to point out that the concept of "racefail" is in and of itself something I find myself disgusted with at this point. To say that this race or that race should be given acting roles and portrayed in this film or that one based solely on the story's ethnic roots, whether they be implied or not, is lame
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I should also add that if actors are actually being ignored for a role despite being a better fit for it both in skill and appearance for someone else who isn't then that's an issue regardless of what race they are. Racism is still a definite issue and it makes me sad that there is either the impression of or a real problem of Asian's being ignored when this is actually the case. I'm just not confidant that this is the issue with The Last Airbender but I've been wrong before.
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The cast the entire Fire caste as East Indian (note: the show portrays them as largely evil and militant. They look asian/white in that anime way). And I believe they cast the Earth caste as a single race as well.
The funniest thing of all? None of the cultures in the show were actually that tightly "a single ethnicity" except for the fire caste.
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Personally I'm going to watch the movie and try to enjoy it for what it is.
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