12/31/2022 0 Comments Index of the last airbender 2 movieIf you have strong feelings about this, I would encourage you (even if you disagree with me) to voice them to the film's creators. Whether and how they do so will reveal quite a bit about their commitment to the source material, their understanding of their profession’s history, and the respect they have for their audience. Shyamalan and Paramount Pictures now have an opportunity to take responsibility for the old wounds they’ve re-opened. Like the schoolboy who pulls up the corners of his eyes at his "Oriental" classmate, they highlight our otherness. By giving white actors roles that are so obviously Asian - and by stating from the get-go their preference for Caucasians - they tell Asian-Americans that who we are and how we look make us inherently inadequate for American audiences, even in a movie that celebrates our culture. But intentionally or not, they are adding another chapter to Hollywood’s long, sordid history of Yellowface. They probably just want to make the most entertaining (and profitable) summer blockbuster they can, the best way they know how. Night Shyamalan and the other creators of Paramount Pictures’ The Last Airbender movie are motivated by intentional racism. To be clear, I don't believe that director M. How do you suppose the public would react? In the end, they give the part to an up-and-coming Caucasian actor, who states in an interview that he thinks he can pull the role off just fine with the help of a tan, a perm, and some good old-fashioned suspension of disbelief. During casting they announce that, really, what they want is an emotional connection with the audience, and race ought to take a back seat. Now, imagine this: Marvel Studios decides to make a Black Panther movie. He's the king of a made-up nation - Wakanda - with a made-up culture that draws very blatantly from real-world African cultures. Here's an ethnic hero created by two white guys for a largely white American audience. I think the aforementioned Black Panther offers a useful comparison. When Aang grew out his hair in Season 3, it was jet black, not bright blonde. I know that Aang’s big, round eyes might confuse the uninitiated, but big, round eyes are an anime convention, and in this instance they indicate youth rather than race. The characters themselves are as Asian as Marvel Comics' Black Panther is Black. Yes, all the scripts were written in English.īut the entire fantasy world of The Last Airbender - from the clothing to the architecture to the Chinese writing on the scrolls - draws very blatantly from real-world Asian and Inuit cultures. Yes, it was produced by an American cable network for a largely white American audience. I’d like to give my $0.02 on The Last Airbender casting controversy, which my friend Derek Kirk Kim so eloquently commented on last week.Īvatar: The Last Airbender is unmistakably Asian.
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