I am writing to you in regards to the recent cast announcement for Mr. M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming movie The Last Airbender, and am asking you to reconsider the selection of actors. I believe that the choices made in choosing an all-white cast for a film based off of an animated show so obviously rooted in Asian influences and cultures is racist and offensive. Part of the charm for the original television series was that the spectrum of characters was so refreshing and diverse when compared to other shows, and I feel that you are doing a great injustice not only to the people whose cultures are represented in the series, but to the general audience of Avatar, as well. By choosing actors that do not represent the minorities depicted in the show, you are creating a racial message that should not be tolerated in today’s society.
As a fan of the animated show, I find it unfortunate that Paramount Pictures is whitewashing a film that should be celebrating a break from Western and European influences. The world of Avatar provides a wonderful change of pace that opened many people up to other cultures and lifestyles, and I feel that the American audiences that see this movie should be exposed to minority actors. It’s disappointing that the choices in casting are not more diverse, and I’m sorry to say that if nothing is done to correct this, I will not be supporting this film and will encourage everyone I know to do the same.
That was the letter that I mailed to Paramount. I, like so many others, have responded to the racism of Hollywood, and am happy to say that I'm speaking out against it. To be honest, though, I'm a little hesitant to be writing a blog about this because so many others have done the same, and have probably already said what I want to say.
But, I'm angry (still) and I want to write about it.
-I'm tired of hearing the excuse of how the world of Avatar is not set on Earth, therefore meaning that there is no "Asia," thus no Asians. By your logic, they entire cast of Avatar should be...what? Extra terrestrials? White? Since we can't very well cast spacemen into the movie, it only makes sense that the people we do cast should look similar to the characters they're portraying, yes? Why, then, should the main characters (the heroes) be played by white actors?
-Don't tell me to judge the actors on their acting, not the way they look. I'm not judging them. I'm sure they're all wonderful actors. And I'm sure that they can act the way the main characters of Avatar do. That doesn't mean that a minority actor couldn't have done the same. And don't preach to me about the wonders of makeup and tanning beds. They're still white, only with tape on their eyes and have a potentially higher risk of getting skin cancer. I have a degree in Theatre. I studied makeup. I know what it can do. That doesn't mean that you paint a white man and have him play a black man's role.
-This is racism, plain and simple. I'm sorry for those of you who don't see it. I'm even more sorry for those who seem to think that the reason why these actors were cast was because they were the best choices. From what I understand, Noah Ringer, the actor portraying the main character Aang, was the only one cast during an open audition. The other three were simply cast. Non-famous, potential, minority actors didn't get a chance.
-"But the characters are voiced by white actors," I've heard. Not all of them. Dante Basco, the voice of Zuko, is Phillipino-American. Mako, the voice of Iroh, was Japanese. However, voice-actors are just that. Voices. They aren't seen, and the animators do the physical acting for them. The Aang Ain't White Livejournal said it best when they responded "An animated character is formed by many people -- the voice actor is just one part of what creates their identity, working in collaboration with storyboard artists, designers and animators. Women, for example, play preteen male characters all of the time.However, in live action films like this one, the actor has to be the character to a much greater degree, and essentially becomes that character to the audience. Daniel Radcliffe IS Harry Potter in a way that Dante Basco will never be Zuko and Zach Tyler Eisen will never be Aang."
For those of you wondering, no this is not the first time I've been angered at the movie industry's treatment of minorities.
I hated The Last Samurai. There was no need for a white man to go to Japan and be better at being Japanese, and survive when no one else did.
I'm boycotting the upcoming Akira movie, as well. It's supposed to be set in Neo-Tokyo, people.
I could go on.
But this is the year 2009. I'd like to think that we're moving beyond racism. I'd like to think that Hollywood could have a more progressive mind-frame and start thinking about incorporating positive messages into their films.
We obviously have a long way to go.
