Regular people? So do you not think of Asian Americans as regular people? I to have listened to the commentary and read the book “Nicktoons!” where the creators state that this is a “fictional Asian world.” These characters are meant to be of Asian and Native decent. They are not one big group of people. Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan…they are not interchangeable. They are individual people and Hollywood for the most part ignores that fact.

When making the cartoon, Nick studios worked with both MANAA and the East West Players to do cultural consulting and to find Asian American actors. Both could have been used as consultants this time and Paramount chose not to.

When working with an established property, you can’t do “color blind” casting. The characters are already established and there have already been parents who have had to explain to their kids why their favorite characters “look wrong.” Go tell a little Asian American kid that they can be swapped out for a white kid. See what reaction you get.

You’re revealing a stunning amount of ignorance, Eurocentrism, and white privilege, the longer you talk. China had an industrial revolution too (lots of countries did, go figure), and I’m pretty sure Tibet regards them as a conquering nation. Which is fitting, considering the obvious parallels between the Airbenders and Tibetan culture.

If Katara’s hairstyle is Native American, then why didn’t they hire a Native American actress (ideally Inuit), since their goal was to be true to the source material? The casting was supposed to be racially unspecified, right? So a Native American actress would do just as well as any other race. And sure, let’s consider an ethnically Thai actress too. In fact, let’s consider the whole human spectrum, since you say you just see people, not race. Globally speaking, whites make up only about 20% of the human species, so that should equate to 80% of the cast being PoC of some kind, right? If we’re truly being openminded here.

Instead, of the four main characters, we have 75% white people. (And that’s only because the fans had a shitfit about Jesse McCartney, or it would’ve been 100%.) The lone brown person is playing the maniacal, homicidally violent villain. How did this happen, if the producers were like you and only saw “people, not racial lines”? Statistically speaking it’s a bit odd, don’t you think? It sure as hell doesn’t reflect any ambiguity regarding race. In fact it’s very specific — the people who cast this film think that white = goodness and nobility and universal appeal. And they think that PoC = murderers, maniacs, and monsters. Or at best, unimportant.

Yeah, real melting pot there.

I’m done. You need to unpack your privilege, Frank; until you do, you’re incapable of having an intelligent conversation about this or any other racial issue. Come back when you’ve educated yourself.

This show was about a melting pot of so many different ideas, cultures, and beliefs. Its ambigous, which to me says anyone can represent these ideas in movie.

Maybe im biased because I have listened to the commentary, and they described these characters as regular people who do martial arts and have these ablities. Im seeing people, not racial lines.

Everyone keeps saying there should be people of Asian decent in this film. Does being born in Thailand count?

No, it doesn’t blow my theory out the door, and you don’t respect my point of view, because you clearly haven’t paid attention to it.

What’s your point? That because the show’s creators were white Americans, everything they put into it was white and American? I guess the characters were eating cheeseburgers with those chopsticks, then. And the creators depended on their Korean staffers to help them correctly write the Chinese calligraphy? Really?

Of course they inserted a mix of cultures; that much is obvious from the cartoon itself. But none of those cultures was “white American”. And for the producers to stick white Americans in where there were none (certainly not as the stars of the show), then claim that it’s “diversity”, is the most revolting corruption of the term diversity that I’ve seen in a long time.

As for New Moon — wow, you have no clue what “my theory” is, or you wouldn’t quote that one at me.

I’m delighted that the producers and director of that film actually tried to hire Native Americans. The Racebending folks have been exclaiming over the news for the past few days, as have other “people of color in science fiction/fantasy” communities I’m involved in. And that’s actually caused the frustration re “The Last Airbender”’s racism to grow, because it highlights a couple of issues. First, that racially-sensitive casting can be done, and should be done where the source material demands it. Second, that the author of “Twilight” perpetuated some of the same foolishness that’s happening in “The Last Airbender” — her heroes are white, and only the antagonists/background characters are nonwhite. No one believes for a minute that the casting would’ve been as sensitive if the film’s two principals had been written as nonwhite. So “New Moon” is not without its problems in this respect. Like I said, it’s a problem that’s endemic in the entertainment industry as a whole.

But since we’re talking about “The Last Airbender”’s racism, let’s get back on topic. Since you keep going on and on about the commentary on the DVDs, tell me — did the show’s creators say that Aang, Sokka, and Katara’s cultures were derived from white America? If, as you suggest, that’s how it was written, then I’ll withdraw my objection.

You really want to bring up Twilight here? Hoo boy. “They hired guys with Native American decent to play the wolf pack” (emphasis mine) You think that’s an argument you want to bring up in this company? *gets popcorn*

Lets start at the beginning. This show was created by two of the whitesest of white boys out there. The depended on their Korean counter parts to help them out in terms of certain Asian culural things (ie how to correctly write in caligraphy)

Ive spent a lot of time listening to their commentary on episodes, what they thought, and the one thing that was constant was that they werent pulling from one particular cultar, but rather infusing a mix, which also includes western culture.

I mean really how many people that are trying to ban watching the new Airbender movie know where the influence of the Ember Island design was based on what culture? (besides me cause i listned to the commentary.)

I think banning a movie based on what you personally think the culture background of the role should be played is small minded.

Look at the New Moon movie in the Twilight series. They hired guys with Native American decent to play the wolf pack. Thats because thats how it was written. Kind of blows your theory out the door.

Seriously? You’re seriously pulling the “it’s not really Asian” argument?

So the characters in this world write with Chinese characters, use chopsticks, wear kimonos and hanboks and cheongsam, eat dumplings, build pagodas, sleep on futons, and more… for no particular reason? What the hell are they supposed to be, then, French? Oh, wait, I know! They’re black. Black people totally created haiku. (It’s just like rap!)

Oy vey.

You’re right in that I’m attached to the cartoon’s characters. Culture is a fundamental part of characterization, however, and by stripping out their Asianness, the producers have removed something that made these characters feel realistic and complex. It’s been replaced with the same old Hollywood formula of Generic Pretty White People Out In Front — and on top of being racist as fuck, that formula is boring. It’s a cliche that we’ve been forced to endure for generations thanks to racism, and a lot of us are way past tired of it. Wait for the previews? Why? It could look as good as “The Matrix”*, and nothing will remove its “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt” taint.

I hope this movie bombs so hard that it ruins Shyamalan’s career, and the careers of everyone involved in the casting decisions. Maybe that’ll clear the way for some younger, more open-minded, and less racist people to get a foot in the Hollywood door.

*Actually scratch that comparison — “The Matrix” actually had a few PoC in heroic roles. “The Last Airbender” can’t even manage that.

I think everyone should do the same, because they will understand that although there are many refrences to different Asian cultres, it was never a stamp saying the charecters were Asian or any specific culture we know about. I have looked at the casting and Im ok with the choices. Jessie Macartny is out for a new actor that I dont know about.

I think we all attached to these characters not for the culture but rather because we all identified with the charecters in some way.

I would wait for the previews to come out and make decisions then if you will or will not see this movie.