Wednesday, December 17, 2008

They Did it to Jubilee, Now They're doing this to Avatar


I have seen Avatar The Last Airbender with my niece and thought it was a cute cartoon of multiracial content. If you don't know about this cartoon, here's a quick run-down:

The show is set in an Asian-influenced world of martial arts and elemental manipulation; the series follows the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation. In the series' terminology, each episode is referred to as a "chapter", and each season as a "book".

The cartoon is enriched with Asian and Inuit cultures and when I found out that it will be a live action movie by M. Night Shyamalan, I thought it could good for the kids to see a diverse cast and cultures.

However i09 has dropped a bomb about the casting which frightens me. All the main characters are WHITE! What in the Florence Jean Castleberry is this? Did M. Night Shyamalan watched the frakking cartoon? I guess not.

This ain't cute, folks. I remember this foolishness when they whitewashed Jubilee (she's chinese) in the Generation X movie.

Shyamalan, should be aware of this. He's a person of color, how could he let this happen? Well, the fans of the show are NOT happy about it and plan to take it to the streets.
I can't see how this just pass through without somebody saying something at the studio. I guess money talks and keep mouths shut too.
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4 comments:

  1. VerdantDecember 17, 2008 at 3:15 PM

    Thank you for posting this! It just boggles the mind!

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  2. Todd HellsKitchenDecember 17, 2008 at 4:16 PM

    Probably some marketing decision (from hell!)

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  3. AnonymousDecember 18, 2008 at 1:15 PM

    I'm certain it has to do with the publicity they can generate from having names like Jesse M in the cast. Though I must confess I don't recognize the other two.

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  4. Jonathan PizarroDecember 19, 2008 at 5:31 AM

    I was thinking if Dragonball comes under the same whitewash or not. The main character is white in the live action movie, but is he truly asian in the cartoon and manga? Manga and anime are this strange replication of the Disney style which definitely has Japanese tones to it but so much squashed together from Western cultures. Just a thought.

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