Speaking of Whitewashing

[netmouse]

I was discussing RaceFail '09 with andrhia the other day, and she mentioned the casting of the film version of Avatar, which I had never heard of. (I'd never heard of the cartoon or the movie. Not having a television or being a media fan, I don't track these things. I'd also not heard of the outcry over the main heroes' being cast to be played by white actors in the live-action movie series, which will begin in 2010 with a film called The Last Airbender.)

Anyway, in my now-getting-extensive-yet-not-even-approaching-done reading of the blogs of various people who participated or commented on RaceFail, I came across This excellent post by bossymarmalade about the casting of Avatar.

(So read it already.)

Comments

[branchandroot]

Yeah, the Avatar casting is right up there with the casting of that Travesty of an Earthsea series. Odd how "colorblind casting" makes all the explicit characters of color white but it never seems to make even the ambiguous characters non-white. /sarcasm

[alicebentley]

I only wish all this unpleasantness had an up side.

I really loved the Last Airbender series. We pounced on each new DVD as it was released (not having Nick as an option in this area). It's as silly and trivial as you would expect from a kid's TV show, as well written and moving as you would hope for. I would love to see it get wider appreciation.

And this movie is likely to do just the opposite.

[vretallin.livejournal.com]

They have done a horrible job on the casting of Avatar. I have a friend who is a real fan of it and she compared the actors with the characters, it's really really poorly done.

[bryanalexander.livejournal.com]

This is deeply stupid.

My family is up in arms, being Avatar fiends. Gwynneth (14) also makes the Earthsea comparison.

can't top this

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

“It's like casting Eminem as Jim in Huckleberry Finn.”
-- Ursula K. Le Guin on the TV miniseries "adapted" from A Wizard of Earthsea

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Are you actively up in arms? Meaning, have you written to them, written letters to the editors of papers and magazines? Anything like that?

Re: can't top this

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. That is an excellent quote.

And a sad thought.

[bryanalexander.livejournal.com]

Gwynneth (daughter, aged 14) did. I think Ceredwyn did.

Any recommendations for action?

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

I have become aware that there is a petition effort here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/racebend/petition.html

sponsored by the folks here:
http://www.racebending.com/

pump up the volume.

[bryanalexander.livejournal.com]

Good. Thanks.