789 replies to this topic

[No WhereMan]

I agree considering how the characters were developed they are being very racist if you ask me

Katara & Sokka should be either native american, black, or dark hispanic
Aang should be asian
Zuko well... it really wouldn't matter to much I guess

Productions are racist and the many people will see that rather or not they are avatar fans.

Heck, I would have even went with Asian-Indian for Katara and Sokka also.

[James S Cassidy]

You know...I think you guys are more racist just for saying how racist are others.

It has been established that the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a world of it's own. It's not based of OUR world. It is a world of it's own. You should look at the actors at their acting job and NOT what race they are.

I am sad that some of you even have a problem with this in a first place. If they are good actors, it doesn't matter to me. Would it be better if one of the characters was black? Asian? European?

So it's not the script that gets to you....it;s not the sales you all worry about...it's not how good the movie follows the cartoon....you only care about that actors and their race? Because they don;t match the race YOU think would fit the movie is automatically fail?

Wow, you guys are very....tolerant.

I mean really?

By the way, I don't see the big deal about the James Cameron's Avatar movie...in fact it rips off so many plot devices from other movies. I once read it almost follows the story Pocahontas to the T. It you like it that's fine, but I don't see the appeal.

[No WhereMan]

You know...I think you guys are more racist just for saying how racist are others.

It has been established that the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a world of it's own. It's not based of OUR world. It is a world of it's own. You should look at the actors at their acting job and NOT what race they are.

I am sad that some of you even have a problem with this in a first place. If they are good actors, it doesn't matter to me. Would it be better if one of the characters was black? Asian? European?

So it's not the script that gets to you....it;s not the sales you all worry about...it's not how good the movie follows the cartoon....you only care about that actors and their race? Because they don;t match the race YOU think would fit the movie is automatically fail?

Wow, you guys are very....tolerant.

I mean really?

By the way, I don't see the big deal about the James Cameron's Avatar movie...in fact it rips off so many plot devices from other movies. I once read it almost follows the story Pocahontas to the T. It you like it that's fine, but I don't see the appeal.

Actually, if you looked at everyone's responses I don't believe anyone said that the movie was going to fail because of the actors of the movie, but the choice of the director. The choice of the director was the main reason a lot of people have stated that they didn't want to see this movie. He's choice of cast selection is a reflected of this reason.

The thing about the Avatar is, true it's a show based in a mystical world, but it's also a world that multicultural. The creators have stated that they've taken ques from Asian culture when they developed Avatar. What I'm disappointed in is the fact that, this could have brought a lot of opportunity to a wide variety of actors we haven't seen before, but Paramount didn't step up to the plate. And yes I know race shouldn't be a big issue here, but what we're talking about is being consistent with the actual source material.

Also, before you decide to get on the high horse of everyone else being intolerant, i found the article that mentions what Kodachi Claws was saying.

APA coalition meets with Paramount

As well as the site that has the petition that was made to Paramount.

Petition


Also I wanted to point out that it really doesn't matter if you don't see the appeal to James Cameron's Avatar movie, after it's made almost 2.5 billion in box office gross it becomes a moot point. 2.5 billion is a lot of people that disagree with you opinion of it's appeal. Hell, the fact I think Titanic was crap doesn't mean it wasn't hella successful.

Once again we're looking at the caliber of directors here. James Cameron has a slew of record-breaking blockbuster movies in his background. M. Night does not. That was part of the reason why I stated that "The Last Airbender" wasn't going to touch Cameron's Avatar. You have to do something insanely special to touch 1 billion for a single movie, let alone 2.5 billion. And M. Night Shyamalan's background doesn't reflect that directing know how.

[krisk]

You know...I think you guys are more racist just for saying how racist are others.

It has been established that the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a world of it's own. It's not based of OUR world. It is a world of it's own. You should look at the actors at their acting job and NOT what race they are.

I am sad that some of you even have a problem with this in a first place. If they are good actors, it doesn't matter to me. Would it be better if one of the characters was black? Asian? European?

So it's not the script that gets to you....it;s not the sales you all worry about...it's not how good the movie follows the cartoon....you only care about that actors and their race? Because they don;t match the race YOU think would fit the movie is automatically fail?

Wow, you guys are very....tolerant.

I mean really?

had to post to back up NoWhereMan's response,

srsly you need to get off that high-horse of yours bub. Acting holier-than-thou in this situation will get you friggin nowhere. Suddenly coming out of nowhere, white knighting Shamalamadingdong and making empty accusations is useless. Again nobody said that the movie was gonna outright fail just because of the actors ethnicities. Instead it was stated in different ways that since this very APPARENT and BLATANT change from the source material is so ridiculous (aka not FAITHFUL, i'm talkin TW faithful), that it discourages fans ready to watch and is a huge blow to the building excitement and hopeful anticipation instilled within those faithful to the original content. Hell in fact, as soon as i saw the actors cast, i thought it was a god lvl troll -- but lo and behold, it wasn't and over time it got worse and worse.

tl;dr i could care less what race they are, they aren't what the source material listed so IT'S JUST NOT OK.

these are the fans who are butthurt, not regular people wanting to see an grimdark-action flick with unique, rarely-seen sparkly elements and wouldn't hesitate to shell out 10-12 bucks to get off for 2 hours and then waltz home with rainbows flowing out of their bums to never talk about the movie ever again.

also, it doesn't take a genius to figure that yes, part of Bryke's Avatar world is not based on ours (aka LOL NO BENDING and TURTLE-DUX) but it doesn't exactly take an expert in rocket science to put two and two together and admit that there are cultural and ethnic influences that ARE from our world (ie, chinese imperialism and royalty, buddhist teachings of monks, the Inuit people residing at the poles and various other arctic locations). Hell the Avatar state and ZU-YIN-YANG-TARA is full on influenced by this world. EVERYTHING IS. You've got little to no ammo with that one.

btw tell me what you think of this picture, irwtk:

By the way, I don't see the big deal about the James Cameron's Avatar movie...in fact it rips off so many plot devices from other movies. I once read it almost follows the story Pocahontas to the T. It you like it that's fine, but I don't see the appeal.

LOL i think i know what you're talking about. --Click here to view--

[Lid]

I've seen a lot of trailers for it recently and I think it looks pretty cool, I'm excited for it. And I think the performers in the film look aight. By the way, long time no see krisk.

[Onionhead Attacks]

also, it doesn't take a genius to figure that yes, part of Bryke's Avatar world is not based on ours (aka LOL NO BENDING and TURTLE-DUX) but it doesn't exactly take an expert in rocket science to put two and two together and admit that there are cultural and ethnic influences that ARE from our world (ie, chinese imperialism and royalty, buddhist teachings of monks, the Inuit people residing at the poles and various other arctic locations). Hell the Avatar state and ZU-YIN-YANG-TARA is full on influenced by this world. EVERYTHING IS. You've got little to no ammo with that one.

btw tell me what you think of this picture, irwtk:

I can't believe I'm saying this, krisk... but after the new Avatar trailers have come out I wanna see the movie now! D; Duuddeee... that is sooo the opposite of what I said but then again it was that boring "only Aang airbending around candles" trailer and that whole different Zuko image (less visible scar, eyebrows, no bald-ponytail Zuko!) that made me not want to see it >.> (Yes, Zuko fangirl here.... shush) But I gotta admit, the new trailer looks awesome! If you forget the discrepancies from the cartoon and see the movie and THEN later compare, I suppose your opinion holds more water than outright saying it sucks without having seen the movie. So yea... now to scrounge up the money for the ticket >.>

Also....

LOL i think i know what you're talking about. --Click here to view--

What the.... LOL! I've never seen the other Avatar movie personally because I've never been interested in it and after seeing this mighty pic... I think I'd be rofl'ing more than wanting to see it now... Thanks for brightening up my day with a great laugh, krisk XD

[catsi563]

well I may be in the minority but I find the entire casting argument utterly ridiculous with a side of youve got to be kidding me on top.

People seriously need to get a grip about such things. the notion that a white actor in the role will ruin it is as ridiuclous as the notion that a black man cant be president.

next thing we know people will be pitching a hissy fit that that vocie actors for the animated series werent asian. Sheesh where does it end?

As to the asian influences yes they are there almsot certianly, but the notion that because it has asian influences makes the characters Asian is laughable at best. Simply put Aangs character design is as white as it can get right down to the skin tone. and grey eyes.

Katara is darker skinned but her eyes are a clear blue. Zuko and Mei and Tai lee and Azula all have clearly asian designs and features given the fire nations clear japanese influences.

but all that is beside the point, again i say where does it end? the next thing we know well have people having hissy fits when ever an actor with even the least remote difference is cast in anything.

How come I havent heard the japanese b**ch about Koreans or Chinese actors portraying Japanese characters in some films? Wheres the outcry when Japanese actors play chinese or Korean or god forbid vietnamese.

why arent fans pitching a fit that Hugh Jackman an australian was cast as Wolverine who was canadian?

Are we going to have petitions when a non greek ethinic woman is cast as wonder woman?

good lord well burn hollywood to the ground the day that happens if thats the case.

seriosuly people let the actors play the roles and if they do a good acting job congratulate then on it and move on.

if they do a bad job then pan them on their bad acting, lack of emotional range, etc etc but leave their skin tones, and the fact that there characters is BASED or INFLUENCED by a certain ethnic group out of it.

[shadow_Uzumaki]

Well, for me, seeing the cast WAS a bit jarring, but for the most part, it looks interesting.... I mostly wanna see righteous martial arts action and a nice story. I'm easily pleased.

[Sakura Blossoms]

well I may be in the minority but I find the entire casting argument utterly ridiculous with a side of youve got to be kidding me on top.

People seriously need to get a grip about such things. the notion that a white actor in the role will ruin it is as ridiuclous as the notion that a black man cant be president.

next thing we know people will be pitching a hissy fit that that vocie actors for the animated series werent asian. Sheesh where does it end?

As to the asian influences yes they are there almsot certianly, but the notion that because it has asian influences makes the characters Asian is laughable at best. Simply put Aangs character design is as white as it can get right down to the skin tone. and grey eyes.

Katara is darker skinned but her eyes are a clear blue. Zuko and Mei and Tai lee and Azula all have clearly asian designs and features given the fire nations clear japanese influences.

but all that is beside the point, again i say where does it end? the next thing we know well have people having hissy fits when ever an actor with even the least remote difference is cast in anything.

How come I havent heard the japanese b**ch about Koreans or Chinese actors portraying Japanese characters in some films? Wheres the outcry when Japanese actors play chinese or Korean or god forbid vietnamese.

why arent fans pitching a fit that Hugh Jackman an australian was cast as Wolverine who was canadian?

Are we going to have petitions when a non greek ethinic woman is cast as wonder woman?

good lord well burn hollywood to the ground the day that happens if thats the case.

seriosuly people let the actors play the roles and if they do a good acting job congratulate then on it and move on.

if they do a bad job then pan them on their bad acting, lack of emotional range, etc etc but leave their skin tones, and the fact that there characters is BASED or INFLUENCED by a certain ethnic group out of it.

Quote for the freaking win.

[Dreamer]

To be honest with ya I've only seen a few episodes of Avatar, so either way regardless of the actors or race, I think it's going to be a great experience for me.

Edited by Uzumakikage, 14 March 2010 - 04:56 PM.

[catsi563]

I never called anyone a reverse racist or idiot at all. the point I was trying to make is that people are blowing there respective stacks over what i quite frankly feel is a minor issue at best, and a case of hollywood bias at worst.

Im more concerned that Shyamalan well get the story right then what skin tone the actors are honestly.

Suprisingly though i agree with most of your points ((depsite the backhanded insult which ill let slide)) there are issues in hollywood that need redressing. but going on fanrage tears about how the movies gonna suck because the actors arent brown enough isnt doing anything.

and to the asian influences what about Bleach? if they ever did a live action in that regard would people throw a hissy fit about the ichigo actor? or what about Naruto how many blond or strawberry blond asians do you know?

I mean seriously where does it end? Sure one of these days well probably have full equality in casting. but untll then im gonna judge the actors on ther ability not what ethinicity they are.

I wasnt pissed that ripcord in GI joe was portrayed by a blackman, whta pissed me off was that they screwed up the character of scarlet.

and as a side note if you want to talk rverse racism saying that all those people "look like one another" could be jsut as easilly construed as that reverse racism.

its entirely pointless. meh back on topic before this gets overcharged and thread locked

[No WhereMan]

i dont think anything can beat the anime i loved it.

The move probly be a let down because so many people have there hopes up.

Actually i don't think many people have their hopes up, that's the problem.

Also, catsi563 I wanted to add, if the fans don't actually complain and petition about these types of issues, how are things ever going to change in Hollywood? Why do you think Hollywood stopped putting white actors in black roles with shoe polish on their faces? Because people complained, boycotted, petitioned those producers, directors, etc.

Things never change if you decide to remain silent about it.

And like the link I posted earlier there were a great many people (fans), that were upset and decided to do something it. And I'm sorry if signing a petition and having an Asian American Coalition meeting with Paramount about their concerns, is considered "fanraging" I don't know how else someone would try to (peacefully) bring out change.

And I want to restate, that I don't have high hopes about the film not because of the casting, (which I am disappointed in) but because of the director.

Edited by No WhereMan, 15 March 2010 - 10:44 PM.

[catsi563]

actually No where i agree with you. things wont change if no one stays silent. Heck even ill admit to getitng pissed when halle berry was cast as Catwoman. Add in the fact that the movie was atrocious and her acting worse and she didnt even belong in the role.

no my only point really was that Ive heard alot of people raging about how this movies going to be so much epic phailzorz before it even comes out, and almost everytime the reason they give is the casting choices.

I mean seriously lets give the cast members a chance to prove us right and wrong before we cast the film to its respective level of heaven or hell and leave the politics out of it.

let the fans sign their petitions heck ill sign the petition myself. But do it outside the movie discussion.

In regards to the movie of Avatar the last airbender itself. I see absolutley no problem with the casting choices done as is.

Edited by catsi563, 16 March 2010 - 12:00 AM.

[krisk]

I can't believe I'm saying this, krisk... but after the new Avatar trailers have come out I wanna see the movie now! D; Duuddeee... that is sooo the opposite of what I said but then again it was that boring "only Aang airbending around candles" trailer and that whole different Zuko image (less visible scar, eyebrows, no bald-ponytail Zuko!) that made me not want to see it >.> (Yes, Zuko fangirl here.... shush) But I gotta admit, the new trailer looks awesome! If you forget the discrepancies from the cartoon and see the movie and THEN later compare, I suppose your opinion holds more water than outright saying it sucks without having seen the movie. So yea... now to scrounge up the money for the ticket >.>

What the.... LOL! I've never seen the other Avatar movie personally because I've never been interested in it and after seeing this mighty pic... I think I'd be rofl'ing more than wanting to see it now... Thanks for brightening up my day with a great laugh, krisk XD

xDD zuko fangirl

yeah no doubt the trailer was badass, but trailers are MEANT to be badass. It's no figure that the people who edit and cut and do the music and so on and so forth are so good at their jobs. The response they want IS GUARANTEED. Hell i know i'll go and see it, more and more stuff will be released and if there's this much controversy over everything then you know it's worth it to go as a fan at least. That's why i'm butthurt and discussing this so much -- i care about it enough to talk about it.

and LOL yw so much leechwan.
i'm not into the whole full on AVATAR IS AWESOME RAAAAAAWR GREATEST MOVIE IN TEH WORLD either so i find it the pic very delicious. Hell in fact, the Oscars was one of the greatest nights of my life

*snip*

um ok there are a few things though.

I understand that all those small things (eye color, exact blah blah) wouldn't matter, and i'm pretty damn sure i wouldn't care in the slightest if they came up in the near future. I'm not illogical, i know that a LIVE-ACTION adaptation from a cartoon is gonna have some differences. I understand that the pony-tail would look awkward as hell, that katara's loopies would also not work as well (but if they tried, i bet they would; i've seen a few kinda-want cosplays), that the colors can't be completely exact because the directors have to keep in mind HOW it all looks in the main package. I got it, it doesn't matter to me (infact all of that is completely unrelated to what i'm TRYING to get at but w/e)

All i'm saying is this particular casting is totally out from left field. It should be pretty apparent that i'm not insinuating that what color of skin they have depends on how well they act (that's stupid to be frank) because i stated (for the umpteenth time already) that i don't care about what skin color they have. Color effecting acting is not the issue here -- color effecting HOW IT LOOKS is. And that's all, nothing more, at least not like the ways you brought up. This isn't that srs bisnes, it's the presentation in the simplest of ways.

inafter Kodashi's post:
Exactly what he's saying. The casting in this particular movie looks to be a complete joke, but it's not. It seems that no effort was put in and that's why some of these "raging" fans are doing just that. I'm fine if they do well, hell kudos to them as young actors/actresses, the only thing that will bug me whilst watching is the visual presentation. It's just not gonna sit well with me since i've been so loyal to the source material.

Anyway I'd touch base on all issues with you as well, but it looks like Kodachi beat me to it. So i'll just choose by appeal XD

Like his response to the VA issue. For example if you had the chance to play casting director, i'm pretty sure visual/audio appeal would be on your mind right next to acting ability -- it's just courteous to keep the fans in mind, to think like a fan. Like (an aforementioned example) PatF. The accents rang true to their hosts, and the experience was all the more enjoyable. The origins of the characters called for Southern/Cajun/wthever Naveen was backgrounds (in which case called for particular accents) and the cast chosen fit the bill to the dot. And unlike this movie that we're all having this oh so wonderous discussion about, the presentation that PatF had was commendable to the highest degree. I'm just saying that even though it's a small thing, I can't ignore it just because it's 'what's to be expected' or 'lol oh you hollywood'. As a fan I expect to have at least some effort put into the creation of it. I say if you're gonna take on a project that can possibly break the crusty foundation that Hollywood has unfortunately built itself on, then I say try your absolute hardest.

aaanyway that's just something i wanted to address from Kodashi's post, I watched PatF and i felt the need to present it as an example as well. Again ai with the meat of his post there.

Asians in particular are being mistreated in film to a degree. Remember how the movie 21 was suppposed to be based on a true story? The people who pulled that heist were all asian, but the studio replaced them with all white actors. I personally find it insulting that they would make a movie based on true story but not even tell it correctly due to what the originals looked like.

I would also like to say that if you feel you will enjoy the film regardless of the race issue, that's fine( I know I will). But calling the people who calmly bring up the issue without insulting the other side reverse-racists and idiots only proves the point they were making.

no kidding about this one. I mean i'm not about to pull the 'oh as a fellow blank blank i feel insulted as well' card for brownie points, but this has been a constant recurrence. Sure hollywood will never let go of the ever beloved stereotype that asians have to HI-YAH really well to get a part in which they can HI-YAH all want, but i was hoping that this particular adaptation would give me some kind of hope in it's endeavor of letting go. I mean c'mon this is one of the few stories in which the population of a particular area in the world doesn't have to live up to a stereotype and has the chance to be known and recognized for it's culture and traditions, not how broken their engrish is.

for instance the picture i plugged for James up there. It bums me out so much to see that they could easily get all these PERFECTLY ACCURATE extras but couldn't even budge to get the main characters (those of which have my attention full force during the viewing) to match the description in the original story. I have no idea how they'll explain this one. I could see a white lady in the back, but she seems too young to be the watersibs Gran-Gran. Oh god gran-gran, I still haven't seen you :/

no my only point really was that Ive heard alot of people raging about how this movies going to be so much epic phailzorz before it even comes out, and almost everytime the reason they give is the casting choices.

I mean seriously lets give the cast members a chance to prove us right and wrong before we cast the film to its respective level of heaven or hell and leave the politics out of it.

let the fans sign their petitions heck ill sign the petition myself. But do it outside the movie discussion.

In regards to the movie of Avatar the last airbender itself. I see absolutley no problem with the casting choices done as is.

i think you're blowing out of proportions. Idk where you were but i'm pretty sure anybody who's commented on this movie here has based their opinions on what they've seen so far. I know i have, probably not in the most obvious ways possible, but i know that i won't shoot down a whole film just because it's casting is so wtf. It's just what's been presented to us at the very beginning, at the point of zero judgment (sans knowledge of who the director is), is very discouraging and it doesn't exactly fill me with hope to see that the guys building the movie would do such a thing, such an obvious contradiction, so quickly.

And i don't see the point of not talking about this particular issue. It's an issue about the movie, and this thread is for Avatar related stuff (and which atm is the movie), so im happy with it. I mean of course it won't change the casting since the movie is basically already finished, but it will matter to those who don't just want to "wait till the actors show us up" because that will come in due time. Being butthurt together helps. Y'know, misery loves company and all that jazz.

in related news of the acting, i heard Sokkas' is bad. But eh they're just rumors so i won't use it to sooth the butthurt at all, no worries.
also i heard the score is gasmazing. I'm so friggin relieved since the music from the show was one of THE most legit things i loved from it. Specially the music during the Zutara (or for you canontards, Zuko and Katara) vs Azula fight nngh.

[Mik3]

I can understand the beef with the characters. When you are making a movie based on a popular cartoon or etc, as a fan you'd want the actor to resemble the characters as much as possible. And the show is about the wide world, and the different cultures ad people who inhabit it. Overall Im more concerned with the job the actors will do. I like M Night, he hangs around philly all the time, but I wonder how much of book 1 he will include. Most likely were going to get a lot of skimming. However, the trailers so far have been legit, I have family members, even older ones who saw the spot during the super bowl and they thought it looked like the next action blockbuster. And I'll admit Im a sucker for special effects and it looks like they did a damned good job. So those people who are ticked off solely because of the racial issue, they should just watch the movie, like the rest of us will, and give the movie, the actors, and even m night a chance and then decide.


And I haven't seen krisk or the others condemn the film because of the casting to be fair.

I heard is actor was part of Twilight, so based on that...it doesn't look too promising.

I heard he was pretty off too according to some reliable review sites. On a good note however, they said Iroh did an incredible job.

Edited by Mik3, 21 March 2010 - 03:16 AM.

[Sakura Blossoms]

So those people who are ticked off solely because of the racial issue, they should just watch the movie, like the rest of us will, and give the movie, the actors, and even m night a chance and then decide.


And I haven't seen krisk or the others condemn the film because of the casting to be fair.

Hear hear. I've really wanted to stay out of all of this to me pointless arguing, but honestly to me it seems kind of prejudice to be prejudiced against the actors who were chosen, just because they weren't the 'type' of person that you wanted to be picked.

[Dreamer]

Hear hear. I've really wanted to stay out of all of this to me pointless arguing, but honestly to me it seems kind of prejudice to be prejudiced against the actors who were chosen, just because they weren't the 'type' of person that you wanted to be picked.

Correctomundo, everyone just go watch the movie and criticise afterwards if you think it turns out bad.