When I found out when the animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender was going to have a live-action movie, I was ecstatic. I absolutely loved every aspect of the show. The story, the animation, the action scenes, and especially the weird hybrid animals. I was weary but optimistic when M. Night Shyamalan was called to direct the film. As long as he doesn't give the movie a lame twist, it was all good. As for whom he casted in this film, I was disappointed.
After seeing the awesome action-packed trailer, the only thing that bothered me was the whitewashing of the characters. As for Aang, I wasn't surprised that the character was going to be played by a white kid. Of course American cinema wouldn't dare cast a person of color as the lead protagonist who is destined to save the world. The kid is ugly (sorry Noah Ringer), but at least he looks somewhat like Aang. But what's frustrating for me was the casting of Katara and Sokka. In the show, the two characters have tanned/dark complexion. For the movie, the actor and actress are pale white. I mean can't you at least cast actors/actresses who look ethnically ambiguous? Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone look pretty Caucasian, maybe not Aryan Hitler youth white, but they're undeniably white. Out of all the young actors and actresses here in the U.S.(and even the entire world), you choose them? Sorry, but I don't think I can watch the entire film seriously when you altered the show I love and adore. As for the casting of Dev Patel as Zuko, I'm indifferent, I'm just glad its not Jesse McCartney.
Yeah, I'm awfully bitter about this. Is it because I'm Asian? Well sort of. When I was young child, I never had an Asian-American actor to emulate myself with. Yeah there was Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, but I was never interested in martial-arts film. I would probably say Ash from Pokemon was my only hero as a child. I kind of assumed this was the chance for the younger generation to emulate with, but I was dead wrong. I guess for now they have to emulate with the background characters.
Ya, that kinda pissed me off too, especially since Shyamalan is Indian and you think he'd be more conscious about the whitewashing. It might be the studio though, ultimately they probably have control. I remember talking to Swann after the preview came out. Apparently, he tried out for Zuko hahahaha
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you Fred. I too was disappointed by the unrealistic casting, reminds me of how white actors would portray black people in blackface back in the face just because it was too risque to use accurate portrayals. Let's boycott this film!
ReplyDelete