That whole touchy racism thing.

[osaraba]

Please read bookshop's post about a fantasy book and why changing its cover is that sort of insidious institutionalized racism/bias that I hope people can work to become more aware of, and protest/counteract.

http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1056528.html

Oddly enough, it's almost exactly the same situation as what's going on with Avatar: The Last Airbender. Funny, that.

For a great post about the racism in Avatar, please read: http://splinterend.tumblr.com/post/749364670/facepainting

Comments

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

I think the casting of the movie failed to do what it could and should have done, but I want to point out that the characters are not Asian. They are strongly Asian-influenced, but in the series I believe there is a definite racial vagueness given to the majority of the characters-- you can say there are no Aryan-looking types, and no dark-skinned African-looking types, but beyond that it's hard to say definitively that Aang is Asian, that Katara and Sokka are Inuit (they have dark skin, but medium brown hair and blue eyes), etc. The Avatar universe is not our universe, and racial distinctions can't be made the way they can here.

This is not to say I approve of this debacle. There's enough room for interpretation that they had a perfect opportunity to cast talented non-white actors and they blatantly ignored it. A:tLA's creators, Mike DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, have been very vocal about the series being, at least in part, a paean to their love of Asian culture, and it's clear the casting of the film completely bungled it. Shyamalan could have said, "I cast the actors I thought were best for the parts, end of story," and instead went on a long, embarrassing rant about how he determined the racial makeup of the four nations.

Maybe people whitewash their products thinking they won't sell because white America is discomfited by anything they consider unfamiliar or too exotic, but I think we pretty much buy what they give us.

[osaraba]

Truthfully, since I haven't seen the TV show I can't comment on the characters ethnic origins (although I'm reading everywhere, on both sides, that the culture is clearly an Asian one?), but the issue of the missed opportunity to cast unknown non-white actors over unknown white actors is a significant one in its own right.

One of my main concerns is seeing representation of non-whites in strong, positive roles -- there are too few, and it has a big impact that goes unrealized even by those it would affect most!

I do think it's a mix of marketing to a majority and consumers buying what is given to us without really thinking too hard about it. Which is unfortunate.

Thanks for your input!!