When Is Color-Blind Casting Okay And When Is It Not?
It seems like The Last Airbender has at least 99 problems -- excruciatingly bad 3D, thuddingly clumsy dialogue, sub-Jake Lloydian acting and more -- but should the color of its cast really be one of them? When io9 proffered Community actor Donald Glover as a possible new Spider-Man, the internet seized on it as its new favorite meme. Sure, Glover is black while Peter Parker in the movies, TV shows and comic books has always been white, but Glover is hilarious, as Spidey should be, and could have easily played the part. So why was this move lauded while Airbender has been met with protests and picket lines?
This is an honest question, not some Glenn Beckian prelude to a "poor put-upon white folks" rant. I saw The Last Airbender last night, and while it was just as awful as you might have heard, the color of the leads didn't really bother me in the least. Looking at the original cartoon characters, I suppose they look somewhat "Asian," but I'm not sure if Asia as we know it even exists in the world of Airbender.
I don't know whether the film is supposed to take place on an alien planet, in the distant future or in some Tolkienesque fantasy world, but wherever it was, the presence of giant flying 'n swimming Swiffer duster, some monkey-looking creature that seems like it should be She-Ra's best friend, and a pond filled with God-Koi seem to suggest that it's a world unlike ours today. So I can accept the fact that the four tribes of this strange world are a virtual United Colors of Benetton ad, with the fire, earth, air and water tribes each sporting plenty of multicultural members.
It was, I'm sure, a shock to the devoted fans to see some of their beloved heroes cast in a way that they were not prepared for, just as I'm sure some fans weren't initially ready for a black Kingpin in Daredevil, a black Nick Fury in Iron Man or a black James West in Wild, Wild West. But all three actors worked out very well; Daredevil and Wild, Wild West both had their problems as movies, but casting a white actor wouldn't have solved them.
Like I said, this is an honest question I'm grappling with myself. I'm half-Latin and I always liked seeing someone who looked more like me, or my sisters or my mother pop up on the screen. But I do think that it's somewhat unfair to espouse the benefits of color-blind casting one day, and demand fidelity to the source material the next. The part should go to the actor that can best fulfill the role, and if the director says it's these four, I think there's no reason to not take him at his word. M. Night Shyamalan treated the world and its culture reverently enough -- there were certainly no Rooney-level "Miss Go-Righree!" abominations -- that I think any charges of full-on racism is unfounded. The worst that might be said is that 'ol Manoj was a little tone-deaf in regard to how his casting would play with fans of the original Avatar.
It's a complicated issue and there are strong feelings on both sides, but I think no matter what our race, creed, nationality or sex we can all agree on one thing: The Last Airbender is one shitty movie.
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Comments
It's July 5th, most people have the day off.
Wow.. That's not how I heard it but you sound like you do have more education on the topic.. thanks for setting me straight.. Still perhaps fair to say they're distant cousins? =)
Good point and there's nothing that can be done to undo bad acting.. I think casting should always be based on skill if possible b/c without the acting, it's just a commercial... or a Tom Cruise movie.. =)
Of course the show is "Asian" !! Oh wait, the shows characters should always be of the same race the PRODUCTION TEAM is???? BS!
Airbenders storyline is clearly based on a Japan/Chinese/India scenario, so whitewashing this movie is wrong and slightly racist. What? Oh, you can't be a little pregnant? Well then, bleaching a movies characters = racism. First they subjected the Japanese to wrongful imprisonement and deportation, 60 years later they're completely eradicated from their own stories. It's not as bad as whites playing First-Americans, but still.
The Black Superman that Shaq played was STEEL. STEEL was a comic based on the life of John Steel, one of the 4 Supermen that were born out of the death of Superman.
The comic was excellent. The movie was shit.
Ok so the next time the movie ROOTS comes out I cant wait to see a white guy there. Or Better yet I want to see the first white guy go to college under the United Negro College fund. How about the white panthers not go to jail when giving a colerd person threatening remarks when going to vote.
I don't know why anyone has a problem with characters not being their intended colour. (Yes colour, with a "u" I'm Canadian)
I mean seriously would you want to see Joaquin Phoenix playing Ali instead of Will Smith? Or maybe Damon Wayans playing Uncle Buck instead of John Candy................................
I think it is clear the the media has had it in for Shyamalan for quite some time now. Could it be that it is because he is Asian?
This racism thing is just the latest salvo in trying to bring him down. These people really should be ashamed of themselves. The accusation itself is ridiculous and offensive. Plus, where have these sudden detractors of racism in hollywood been for the last few decades? The real culprits are these critics and journalists who have decided to highlight this issue (especially the caucasian ones) - where were they when many racial injustices occur on a daily basis in Hollywood, TV and in the media in general?
If, anything the persistent attacks on Shyamalan smack of racism - AmeriKKKa still out there, just doing it more subtly?
This stinks - America needs to grow up.
Um... in what way does Toph (the earthbender) look "obviously" white to you? I was pretty sure she was meant to be East Asian. Her hair is black. Her eyes slant subtly. Yes, they're also huge and not squinty, but that's how anime is drawn. Look at the picture of her parents. http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Lao_Bei_Fong. Her dad's drawn with a Fu Manchu mustache for crikey's sakes!
You could make a case that she looks ethnically ambiguous, I suppose. But "obviously" white? I dunno where you got that from.
By the way, if you can't tell what ethnicity the Avatar characters are supposed to be in the cartoon, look at pictures of the characters' parents and grandparents. The kids are drawn with huge googly eyes to indicate their youth, but the adults in the series are drawn with more 'realistic' facial features. Katara and Sokka's dad and grandmother look pretty Native American to me.
What???
You say there isn't any problem with characters not being their intended "colours" but then you go on to mention why Damon Waynes would make a horrible Uncle Buck. But once again like so many others what you really meant to say is that there isn't any problem with colored characters being portrayed by white actors but white characters should never be portrayed by colored actors.
Ali is a real person who is black so your whole point about Phoenix is moot.
Braveheart was scottish, he was played by Mel Gibson. Is Mel Gibson scottish - no he is american. What the hell was your point again?
Just wanted to clarify Mel Gibson is Australian, not American.
People from other countries, and of other races and ethnicities are pretty consistently playing roles meant for different races and ethnicities. It's life. Hollywood will do as they see fit. No one complained about the blackwashing when the american remake of Death at a Funeral came out. It was originally a british film, starring an all white cast.
I get that the main characters in The Last Airbender should have been native american (inuit if i'm not mistaken), but how many inuits could act? Instead of spending even MORE money to find two decent native american actors, they went with two white kids would would end up working out cheaper.
Prince Zuko was for all accounts and purposes drawn as an east asian (chinese most likely), but played by an Indian. This is okay. He did well in the role. In the end I think the issues lies in the acting, not the race.
I have nothing to add, just wanted to be the 89th commentor. Who will be lucky 90!
You have no clue, sorry. A remake reflects the basic qualities of the original but gives meaning or value to time it inhabits. In this case, we're talking Hawai'i now. It would be dated otherwise.
But your in Canada, so what would you know of the Pacific or the people who actually live and work here. I'm from Japan, and from what I see, the majoritynwho work live and populate Hawaii are east Asian and pacific islander past to present,. That is the culture, not 70s mainland retro.
That would be boring to repeat the past and something that is not true. Ne.
Definitely fair to say that.
Disney -> Osamu Tezuka -> anime/manga in general -> Disney rips off Tezuka's Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion) and rebadges it as The Lion King -> Disney publishes Studio Ghibli films in the US
Making more or less a big circle.
Mel Gibson is American. His family moved to Australia when he was twelve.
Stop lying to yourself to try and defend this horrible movie. The show is wrapped around Asian culture and philosophy. Even the writings, the geographical features, costumes, and customs are of Asian origins. To state that the characters aren't Asians, are you - and folks like you - being intellectually dishonest. We all know that the show is steep in Asian culture and the most, if not all, characters have well recognize Asian traits.
Besides, Middle-Earth NEVER ONCE described any race ethnically, yet we don't see any Asian Elves - who are just as fair skin, if not more so - than the white actors they got to play the role.
We people of ethnic didn't cause a commotion when white fantasy stories had an ALL white cast. But when something that is blatantly, obviously filled with NON-Euro-American white BS becomes a movie and the main char. aren't of ethnic background, there will be a commotion.
But I guess so long as the white status quo isn't threatened, you're fine with anything. Because race should ONLY be an issue when it's pointed out. And then, at that point, black/yellow/brown facing should fix the problem, because the best actors got the job instead!
OK, so Spiderman, I agree, is pretty darn cool. Let's face it, he was one of the most famous of the super heroes out there. But have you guys seen Iron Man Patriot who used to be the Green Goblin? What a movie that would be? He's like he's been using maximuscle cyclone and pumping some serious iron! He's a dude.
OK, so Spiderman, I agree, is pretty darn cool. Let's face it, he was one of the most famous of the super heroes out there. But have you guys seen Iron Man Patriot who used to be the Green Goblin? What a movie that would be? He's like he's been using maximuscle cyclone and pumping some serious iron! He's a dude.
Aibender was an alright movie, and the racism comes from LOL-worthy retards who refuse to let white people play "asian" roles (as if there was an Asia in this movie).
@Trace
This is a late reply, I was googling the upcoming live action of Akira and came upon this site. I just want to add that even though the setting of the TLA doesn't say an particular asian location, they are still represented as having asian influence. The character of Aang is really about the dalai lama. Katara and Sokka are living in igloos, there's martial arts and asian calligraphy (even in the intro), and I don't really see how anyone (and even this blogger) can mistake the culture of these asian/native american influenced characters as being depicted fairly in the Shyamalan live action version?
Race is integral to this film considering everything that makes up the story is very old, and with respect to the asian culture, why would you not represent the people as well? Even M. Night changed the pronunciation of the character's name to sound authentic to the original asian/native american sounding names.
And also, guess what? The studios refused to announce the ethnicity of Noah Ringer (actor of Aang) until one year after the release of the film, which I find really fishy.
This is really about money, and unfortunately financial discrimination is still discrimination regardless if it's about race or not.
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