“The principal forms of our physical and social environment are fixed in representations…and we ourselves are fashioned in relation to them.” - Serge Moscovici

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Avatar: The Last Airbender


Sorry, I tried to post earlier but the blog wouldn't upload my video. Here's the link to Avatar: The Last Airbender's trailer.

I posted this because it shows the movie industry's preference for white actors over actors of other races even when the original source material calls for ethnic-looking characters.

The Last Airbender is originally an animated cartoon series based on Asian themes and cultures with obviously Asian and Inuit-looking characters, so the studio's decision to cast predominantly white actors as leads caused disappointment and anger in fans and the public. Though the studios insisted that they had not discriminated against actors of color during casting decisions, casting calls specifically asked for "Caucasian or other ethnicities", which doesn't really make sense since the characters are Asian in the original.

It is also notable that in the movie the war-like Fire nation's people are Indian/South Asian, whereas the innocent, oppressed Water and Air nations are white: perpetuating the stereotype that dark skin color = evil/bad.

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