Current mood:

Fixin' for a fight

Seriously how is that not like blackface.*
Jackson Rathbone Talks Upcoming M. Night Shyamalan Film.

Due in theaters in summer 2010, "Airbender" has already begun to face a bit of controversy over the casting of white actors like Rathbone, Ringer and McCartney to play Asian characters — a concern the actor was quick to dismiss. "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan," he said of the transformation he'll go through to look more like Sokka.

Jackson Rathbone + tan = STILL NEITHER NATIVE AMERICAN NOR ASIAN.

*My boyfriend pointed out that it's not like blackface in that they're not doing it to exploit racial stereotypes, but I'm still deeply offended that Rathbone would summarily dismiss real and genuine concerns of many hurt and angry people with a tan.

ETA: If you're in the Philadelphia area (and how I wish I was) then see about looking into this protest being organized by aang-aint-white.

ETA AGAIN: Check out the open casting call for extras. And remember, if you're Korean, wear a ~~hanbok~~ kimono.

ETA SOME MORE: Via

atreyu - Jesse McCartney informs us that Avatar is an anime from Japan! He's been doing kung fu for like three hours a day with different ninjas and stuff! The cast is full of idiots.

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ingrid
2009-01-23 08:07 pm UTC (link)

What kills me most is that the voice of Uncle Iroh, Mako, was a huge trailblazing Asian actor and now all I can see is him rolling like a wheel on a race car in his grave.

Nauseating.

Mako's first cinema role was in the 1959 film Never So Few. In 1965, frustrated by the limited roles available to himself and other Asian American actors, Mako and 6 others formed the East West Players theatre company, first performing out of a church basement. The company is one of the earliest Asian American theatre organizations, and not only provided a venue for Asian American actors to train and perform, but nurtured many Asian American playwrights.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	anonyrat 2009-01-23 08:55 pm UTC (link)
	Agh, and they put that tear-jerking tribute in Tales of Ba Sing Se and everything. Goddammit, guys. Goddammit. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lady_ganesh 2009-01-24 01:48 am UTC (link)
	Mako was so fucking cool. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-01-24 09:06 am UTC (link)
	I'll never forget what he said about doing the voice for Aku: "Evil comes from the belly." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ecchaniz0r 2009-01-24 09:22 pm UTC (link)
	YES! "...And so I just drop my voice lower. And lower. And Aku Voice LOWER. AND I CAN'T GO ANY LOWER." (Reply to this)(Parent)

vejiicakes
2009-01-24 11:56 am UTC (link)

^^^ THIS.

I mean, this, right here? The yellowface treatment, and the further marginalization of Asian Americans (in ANY movie roles, let alone ones that are meant to reflect THEIR OWN cultures!) are what Mako and co. founded the EWP on in the first place. Ugh. He probably wrapped up what work he could on "Avatar", saw how enormously successful and respected and respectful it was and thought, perhaps, things would change for Asian American youth after all.

JOKE'S ON US, I GUESS.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	beccastareyes 2009-01-24 06:37 pm UTC (link)
	You know, my first LJ post about this pointed out the irony in whitewashing a cast of a movie based on a show that had one of the pioneers of Asian-Americans in film as a voice actor, and how I never would have learned this part of Hollywood history if it hadn't been for Avatar. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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