Pledge to Boycott the Last Airbender

Started by Hufwe ta'em, January 13, 2011, 02:52:18 PM

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Hufwe ta'em

Today once again i was surfing on the Internet and i found this http://www.racebending.com/v3/act/pledge/

They want to boycott all product from this movie because of Paramount use discriminatory casting practices ....


Txur’Itan

Despite some of the worst reviews and most negative press a movie could possibly receive, it was financially successful. 


Budget.............$150 million
Gross revenue......$319,038,279


A boycott does not seem to echo with everyone, and the arguments from Racebending.com and others have gone largely unheard by many moviegoers as ticket sales would indicate.

Film Version of the Cartoon

The first season of the show became the basis for the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is claimed to be the first movie of a planned trilogy from each of the television 3 seasons. Critical reception was overwhelmingly negative, earning the film a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film originally shared the title of the television series, but it was changed to The Last Airbender because the producers were worried it would be confused with the James Cameron film Avatar. The film version stars Noah Ringer as Aang, Dev Patel as Zuko, Jackson Rathbone as Sokka, and Nicola Peltz as Katara. Iroh is played by Shaun Toub and Fire Lord Ozai by Cliff Curtis.

The race issue was known from the Onset of Casting, and people still saw the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Airbender#Casting

The casting of White actors in the Asian-influenced and Native American-influenced Avatar universe triggered negative reactions from some fans marked by accusations of racism, a letter-writing campaign, and various protests. "To take this incredibly loved children's series, and really distort not only the ethnicity of the individual characters but the message of acceptance and cultural diversity that the original series advocated, is a huge blow," Michael Le of Racebending.com, a fan site calling for a boycott of the martial-arts fantasy, said. As a result of the casting, the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans urged a film boycott for the first time in the organization's 18-year history. "This was a great opportunity to create new Asian-American stars...nonetheless, I'm disappointed." stated Guy Aoki, president of the organization. After a casting call specifically looking for "Caucasians and other ethnicities," Shyamalan explained that "Ultimately, this movie, and then the three movies, will be the most culturally diverse tent-pole movies ever released, period." Furthermore, Paramount provided a statement about the casting choices, "The movie has 23 credited speaking roles — more than half of which feature Asian and Pan Asian actors of Korean, Japanese and Indian decent. The filmmaker's interpretation reflects the myriad qualities that have made this series a global phenomenon. We believe fans of the original and new audiences alike will respond positively once they see it." The studio also took the initiative to screen the film to boycotters at Racebending.com after the 3D conversion was complete.

M. Night Shyamalan commented on the issues regarding fans' perceptive of the casting in an interview with Washington Post columnist Jen Chaney, saying, "Anime is based on ambiguous facial features. It's meant to be interpretive. It's meant to be inclusive of all races, and you can see yourself in all these characters...This is a multicultural movie and I'm going to make it even more multicultural in my approach to its casting. There's African-Americans in the movie...so it's a source of pride for me. The irony that protesters would label this with anything but the greatest pride, that the movie poster has Noah and Dev on it and my name on it. I don't know what else to do." Rathbone was also one to dismiss the complaints in an interview with MTV, saying, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit." The controversy wasn't well received by critics either. Film critic Roger Ebert was one of the critical voices against the casting. When asked about casting a white cast to portray the characters, he said, "The original series Avatar: The Last Airbender was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts." Jevon Phillips of the Los Angeles Times noted that despite Shyamalan's attempts to defuse the situation, the issue will "not fade away or be overlooked", and that this film exemplifies the need for a debate within Hollywood about racial diversity in its films.

Two Sequels were planned from the beginning, but are now at risk for not being made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Airbender

While there has been much speculation regarding a sequel, no official announcement by Shyamalan or Paramount Studios and Nickelodeon has been made regarding the "go-ahead" or whether the plug will be pulled on the trilogy. While filming The Last Airbender, Shyamalan mapped out a rough draft for a second film that is "darker" and includes Azula, portrayed by Summer Bishil, as the main antagonist. In a July interview with New York Magazine, Shyamalan commented "In the next few months we'll be able to know whether we have that opportunity or not" when asked about the sequel. No such announcement was made and in a September interview when asked when the sequel will be made, he replied, "I don't, because there are so many factors they take into account" adding, "I guess it will get into an area where it becomes a discussion — like pros and cons".
私は太った男だ。


Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn

I don't think Paramount as a whole uses discriminatory casting. But for this movie it's really really hard not to think that. This film, if I can even call it a film, seemed purpose-built to peeve off fans.

I don't think we should go out of our way to make sure every film has every race, but when making an adaptation you should at least attempt to find actors that look like the characters.

I wouldn't mind the casting choices for it if they actually had good reasons for them but they don't, nearly all were utterly dreadful.

If I honestly had to pick one recent movie that had discriminatory casting, it would be this one.

A big thankyou to James Cameron for inadvertently causing them to take Avatar off their title because it would make them liars. Because according to them it's supposed to be Ahvatar...  :P

I could rant on but I think I should stop..
Naruto Shippuden Episode 166: Confession
                                    Watch it, Love it, Live it

Aytanin Marali

That movie was an atrocity but this is the first I've heard of racebending.  What is this all about.  I was confused as to why Katara and Sokka were white.  They were clearly Native Americans Eskimos.  (Sorry if the term Eskimo is offensive to anyone, I don't know what the tribe name is or I would call them that.)  And what was with the Fire Nation being Indian?!  Everyone knows they're Chinese!  Just look at the royal palace!  Does that look like the capitol of India or China?  Duh!  If they dare to make a second I will hunt down the director and do terrible things to him.  That movie was so dreadful it was painful to watch.  And Momo was barely in it!  Everyone knows he's the real hero!   ;D
Went learnnavi.org.  Clicked on vocabulary.  Typed moron in search box to learn how to spell skxawng.  Found two Na'vi words for moron.  Life complete.  ;D

Txur’Itan

It has been a while since the first movie, I think the M. Knight trilogy is dead.

Structurally the movie was entertaining, but where it failed was in acknowledging the perceptions in the fan community and adapting their casting choices accordingly.

This a case where the TV show will always be superior to the cinematic experience.

Quote from: Aytanin Marali on October 29, 2012, 02:54:24 AM
That movie was an atrocity but this is the first I've heard of racebending.  What is this all about.  I was confused as to why Katara and Sokka were white.  They were clearly Native Americans Eskimos.  (Sorry if the term Eskimo is offensive to anyone, I don't know what the tribe name is or I would call them that.)  And what was with the Fire Nation being Indian?!  Everyone knows they're Chinese!  Just look at the royal palace!  Does that look like the capitol of India or China?  Duh!  If they dare to make a second I will hunt down the director and do terrible things to him.  That movie was so dreadful it was painful to watch.  And Momo was barely in it!  Everyone knows he's the real hero!   ;D

Racebending.com was founded on outrage against the casting choices for The Last Airbender, but you should go to the sight if you want to get an idea of what they are all about.

racebending.com FAQ
私は太った男だ。