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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Set Visit Preview and 4 Awesome New Posters!M. Night Shyamalan Address Race Controversy for THE LAST AIRBENDER
by Matt Goldberg Posted:March 31st, 2010 at 9:04 am
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M. Night Shyamalan has drawn fire for his casting decisions regarding his upcoming film, The Last Airbender. While most directors get crap over whether they casted a particular actor or not, Shyamalan is being questioned for his decision to cast white actors in roles that are clearly not white in the source material, the anime Avatar: The Last Airbender. Speaking with io9, Shyamalan finally addressed the controversy:
Here’s the thing. The great thing about anime is that it’s ambiguous. The features of the characters are an intentional mix of all features. It’s intended to be ambiguous. That is completely its point. So when we watch Katara, my oldest daughter is literally a photo double of Katara in the cartoon. So that means that Katara is Indian, correct? No that’s just in our house. And her friends who watch it, they see themselves in it. And that’s what’s so beautiful about anime.
Hit the jump for a more in-depth explanation by Shyamalan. The Last Airbender hits theaters on July 2nd.
Speaking with UGO on the race issue, here’s what Shyamalan had to say:
There you go. Well, it is the most culturally diverse tent-pole movie ever made. And I’m proud of it. It’s part of what drew me to the material, to see the faces of our whole world in this new world. And only time will assuage everyone and give them peace. Maybe they didn’t see the faces that they wanted to see but, overall, it is more than they could have expected. We’re in the tent and it looks like the U.N. in there.
He explains that in the second movie (unwise to count un-hatched chickens…), we’ll see more of the Earth Bending Nation, which is Asian but has a community within that that is African-American.
While I highly encourage you to read Shyamalan’s interview at io9 (where he goes into all aspects of the production, not just the race issue), his argument seems to break down like this:
1) I tried to give each nation a racial identity
2) I had to give that identity based on the actors I got-I cast these actors based on the quality of their performance and then tried to balance the racial identity of their nation from there.
3) The sequels will prove that I made an ethnically diverse world.
I’m not sure whether or not this explanation will satisfy fans of the anime or not, but it’s worth reading what he has to say on the issue.
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I could really care less about all the “racist” blah, blah…
I just hope the movie isn't as bad as his past 2, 3 movies.
Looks alright so far.
End of Line
Bottom line, I think Shyamalan is all about this movie; he's all about this story. He made his casting choices and that's the cast we're stuck with. Go watch the movie and if it sux, then get mad at his casting choices. But if the movie rocks, then all of you racebenders have a coke and a smile and STFU.
Well said. The racism thing is BS, people are way to hyper-critical and need to get over themselves, it seems more racist to actually think that casting white actors is racist. We've seen books turned into movies where white actors are changed to black actors, but nobody cries racism on that count… why, because it must be impossible for anyone to be racist to whites! lol. The point is someone making a film has the right to cast whom they think will play the part the best, is it possible that the person making the casting decisions is racist? Yes, is it likely? No. If they were racist they would have not cast any colored actors at all. The villain bit is bs too because he isn't the villain the entire time. Besides, whats wrong with a colored person playing a villain? Some of the best villains in films have been colored, and the villain is always more memorable than the hero.
Thank you! Finally someone see's my point.
The people out there freaking out about the race are the racist ones.
Race doesn't matter, it's the story and the acting.
Get over yourselves.
Well it *is* racist when the characters were all minorities to start out with in the cartoon, and all the movies casting calls for the hero roles only wanted Caucasians. Sure, there are minorities in this movie, but they only can only be villains and extras. Apparently we're not good enough to be the heroes in stories ABOUT OUR OWN CULTURES!
For the LAST TIME. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was not an anime. It was a Nickelodeon-produced cartoon that was explicitly designed to showcase Asian and Inuit and other Pacific Rim cultures. And its main characters were pretty obvious based on Tibetan monks, Inuit tribespeople, and East Asian martial artists. It's a great show and I recommend it to anybody, young or old.
The movie is another story. How Mr. Shyamalan thinks it's diverse to make this with all-Caucasian heroes, I have no idea. I love how he neglects to mention that the original actor cast as Zuko was also Caucasian, meaning pretty much the entire cast, including the villains, would have been completely whitewashed. Seriously, those pale “Twilight” kids trying to pass themselves off as Inuits is just going to look ridiculous.
dev patel is NOT the right person for zuko. thats about it
It's funny that when Hollywood discrimination against ethnic minorities happens, it's always a color-blinded defense of “we just hired the best person for the part.” But when ethnic minorities are rejected for traditional white roles, the defense is “we just want to be historically accurate.”
You see, the defense doesn't really doesn't work when ethnic minorities are continuously on the losing end of the stick.
As far as racism against white actors, you've got to come up with something better than black actors taking away roles from whites. I mean really? Are you really going to argue that? Those roles tend not to be something whether ethnicity is so central to the themes of the story. Yes, I'm sure black actors win roles intended for white actors on occasions. But they generally won't get hired to play “Queen Elizabeth” or something so culturally specific to European heritage. See the difference?
When your casting call is “Caucasian or any other ethnicity”, that's racism, intentional or not. It basically means they are looking for caucasian actors but will consider an asian guy.
Some of you understand very little about racism. You don't have to hate asians to participate in racial hiring practices. It's not “I hate asian, I won't hire them”. It's when you think that whites have more charisma or just simply make better leads. that stems from white bias, not racial hatred. All the same, it's racial discrimination.
And it doesn't matter if the film is great. The ends never justifies the means. Just as Triumph of the Will is a great movie. Still doesn't justify its Nazi propaganda.
Truth. All the fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender are familiar with the undeniable references made in regards to Chinese martial arts, Japanese/Korean history, Inuit tribes, religions such as Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism etc. Some people say that Avatar is set in another worldly setting, therefore the inhabitants are not specific, which further leads people to say “It doesn't matter if the actors are white, it's a made up world!” Although Avatar is set in another world, we can't continue to deny it's cultural specificity. From the apparel to the names of the characters, we can't forget it's origin. I understand where Shyamalan was going in an attempt to diversify the four elements in representation of our diverse world that we live in today. I also understand that he wanted to pick the actors, then form the nations based on the actors race. How could that be done however, when water is white, air is white, and fire's original choice was white? Now that Dev Patel has been casted to play Zuko, it leaves 2 elements for the white race. With this in mind, remember that Shyamalans intention for the earth kingdom consists of grouping Asians and Africans together. As an Asian American, I saw this film adaptation to be a great opportunity to cast the Asian face I hardly see, in comparison to other American films. There is not one single person in America that can say that Asians are a prominent force In the American entertainment industry. Avatar was a great opportunity to showcase Americas true diversity, let alone it being about a minority group of heroes. At first, this whole casting issue didn't bother me. I started looking into it However, when I watched a trailer with my younger cousin who is half Mexican and half Filipino. Her skin color is as dark as cartoon Kataras. I was at a lost for words when she asked me, “why is Sokka and Katara white? I thought they were darker? I just want to clarify that I am not racist in any way shape or form. It's just hard to see my cousin question the cast of the movie who are supposedly the same characters she has known in the past years. I'm still going to see the movie because I'm such a big fan. I know I just have to prepare myself for my other younger cousins cause they too identified with Katara and Sokka.
Thank you! Finally someone see's my point.
The civil rights activists out there freaking out about the race are the racist ones.
Sitting in the rear of bus doesn't matter, it's about being able to ride the bus.
Get over yourselves.
>>Here’s the thing. The great thing about anime is that it’s ambiguous.
It isn't ambiguous: on the contrary, ATLA was very clear on who is who and what is what. It was even color coded in their outfits and eye color.
The movie is ambiguous.
>>The features of the characters are an intentional mix of all features. It’s intended to be ambiguous.
You're trying to hard.
>>That is completely its point.
Says you. But it's a fallacy in your rhetoric, Mr. Shyamalan.
…
Also, it bothers me much, how can there be an African-American community in TLA's world?
I mean, shouldn't they be just “African”?
Great analogy? Hmmm….. sounds like your agreeing with blacks in the back and whites in the front. Bus DEsegregation jump started one of the most pivotal milestones in American history. It was an attempt to alleviate/rid racism all together. Using an analogy in which every American can identify as a moment of racism, highly contradicts with someone who claims others as racists. Besides that fact, I'm not losing hope in believing that EVERYONE knows by now, how much needed the Civil Rights movement was. Plain and Simple.
Great analogy? Hmmm….. sounds like your agreeing with blacks in the back and whites in the front. Bus DEsegregation jump started one of the most pivotal milestones in American history. It was an attempt to alleviate/rid racism all together. Using an analogy in which every American can identify as a moment of racism, highly contradicts with someone who claims others as racists. Besides that fact, I'm not losing hope in believing that EVERYONE knows by now, how much needed the Civil Rights movement was. Plain and Simple.
I love the denialist approach of Caucasians when racism is brought to the fore for an ASIAN based story. The movie sucks as it stands and whatever laurels “Night” thinks will hold it up is shot as we speak. I'm not wasting my time with neo-nazi propaganda and have stories based with ASIAN characters be racebent. If that makes my Causcasian friend turn beet red – oh well. I'd rather have the authenticity of the story not be adulterated by some archaic viewpoint that Night seems intent on perpetuation for the sake of alleged income potential for the movie.
Thanks Corin – nice to see that we have moved beyond those Jim Crowe days!
Tell me about it Vina!
Aaah Rachel – is the truth is little too biting? If we're so interested in the story and essence of the plot, then why oh why is Hollywood is super-saturated with this “white ideal” imposed on a global audience? Then why oh why were actors of colour with superior talent afforded roles over their less than capable Caucasian counter-parts. It's an ASIAN story with ASIAN characters – not the god damn UN!
Aaah so sweet of you to even allow onto the bus (LOL). Thank you for telling us that we needed your permission to get on the bus (note the sarcasm). NO, rather, it's our story (to put it into a tone that YOU would understand) and WE decide what is to be done with our stories.
Saw the movie yesterday. Would have been more real with an Asian playing the last avatar.