Well, Fuck You Too, Hollywood.

[jhameia]

And M.Night, you really should have fucking known better. I'm gonna cut you some slack and consider the possibility that maybe you didn't have the choice of cast you wanted. Maybe. But holy shit, M.Night, DO YOU NOT SEE HOW ASIANS ARE ALREADY UNDER-REPRESENTED IN HOLLYWOOD? and now, actual roles that could be filled by actual Asians, and Asians are shafted in favour of the likes of the pretty white faces that continue to dominate the world.

Don't give me bullshit about how the Avatar universe ISN'T EARTH and thus ANYBODY can play the characters - the Avatar universe was DEFINITELY inspired by Asian cultures. I don't watch the show, BUT ANY FUCKING IDIOT WITH EYES CAN SEE THAT, OKAY?

And Jackson fucking Rathbone is starting to piss me right off:

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.

Where the HELL do you get off dismissing the major DIMINISHING OF A WHOLE SET OF PEOPLE, Rathbone? How the HELL do you assume that a hairstyle, lack of facial hair and a FUCKING TAN will make you ANY LESS WHITE, ANY MORE ASIAN?

"It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."

A little bit? You mean A LOT! A VERY FUCKING LOT OF DISBELIEF!

Talk about an overinflated sense of entitlement!

(Actually, I was pissed off about this much earlier, but just haven't had the time to articulate myself.)

Comments

Re: Tropic Thunder

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

For many of us we don't think about it because we've never been confronted with it (which is why I said, your privilege is showing - it is very privileged to not feel alienated by these everyday things). If you look at many films and the casting involved, very often, the default experience assumed of the audience is "white straight male". To the point where when there're main characters who don't fit into that group, it becomes a "non-mainstream" movie, because it's apparently expecting a lot to ask the audience to identify with a non-male, non-white, non-straight character.

I haven't been following this issue so I don't know whether Shyamalan is in charge of casting, but I do remember being rather peeved with Lady in the Water which quite brilliantly had a huge cast of minorities, but the main hero was still a white male. It's these little things which remind PoC that no matter how numerous we are, we still remain second-class and don't deserve stories of our own.

Thanks for not getting on the defensive and up in arms. It's probably an issue you've never had to think about before, so thanks for your good faith.