The confident hope that stories matter, and so do the optics within them

[starlady]

So apparently M. Night Shyamalan's whitewashed adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a terrible movie as well as a textbook example of racism in action (link goes to snarp's post). Like umadoshi, I can't help but feel some schadenfreude, though I hope torachan's prediction that Hollywood will take this as an example of the unmarketability of Asian fantasy will turn out wrong. Based on Nick Matamas' review and Variety's comments, it looks like Hollywood is taking it as an example of the fact that M. Night Shyamalan's career is trending downward. (Quite honestly I was surprised that he got the project, and my sense was that this was Shyamalan's last real chance to show that he still had box-office mojo. We'll see.) Also, Dante Basco, who played Zuko in the TV show, has spoken out against the whitewashed casting today.

All that being said, it's not possible to say enough about this. bossymarmalade has a great post illustrating why that is.

I don't even have to put a line in this post to separate the next topic. To wit, I learned from inkstone yesterday that, in order to increase sales, Cindy Pon's publisher has decided to whitewash the covers of Silver Phoenix and its sequels.

inkstone has a roundup of links here; the only post I've had time to read so far is this one by bookshop, which I recommend.

It's great that Greenwillow wanted to go to bat for Pon and her Chinese YA fantasy Phoenix enough to put in the money for the cover redesign, but the new covers betray both the author and her story by trafficking in misogynist, racist publishing truisms. There are alternatives, as the new covers of Liar and Magic Under Glass demonstrate, and Greenwillow should change the covers again.

In the meantime, it appears I failed to review Silver Phoenix; I shall have to remedy that.

Comments

[everchangingmuse]

I've been on the fence about seeing The Last Airbender for a while now, reading all of the various opinions. But the sheer amount of issues this movie seems to have, and the arrogance of its producers in regards to things the viewing public deems important.... If I ever end up seeing this movie, it'll be because someone who has television has been flipping channels and gone "hey, it's that movie from that awesome cartoon" and pauses in the channel flipping for a few minutes.

However, reading all of this makes me want to pop in the season 1 DVDs and watch it properly. Maybe 4th of July will be Avatar marathon day.

[starlady]

However, reading all of this makes me want to pop in the season 1 DVDs and watch it properly. Maybe 4th of July will be Avatar marathon day.

That sounds like a brilliant plan. *g*

[ariadnechan.livejournal.com]

i loved avatar the series!! but when i knew will be a non asian cast i decide not to waste my time or money in the cinema! because there is brilliant asian actors and the story is about different asian cultures so this is outrageous. and i was really into the naive believe that Yul Briner acting as the king of Siam was over!
(i love Yul briner don't get me wrong, but the king of Siam was obviously asian and not american, they were in Asia for Christ'sake)

[nokiirat.livejournal.com]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/07/01/video-interview-m-night-shyamalan-on-the-last-airbender/

There's an interview with him where he responds to the ethnic question. Not completely sure he quells any fires.

I never had a problem with him trying to make it a global cast. (apparently he thinks he'll be making the 2nd movie and will feature more asians there). It's more of a shame that he picked actors who apparently couldn't act and got writers who couldn't write.

I had more of a problem with Hollywood titling a new movie 'Karate Kid' when the whole movie is about kung fu.

[seaya.livejournal.com]

Yul Brynner was actually Russian (and part Mongol, well Buryat, anyhow). But yeah, he was not Thai (or Egyptian for that matter).