I think there might be some confusion as to why Carrock thinks this movie is racist. Carrock and others like him don't find the actors' skin colors racist but the casting process.
First off, many people don't believe the characters are Asian (East Asian to be exact) and Inuit but I personally do. My belief isn't based on how the characters are drawn because carton and anime characters are supposed to be ambiguous, their races were implied by their surroundings and cultures (ex. buildings, clothes, food). Since the characters are Asians/Inuits, it would only make sense to cast Asians/Inuit actors.
This is where casting comes in. It's completely reasonable to not have an all-Asian cast, but it's extremely questionable to have an all-Caucasian cast(All for leads were Caucasian at first, but Jesse McCartnet backed out after backlash and was replaced by Patel). The only open casting for the main characters was Aang, and I wouldn't mind if the actor was chosen because of his superior acting but we don't know that's the case especially since Noah (Aang) has no prior acting experience. Plus, I find it hard to believe that out of all the Asians who auditioned, they could find ONE single Asian actor capable of acting. Why is it assumed that the acting would have been bad if the actor was Asian? The 3 other mains (Sokka, Katara, and Zuko) were all HAND PICKED, there were no open castings so how would Paramount know there weren't better Asian/Inuit actors when they were never given a chance to begin with. That itself is just discriminatory, but the casting sheets prove how racist they were. For the main roles, the casting sheets read "Caucasian or any other ethnicity" and proves that Paramount didn't want Asians.
This may seem trivial but the issue is about more than just a movie because Hollywood has been using this practice of overlooking Asians, using Asian cultures but not Asian actors, and using non-Asians to play Asian roles for ages. Hollywood needs to stop this practice, and this movie is just one step to make Hollywood realize what they're doing is wrong.
I don't believe the casting choices were made based on personal racial discriminations nor do I think that Paramount's trying to say "eff you" to Asian and Inuit actors. Their decisions were made based on their belief that Asians aren't bankable, and that no one would pay to watch a movie with an Asian lead. But although their decisions were based on money, that doesn't make their actions any less wrong.
To Messenger, I wish I could answer your argument about Caucasian roles being played by other races but I don't have much knowledge about that. The only thing I know is that the upcoming Prince of Persia movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and I agree that it's wrong.
I too plan on boycotting this film and I hope you do too, but that is your choice and it's not my right to tell you what to do. I am not trying to preach, troll, spam or anything. Just like Carrock, I just wanted to inform those who didn't know of this controversy so they can make an informed decision. If anyone would like more info, please feel free to check out the racebending site or go to IMDB and type in The Last Airbender to go to the forum. Or feel free to write your arguments here and I would love to try to answer them with a polite and mature response.
First off, many people don't believe the characters are Asian (East Asian to be exact) and Inuit but I personally do. My belief isn't based on how the characters are drawn because carton and anime characters are supposed to be ambiguous, their races were implied by their surroundings and cultures (ex. buildings, clothes, food). Since the characters are Asians/Inuits, it would only make sense to cast Asians/Inuit actors.
This is where casting comes in. It's completely reasonable to not have an all-Asian cast, but it's extremely questionable to have an all-Caucasian cast(All for leads were Caucasian at first, but Jesse McCartnet backed out after backlash and was replaced by Patel). The only open casting for the main characters was Aang, and I wouldn't mind if the actor was chosen because of his superior acting but we don't know that's the case especially since Noah (Aang) has no prior acting experience. Plus, I find it hard to believe that out of all the Asians who auditioned, they could find ONE single Asian actor capable of acting. Why is it assumed that the acting would have been bad if the actor was Asian? The 3 other mains (Sokka, Katara, and Zuko) were all HAND PICKED, there were no open castings so how would Paramount know there weren't better Asian/Inuit actors when they were never given a chance to begin with. That itself is just discriminatory, but the casting sheets prove how racist they were. For the main roles, the casting sheets read "Caucasian or any other ethnicity" and proves that Paramount didn't want Asians.
This may seem trivial but the issue is about more than just a movie because Hollywood has been using this practice of overlooking Asians, using Asian cultures but not Asian actors, and using non-Asians to play Asian roles for ages. Hollywood needs to stop this practice, and this movie is just one step to make Hollywood realize what they're doing is wrong.
I don't believe the casting choices were made based on personal racial discriminations nor do I think that Paramount's trying to say "eff you" to Asian and Inuit actors. Their decisions were made based on their belief that Asians aren't bankable, and that no one would pay to watch a movie with an Asian lead. But although their decisions were based on money, that doesn't make their actions any less wrong.
To Messenger, I wish I could answer your argument about Caucasian roles being played by other races but I don't have much knowledge about that. The only thing I know is that the upcoming Prince of Persia movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and I agree that it's wrong.
I too plan on boycotting this film and I hope you do too, but that is your choice and it's not my right to tell you what to do. I am not trying to preach, troll, spam or anything. Just like Carrock, I just wanted to inform those who didn't know of this controversy so they can make an informed decision. If anyone would like more info, please feel free to check out the racebending site or go to IMDB and type in The Last Airbender to go to the forum. Or feel free to write your arguments here and I would love to try to answer them with a polite and mature response.