Why Faithfulness, Not Honesty, Is The Best Policy

Airbender had “terrible box office”? Despite scathing reviews, it broke $40 million in the US up against a Twilight movie–seemingly very effective counter-programming. Imagine what it might have done if not opening against such a juggernaut franchise.

It has nothing to do with needing more movies with white people. Only people concerned with race are looking at it as a race issue. What is needed is the best people for the role — period — unless that role carries with it certain built-in ideas of image which the director has to play to in order to sell the movie.

In other words, it doesn't matter what colour of skin the President of the United States us, or the soldier in the field. But if it's, say, a civil war epic and the character serves the South, then it does matter because we have a certain idea of that in the GENERAL populace.

Comicbooks and animation are not usually known in general except through certain images and where this argument about Airbender fails is that it assumes that the general public know something about how the characters look. They don't.

It's one thing to say people know who Peter Parker is because of the way it's been sold, it's another to say it about Airbender. And the problem with Airbender as a movie is that the actors chosen aren't super strong, nor is the script — NO skin colour is going to change that!

I'm not talking about artistic worth. The consensus I refer to comes from box office analysts who claim the film performed financially at about the level they expected. Of course, bad word of mouth will likely lead to a steep decline in business for its second weekend.

Oh, I liked the performance a lot. I just think that it veered pretty far from the character's general appearance and behavior in the source material (which, of course, was part of why it was such a good performance).

A quick search shows no mention of Michael Keaton in the 1989 BATMAN movie.

Fans were quite upset about the casting of a comedian as Bruce Wayne; the specter of the 1960's BATMAN TV show reared its head.

Thank goodness no one listened to the fans in that case – because they were dead wrong about Keaton's ability to play an effective, appropriately dark Batman.

They main point that is being obscured by all this racial talk and nitpicky geekdom is the fact that the movies are not very good. Had the movies actually been entertaining no one would care about the things that arent correct. That is why after the bitching about Michael Keaton or Organic Web Shooters or Ledgers Joker, when the films were actually seen, they were amazing films that were entertaining and well crafted. The Last Airbender and Jonah Hex are bad movies, now compounded by the fact that they got so much wrong as right.

I sometimes wonder why more filmmakers don't consider animation as a viable option when adapting some of these comic book properties for theatrical release.

I liked her in Kick-Ass. Let the Right One In is an awesome movie that Hwood is sure to ruin though….

What makes a difference who plays the avatar characters? The movie is being shown to a mainly caucasian audience. I believe in equal rights for sure, but shouldn't people worry about the quality of the actors instead of the color of their skin? The avatar cartoon never made any claim that the characters were asian. There is asian culture and influence but i seen every episode and i don't remember one time any of the characters being labelled “asian”. People complaining that the actors are white seem more racist to me. Better put Chow Yun Fat in the next Twilight movie or people will complain, so what if he doesn't belong in it. Better throw some eskimos in there too. Elephants too, make sure you use both African and Asian ones. C'mon now. Let's not be silly. Complain about the acting, special effects, or the direction but don't pick on under-aged kids cause they're white. If the amazing martial artist they got to play aang was overlooked for someone else just because he wasn't asian would be a crime.(I love Chow Yun Fat by the way but needed an example.)

um…try the philosophy (it is called “AVATAR” and delves heavily into Eastern philosophies…unlike the movie with the blue aliens)….and pretty much the ENTIRE setting of it all (food, architecture, clothing, customs, written language,)…I mean…..how many more elements does the show need in order for it to qualify as ASIAN? For the audience to understand that this is an ASIAN-CENTRIC FANTASY…just like LORD OF THE RINGS was a EURO-CENTRIC FANTASY.

No one blinked an eye when LOTR's only casted caucasians. IT was the setting, it fitted.

I mean geeze, even the cartoon's writers/producers said that was their goal…to make something different from the European legends and fantasies…to go on the other side of the world and bring that into their story. If their attempts to make it something NON-EUROPOEAN/AMERICAN doesn't tell you something, I don't know what does.

All stories are universal, they're only decorated with different settings and people. And yet, it doesn't take away the fact that most of them are told with white folks in Hollywood…even the ones that are done in an extremely Asian-centric setting. I mean really, would it have killed them to not only make the names of the characters as “AUTHENTIC” sounding as possible, but also make the characters as “AUTHENTIC” looking as possible too? Give more minority kids a lead role for once?

Facts are Hollywood whitewashes more movies than people realize. But being in America where white are the privileged majority…it's not even an issue to them…just to the minorities wanting some representation or work in Hollywood.

Right…so an Asian-centric Fantasy like Airbender should be allowed to cast white actors, just like a Euro-centric Fantasy like Lord of the Rings should have casted black and Asian actors…damn, next remake of LOTR should definitely give me a black hobbit. Afterall, it's not as if the people or the setting or even the AUTHOR'S INTENT/IDEAS matter at all…

Thank you for proving my point. Everything that you listed is superficial. Just give me one moment during the show where you went, 'Oh, so that is how that happens in Asia.' Just one. The background is the same thing as how the characters are drawn. They are only clues to tell you that you are in a setting. They do not tell you anything about the culture and how it works, how the relationships are different, how interactions change.

Further, your use of the term Avatar to demonstrate the show's 'Asianness' is completely inapplicable. Avatar comes from the sub-continent of Asia and NOT the main continent, where the rest of the background settings are. And those 'oh so Asian' aspects of the show, what were they? The need for love and approval of your parents? Sexism? Learning to embrace your destiny? Fighting tyrants? Yeah, really Asian.
Go compare Avatar with something like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (an ACTUAL Asian fantasy story), and tell me what the similarities (aside from how things look) are.

Don't give me what the creators said as any kind of evidence. Their statement is like saying, 'I'm not racist,' all the while they have no minorities in their circle of friends.

All stories are not universal. Go give 'Menace II Society' to someone who lives in rural Asia or Africa, see how much they understand.

And let me let you in on a secret, Hollywood is a business. They cater to their audience, and their audience is mostly white folks. Whether that is right or wrong is irrelevant to this discussion. This was a business decision that can easily be backed up by a truckload of statistics demonstrating how much better films with a primarily white cast do over 'minority' movies. Whether or not that is 'right' in your head DOES NOT MATTER, they are a business.

Wow Rusty, did you just come into this situation? The initial treatment of the script and announced actors 10-12 months ago was 90% white with the only ethnic roles being “bad” guys… That is why the Asian and East Indian communities are in such an uproar about the film.

This being said, I thought 40-50 million was a respectable showing for Avatar The Last Airbender going up against Twilight. But with that said, I didn't go see it…I stayed home and watched a marathon of the final season again…I not giving M Night any money to destroy my fond enjoyment for Avatar

Those aren't superficial. The APPEAL is based on universality. The story, philosophy, and setting is not. The morality was clearly Buddhist in sensibility, with elements of being one with nature, cycles of life, reincarnation etc. That's a biggy. Not exactly superficial. It's the fact that Buddhist philosophy is now mainstream, that leads to the success of the show, rather than the universality of Buddhist belief in western religion and tradition.

Crouching Tiger is no different than Avatar. What's your argument that it is? In fact, Avatar probably delves much deeper into asian culture than Crouching tiger, which would prove your argument about setting.

First of all, I think people who went to see this movie probably would have preferred an asian cast closer to the anime. So your casting white people to make more money argument is false.

But yes, Hollywood is a business. And the controversy and ill-casting damaged the reviews of that business. So yeah, it does matter especially when there are enough people to call out bullcrap when they see it. Casting white people can only be taken so far. And by the way, that's a horrible argument you have which is basically “racism is status quo, so you should just shut up about it”.

I want a written apology from MNS for bastardizing what I consider to be one of the best TV programs and stories of the last 20 years. I hope the debt this movie puts him in will make him will make him suffer as much as it made me suffer. Inexpected more from a director that turned the comic book and ghost story genre on it's head. Granted he failed to do justice to the fairy tail, the horror and the apocalypse genre (with a moderately good Alien movie in the mix). I had hoped he would take his last three failures to heart and maybe listen to the bad press and get back to making good movies. With the last airbender which he made for his kids you think that he would have at least watched the series and checked out a fan site or too instead of listening to to obviously retarded and stunted play back of the story from his half illiterate 5 year old child…as a matter of fact I'm pretty sure he let his kids write and direct this movie. The opening narration from that talentless girl set the movie into the frightening world of a made for TV movie… I could go on but inwould rather rewatch the original series and forget that MNS sh*t all over this film. This story and these characters deserve more.

What I loved so much about Avatar is that the story unfolded at just the right pace, had enough depth to engage me as an adult, and plenty of humor to make me bust up laughing alongside my seven-year-old daughter (who was absolutely hooked on the show). There are a lot of other really good reasons too … characters, animation, locations, etc. It’s too bad that the movie captured so little of the imagination of the animated series. I was confused by the unnecessary changes as well. In fact, I knew the film was doomed when after only a few minutes in, I was already disliking the characters. I have to wonder if M. Knight Shamalamadingdong has a sense of humor at all.