*applauds*

This is the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.

Not just because it pretty much exemplifies everything we've been saying in pictures, but also because I'm reminded of how carefully constructed and designed this animation is, from architecture, to costume design to colour schemes.

My god. The thought of turning this into the live-action, CGI version of 3 Ninjas just...makes me shudder even MORE now.

I agree that sokka, katara and zuko look indian/eskimo/asian, but aang is as white as he could be. Same goes for toph (although it will be a long time before she will be casted).

...I don't see anything Asian in this.

Hahahha nah I'm just kidding. That was gorgeous. Thanks for letting me relive one of my favourite things ever.

Anybody who thinks Aang is white: he has big eyes because he is a child. When his hair grows in he is obviously Asian. Go look at a Chinese baby and tell me it doesn't have big-looking eyes for it's head.

Sokka <3

Are you familiar with this article?

The Face of the Other

It's intended for an audience of anime and manga fans and is not about Avatar per se. That said, it's a useful rebuttal if someone throws the whole 'but the characters all look white!' argument at manga and anime fans which doesn't rely on the old chestnut that the Japanese all secretly want to be American, and I think it applies here as well. The fundamental arguments still apply given that the default setting in the Avatar world, as it is in most anime and manga, is very clearly Asian. Why should they have to signpost that the characters aren't white until specifically proven otherwise?

Awesome picspam, by the way. I have got to watch this show sometime soon.

Nope... no Asian or Ndn cultures/ethnicities there.

*eyeroll for olympic gold*

Edited at 2008-12-16 09:12 pm (UTC)

In truth, the only character that could possibly be considered American-looking is Jet -- but this may have something to do with the fact that he's chewing on grass, which, historically, is kinda an American thing.

Great job finding screencaps! These show perfectly all the different ethnicities Avatar is made up of.

Okay... Must watch this show. Now.

This post is beautiful. Thank you so much!

When I was new to anime and manga, I thought, why are all these characters Caucasians, because I saw round eyes, blonde or auburn hair and blue eyes. As my Japanese roommate informed me, not all Asians have straight black hair, and not all Asians have dark eyes, Asians can have many different facial features, just like Caucasians, and in their entertainment, Asians do not racially stereotype themselves.

Also, programmes created by Western studios, including Disney have had portions farmed out to Asian animation studios for decades, so we in the West have become used to certain stylized features and methods of movement that we think are our own culturally, but as I stated, came from Asian animation studios. So I can see why some would say, these characters look white.

However, you can't deny that the world depicted in Avatar borrows a lot from different cultural traditions, not just Asian, but East Indian, Middle Eastern, African and Aboriginal, so what I was hoping for in seeing a live-action Avatar was to see actors of many nations participate, using it as a perfect way to break some of those Hollywood stereotypes.

The younger generation is much more sophisticated that this, have been interested in anime, manga and games for at least a decade that have Asian characters, my 19 year old Native American nephew is a die hard Final Fantasy Fan, my 14 year old African American niece loves Sanrio characters and Korean pop band Super Junior, which means not only would they like to see Asian actors in some of the roles, but characters that look like themselves as well.

My children who are English-Irish and frankly, as white as it gets, love Avatar. Just last week I had to explain to them what 'blackface' was in the old Xmas movie Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby from 1945, so now how do I explain that the movie based on the show they love, can't cast anyone but white actors in all the lead roles?

In fact, when my seven and nine year olds saw images of the live-action actors, they said 'that does not look like 'Zuko and Katara' and have no interest in seeing the Avatar live-action movie.




Edited at 2008-12-16 10:25 pm (UTC)

Nuts to writing lengthy and heated discussion points--next time I get into an argument with someone on this, the only think I'm bringing with me is a link to this post.

Which, by the way, is beautiful. I mean, both as a succinct visual essay, but also just as a collection of one of the elements that made this series so RICH and vibrant and different and lovely and MADE OF LOVE AND WIN :D

OMG U GAIS HOW VERY EUROPEAN OF THEM!!!

*headdesk*

Honestly, beautiful job. Now not only will I spread this link to further our cause, but also to try to hook some of my friends into watching the series. It truly is beautiful. I love it when creators put so much work and effort into their work and love it more when they're rewarded with kick ass fans that appreciate it to this extent :D

Honestly, I just wish we'd hear something from Bryke already...how do they feel about it? We've heard pretty legit rumours about what might be going on, but are they legally allowed to say or do anything about it? The suspense is killing me...

While I do not think Caucasians should be banned entirely from acting in this movie, I definitely want a much more diverse main cast! Katara, Sokka, and Zuko need to be portrayed by minority actors, Asian and Inuit actors to be exact.

Ooh, very nice!! This really just says it far more eloquently than words ever could. It took forever to load on my browser, but it was so worth the wait. XD

"But don't you know only white peepul are good at kung-fu? I saw it- Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, and American Ninja told me so!"

There's no need to bend over backwards to convince these people- they're lying to themselves, and no matter how much sense you throw in their face, the more irrational they'll get.

Found this through glockgal.

Wow. Your image montage is amazing! I'm in awe of the beautiful and detailed designs on the show. For someone you has never watched Avatar (like me) you make the Asian and Inuit influences perfectly clear. :) Thanks!

Ok by all the hints in the show, you would think that they would be asian, but remember people...THIS IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. It isn't real life stuff so basically they could be any race that the creators choose. >.> I don't believe that aang is asian anyway...he doesn't look or sound that way at all. I do agree that sokka and katara's actors should be changed to people that fit the skin tone more but whatever. I don't think we can really change anything by complaining on a forum. =/ no offense.

Man, seeing all these pictures reminds me of how much I love Avatar. So much detail is put into the show. Do you know of anyplace online that lists what part of Asia various parts of the show were taken from? Like a wiki or something?

For example, Songs dress is from Korea, right?

Ah, Avatar is so self-explanatory in just images.

I would love to take action ASAP (and I'll try to hold back on demanding a role as Katara) but I've got finals to finish. Expect my letter in the mail by this weekend!

Thank goodness I found this before it was too late.
I was totally looking forward to an amazing, accurate movie. If Hollywood has the slightest ability to get anything right, they could at least make it the Avatar live action, which I am living for now that the show is over. Ahh! AHH!

Excuse me if I am incomprehensible. I'm not sure if what I typed made sense. Cursed Chemistry preventing me from saving the world from yet another white-washed movie. (Let's not mess up like DB:Evolution, although the graphics seem to make up for it.)

It's true what they say; a picture's worth a thousand words. This is such a fantastic resource to point the doubters to, because that promo pic on the casting call news story really does make them all look like generic white characters. Thank you so much for putting all this together!

I really think the whole aang being cast as a white person being portrayed as racial is quite overblown. First off I'd like that yes its blatiantly obvoius that aang, as well as every else in Avatar, are asian. Secondly this is HOLLYWOOD just look at what they did to DBZ, thier sole reason in doing this is because they think that this will bring in more ticket sales, but like DBZ the only thing they've managed to accomplish is alienting the series truly enormous fan base. There is a 3rd possibilty, which is highly unlikely, is that they were unable to find enough suitable young asian actors for these rolls, considering on how many minor characters they'd include, which would probably be quite many considering the sheer number of teen/preteen characters there are in the series.

Beautiful! I loved this show, and found it incredibly interesting for the very elements that made it more than just another quest series - the characters and background and cultural all made it clear that it was Asian, and many kinds of Asian at that, not just a generic American-TV version. It was so refreshing and fun and thoughtful.

I didn't even know there was going to be a film until an entry on flist brought up the casting news. What a shock that was. I'll write a letter to add to the deluge, though it will probably have to be this weekend.

*grabs pen and paper* I'm ready to write! Thanks for starting this, it's amazing to see something like this happen. Let's hope this works!

I regularly forget how incredibly gorgeous this show is. It breaks my heart to think of Hollywood disregarding the loving care that was put into every little detail. Half of Avatar's magic comes from the care Mike and Bryan put into its creation.

This is an excellent reminder as to why we have to do this! Visuals definitely speak more than words could, here, and they're very obviously oriental in everything down to their color pallet. Even the soundtrack of the show is distinctly oriental.