Hey what most people fail to see is pure logic…They are either being fooled or want to believe on ideals that doesn’t add up.
An Asian world…..with characters with Asian names…where everyone dress in Asian atire….Writing in Asian language…Practice Asian marital arts…Believe in Asian gods and monsters Philosophy….Buildings and houses are all Asian…. Food they eat are asian styled….Asian features such as black hair balck eyes….. All these seems pretty clear. Is characters nationality White or Asian is pretty clear.

Because American entertainment is a Caucasian fantasy world (most heroes are white). If People believe the characters nationality are european or white decent contradicts with the very series and setting of avatar.

I mean what role does a european or white nationality play in this?

Aside from what I said so far what makes this racist is…….
A European or white descent dressing Asian clothing and rating food with chopsticks and refer him or herself as an Asian is mocking the Asian culture! If Hong kong made a film about Jesus can he be Asian? is very similar as see an Asian person as jesus christ.

Can people accept an Asian as Jesus Christ if so I can accept White people acting as Asians.

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Hey my old message was deleted! Oh well….im just going to make this clear! Everyone is going to hate Shyamalan! You think differently but everyone is going to hate him because he fucked up a good show! Someone needs to fire his DUMBASS from making movies! All his shit never made money….so why hire a DUMBASS director to make a movie based on a GREAT SHOW!

I guess and hop that if there is a director in the making or somthing please remake this movie!

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Sorry about the deleted comment, I have updated servers and am starting to re-update the content on the site. As always, thanks for coming by everyone!

And as far as this M. Night deal, *shakes head…

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Don’t worry Kellen, the show isn’t F up, because it’s just another crappy street fighter movie. Just as long as it doesn’t follow the cartoon story, it’s fine. The movie = fail
Show = still win! If they combine the story with the movie then it’s F up!

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if there really is a discrimination against asians in this movie just like the lame Db movie where everything that makes up the story just was cut out like the fact that Goku was human and not a Saiyan sigh then thats sad sigh but still this movie ould look 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 times better with asians because there are light colored asians thus why in anime’s you see so called “white” characters and there are even black asians/dark asians thus you see the “african” characters but everyone is still asian or indian atleast use the actual martial artist stunt doubles…. asian’s Indian’s and pacific islanders would be so much better then white people no offense but this show was made with asians not americans this movie isnt the wild wild west this is myth East sure the whites can play the role but looks is more harder to do considering when your white and you part is a black man @.@ also if this man does have a racial discrimination against asians and pacific islanders then he should be fired and be hit with a lawsuit

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All im saying is that this is just another movie that’s going to have to be remade! But what bothers me is that no one took control over the situation. The creators of Avatar, Nickelodeon, or even some of the fans. Why would you hire a dumb director to make a movie based on a show that has affected tons of people all over?
i hope they have screening for this movie because i would be the first person to go and see so i can just yell at all the producers and more!

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its alright
just some of the white people in hollywood look at asian people and culture – jackie chan, jet li, and they’re like, wow, im jealous

so guess what?
they gotta be asian too. haha.

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I just think it was casting. They chose who was best for the part. I really don’t think it was racial at all.

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Plz the casting was totally racial! Many people dont know this but discrimination is still alive but its invisible. Its called Invisible Discrimination! Many people can see it in the media especially in T.V shows, news, and etc. This movie should have Asian, Mongolian, or Pacific Islander actors. I mean having a white person play Katara i means its either really racial or REEEEAAAAALLLLYYYY CHEAP!!!

DOWN WITH SHYAMALAN!!!!

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The character of Aang is fine, he looks white (thats not racist) But Katara should be played by someone who is pacific islander, as well as Sokka and Zuko needs to be played by a light colored Asian. I don’t know if this guy is colorblind, it looks like for everyone except Aang that he reversed.

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Thank you BETH!!…..that’s the first smart reply i heard all day on this controversy!!…
i don’t believe it to be a racial issue….i think that the person casting the characters didn’t even think about the race….he/she just took the actors actual ACTING into account and made sure they were at least of physical standings to the characters….if i was mike or bryan reading these comments right now i would be highly disappointed in the fans not supporting what i created…i’m not very happy with who they casted to be katara..but i’m not gonna start burning Nicola Peltz eyes out because i didn’t think she was a suitable person to play the part. I’m not so thrilled about M. Night being the director either..but everyone is so freakin’ pessemistic in this world…can’t we all at least TRY to be optimistic every once in a while…starting with the production of The Last Airbender… :-/

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Becky, what are you talking about? M. Night Shyamalan is a great director! If you think people are pessimistic, you should take a look at yourself.

I personally think the filmmakers or the studio execs or actors/actresses for this movie did not really take in consideration for the sensitivity of race especially when the characters and the setting for the film is clearly Asian. I don’t know what America they (meaning Hollywood) think they’re living in, but do they really think the American audience is living in LA LA LAND and are too ignorant to figure out that Avatar The Last Airbender Movie has Asian influence? The United States is supposed to be a melting pot. Hollywood is supposed to deliver what the fans of Avatar movie want not what they (meaning Hollywood) want – this is exactly the reason Dragonball Evolution has not done very well here in the States.

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I just want to add, if anyone is thinking about going to see this movie, ask yourself this question, “Picture a world filled with people who are just like you and yet there is no one other than your own kind exist because they are not like you…will your life be fulfilling?”

I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t see this movie, nor am I suggesting Hollywood is racist, or that the film would be better or worse with an Asian cast. I just feel Hollywood should move forward and not backwards like in the days of John Wayne as Ghengis Khan lol.

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If Hollywood doesn’t change, the Asian community may have to form their own studio which will segregate this country even more, there’s alreay black and hispanic tv channels, radio shows. Long ago, Jewish immigrants practically formed Hollywood because they couldn’t find jobs, and this is why there are a lot of Jewish entertainers (the entertainment industry wasn’t considered a threat for them).

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@Beth

So if Don Cheadle wanted to play a George W. Bush in a biography and gave an outstanding performance during tryouts you think he would have been given the part?

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Kim and Yang, I applaud you. Is there any other director out there that can PLEASE pull off another Avatar: The Last Airbender movie? There is so much outrage from the fans about the casting. You just don’t get the full effect. The character’s names, fighting styles, culture, etc. are all based on Asian culture! No offense to the actors already cast, but I would like to see more diversity in this film! Something like Mongol/Tibet for Aang Air Nomad, Filipino/Vietnamese/Indonesian for Katara, Sokka & Water Tribes, Thai/Chinese/Indian for Toph Earth Kingdom, Japanese/Korean for Zuko, Azula & Fire Nation. If they did so many open castings, SURELY THERE WOULD’VE BEEN SOME OF THESE! Bah, I will still see the movie to see if they pulled it off, I’m not counting on it. However, I encourage other directors to make something BETTER! I was expecting more from M. Night Shyamalan.. NOT.

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wait, maybe i won’t see it.
maybe i’ll wait for a psycho friend to buy the dvd…
yeah that’s what i’ll do.
so that it doesn’t make any money!!

who’s in?
protest against the movie!!!!!

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I think they should of tried harder on finding a better cast.

I don’t mind white people playing in the cast, but I would like to see more Asians playing since it was based off of Asian culture. However, I think its just as unfair to make the whole cast Asian. (even if I am half Asian) I think they need a lot more diversity.

Anyways. They could of done a WAAAY better job at finding a better cast. I’m pretty sure they didn’t really think about how much the show was based off of Asian culture. So, they just threw in anyone who they thought could do a good job at playing whatever part they give them, not because of their race but for their acting.

Its not like they didn’t want Asians to play. I’m sure if they found an Asian who could act well as one of the parts, then they would give them the role. Again, not for their race but for their acting; they’ll just throw in anyone who they think would do a good job at acting as one of the characters. Therefore, they didn’t do a good job at choosing the cast because they didn’t think things through.

I think they just didn’t try hard enough and didn’t really think things through. But this is my opinion. So, whatever.

If I ever become a director one day, I’d totally do a revision of this movie.
I would work so hard to find an awesome cast, and to make sure people see what they want to see. This has been my favorite show since I was nine and being a huge fan, I would love to revise the trilogy some day. I’d also try really hard to
not leave out any of the parts.

Thats only if I become a director…so, you know. Just a dream. :\

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Great Post Erika! Just to let you know, filmmakers aren’t the ones investing their money (unless if you did entirely everything yourself), it’s the executive producers or whoever is financing the budget for the film are the ones to decide. Obviously, the investors of the film for Avatar are white and M. Night Shyamalan probably didn’t have much decision making on who to cast (he only seems to care about money).

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Ok so this is what they should do since they are already making the movie and there’s nothing we can really do but once its over or the movie is sooooooo bad that is doesn’t make enough money…..they should remake it! This time they should hire directors that have great movie history such as

Chris Columbus( Home Alone, Harry Potter 1&2)
Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean 1,2,&3)
Ang Lee( Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon)
Robert Shaye( The Last Mimzy)

Well those are just a few! But anyways but i do agree with Emica and that the casting should consist of something like Mongol/Tibet for Aang Air Nomad, Filipino/Vietnamese/Indonesian for Katara, Sokka & Water Tribe,(well not Vietnamese since they r hella mad at us Thai/Chinese/Indian for Toph Earth Kingdom, Japanese/Korean for Zuko, Azula & Fire Nation
I mean its not entirely hard to cast “Asians” i mean China has more people in their country than any other country in the world and your telling me Shyamalan couldn’t find any people to play Zuko or Azula!

And for those who think the casting was not racist! You have another thing coming! I mean if you have seen the show the ENTIRE series is based on Asian culture from the houses, writing, fighting, beliefs, and more. It would not be realistic to see a “White” person play Asian influenced characters. And you may disagree and blame the cartoonist for making the characters look white or black or whatever.

The bottom line is that this movie was designed to be a money maker instead of an epic classic! They should just remake the movie…..

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Just a lil sad and disappointed that they did not cast Katara and Sokka as Alaskan or Islander looking kids or Aang or Zuko with Asian actors (there must be none)….Its like a person of color is making this film and he couldn’t find Asian or people of color actors to play these parts! Grrrrrr I am sure the film will be good just had to throw in my two cents…

Also, for people who just think “they went with the best actor”…1 you must be white yourself lol….and two. REALL???? That means that we have no strong Asian actors??? Well the reason could be is Hollywood never gives them the opportunity to work so how would be know if there are any strong Asian actors….Here is my partial cast list of Avatar

Aang – I actually like the lil boy who is playing him. I think he looks like him and to me, looks like he could be mixed Asian.

Katara – Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), she is a strong actor and has a very similar look to Katara.

Sokka – I would have switch. Dev Patel would have made a better Sokka. He has got a similar look and also has a goofiness to him.

Zuko – Either Ken Leung (Lost) would be my choice or for a younger actor Ken Leung (Disturbia) I have only seen him do goofy comedy but like they always say comedy is harder then drama…

Anyway this is just my partial list….I wish I could have casted the film lol

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@becky

There are 3 facts I’d like to point out.

1) Dragonball movie was just out which had a a similar style of casting like Avatar.

2) Chronicles of Narnia has a European medieval theme and Avatar has Asian medieval theme. Both movies are based on series of family themed stories and I’ve heard Avatar will have sequels like Narnia.

3) In transformers 2 movie, there was a controversy with the twins and Michael Bay was nice enough to talk about the controversy, but in Avatar, M. Night won’t even respond back.

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This is ridiculous!!! I truly empathize with many Asians with this whole bull shit of a crew. But one thing that bothers me is people who think that racism is over. It will never be over. Just because a black man and his family is in the white house doesn’t mean that racism is over. It just means that people are hopeful now but it is only the lives of him and his family that have changed. Now regarding this whole controversy I am honestly disappointed because this is not fair. They can do better. And I truly believe that the cast HAD to be a majority white because if otherwise then many people wouldn’t see the film. They do this to appeal to the white pop. or else they wouldn’t even give the movie the time of day.

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Dave that just shows how M. Night doesnt really care about this movie!

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Fank Marshall the exec producer of Avatar, directed the movie alive, which also had a casting controversy.

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It is rather disapointing that our society is reverting back to 1972 where David Carradine was cast over Bruce Lee to play an Asian Shaolin monk in the series Kung Fu. Maybe next year we will see Hollywood revert further back to their early day where white actor paint their face with burnt cork to play an African American role.

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I believe that their are plenty of Asian-American talents out there, just that they’re not discover yet. It’s nothing for the producers to find Asian actors of any age.

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What really annoys me is those people who defend the casting of the film. They lack this very human trait called “empathy”.

I hear things like, “Who cares. I don’t understand why you Asians make such a big deal out of it. Stop complaining.”

They can’t see it through my eyes.

Everyone uses this analogy, but it’s a perfect example of faulty casting.

What if there was film called, “The Founding Fathers of America” starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan? That doesn’t sound right.

It’s the exact same thing.

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I totally agree with gman, i may not be asian but i understnad where you are coming from. Im black mix and i understand your guy’s pain and thats why i totally disagree and hate what they are doin to this movie!

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@Kellen
dude ok you need to chill..i agree with gman cuz i think he was just trying to get people that fit the roles i dont think he was sitting in his bed contenplaiting how he can descriminate agaisnt asians cuz to tell you the truth he actually is asian! hes indian! so just chill and look at it as an interpritaion of the story..and not an exact copy that got messed up because if you made a movie with every actor looking exactly like the characters from the cartoon than the movie would end up being a total ass burger because none of them would be able to act..im not saying that asians cant act its just i dont think hed be able to get that many asian actor aka the entire fire nation or the entire water tribe etc. so he probably cast sakka and katara as whit and then he needed consitancy for the water tribe and made them white..at the last minute he cast dev patel as zuko so he need the fire nation to all be the same nationality as him or it would look wierd..yah know what im saying?

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Well.., i think people blow things out of proportion. First most Directors never cast actor for a movie, that’s the casting directors job. If there isn’t any Asians in the film there’s a reason but there’s no need to jump into conclussions right away. Maybe none of the people that auditioned were good for the film and im sure this film deserves good acting to do well. Anyhow, M. Night Shyamalan has done great movies and movies that suck as well. I do have my doubts about this film but we can never talk without seeing the final work… So people when the movie comes out shoot all you want. I dont think the director had any intention of racism at all but this world is full of people who cant see beyond others expectations… that being said you all have a great one…

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this forum is getting out of hand and il add more insanity YES i do believe Racism and Discrimination are very real in fact at school im maurauded with Racist Asian jokes LITERALLY i dont even know how HALf of the slang terms for asians got started and i have NO idea how the thought that we have small penises >.< and also i think that this movie is going to have a very bad rating when it will come out AND THE WHITE POP. WHO ONLY WATCH MOVIES WITH WHITE PEOPLE CAN SUCK IT!!!! YOUR RACE IS NOT I REPEAT IS NOT!!!! A DOMINANT RACE!!! YOUR ETHNICITY HAS CAUSED MANY OTHER CULTURES TO DIE!!! no offense to the white people who are defending us anywho!!!! i fear that the reason why we havent seen any commercials lately and only if we go to the movie theater still even though rarely i will see a glance of that movie is because of this forum furthermore!!! once some more info of theis movie leaks and spreads on the internet and if i find out that most of the actors are white/caucasian it will be once and for all known that this man is racist and discriminates against other ethnicities and is only teasing and poking the bear with a short stick…. DB was horrible!! and if this movie is as well then mark my words im forever burning this man down as a racist white american the ones i despise the most

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The actual genders and races of what the elements represent are in Rodney St.Michael’s book, Sync My World: Thief’s Honor GA SK. (myconnected.webs.com)

Air = Yellow “race” = Males = Scholars.

Water = Small Browns = Females = Shamans.

Earth = Blacks = Lesbian = Social Ubuntu Business Class.

Fire = Whites = Gays = Military, Militant Business Class.

Ether or Metal = Big Browns = Bisexuals = Working Class, Bi-military
(females & bis go together like Katara & Sokka or brown females and males).

Therefore Aang should be Chinese.

Katara should be a Malay like a Filipina.

The Earth Kingdom should be African.

Zuko should be White like Hitler, Alexander the Gay or Gen. Arthur McArthur.

The Fire Nation’s army should be like the fiery Sacred Band of Thebes (an ancient elite gay army that Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell troops would be envious of) or the Sturmabteilung, the much-feared homosexual stormtroopers of Hitler.

And the Slumdog Millionaire (casted as Zuko) should be Sokka.

This film is just as messed up as the movie Angels and Demons. The branding of the priests were incorrect.

But anyway, from the guy who gave you the Sixth Sense, which did not portray childhood schizophrenia accurately or anywhere near the real world, what do you expect?

Bisexuals love horror and terror. They also scam people, just like the Wizard of Oz. The old Oz film which is also about the Elements is understandably all-white because they were ignorant back then. People have higher standards now, and realism is a must.

But M.Night, the Wizard of South Asia also has lessons for everyone after conning them:

1) Clearly, when people don’t play roles that fit them, everything is messed up. (e.g. “male” clergy in what should be a female realm, forbidding gays in the military which is their territory)

2) Whites are not fit to play the leading roles of Air and Water in the world scene. Leave that to the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea and South East Asia).

3) Arabs are not necessarily the greatest evil in the world. Occasionally, they float like Ether to the ranks of Water. It is fiery whites that fit the role of Lucifer or Satan.

4) By acquiring objective reviews from leading critics, they have agreed themselves that these are all factual objective realities.

Thus, the Wizard, even if he is a con man, is also an accidental pseudo teacher. Partly, it’s called sunyata or “emptiness.”

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I strongly believe that all this skepticism on racism in The Last Airbender is truly false.
Yeah, i am an avid Avatar fan, and i thought the movie was an awful interpretation, but to bring race into this? come on everyone, get a life!
if anyone who has watched the show, they may remember the episode called, “The Avatar and the Firelord.” at the end of the episode, Aang realized what the whole point of the episode was: that not just one nation is truly bad, and that anyone from any nation can be a bad person. it doesn’t matter if you are water tribe or Fire Nation. And we see that all throughout the series. and if i remember correctly, M. Night is an Avatar fan as well. so you’d think he would understand that mature concept of the TV show and put it in the movie(s). Just give him a chance. To all of you who cry ‘Racist!’ : Grow UP.

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