Re: The Racist Casting of The Last Airbender

The recent controversy over the casting of M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender has sparked furious debate in many on-line communities. Many are upset over the obvious whitewashing of characters that were originally Asian or Inuit in the cartoon. Unfortunately, some of the opposing arguments that deny any discrimination on the part of the movie studio serve only to reveal how oblivious people are to the problem.

One such argument is that, supposedly, there is no physical indication of the lead character's race in the original cartoon, despite the fact that his name is Aang, he wears Oriental clothing, and his actions exhibit Buddhist and Taoist characteristics. This argument is based on the faulty premise that Caucasian is the default race whenever racial identity is in question.

In her excellent essay, "The Problem With Colorblindness", posted at racebending.com, Faith Bell refers to this as the "baseline" argument. The white race is accepted as the baseline, and this is what allows people to blindly dismiss the obvious Asian influence of the show--to convince themselves that the characters are white. If a character's race is in doubt, he is most certainly white because that is the baseline race; while other races are merely varying coats of paint. However, this point of view also manages to work against persons of color in situations where the character is white, but the actor playing the character is bi-racial.

Some objections are being made over the casting of Jason Momoa as Conan that are based entirely on his mixed race. One 'gentleman' on IMDb proposes that Momoa could only play a Hawaiian character, as he is half Hawaiian/half Caucasian. Others have pointed out how discriminatory this is, that he should be forced to play characters that exclusively correspond to his 'Hawaiian half'. Never mind that Momoa is also white, this person reveals a disturbing belief that Momoa's Caucasian blood is somehow 'tarnished' by his Hawaiian blood. In other words, Caucasian is the default race but only if it has not been diluted.

People who argue against the accusations of discrimination in the casting of The Last Airbender, arrogantly suggest people shouldn't get all hung up on race--that Political Correctness is running rampant. People who object over the casting of Jason Momoa use the same argument--Political Correctness has led to Momoa's casting. Oddly enough, I see 'Political Correctness' being used more as a discriminatory weapon against people of color than what it is supposedly intended for. You will note that any time the term pops up in conversation, it is to discourage any challenge to racially discriminatory thought. It is a disparaging term used to shame and to shut down any discussion of race.

Let's get rid of this term entirely and replace it with words like tactful, and polite. Let's see the racists use THOSE words disparagingly. Seriously, as if showing respect for different races and cultures is a bad thing. Well, I guess that WOULD be a bad thing to racists.

Finally, the most ridiculous argument I see in response to the racebending movement: "OMG, does EVERYTHING have to be about race?!"

My answer to that is: When the studios make everything about race, by whitewashing characters of color--YES. When citizens of color are being treated like perpetual foreigners in their own country--YES. When the majority continue to withhold opportunities based on race--YES. Let me know when these things change.

Faith Bell's essay here!

Another great argument made by ten-year-old Li Huan Shandross! Click here.


(Updated 8/5/10)