lierdumoa | The Whitewashing of Avatar, Continued!

I mentioned in my last post that the Avatar fandom has organized a letter writing campaign regarding the casting problem.

My first inclination was to write an earnest and impassioned letter to Paramount explaining how offended and hurt I was. There might have been something in there about the children, and how we ought to think of them. But then I remembered how well that worked out for the "No on Prop. 8" campaign. If I recall correctly, it went something like this:

gay marriage initiative: Prohibiting gay marriage is unfair and wrong!
state of California: CRY MOAR, FAGS.

I decided to try a different tactic.

To Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Marshall:

I am writing to express my concerns regarding your upcoming film adaptation, The Last Airbender. After hearing of director M. Night Shyamalan's casting choices, I am frankly surprised that Paramount would have the oversight to let the lead characters, all of whom are clearly coded as non-white in the original animated series, be represented by white actors.

I appreciate that your main concern is the monetary success of this venture, and thus I feel it should be brought to your attention that the casting of Caucasian actors has alienated your audience. The fanbase is outraged at what they consider to be blatant racism. The very first Google hit for "avatar casting" is a firm rebuke from an entertainment website. Four of the top ten news results brought up with the same search term reflect similar sentiments. The comment thread for Entertainment Weekly's Dec. 9 web article has been spammed with swastikas. This kind of publicity could easily prove damaging not only for the film, but for the reputation of your production company.

Of course, I am not a publicist, nor any kind of marketing expert. Still, it is clear to me from these casting choices that Mr. Shyamalan simply does not understand his audience or his subject matter on a very fundamental level. As a fan of the series, it is saddens me to see this crisis of miscommunication between fans and creators.

Avatar is a series celebrated for its cultural awareness, its social insight, and its ethnic diversity. If the film can be made to reflect these same qualities, I've no doubt it will be as wildly successful as the cartoon upon which it is based.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[my real name]
[signature]