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siamesaI'm really, genuinely angry. I mean, really, genuinely angry. And - I cannot believe I'm saying this in a public post- I'm actually also angry at my dad. Legitimately and morally. I don't think that's something I'm supposed to admit, particuarly about something I doubt he remembers saying.
But, screw it. I'm mad.
Still mad. The operative dang word is still mad.
Everybody on the internet went through the brouhaha over the Avatar- sorry, "Last Airbender," thank you, J Cameron - casting. I was angry then, but it coalesced into a sort of seething rage that's only recently broiled up to the surface.
Race is a touchy subject, and it's a damned touchy subject around here. Polite people polite company just don't bring it up. We really, really don't want to remember that two generations ago my best friend and I couldn't have hung out together in public- not that we'd have ever met. People really want to have a sense of "oh, that's over and done with." About the only place it's mentioned is the opinion portion of the local newspaper, and while that would seem big, the opinion page of the local newspaper is generally devoted to arguing whether said newspaper is a puppet of the conservative warmongering fascits, or of the America-destroying liberal communists. Godwin's Law gets broken like the place is an internet forum.
But I digress.
I'm mad about theAvatar casting. I'm mad that only the villains and possibly one sacrificial love interest are Asian. I'm mad that Sokka and Katara lost about twelve skin tones. I was never naiive enough to think they wouldn't cast Aang white, but EVERYBODY just makes me want to splat things even after all this time. And you know what else still bites me, after months? The assumption made by the man who taught me that all people are created equal that white audiences are going to relate more to white characters. "Who's going to be watching and paying for the thing?" indeed. The Asian style didn't stop me from falling in love with the show. It didn't stop anyone from falling in love with the show.
And then there's that argument I keep seeing, "Would you complain if they cast Harry Potter (or some random chara, doesn't matter) black?" Guess what? They didn't.
That's not damn relevant, because they didn't.
And I- you know what, LJ? I feel personally insulted that someone thinks I need people of my own skin tone to relate to. Frak that. Society wants to move on, you know. And I give this message both to the the Move I Won't Be Seeing, and, unrelatedly enough, to the man in charge of the Company Whose Comics I Don't Buy: When you let people move on, they will. And when you don't, they won't.
Nothing about this fiasco, or about the promo pics, or about the reviews or the fandom has convinced ME to move on.
I'll tell you that, right now.
But, screw it. I'm mad.
Still mad. The operative dang word is still mad.
Everybody on the internet went through the brouhaha over the Avatar- sorry, "Last Airbender," thank you, J Cameron - casting. I was angry then, but it coalesced into a sort of seething rage that's only recently broiled up to the surface.
Race is a touchy subject, and it's a damned touchy subject around here. Polite people polite company just don't bring it up. We really, really don't want to remember that two generations ago my best friend and I couldn't have hung out together in public- not that we'd have ever met. People really want to have a sense of "oh, that's over and done with." About the only place it's mentioned is the opinion portion of the local newspaper, and while that would seem big, the opinion page of the local newspaper is generally devoted to arguing whether said newspaper is a puppet of the conservative warmongering fascits, or of the America-destroying liberal communists. Godwin's Law gets broken like the place is an internet forum.
But I digress.
I'm mad about theAvatar casting. I'm mad that only the villains and possibly one sacrificial love interest are Asian. I'm mad that Sokka and Katara lost about twelve skin tones. I was never naiive enough to think they wouldn't cast Aang white, but EVERYBODY just makes me want to splat things even after all this time. And you know what else still bites me, after months? The assumption made by the man who taught me that all people are created equal that white audiences are going to relate more to white characters. "Who's going to be watching and paying for the thing?" indeed. The Asian style didn't stop me from falling in love with the show. It didn't stop anyone from falling in love with the show.
And then there's that argument I keep seeing, "Would you complain if they cast Harry Potter (or some random chara, doesn't matter) black?" Guess what? They didn't.
That's not damn relevant, because they didn't.
And I- you know what, LJ? I feel personally insulted that someone thinks I need people of my own skin tone to relate to. Frak that. Society wants to move on, you know. And I give this message both to the the Move I Won't Be Seeing, and, unrelatedly enough, to the man in charge of the Company Whose Comics I Don't Buy: When you let people move on, they will. And when you don't, they won't.
Nothing about this fiasco, or about the promo pics, or about the reviews or the fandom has convinced ME to move on.
I'll tell you that, right now.
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love to this rant
on 2010-02-04 09:36 pm (UTC)