The Last Airbender... Racist?

[OnSlaUghT]

I, being of indian descent, find it offensive to cast the indians as all bad guys

[Overlord Lucan]

I know this is kinda off topic but I never got the point of the show, I mean it has Aang going around learning the elements then in the end of the show he just goes into avatar mode and destroies the Fire Lord with no problem even well Sozin's Comet is passing above. I mean he could of just walked up to the Fire Lord at any time and killed him.

[Taichi Masaki]

I' date=' being of indian descent, find it offensive to cast the indians as all bad guys

[/quote']

 

Blame them for getting a talented actor to play Zuko. If Jesse McCartney played Zuko, the Fire Nation would be white. If they casted Zuko as Black, the Fire Nation would be Black. If they casted Zuko as redhead ginger, the Fire Nation would be pretty much ginger. (No offense to gingers.) Shamaylan basically said who ever is casted as a main character, their ethnicity would be a microcosm for the nation they represent. Airbenders are diverse ethnicity, Earthbenders are Majorly Asian with possibly a small portion of Blacks, Northern Water Tribe is Caucasian, Southern Water Tribe is Inuit. The reason why Katara and Sokka are white and are Southern Tribe is because their Grandmother was originally from the Northern Tribe.

 

I know this is kinda off topic but I never got the point of the show' date=' I mean it has Aang going around learning the elements then in the end of the show he just goes into avatar mode and destroies the Fire Lord with no problem even well Sozin's Comet is passing above. I mean he could of just walked up to the Fire Lord at any time and killed him.

[/quote']

 

Aang never killed the Fire Lord or destroyed him. The plot sounds cliched on paper in way, sure. But the characters and their development, along with how the story is told is what makes Avatar a great show to enjoy.

 

Oh, and about the movie, I keep liking it everytime I see a new commercial. Sokka is still has that funniness about him. lol

 

[Overlord Lucan]

I know that he never killed him, I just saying that in any point in the series he could have. And I do like the show, and enjoy watching it, but the whole journey seemed kinda pointless. The only thing that signifcantly impacted the end result was the Lion Turtle showing up out of nowhere and giving Aang a easy (Morally atleast) way out.

[Taichi Masaki]

The Journey wasn't pointless. Characters have developed. If there was no journey, Zuko would still be conflicted and filled with rage all the time. Without a journey, Katara would still have an inside rage and frustration because she would have never met her mom's killer face to face. No journey would mean that Sokka would still have his 'Women should be in the kitchen' mentality, have no girlfriend and he wouldn't be the proud warrior that he is. Without the journey, Toph would still hate her parents to the bone and Metalbening would have never been invented. Without the journey, Aang would've killed someone.

[Overlord Lucan]

Alright not worthless, but their goal would still of been acomplished. And I think it would be worth sacrificing character devolpement to save the lives that were lost during that period. So it wasn't worthless, but still...

[Wuu.]

Maybe because the movie is made by flippin' Americans?

 

Srsly stop jabroniing and get on with your life.

[TAG]

From what I see, the movie looks to throw away the humor aspect of the show. Even if it doesn't, it doesn't look like it'll mesh well with the scenery. Add that to the fact that the actors aren't very well chosen in terms of looks, and you've got something I have no intention of seeing.

 

I'm with Taichi.. Who they choose to play who doesn't really matter! As long as they can get the personalities down the movie will atleast be decent. Aang has to be Aang Goofy' date=' Childish. Sokka has to be Cocky, Goofy. Kitara has to be happy and carring. Zuko has to be troubled and Irou has to be laxed and wise. AS long as the characters live up to the Cartoon Characters it will be fine.

[/quote']

 

Aang-Gilbert Gottfired

Zuko-Robin Williams

Kitara-Jerry Seinfeld

Sokka-Whoopi Goldberg

 

Hey, as long as the personalities are good, I'm game.

 

Actually, I'd pay a good dollar to see Gilbert Gottfried as Aang.....

[Taichi Masaki]

From what I see' date=' the movie looks to throw away the humor aspect of the show. Even if it doesn't, it doesn't look like it'll mesh well with the scenery. Add that to the fact that the actors aren't very well chosen in terms of looks, and you've got something I have no intention of seeing.

 

I'm with Taichi.. Who they choose to play who doesn't really matter! As long as they can get the personalities down the movie will atleast be decent. Aang has to be Aang Goofy, Childish. Sokka has to be Cocky, Goofy. Kitara has to be happy and carring. Zuko has to be troubled and Irou has to be laxed and wise. AS long as the characters live up to the Cartoon Characters it will be fine.

 

Aang-Gilbert Gottfired

Zuko-Robin Williams

Kitara-Jerry Seinfeld

Sokka-Whoopi Goldberg

 

Hey, as long as the personalities are good, I'm game.

 

Actually, I'd pay a good dollar to see Gilbert Gottfried as Aang.....

 

If Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg can get Zuko and Sokka's personalities down, then I'll go see it and support it.

[HitoKage]

From what I've seen, they mispronounce Aang as 'ong'.

[Taichi Masaki]

From what I've seen' date=' they mispronounce Aang as 'ong'.

[/quote']

 

 

They pronouncing the names eastern style because that's the way they were suppose to be. They changed the pronunciation in america.

 

Sokka will be pronounced Soak-ka

Aang will be Ong

Iroh will be Ear-Oh.

[Dr. Cakey]

I never watched The Last Airbender when it came out, so I decided to catch up on it since the movie was coming out.

 

It does not deserve many of the accolades it has received. The reason I say this is that it has been acclaimed as something that doesn't just work for its 6-10 demographic, but is great for the whole family or whatever. Well, no, it's not - it works for its demographic and no one else. That's not a strike against it, just a fact - it's not any more genre-bending or whatever than any other cartoon shows that have come out then and now.

 

The show enjoyed romping in sloppy writing, with events created for the hell of it or to invent quick-fixes. The most obvious of these is the Avatar State - I can see Aang with a checklist: fly ON, no damage ON, infinite MP ON, autokill ON.

 

Arguing that the journey was necessary is absurd. Imagine some people are traveling in search of a legendary treasure, which they know to be directly ahead. Before them are two paths: on the left is a straight road. On the right is a cave with a spike floor guarded by dragons...that are ON FIRE. Behind them, the travelers can see Chuck Norris in the midst of a practice bout with Bruce Lee.

 

"Let's take the right path," suggests one person, "we might be able to develop our characters that way!"

 

Bloodbending was introduced late in season 3, most likely because the writers suddenly realized Waterbending was crappy compared to the other elements - Air is always present, Earth almost as much so (particularly with Metalbending), and Fire can apparently be spontaneously generated. Katara used it twice - once during that episode itself (which barely counts), and once in the episode where she finds her mother's killer. And they make sure that after being told "its blood so its scary k", nothing particularly interesting is done with it. In short, it is discarded.

 

But I'm not here to find every single flaw in the series, particularly since I thought it was ultimately above average. I could improve it with my hands tied behind my back, but most other shows in its demographic I wouldn't even know where to begin. And from what I've seen the movie looks a good deal worse.

[Taichi Masaki]

I never watched The Last Airbender when it came out' date=' so I decided to catch up on it since the movie was coming out.

 

It does not deserve many of the accolades it has received. The reason I say this is that it has been acclaimed as something that doesn't just work for its 6-10 demographic, but is great for the whole family or whatever. Well, no, it's not - it works for its demographic and no one else. That's not a strike against it, just a fact - it's not any more genre-bending or whatever than any other cartoon shows that have come out then and now.

 

The show enjoyed romping in sloppy writing, with events created for the hell of it or to invent quick-fixes. The most obvious of these is the Avatar State - I can see Aang with a checklist: fly ON, no damage ON, infinite MP ON, autokill ON.

 

Arguing that the journey was necessary is absurd. Imagine some people are traveling in search of a legendary treasure, which they know to be directly ahead. Before them are two paths: on the left is a straight road. On the right is a cave with a spike floor guarded by dragons...that are ON FIRE. Behind them, the travelers can see Chuck Norris in the midst of a practice bout with Bruce Lee.

 

"Let's take the right path," suggests one person, "we might be able to develop our characters that way!"

 

Bloodbending was introduced late in season 3, most likely because the writers suddenly realized Waterbending was crappy compared to the other elements - Air is always present, Earth almost as much so (particularly with Metalbending), and Fire can apparently be spontaneously generated. Katara used it twice - once during that episode itself (which barely counts), and once in the episode where she finds her mother's killer. And they make sure that after being told "its blood so its scary k", nothing particularly interesting is done with it. In short, it is discarded.

 

But I'm not here to find every single flaw in the series, particularly since I thought it was ultimately above average. I could improve it with my hands tied behind my back, but most other shows in its demographic I wouldn't even know where to begin. And from what I've seen the movie looks a good deal worse.

[/quote']

 

Great! Nice detailed analysis. Here's a cookie, you've earned it.

[HitoKage]

From what I've seen' date=' they mispronounce Aang as 'ong'.

[/quote']

 

 

They pronouncing the names eastern style because that's the way they were suppose to be. They changed the pronunciation in america.

 

Sokka will be pronounced Soak-ka

Aang will be Ong

Iroh will be Ear-Oh.

 

Ok, that makes sense now.

 

Still, one thing that does bug me is that in the show, firebenders could create fire, in the movie, they can only bend it.

[Scyire]

I never watched The Last Airbender when it came out' date=' so I decided to catch up on it since the movie was coming out.

 

It does not deserve many of the accolades it has received. The reason I say this is that it has been acclaimed as something that doesn't just work for its 6-10 demographic, but is great for the whole family or whatever. Well, no, it's not - it works for its demographic and no one else. That's not a strike against it, just a fact - it's not any more genre-bending or whatever than any other cartoon shows that have come out then and now.

 

The show enjoyed romping in sloppy writing, with events created for the hell of it or to invent quick-fixes. The most obvious of these is the Avatar State - I can see Aang with a checklist: fly ON, no damage ON, infinite MP ON, autokill ON.

 

Arguing that the journey was necessary is absurd. Imagine some people are traveling in search of a legendary treasure, which they know to be directly ahead. Before them are two paths: on the left is a straight road. On the right is a cave with a spike floor guarded by dragons...that are ON FIRE. Behind them, the travelers can see Chuck Norris in the midst of a practice bout with Bruce Lee.

 

"Let's take the right path," suggests one person, "we might be able to develop our characters that way!"

 

Bloodbending was introduced late in season 3, most likely because the writers suddenly realized Waterbending was crappy compared to the other elements - Air is always present, Earth almost as much so (particularly with Metalbending), and Fire can apparently be spontaneously generated. Katara used it twice - once during that episode itself (which barely counts), and once in the episode where she finds her mother's killer. And they make sure that after being told "its blood so its scary k", nothing particularly interesting is done with it. In short, it is discarded.

 

But I'm not here to find every single flaw in the series, particularly since I thought it was ultimately above average. I could improve it with my hands tied behind my back, but most other shows in its demographic I wouldn't even know where to begin. And from what I've seen the movie looks a good deal worse.

[/quote']

 

This may be true, but it still beats the crap out of every other show on Nick/CN.

[Taichi Masaki]

From what I've seen' date=' they mispronounce Aang as 'ong'.

[/quote']

 

 

They pronouncing the names eastern style because that's the way they were suppose to be. They changed the pronunciation in america.

 

Sokka will be pronounced Soak-ka

Aang will be Ong

Iroh will be Ear-Oh.

 

Ok, that makes sense now.

 

Still, one thing that does bug me is that in the show, firebenders could create fire, in the movie, they can only bend it.

 

Yeah, that bugged me for a while too, but then I had to think about it. Airbenders need air to bend, Waterbenders need water to bend, Earthbenders need earth to bend, but Firebenders just need breathing and rage?! It almost makes sense for them to need fire to bend fire. Why should Firebenders be the only benders not to need as Toph would put it, "Bendables"?

[TAG]

From what I see' date=' the movie looks to throw away the humor aspect of the show. Even if it doesn't, it doesn't look like it'll mesh well with the scenery. Add that to the fact that the actors aren't very well chosen in terms of looks, and you've got something I have no intention of seeing.

 

I'm with Taichi.. Who they choose to play who doesn't really matter! As long as they can get the personalities down the movie will atleast be decent. Aang has to be Aang Goofy, Childish. Sokka has to be Cocky, Goofy. Kitara has to be happy and carring. Zuko has to be troubled and Irou has to be laxed and wise. AS long as the characters live up to the Cartoon Characters it will be fine.

 

Aang-Gilbert Gottfired

Zuko-Robin Williams

Kitara-Jerry Seinfeld

Sokka-Whoopi Goldberg

 

Hey, as long as the personalities are good, I'm game.

 

Actually, I'd pay a good dollar to see Gilbert Gottfried as Aang.....

 

If Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg can get Zuko and Sokka's personalities down, then I'll go see it and support it.

 

Screw that. Gottfried all the way. Paint an arrow on his head, and you're good. Personally, I think that alone would make The Last Airbender worth seeing.

[HitoKage]

Yeah' date=' that bugged me for a while too, but then I had to think about it. Airbenders need air to bend, Waterbenders need water to bend, Earthbenders need earth to bend, but Firebenders just need breathing and rage?! It [i']almost[/i] makes sense for them to need fire to bend fire. Why should Firebenders be the only benders not to need as Toph would put it, "Bendables"?

 

Still, I believe firebdening uses your chi to take the heat from the air and create fire. So, technically, it is bending.

[Phantom Roxas]

Roger Ebert gave Eclipse two stars.

 

He gave The Last Airbender half a star.

[HitoKage]

After reading that, not as excited to see it (wasn't very excited in the first place). But, even though I agree with him on some areas, still going to have to see it myself.

[Night]

Ehh this thread to me makes little to no sense. Why does it matter that there are asians in the movie? >_> India if you haven't noticed is in asia so, by saying no asians, thats wrong. Plus the show was as well diverse. The main characters weren't asian either, does that make the whole franchise racist?

[Taichi Masaki]

Ehh this thread to me makes little to no sense. Why does it matter that there are asians in the movie? >_> India if you haven't noticed is in asia so' date=' by saying no asians, thats wrong. Plus the show was as well diverse. The main characters weren't asian either, does that make the whole franchise racist?

[/quote']

 

 

Actually most of that complaining has gone away now that Toph and a majority of the Earth Kingdom were confirmed to be Asian in the next movie.

[GraveHorizon]

Though people call it a 3D movie, it isn't. They made the movie, then converted it to "3D" afterward. And I hear that the 3D was terrible.

 

So the Firebenders in the movie can only bend already existing fire? That's sheet. Even if Shyamalan did it to "even the playing field" so the Firebenders wouldn't be more powerful, it's implied in the show that simply bending fire from (seemingly) nowhere doesn't give them an automatic advantage over everyone else. Their victories come from their fighting skills and war tactics, superior military forces, and use of technology.

 

The worst part about the movie (and a lot of why I won't go see it) is the casting choices. Just ridiculous. The Water Tribe is clearly Eskimo/Inuit, whatever you want to call it. Remember the eclipse glasses? Based on real life objects. If I'm gonna see a movie based on a cartoon show, I'd like to immediately be able to tell which character I'm looking at. Even a passing resemblance would be nice. I guess the kid playing Aang looks something like him, but everyone else... blegh.

 

I prefer this fan casting. If they wanted to make another Dragonball Evolution, why not just use Chow Yun Fat again? (Except it would actually be good.)

[Taichi Masaki]

The worst part about the movie (and a lot of why I won't go see it) is the casting choices. Just ridiculous. The Water Tribe is clearly Eskimo/Inuit' date=' whatever you want to call it.

[/quote']

 

Just to let you know, Southern Water Tribe is Eskimo/Inuit. Northern Water Tribe are White. The reason Katara and Sokka are white is because their Gran-Gran was originally from Northern Tribe. I know that doesn't make much of a difference, but just thought you should know. And if nobody read my post before, Earth Kingdom and Toph are Asian and Airbenders are diverse.

[Phantom Roxas]

I prefer this fan casting. If they wanted to make another Dragonball Evolution' date=' why not just use Chow Yun Fat again? (Except it would actually be good.)[/url']

 

Why is it that people always choose better cast lists before a movie is even announced? That fancasting is perfect.