This is the pencil sketch I made protesting the casting choices of the new live action Avatar movie. As an anthropology major and a lover of the diverse cultures portrayed in Avatar, I feel that it is an insult to cast all white Texan actors. I don't think the cast should be entirely one race or entirely another. By diversity, I mean just that: white actors, Asian actors, Inuit actors, etc. should ALL be cast. For example, Aang could be white, Katara could be Latina, Sokka could be Native Hawaiian, and Zuko could be Asian. There. Bingo. Diversity.

Once I get my tablet fixed, I will ink and color this. Until then, keep up the good fight, Avatards! ROW ROW FIGHT DA PO-WAH!

Here's a bit more on the story, taken from a Firefox News article:

In the past few days, rumblings have been heard in comments and postings around the Internet, as fans who reveled in the beauty of the Avatar world reeled at the news that their favorite characters might be portrayed by an all-white cast (partially picked at a casting call in . . . Texas, that noted hub of Asian and Inuit people).

"Acting ability aside, no it is NOT RIGHT," argues Glockgal. "The Avatar animated series is mired with and 100% composed of Asian influences. The world, the cultures, the people, the costumes, the script, the belief systems, the references, the mythology-- everything is Asian-or-Inuit based. Casting all-white actors to play roles that should go to fully capable Asian/PoC actors is insulting and discriminatory."

For a cartoon that began with the news of near-total genocide against the title character's entire culture, an all-white cast is a pretty low blow. And rather misses the point of the cartoon.

As Vagabond_sal says, "[The creators] made a conscious effort, a committed effort, a noble effort. They did their research. They did the leg-work. They hired historical consultants to help them fashion one of the most nuanced, challenging universes in contemporary speculative fiction. They hired martial arts masters to work with their animators. . . . They researched architecture and cuisine.
They did all the things you're supposed to do, and then decided that that wasn't enough, so they doubled their efforts on top of that."

And over on a post at /film, commenter Carolyn says "The characters in the cartoon are clearly of an ASIAN decent. . . . The fact that a blond kid is playing Prince Zuko WILL ruin the Avatar franchise. Nobody wants to see a bunch of dull white kids pretending to have deep cultural roots. I am so scared to see M. Night kill my favorite show!"

Angry Black Woman speaks for many fans, saying, "[I]f this is really the cast they’re planning to go with, I will definitely be boycotting this movie, and urging everyone I know to do the same."

It's safe to say that fandom isn't going to shut up or go away when it comes to this issue, so it should be interesting to see if The Powers That Be even notice the brouhaha.

If you want to join the letter-writing campaign and make your voice heard, head on over to Aang Ain't White: [link] (though it's on hiatus until Jan 5th)

Many fans have commented on the irony of non-white director M. Night Shyamalan--who apparently discovered Avatar because his daughter wanted to be Katara for Halloween--choosing white actors. What can we say, except...Hollywood strikes again.