The Last Airbender (Fuck You Shyamalan)

So, The Last Airbender was so fucking bad. Usually I watch my language closer on this and Twitter but uh....

Yeah, it was so fucking bad. First, let's take the casting. I made a blog post about it and I still had my issues. However, the people who boycotted the movie won't know how bad it was unless they see it (well, also if they read my and others' blogs). How can the principle characters in a movie about a show based on MANY eastern cultures be white? How about the extras? There's no excuse to hire almost an exclusively white cast when most of the extras are from another ethnicity. No fucking excuse. Also, the firebenders are based on Japanese people. Making the principle antagonists of the film of Middle Eastern descent is not a good idea, especially in light of our current relationship with that region of the world.

Second, pronunciations. Sah-ka! Not Soh-ka. Aing! Not Awng! Ah-va-tar! Not Aw-va-tar! Fuck you Shyamalan! I saw a commercial for a game based on the movie and they pronounced Aang's name Awng. That was my first sign. No, wait, Shyamalan directing was my first sign. Anyway, I know the show is based on other cultures, but you can't change how things are pronounced in a movie based on the show, whether or not they are western or eastern pronunciations.

Third, Katara, one of my FAVORITE characters and an all around strong female lead... Was little and whiny in this film. She did not measure up to the Katara from the series.

Fourth, Sokka wasn't fucking funny.

Fifth, Shyamalan.

So, along the way I lost my train of thought. It's okay; I'm drowning out the bad movie experience with a beer and the GOOD Avatar: The Last Airbender. Seriously, screw Shyamalan. This movie really is not worth seeing.

White Guilt

So, I've just been subjected to White Guilt. I'm not even white.

The Last Airbender has caught a lot of flack about its primarily white casting. The firebenders, who are supposed to be closer to Japanese, are cast as Middle Eastern (Indian if I'm not mistaken). Katara is a whiny little white girl. Sokka is Jasper. No, I don't agree with the casting. But, you know what? I'm still going to see the film.

What I'm doing has "sell-out" written all over it. I hate BET and MTV for their stereotypical portrayals of black people and believe they do a grave disservice to the black community. I love Will & Grace but it very stereotypically portrays gay people. Yet, I'm still going to see The Last Airbender.

Why? I've never believed that low-level boycotts do anything. Someone once said we should boycott Cinemark because its theatres wouldn't show Milk and that one of the execs did not support gay marriage. What happened with that? Cinemark is still in business. They don't seem like they're hurting at all. What was supposed to show Cinemark that we aren't going to take this bullshit did nothing to it at all except help it not make (not necessarily lose) thousands of dollars. It's the same with The Last Airbender. M. Night Shyamalan is still going to make money and (probably shitty) movies. Jasper is still Sokka. Katara is still a whiny white girl. And the movie may still mispronounce Aang's name.

I don't believe this boycott is going to get us anywhere. It is not a mounted assault. It is a small group of people, by comparison to the US population, who are upset about the casting who are going to find whatever way possible to not support this movie. They have that right. Still, I utterly refuse to say that I am support institutionalized racism by going to see the movie. We support all kinds of institutional racism, stereotyping, miscasting, misrepresentation, and delusion on a day to day basis. Comics, tv, movies, music, these media outlets ALL showcase some kind of racial or social misrepresentation on a constant basis. Unfortunately, these may be things that change with time and not instantaneously. If I could spur on this change, I'd like to believe I would, but I'm not going to lie in the chance that I don't.

I'm not a sellout. I'm going to see this movie. It's not going to make me any less of a person. Boycotting the movie does not send a message across in small numbers. If I start seeing riots or mass protests, maybe I'll change my mind.