eae aa ta A friend ‘turned me onto the original Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series on Nickelodeon, and from the first episode “The writing was not only witty, thoughtful, and clever, it showed a deep respect for and knowledge of Asian cultures, Even my wife loved it, and she usually avoids cartoons like the plague. Dor't you see?! The politics of the Fire Nation reflect ‘those of Japan during the Meji Restoration! ‘Shut up. They're gonna fight again —-until I learned they'd given the roles of the major heroic characters- all of whom were Asian or Inuit in the cartoon- to white actors, Here was an American cartoon with multi- faceted characters and addictive plot lines, all set in a beautifully-constructed Asian fantasy world, When I heard that they were going to make a live-action adaptation, I was thrill ‘Oh my Flying Appas! That's gonna be amazing! Look, don't you want to live in a color- blind society? Maybe the most qualified actors for those roles just happened to be white!but then how do you explain the original casting calls which clearly indicated a preference tor white actors from the get-go? 12-15 years-old, Male, Caucasian or any other ethnicity. We are looking for a young man to play the lead role in a motion picture franchise. He The casting decisions behind The Last Look, I know how tiring it is to keep Airbender movie make a clear,and clearly | | track of all the causes the modern repugnant, statement: world throws at us. Asian-American faces are simply Neither! i brought my own inadequate for canvas bags! American audiences, See MB uloh eR) that so obviously celebrates our cultural heritage. And in the grand scheme of things, racism in T'mJust asking you, especially on ‘the casting of a Hollywood popcorn flick, no July 2, 2010 and the weekend after, matter how blatant, really isn't all that ‘to spend your entertainment dollars important. That's why I'm nat asking you to on Something other than The Last Picket or write letters or wear a T-shirt Airbender movie. with a catchy slogan. | But if you want a T-shirt with a catchy slogan, Racebending.com ‘Thanks for ‘taking the time ‘to hear me out!