Are these summer blockbusters racist?
It's a case of "whitewashing" - the selection of white actors to fill the main hero roles instead of the people of color they say the source material requires...
From Huffington Post:
NEW YORK — The hopes of many are resting on the shoulders of 12-year-old Aang.
Ever since he first came out of a block of ice in the Nickelodeon cartoon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” the other tribes in his fictional, Asian-inspired world saw Aang and his power over the elements as their last chance for peace after a century of conflict.
Now Paramount Pictures and director M. Night Shyamalan also have high hopes for Aang: that he will attract audiences to see their big-screen – and big budget – version of “The Last Airbender,” opening July 2.
Yet fans of the original TV series say whatever hopes they had for the live-action movie have been dashed by what is known as “whitewashing” – the selection of white actors to fill the main hero roles instead of the people of color they say the source material requires.
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