Critics: ‘Airbender’ and ‘Prince of Persia’ were ‘whitewashed’

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

“To take this incredibly loved children’s series, and really distort not only the ethnicity of the individual characters but the message of acceptance and cultural diversity that the original series advocated, is a huge blow,” said Michael Le of Racebending.com, a fan site calling for a boycott of the martial-arts fantasy.

Paramount defends the film’s casting, noting more than half of the credited speaking roles were filled by people of color.

“Night’s vision of ‘The Last Airbender’ includes a large and ethnically diverse cast that represents cultures from around the world,” Paramount said in a statement.

That doesn’t impress the movie’s critics, who claim most of that diversity is found among secondary characters and background extras.

They say “Airbender” casting is just the latest example of a long history in Hollywood of demeaning people of color — from having white actors in makeup portray minorities to sidelining them in second-tier roles to replacing them entirely, as they say is the case with “Airbender.”

They point to examples like the 2008 film “21,” which was based on a book inspired by the true-life story of a mostly Asian American group of card players, yet was cast with mostly white actors in the main roles.

They also note this weekend’s release of “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” a live-action adaptation of a video game that stars white actor Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role instead of an actor with a Middle Eastern background.

“This part really needed to go to someone who’s Persian,” said Jehanzeb Dar, a blogger and independent filmmaker who is a fan of the video game but has no intention of supporting the movie.

“It’s not only insulting to Persians, it’s also insulting to white people. It’s saying white people can’t enjoy movies unless the protagonist is white,” he said.

Disney did not return an e-mail asking for comment on the casting.

“It becomes very clear that it’s part of the historical pattern of Hollywood and it’s not an isolated incident and it’s not because they happen to be fictional characters,” Le said. “It’s because this is the standard procedure for Hollywood films, and it really shouldn’t be. It’s 2010.”

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