Protesters oppose "whitewashing" in new Shyamalan film

In the world of acting, not all colors are created equal - or at least that's how many people feel when ethnic roles are "whitewashed," or cast with white actors.

Casting for extras in M. Night Shyamalan's Avatar: The Last Airbender took place last Saturday at the Spectrum, where protesters accused casting officials of such discrimination.

Philadelphians were upset that Deedee Rickets, the movie's casting director, sought multiethnic extras after casting the movie's principal roles - members of Asian and Inuit tribes - with white actors.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that two protesters attended the casting call in protest of the movie's lack of Asian actors.

Numerous blogs have recently addressed the issue.

In a blog called Aang Ain't White's Journal, the author protests the casting of the protagonist Aang and his aides Katara and Sokka with white actors.

The author urged activists to "peacefully and respectfully protest the casting decision."

On another blog, Derek Kirk Kim writes about the tribulations of being an Asian auditioning for roles and "having our hearts broken over and over going after roles that specifically call for Asian Americans like The Last Airbender only to see them go to white actors."

Miss Saigon, Fu Manchu and Breakfast at Tiffany's are all examples of "whitewashing" in films where white actors play Asian roles, Asian Pacific Student Coalition chairman and Wharton junior Raymond Flores said.

He pointed to the alteration of the actors' appearance via yellow face paint and the taping back of eyes.

If The Last Airbender's main characters' appearances are altered, that will be a "red flag," Flores warned.

"Whitewashing," though not as prevalent as it once was, has evolved into stereotyping in roles such as Jackie Chan in Rush Hour, Flores added.

"He does martial arts, but he plays a goofy role," Flores said. "He's not completely heroic."

He added the marketing of the casting call for extras - which asked for Koreans dressed in kimonos and people skilled in artisan crafts and martial arts - was "sad, inappropriate and insensitive."

Some people are preparing to take action to prevent future instances of discrimination.

Kirk Kim began a petition to Paramount to "condemn this movie and boycott this discriminatory film if it isn't recast," he wrote in his blog. "Hopefully this will pressure them to recast the movie or at least send a strong enough message so something like this doesn't happen again."

The Last Airbender is Shyamalan's first movie not produced from his own source material, according to Variety magazine.

Film casting officials declined to comment for this article.

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