Movies You Should NOT Watch

Posted: July 14, 2010 | Author: Aileen | Filed under: Movies, Racism, Reviews | 6 Comments »

Hm, is that Jackie Chan in “The Karate Kid?”  Oh, haha, alright.  So Jackie Chan is the new Mr. Miyagi and he’s teaching Karate.  Alright. Okay.

WAIT, WHAT?

Excuse me, but am I the only one missing the connection here?!?!?

JACKIE CHAN = CHINESE
MR. MIYAGI = JAPANESE
KARATE = JAPANESE
KUNG FU = CHINESE

Right, so Asian people are so similar that the movie producers failed to note the difference between CHINA AND JAPAN?!  I don’t have a problem with the setting of this movie being in China.  I’ll stomach the fact that the “bad guys” in the story are little Chinese boys.  I’ll even forgive that “the Karate Kid” can be any ethnicity BUT Asian.

BUT REALLY, WOULD IT BE THAT DIFFICULT TO AMEND THE NAME?

How about “The Karate Kid: IN CHINA” or “The Karate Kid/Against the Great Wall”…or even “The KUNGFU Kid…”

I wish they could make a distinction between China and Japan, Kungfu and Karate.  Instead, by slapping “Karate” and all its Japanese connotations over a very much Chinese-infused movie, you’re implying that all Asians are interchangeable and the same.  The Caribbean and Africa are not the same.  South Asia and the Middle East are not the same.  Likewise, Japan and China are NOT the same.  They are two COMPLETELY different countries with two COMPLETELY different cultures.

Which brings me to my next MOVIE YOU SHOULD NOT WATCH.

Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Before I begin my rant, let’s look at a list of the characters.

• Aang
• Katara
• Sokka
• Toph
• Zuko
• Iroh
• Azula

Note also that these names are Romancized, meaning they also have Chinese counterparts.  Note also this quote from wikipedia:

Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world^[2] of Chinese martial arts and elemental manipulation. The show drew on elements from traditional Asian culture, while blending the styles of anime and US domestic cartoons.^[3]

Oh, I see.  So all the names are Chinese/Tibetan/Japanese and the setting is Asian culture influenced and all the fighting are martial arts, and oh, even the drawing style is anime…

Then explain this cast:

OH LOVELY.  SO THE ANTAGONIST IS THE ONLY PERSON OF COLOR.  Just lovely.

And if you take a look at the REST of the cast:

	Shaun Toub	…	Uncle Iroh
	Aasif Mandvi	…	Commander Zhao
	Cliff Curtis	…	Fire Lord Ozai
	Seychelle Gabriel	…	Princess Yue
	Katharine Houghton	…	Katara’s Grandma
	Francis Guinan	…	Master Pakku
	Damon Gupton	…	Monk Gyatso
	Summer Bishil	…	Azula
	Randall Duk Kim	…	Old Man in Temple

(courtesy of IMDb)

…you’ll see that there is not a single East Asian person in here (aside from the “Old Man in Temple.”  Even Princess YUE is a white girl.  Uh, last time I checked, THATS A CHINESE WORD.  I appreciate the fact that there are so many South Asians, but this is EAST ASIA you’re borrowing from.  WHERE IS OUR EXPOSURE?  WHERE ARE OUR ACTORS?!?! And there is DEFINITELY no shortage of East Asian actors, so there are no excuses.

I want to see more Asians in the media.

You can’t exploit us, our history, and our culture and exclude us.

That’s stealing. I won’t tolerate that.

And you shouldn’t either.

ps. i love how we have a blog-tagging category for “racism”…haha did you make this sharon?  how perfect….and useful.  *checks box*

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