Apparently we're all ninjas, because you can't see us

[yeloson]

Reading up on the first reviews on some roughs of Avatar the Last Airbender movie, and aside from the not too great reviews of the acting, this stood out to me:

The action scenes work pretty well, but only one really stood out for me at this time, which takes place in an ancient airbender temple and had some nice set pieces. Plus it was fun to watch Noah Ringer’s double (a woman with a shaved head) performing the fight scenes – they hadn’t gotten around to doing a face replacement yet.

I do remember when they first started talking about casting, they were talking about how much training they were giving the actors, and how impressive their movement had gotten.

But I'm sure it's all because it's SO IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND ASIAN ACTORS WHO DO MARTIAL ARTS:

(skip to 6:30 for the beatdown)

Seriously, when I'm stupid rich, I'm going to make a movie about hockey filled with anyone but white people, because it's so fucking hard to find white actors. (Huh, a Thai hockey movie with Tony Jaa would be kinda awesome. Though skate blades and Muay Thai kicks would make it really, really bloody...)

(ETA: Also, they screened it at Arizona? Really?)

Comments

[yeloson]

Or Wu-Tang Clan, you know?

I think part of the problem has been the co-option in the mainstream media- martial arts are The Matrix and the American Power Rangers, MMA fighters, etc. not Jet Li or Tony Jaa.

They like to build little worlds where only they can live, and then proclaim if anyone else was any good, they, too, would already be part of it.

[willow]

Look, I adore me some Tommy Oliver and I liked Power Rangers In Space - > Lost Galaxy (- Bulk & Skull). But not once did I ever think of them as uniquely American. They were American versions of a Japanese Phenomenon.

But, you're not wrong. Nothing's real unless it is being focused through the lens of White Male Westerness; usually American. People keep wondering why the US keeps remaking European & Hong Kong movies. But the people wondering, are individuals who are able to recognize that the remakes are remakes.

Everyone else will NOT be wondering why Akira is called Akira, while being set in the States, with Leo DiCaprio and no doubt a nod to Islamphobia for relevance.

I honestly didn't recognize it all as co-option, and yet things have changed from the Japanphobia of the 80's (I include the sudden love of sushi into the phobia, attraction can sprout from fear) into an absence of acknowledgement that Asia exists at all outside of sweatshops and manga.

Toshiba, SONY and Panosonic are American Brands now.

And suddenly DC and Marvel's ventures into manga-nizing & anime-izing some of their properties takes on some shades of imperialism and colonialism that I totally missed.

Re: Jet Li and Tony Jaa - It explains why I felt so alone in thinking The Forbidden Kingdom being in English and having a white kid knocking about was absolutely the wrong place for Jet Li and Jackie Chan to meet on screen. I want to see those I consider Bruce Lee's cinematic Heirs to meet in a Hong Kong flick.

[yeloson]

The US -manga-biting has been going on since the early 90's.

Enough of the artists saw that manga was doing great stuff with layouts, etc. but no one took the time to actually learn the craft- that's why the modern US superhero comic is full of posing, really close close-ups, and speed lines (Jim Lee, I'm looking at you).

The more recent wave of artists have a better grasp of it all, but that's because they cut their teeth elsewhere- whether we're talking independant comics or online galleries- so we get stuff like Runaways, Mary Jane, etc. with better art.

What the US comics -haven't- figured out, is that a continuous storyline, by the same author, is consistently stronger than jump-ship story arcs by multiple writers. That's why mediocre stuff (Bleach) can still whomp US comics regularly.