The Last Airbender…is White

This is probably old news to some, but the situation has gotten very odd very quickly. For those who don’t know, The Last Airbender is a movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan due out on July 2, 2010. It’s based on a popular cartoon series on Nickelodeon call Avatar: The Last Airbender. The story is about a young boy name Aang and his quest to master all four elements of his world to be a great Avatar (someone who can control all four elements). Aang lives in a world where the four main elements govern the ways of life. Air, Water, Fire and Earth are the elements, and each element is also in fact a continent each with four distinct types of people. Each nation has “benders” who can manipulate their nation’s element, but they can only master one element while the Avatar can combine all four. Air nomads live in temples so they’re basically your typical monk. The Water tribe is largely based off of Eskimos while the Fire and Earth nation are both inspired from China. As you can see, the entire world of Avatar is based on Asia. The elemental “bending” in the story is based off of martial arts technique from different Asian countries. The trouble with M. Night Shyamalan’s portrayal of the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is that the main cast of the story is made entirely of Caucasians.

The odd thing about this is I can’t believe the production studio, Paramount Pictures, never thought that this would somehow be labeled as blatant racism by the Asian community! Here is a story with characters and settings derive directly and illustrated perfectly clear from Asia: The use of the word “monk” for Aang and not “priest” or whatnot, the Eskimo’s clothing for the people of the Water tribe, the large, red column and tile roof typical of ancient China for the Fire nation, and the similar Asian architecture design for the Earth nation albeit all in green. The creators of the show have provided fans with videos explaining how they based different martial arts for different bending technique for each nation. For the icing on the cake, the characters are depicted in Japanese anime style with large round eyes and abrupt facial changes typical of anime. All in all, a pretty Asian show in my opinion. The only Caucasian thing about it is the creators of the show are two white guys. Could this be the reason why the movie’s entire main casts are all white actors and actresses? I don’t know, but if it is that’s a pretty lousy reason in my opinion. Correction, there is one Asian actor on the cast list: Dev Patel who plays Zuko from the Fire nation. Again, Zuko is from the Fire nation which is inspired from China. Thus, a Chinese character is being played by someone from India. Both are Asians, but it’s a bit of a stretch I think.

I’m not saying these actors can’t play their roles well, but it doesn’t make an sense to me why Asian actors and actresses weren’t even considered for more roles. Are there not enough Asian actors to choose from? Sure Lucy Liu can’t be in every Asian related movie, but are there no other Asian talents to choose from? From what I’ve seen already in terms of movies and dramas from China, Korea, and Japan, Asians CAN act. It’s not like the Asian race is incapable of portraying someone else. If not, I’m sure Asians can at least act like themselves seeing how the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender are all Asians! The confusion is just mounting and mounting, isn’t it? Truth be told, I was excited when I learned this series was turning into a live-action movie. The creators put so much thought into it and render everything as true to the Asian culture as they can, I was expecting a similar approach to the movie. What unfolds was just simply a scoff from Hollywood toward their Asian audience. Sure this is America and the Asian population is not even 50% of the country’s population, so it’s understandable that a studio wouldn’t want to put out a movie that would only appeal to Asian. But having just about every important person in the story being white and playing an Asian is just really wrong and really weird. I am curious to see how the audience as a whole will receive this movie though. The story is ironically about acceptance of different races and learning to work together instead of conquering over one another. Life is just full of irony.

Blog’s New (well kinda new) Direction

Hi everyone! Final exam week is almost over and I am near the home-stretch. I will have a review or two up for you guys sometime this month. Speaking of reviews, if anyone has been checking out my About page lately, you’ll know the news that I’m telling you all today. I’ve decided to officially concentrate on reviewing Asian drama/movies from now on instead of posting about everything in between. I think this way will be easier for me and for future readers who will know what to expect whenever there’s a new post. Since I’m mainly posting reviews from now on, I will not have a schedule as to how often I’ll post something since it takes a while for me to finish something (drama wise anyway).

I’m also bringing back the Upcoming Review page to let readers know what’s coming up next. It’ll also be a way to motivate myself to finish something and get a review out. See you all soon!

Nobody Knows – R

Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
Released in 2004
Based on a true story
Overall Rating: A

Main Casts:
Actors & Actresses / Characters

Yuuya Yagira / Akira
Ayu Kitaura / Kyoko
Hiei Kimura / Shigeru
Momoko Shimizu / Yuki
Hanae Kan / Saki
You (stage name for Ehara Yukiko) / Keiko

Based on a true event in Japan in 1988 known as the “Affair of the four abandoned children of Sugamo,” (Wikipedia) the movie begins with a mother (Keiko) and her son (Akira) introducing themselves to their landlord as they are moving in. They give each other a knowing look when two heavy suitcases were being delivered. After the movers have left, the two begins unpacking opening the large suitcases first. Inside are not computers, DVD players, or a ton of brick, but instead each suitcases was housing a child. They are the youngest children in the family: Shigeru and Yuki (the youngest). Akira later picks up a girl at a station about the same age as he is who is too big to fit into a suitcase. The foursome are siblings with the same mother but different fathers. The reason behind hiding the existence of the other three children was never explicitly stated in the movie, but it was probably because the children did not have any official paperwork (Social Security #, birth certificate, etc) as their mother did not allow anyone to attend school. It might also because the movie is based on a highly televised event that everyone in Japan is aware of the story’s background. Nonetheless, the story begins with this quirky setting and a unique happiness that surrounds this family. However, within a few weeks after moving in, Keiko finds a new boyfriend and is smitten with him. One day, she tells her children that she’ll be away for awhile and leave Akira in charge with 50,000 yen (about $500), but promises to be back by new year. Nine months pass and Christmas rolls around. She did not return. So what will become of the children that nobody knows about?

Liar Game II

Popular Japanese drama, Liar Game, is coming back this November with a SECOND SEASON! A movie is also in the works for February of 2010. Source: Tokyograph.

Erika Toda (playing Nao Kanzaki) and Shota Matsuda (playing Shinichi Akiyama) are expected to reprise their roles. We last left off the show with Nao and Shinichi successfully completing the Liar Game without causing anyone to be hugely indebted or incredible rich. In the new season, the characters are going to enter another game. Not much details are being leaked, but I hope it’ll be as climatic as season one.

Update

Hi everyone. So I just want to give a quick update on what I’m doing and what’s happening next for Thoughts on the Asian Stage. I started my senior year of college 2 weeks ago. Schedule is tight as I have class and work but I thankfully have the weekends off. When I find time, I will devote it to this blog for sure. The most important thing for me right now is of course school and my job (I am doing a Graphic Design intern at a small company!) I will most likely be posting news related to Asian cinema more so than reviews for awhile since its quicker, but reviews will still be coming. It’s make make the “Thoughts” of this blog after all.

What I’ve seen (that might be reviewed for you readers):

• Ponyo – Such a peaceful yet still captivating movie. It’s somewhat on the short side being only 1hr 42/43min long. I think it’s the shortest Miyazaki film so far.
• Thirty Thousand Miles in Search of My Son – A Kdrama about a mother who lost her son while out shopping. I know it sounds like it’s the mother’s fault, but it was her evil husband that committed the crime! Why? He just want a reason to divorce her. The scoundrel. The whole drama’s about her search for her son and the people she meet. It’s pretty heart-warming.

What I want to see:

• The Last Scandal of my Life – I hear it’s really good. I’ve been avoiding it because the lead actress committed suicide a few months after the drama wrapped. I feel if I see it, I’ll really start to miss her.
• My Fair Lady – Yoon Eun Hye comeback project! I can’t wait to see her in action again after her severely long hiatus after Coffee Prince.

Some new regulations:

I am going to regulate the comments a bit more carefully from now on because it’s a big part of this blog. I want my readers to interact with each other and talk about the drama/movie, but what I will no longer permit is:

• Comments such as “I love Min Ho.” “Hello, Yoon Eun Hye. I really admire you. Thank you for your hard-work.” One, I am not Yoon Eun Hye so saying that on my blog is just weird. Two, this is not the place for you to broadcast your love for your celebrity. You can make your own blog if that’s the case and say whatever you want.
• Please comment in English from now on. I’ve already deleted a lot of comment because a lot of people have disregard my post politely asking everyone to post in English. If I can’t understand what you’re writing, then it can’t stay. What if you’re saying something nasty and I’m not in on it? Huh? I know English, Vietnamese, and Japanese. Post in any of the 3 languages.

Thanks again for your support, and I will see you soon.

The Lackluster Invasion

Hello, how’s everyone’s summer going? I recently got a job as a graphic design intern so that’s been keeping me busy. Lately, all I’ve been updating is my design blog here, but I do still wander over here to see the comments and such. Speaking of which, I would really appreciate it if comments are in English. I know a lot of you are from other countries, but I can’t understand your comment if it’s not in English. Thank you. Okay, now to the point of this post.

This year (and part of last year) was suppose to be a very big event in terms of Asian actors and actresses in American cinema. However, most of the movies were not produce well or have any sort of enticing plot. Is it the director’s fault not being able to fully utilize these actors well? What is it? You be the judge.

1. Speed Racer (opened May of 2008): One of the first movie to start off the “Asian Invasion” as I was calling it. Starring Korean singer and actor Rain, it was directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski who directed the famous Matrix movies. Having a big budget and backed by major  corporations like Target, McDonald’s, and more, the film did poorly at the box office and became one of the biggest bombs for Warner Brothers. Rain had a few lines in the entire movie and from what I understand didn’t appear much either.

   

2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (opened May of 2009): One of the lucky few that went on to be quite the blockbuster. Daniel Henney is a Korean-American actor who played Agent Zero in the movie with superb shooting skills. Despite being able to speak perfect English, he didn’t say much and died by the mid-point in the movie.

   

3. Blood: The Last Vampire (opened July of 2009): I was looking forward to this movie the most because it starred my favorite actress Jun Ji-hyun who adopted the American name Gianna Jun for the American audience. She played the main character Saya who hunts high-level vampires. The movie was released on limited screens across the US, but not where I live unfortunately. It did poorly and was harshly criticized for bad special effects and bad acting from the supporting actors.

What’s to come…

1. The Warrior’s Way (formerly titled The Laundry Warrior) – opening August of 2009: Starring one of the most renowned Korean actors Jang Dong-gun, the movie stars Jang as a warrior living in the the “American badland.” Not sure where that is except maybe the West, Jang stars alongside the likes of Kate Bosworth. The film is being produced by Barrie Osborne who produced the Lord of the Rings movie. Again, I have high hopes for this movie. The title sounds like a comedy, which is always a win in my book.

   

2. Ninja Assassin - opening November of 2009: Rain tries again at international stardom with this movie. Movie poster for the movie is out and it seems pretty well made and executed. Hopefully that translate to the overall film as well. I’m not much of an action-movie fan let alone one with flying body parts and blood so I can’t really say I’m excited to see this. I wish Rain lots of success with this movie though.

Departures – R

Yes, that was quite an absense. I’ve been busy with my artistic life lately: entering in design contest, working on my online portfolio, etc, but hey no one wants to hear about that. ^^ I recently caught a limited release movie call Departures which won the Academy Awards this year for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie’s website link is here. Try to catch it if you can!

Directed by Yojiro Takita
Releasted in 2009
Overall Rating: A+

Main Cast: Actors / Characters

Masahiro Motoki as Daigo Kobayashi
Ryoko Hirosue as Mika Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki as Shouei Sasaki (President of NK Agency)
Kimiko YO as Yuriko Uemura (employee at NK Agency)

Daigo is an aspiring celloist since he was young. He finally got his dream job playing for a major orchestra in Tokyo. Unfortunately, they play to an empty house most of the time which eventually leads to the ievitable — the orchestra disbands. Without any income, Daigo solds his expensive cello (or returns it…I wasn’t too clear on that) and worriedly suggests to his wife Mika they should return to his hometown where his deceased mother left him a house.  Luckily, she smiles and says, “Yes!” While looking through the newspaer, Daigo spots an ad for a “Depatures” company call NK Agency. Thinking it must be a travel agency, he was quite alarmed to learn that it’s a company that specialize in dressing the corpse before they are either buried or cremated. Desperate for money, he takes the job but tries his best to keep his profession a secret. Life is like the brilliant rainbow and death is the fading end of that rainbow. Sometimes it ends abructly, but other times it concludes peacefully over a river. Watch and see how Daigo deals with the death of strangers to the deaths of those close to him.

Fashion 70s – R

It took quite awhile to do this review. This is the longest Korean drama I have ever watched. Despite being draggy, it managed to keep my attention.

Broadcast in 2005
28 total episodes
Overall Rating: B+

Main Cast: Actors / Characters

Lee Yo Weon as Han Duh Mi (born Ko Joon Hee)
Kim Min Jung as Ko Joon Hee (born Kang Hee)
Joo Jin Mo as Kim Dong Young
Chun Jung Myung as Jang Bin

Jun In Taek as Joon Hee’s father
Song Ok Sook as Lee Yang Ja (Kang Hee’s mother)
Lee Hye Young as Jang Bong Sil (Bin’s mother)

Fashion 70s is one of the first drama to focus on the fashion design industry as the main back-drop for the story. Unfortunately, it has too many back-drops in combination with the main one. The show starts off with the Korean war and two families that will be affected because of this war. Two daughters, Joon Hee and Kang Hee, were separated from their family and ultimately adopted by the opposite family due to various reasons. Themes of identity, family, and love are all a part of this show. In the end, fashion only played a small part in this so-call fashion drama. Even though it’s not a big deal, I feel if you are going to focus on something you should do it with justice. The multitudes of back-drops really makes the story in cohesive.

Real Life Drama

Hello, hello! I am finally done with school (actually I’ve been done for 2 weeks now and have been getting some much needed sleep). Recently, I’ve been watching a 2005 Korean drama called Fashion 70’s so I might have a review for it soon. For today, I want to report a very fascinating news story that seems right out of a Korean drama series.

Born on the same day in 1953 at the same hospital (Pioneer Memorial Hospital) in Oregon, two girls’ fate will forever be changed. After returning for their baths, Kay Rene Reed Qualls and DeeAnn Angell Shafer were accidentally switched by the nurses and returned to the wrong mothers!

Marjorie Angell, true mother of Kay Qualls, insisted in 1953 that her baby had been switched but sadly no one believes her. Growing up, this rumor plays out in the background of the family with no real evidence. Finally, after 56 years and one DNA test, the truth is finally revealed. Kay Qualls should be Kay Shafer and DeeAnn Shafer should be DeeAnn Qualls.  SOURCE: Yahoo News

I see this scenario so many times in drama series and even movie, but seeing it in real life makes me wonder if other outlandish things in movies are actually based on true stories. I can’t imagine what I would feel if I suddenly find out the family I’ve know for years aren’t really my family. Then again, is family only defined by blood? I wish those two women lots of happiness and the continue support of their families.

Treeless Mountain

Hey all. I’m breaking away from my schoolwork to report to you about this new movie. Once I saw the trailer, I just had to post it up here for everyone to know about it.

The movie is called Treeless Mountain directed by So Yong Kim. The name of the movie alone intrigues me. The basic storyline from what I gather is two young Korean girls (Jin and Bin) are left in the care of their aunt by their mother while she looks for the girls’ father. The mother tells her daughters that once they fill up a plastic piggy bank that she gave them, she will return by then. Other minutes details of the movie are yet unknown, but I’m hoping it’ll be one of those calm yet powerful movie like Il Mare.

A quote from the trailer pretty much peaks my interest even more in that it says the movie portrays the “…quiet resilience of children.” I thought about my own childhood and how I could force myself to wake up freakishly early in the morning to catch the cartoon shows and now I can barely get up by noon. When did this resilience get lost? Maybe this movie will tell me.