escapingbabylon.com

So I’ve been getting a lot of hits from Google over the last couple of days regarding the movie based on Avatar: The Last Airbender (probably because the first set pictures were released). So I figured I would do a sort of summary post of my thoughts on the casting.

So what’s the problem?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a hit cartoon that is set in a fantasy version of Asia. The culture, writing, and fighting portrayed in the series show a strong and obvious eastern influence, with many direct analogues. Now as the live action movie is being made, the main cast members (and all of the good main characters) are being played by white actors.

So why is this important?

Firstly, it’s important because every piece of media plays a part in a kid’s self image, as well as that kid’s image of others.  Gene Yang says it well when he says …

But intentionally or not, they are adding another chapter to Hollywood’s long, sordid history of Yellowface. By giving white actors roles that are so obviously Asian – and by stating from the get-go their preference for Caucasians – they tell Asian-Americans that who we are and how we look make us inherently inadequate for American audiences, even in a movie that celebrates our culture.

The truth is, we are not a post-race society, and it isn’t just the ethnicities of African descent that are affected by this fact. The values that have been a part of the past, influence the images that we see today, which in turn influences the values that will be in the future. The effects of racism have been compared to a moving walkway, if we do nothing, it keeps rolling along, and takes us with it.

This is why I will not be seeing the movie. I still love the series, and will recommend it to anyone. I may even have viewing parties as alternative events.  But for now, I don’t like where this walkway is going, and I think I’m going to start walking backwards.

Though this may be horrifying to several of the readers here, I’ve never been a huge Coldplay fan. The following video, may make me reconsider

YouTube – PS22 Chorus VIVA LA VIDA by Coldplay acoustic guitar version.

A while ago I linked to a TED talk by Jose Abreu, on transforming kids through music. From what I can tell, this is what the folks at PS22 are doing in their own way.

edit:via Eugene Cho

If you are on the website, look up and maybe slightly to the right and you’ll see the words escapingpoverty. A while ago I figured that instead of simply being a place where you can listen to me wax philosophically (or maybe not so philosophically), maybe the small community of internet readers can do some good in the world, and thus escapingpoverty was conceived.

At the moment, we are coming together as a Kiva Lending Team. For those who haven’t heard about Kiva, it’s an organization where people can lend as little as $25 to help low-income entrepreneurs around the world get out of poverty.

As a group we’ve been able to help people in Peru, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Pakistan. And as that loan is repaid, each of us can choose to put that money back in our pockets, or re-invest the money with other entrepreneurs.

I just wanted to say thanks to you guys who have given thus far, and I also wanted to invite others who haven’t to join our team and help to make a difference.

Oracle: Former Batgirl, Genius Hacker, Strike Team leader, known for her brains.

4thletter! » Blog Archive » Sexy is good, right? Sexy sells, right?.

After I’ve seen enough of photos, covers, posters, and promotional materials like these, lines about how ’being tough AND sexy’ is admirable and how ‘beauty and sexiness are assets’ fall flat.  Beauty isn’t an asset.  Beauty is a requirement. Because, I guess, if she’s not sexy, why bother dealing with her?  There’s no reason to listen to the words coming out of an unattractive woman’s mouth.  There’s no reason to be interested in the adventures of a woman unless the word ‘erotic’ is slipped in there, however subtly.

Hey folks, I’m still travelling, but wanted to post this link. Anyone who’s reading this knows I’m a comic book fan, but if there’s one thing I hate about the comic book industry, it’s this. Sadly, as Esther Inglis-Arkell points out. The phenomenon is not just linked to comics, but the entire entertainment industry, and even into politics (which sort of counts as an entertainment industry nowadays). Anyway, take a read, tell me what you think.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I love the presentations made at the TED conference. You probably also know that I love storytelling/teaching/presenting/etc. So when Presentation Zen talks about the the ten commandments that TED gives its speakers… well it’s pure gold. Read on and click through for some fascinating examples

Presentation Zen: Making presentations in the TED style.

1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
7. Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee.

Miscellanea » Archive » I Heart My Roomba.

At some point I’m going to get back to making substantive posts. I just turned 28 so an introspective post looking at the past year, or at the intended direction of my next year is probably due. But to be honest, one of my classes is burning me out on self-examination on a schedule. Maybe after next week it will be better. In the meantime, if you want to help me out with some blog-posting prompts, feel free.

719 « The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus.