Reflection and Analysis

AtLA - Bryke Leaving is a Good Thing (8/17/20)

So...

Rumor has it that the creative differences between Bryke and Netlfix was Netflix wanted to cast white actors and also age up the characters.

Funny how these rumors start popping up only a few days after Bryke announced the fact they're leaving Netflix, funny because Bryke is known for throwing others under the bus and trying to not only paint themselves in a good light, but get others on their side. Seriously – people forget they had a hand in the live action movie but are likely the ghost writers who rewrote the script, not to mention the ones who probably cast who was cast as Katara due to the fact – you know – she looks like Katara from the pilot they made.

Honestly, the whole aging up the characters and "having more romance and sex" sound far more like something Bryke would do particularly since one of the critiques regarding Aang and Katara is the difference in maturity between the two characters. The problem is, aging up the characters won't make the difference in maturity go away – it will make it even more apparent.

Plus – what does "wanting more romance and sex" actually mean? Does it mean not going with Aang/Katara because even Bryke admit it was forced and going with Zuko/Katara? Believe it or not, that kind of call isn't Bryke's, but Nickelodeons because the property is Nickelodeons property from the very beginning. Bryke are notorious for sneaking things in at the last minute; they're also known for their toxic personalities, which has shown up in how they don't take criticism.

Of course, there are complaints about the rumor that Netflix is considering casting white actors, but the problem is, having read the words on the sight which started the whole rumor, casting white actors can mean a lot of things, like filling out the background charcters with white characters – which, by the way, Bryke opened the world up to this when they tried "diversifying" the comics with every ethnicity but white people.

I also always felt that – given their removing agency from Katara in the live action (that's where the realized they could get away with it people), in the comics and LoK – their promise to cast correctly was a major joke. What does that even mean when almost all of the nations are – you know – inspired by more than one Asian culture? They also promised filming on location, which was yet another joke on their part due to the fact some of the locations they'd want to film they wouldn't be allowed to film, meaning set building and blue screening are paramount for this production.

In other words, Bryke were lying from the beginning by saying what they thought fans wanted to hear, without actually saying what they thought any of that meant.

And... I enjoy the Live Action movie. I admit it.

But then, I don't think a lot of fans really and stop and think about what they're watching and instead keep bringing in preconceived biases based on the fact – oh, that's what everyone is saying.

For example, this is how I interpret the Earthbending scene. The one rock was done by the child, the wall by one bender and the five Earthbenders was meant as a sign of intimidation. Think of it as the Haka, which is a Maori ceremonial dance meant to intimidate opponents. Of course, I've leaned AtLA fans – despite knowing a lot about Asian people – often know very little about the variety of ingegionous people in the world, including Native Americans.

I mean, they blatantly wanted a "Native American" cast as Katara, not realizing that casting just any Native American in any Native American role is the insult because that ignores the fact Native American people vary physically from tribe to tribe. The correct casting choice doesn't even have any actors and actresses that speak English who were around the right age at the time.

Thus, going with an actor of any ethnicity who looks the part is considered okay.

Which obviously blows peoples minds because there are so many actors of Asian, African and Hispanic decent – that white people, who I think are the main people complaining, don't realize there are differences even among these different groups which Hollywood often ignores, not to mention the fact Asian actors who are pale skinned and African and Hispanic who are darker skinned are favored over the darker skinned Asian and the lighter skinned African and Hispanic.

After all – it's okay for both Hollywood and Asian film industries to not cast Asian actors of darker skin color, but white passing, oh my gosh! You're never African or Hispanic or colored enough to be included!

My friends, that is not racial diversity and again a lie.

At least, with the three ethnic groups I listed – despite being broad, it is possible to find a person of that ethnicity who can play the part. The point I was trying to make is that it's not the same for Native Americans. The solution the Inuit came up with was actually – gasp – starting their own, albeit small – film industry which produced film in their native tongue, which really should give fans of AtLA a better understanding of why finding an actress who fit the role works.

Of course, there's also my fear that Bryke tried casting Katara with an African American actress which would definitely explain why they said they wanted to open up casting to everyone. Yeah, an African American girl might look like Katara, but this would also feel like eraser, wouldn't it? I much prefer the idea of casting an actress of Philippian decent as they would likely both look like Katara, but also look like the native people they were trying to – well, you know, emulate on screen.

Oh, and Netflix and Nickelodeon may have been nixing some of the changes Bryke made to the universe, such as the Northern and Southern Water Tribes being – you know – separate tribes and "sister tribes" rather than one big tribe made of a bunch of little tribes which pretty much tries to whitewash the culture.

I mean, seriously... Native Americans colonizing when that is exactly what led to a lot of them dying? Can't anybody in the fandom realize how insulting that is.

Which, honestly, I don't think Bryke's vision for the series would fly with the recent MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. There are things I'm critical of in regards to both of these movements, such as how both movements tend to ignore the lives and voices of black women, but I've also got to admit that putting Aang and Katara into live action in the age of MeToo or casting Katara as an African American actress just won't fly with anybody.

I mean, we're talking two white men who've removed the agency of an existing female character and proceeded to whitewash Asian and Native American culture in the sequel material - aka comics and LoK. They're likely the ones who ghost wrote the last two script rewrites for the movie, so the idea that we should even trust their vision for the live action is honestly a joke.

Does it mean that the live action will be good?

No, but I think whatever we do get will be better than whatever we would get. 

It's also time to stop listening to Bryke.