No place for Asian heroes in Hollywood blockbusters

• Source: Global Times
• [21:48 July 28 2010]
• Comments

I found myself, like other Asian men in the West, struggling with these internalized stereotypes as I grew up. It was a great blessing to me to discover Hong Kong cinema in the 1990s, where Asian protagonists as cool and macho as any Western film stars blazed their way through bad guys, made tough decisions, and saved the day.

When I first watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was enthused not only by the sheer quality of the storytelling and animation, but also by the prominence of Asian heroes. Of course, it's set in a fantasy world, but facially and culturally the protagonists were all distinctly non-Western.

The setting, too, drew on a rich background of Asian culture, including a political setting that drew from Japanese imperialism in the 20th century and in-ternal repression in East Asian nations today. The attention to detail included the use of appropriate Chinese scripts for different contexts, authentic martial arts styles, and cities that imitated models from Beijing to Angkor Wat.

I don't know whether the failure of the film version of The Last Airbender will teach Hollywood executives anything about the folly of racist casting. After all, it was a pretty atrocious movie all round. But at least the recasting of the heroes for the film version, I'm pleased to say, caused outcry in the fan community.

Maybe there will be room for Asian heroes in the future. In the meantime, I look forward to watching the series again with my own son when he's old enough, both so he can see a wonderful TV show and so he can be enthused by aspects of his own cultural heritage.

The author is a British lawyer of Chinese descent. viewpoint@globaltimes.com.cn