I've seen people say that Shyamalan should commit suicide, that he should be killed, that he should be raped, etc. This is not OK, nobody should have this stuff wished on them.
I've seen people say that Shyamalan should commit suicide, that he should be killed, that he should be raped, etc. This is not OK, nobody should have this stuff wished on them.
not the same at all, KFP actually takes place in China, and uses real world geography. Kind of like Arthur. TLA and LOTR are completely made up with some real world influences abut with their own unique cultures and geography. KFP reads like a fable or a fairytale, not a made up world with Chinese culture. There would be no point to a made up language for KFP, where as most stories that take place in a completely different world (Like LOTR or Star Wars) have at least one made up language.
Last I checked Gong Men city doesn't exist, and Sentient Pandas dont learn Kung Fu in Real world China.
Earlier in the thread Neo said something I have to agree with.
Now, it (ATLA) is still a fantasy world, with fantasy countries, but it mimics Real World Culture so closely that if you redrew the map & changed the names, you could probably call it a historical fantasy.
and thats the reason we love ATLA and hate the movie. Because its different from other fantasy worlds that make up their own language and hodge podge other cultures together instead of being an accurate representation of the cultures they are based upon.
I'd forgotten about that post. It's basically my explanation of when historical accuracy works, when inaccuracy works, & when "mash-ups" work. Also when they don't work. I don't know any better ways to phrase what I said back then, so I'll say it stands as my response.
I don't know enough about Kung Fu Panda to comment, having never seen it. But in any given discussion about the movie, smart money says that the movie did something unnecessary & stupid.
My point is still the same (although it was probably very unclear- I had computer issues several time while writing that comment) When the characters in a story say they are in China, and there is no way to edit it out, there is no point in changing the writing. There fore KFP is an exception to the rule.
Yeah, wll personally I feel altering the themes, aesthetics, and mythology of an entire franchise aimed at CHILDREN. To appeal to a regime of' genocidal murderers, is not in the best interest of anyone. In or out of Hollywood.
Here is a Comment I posted on Hasdi's Blog (Warning wall of text incoming)
'If getting that money means being racist against Asian actors, and pandering to an evil regime that does[1]'THIS to innocent tibetans, and does THIS to people who speak out in Protest , and HARVESTS ORGANS from innocent people who speak out in protest (the Party still denies they sanction it despite mountains of evidence to the contrary ) then YES. It's disgusting, and Shyamalan and Paramount should be ashamed.
Money can't buy taste...or a moral compass....or humanity. The Communist Chinese Party and their censors have shown time and time again how tasteless, unpolished, and unrefined they are. Moreover, they have no moral compass what so ever. Humanity, kindness, sympathy. empathy and love are words not in their vocabulary.
Not to mention the sheer lack of artistic integrity on the part of Major Studios (Paramount is not alone in this). Is what is going to KILL the American Movie Industry, at least creatively . Gone will be the days of movies that celebrate Chinese Culture and history, like Seven Years In Tibet , The Last Emperor , or Even a potential Full Length animated remake of Last Airbender will likely no longer be produced since they wouldn't turn a profit in Communist China.
Maybe even movies set in Japan or that celebrate Japanese culture like Empire Of The Sun Letters From Iwo Jima and Memoirs Of A Geisha will no longer be made due to the Studio wanting to appease the Communist Chinese censors who HATE the Japanese. If a Japanese man is portrayed as anything less than an Irredeemable monster, it will be edited out and altered to appease the Chinese Censors, or never shown in China at all.
EDIT: This also pertains to racebending of Heroic Japanese characters to be white guys in films like Edge Of Tomorrow and 47 Ronin to appease the Chinese AND American market, but thats another issue entirely I don't feel like going into right now..
Furthermore, radically altering a movies plot and message to appease genocidal murderers, is not in the best interest of anyone. In or out of Hollywood.
But Hollywood refuses to see that. So Instead we the freedom loving US, will be treated to hundreds of more movies like the Last Airbender until the Communist Regime inevitably falls. Or the world ends in a nuclear war. . . whichever comes first.
I wonder. . . if Nazi Germany, had survived WW2 to exist in the modern day. Would Hollywood be making movies pandering to their market too? More than likely.
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From a practical standpoint, why do we even care about what China thinks of our movies? If only a few foreign films can get by their censors annually, they sound like a crappy market. It's basically like a store pouring all of their energy into trying to make products that don't offend 1 annoying hipster who hates everything & loudly complains about it. And this hipster also has a criminal record, but keeps getting bailed out by Mom & Dad.
Is that annoying hipster, willing to shell out a literal billion dollars worth of profits for showing what they want shown, doubling the money you would have made if you had only made the product for yourself? Check this article out if you are still interested.
Furthermore, the Recession has not been kind at all to hollywood. for every billion dollar blockbuster like "Avatar, and Transformers 4" there are far too many flops and duds that fail to make back their money with an America only release. So directors and producers, needing money to keep up their production value need their movies to make back money, BIG money. One way to do this is to increase the size of their potential audience by tapping into the Chinese Market. Which is the fastest growing market for movies in the world at this point in time increasing the odds of a film making back its money ten fold.
Case in point:
Here is a list of things the Chinese Communist Censors Find Objectionble, and which will keep the Last Airbender from being Remade.
Distorting Chinese civilization and history, seriously departing from 'historical truth'; . .
Hasdi put it best that, if a movies based around Chinese Culture showed a clear analogue to China Ethnically Cleansing a clear analogue to Tibet. Would hit a little too close to home for ths Chinese, the only way to get that past the Radar? Alter the Chinese and Tibet Analogues to be more ambiguous, and the Shyamalan Film did just that! The Fire Nation was changed to an Analogue for India/Rome instead of China/Thailand. and the Air Nomads were made Multiethnic and multicultural.
disrespecting other civilizations and customs; disparaging the image of revolutionary leaders, heroes and important historical figures;' tampering with Chinese . . . classics and distorting the image of the important figures portrayed therein. . .'
ATLA characters based upon Real World Chinese Historical Figures Include.
King Kuei = Based upon Emperor Puyi, the Last Emperor Of China. Who was forced into Exile when Colonial forces stormed his palace. An absentminded and neglectful ruler.
Fire Lord Ozai= An Analogue to both Chairman Mao and Qin Shi Huang.
Chin The Conqueror = Also an Analogue to Qin Shi Huang, even more embarassingly he was killed by a JAPANESE Inspired Avatar. That would offend the Chinese Audience.
Amon = Leads a group called "The Equalists" Has Communist Inspired Propaganda posters, wants to ethnically cleanse the world of bending?
Other 'insults' to other cultures include
The Avatar in the series is vastly different from the concept of the Avatar in the Hindu scriptures. Not to mention, the whole complicated Dali Lama Parallel that would never fly past the Chinese censors.
This is only the tip of the iceberg.
. . .dirty and vulgar dialogues, songs, background music and sound effects. . .
Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel!
Why Hello. . . (Eep!)
The majority of Sokka's sarcastic humor?
Showing contents of murder, violence, terror, ghosts and the supernatural (including anything having to do with Reincarnation). . .
Goodbye to the epic battle scenes! Goodbye Aang's heartfelt conversations with his past lives! Goodbye to the creepy spirits like Koh and Wan Shi Tong, and cute and cuddly spirits like the ones in Wans journey!
distorting value judgment between truth and lies, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, righteous and unrighteous;
Goodbye to the Stereotype breaking discussions of Gender roles, good and Evil, Inner Beauty, and the moral conflict of doing the right thing! Goodbye to the moral ambiguity and struggle of Zuko, or the moral ambiguity of Earth Kingdom Army often being just as bad as the Fire Nation!
showing deliberate expressions of remorselessness in committing crimes. .
Katara stealing the Scroll from the Pirates? Sokka and Tophs Gambling Schemes?
'.Advertising religious extremism, stirring up ambivalence and conflicts between different religions or sects, ''''and between believers and non-believers, causing disharmony in the community etc.
Lets just say, unless it glorifies the party and the leader. They even regulate and outlaw Reincarnation, how can you even do that? As pertains to an ATLA adaptation, a clear analogue to a Real world relgious leader the party hates, fighting against what appears to be an analogue for their entire civilization? That would alter their publics way of thinking, and threaten the party status!
And thats The ABRIDGED VERSION!
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So yeah, a good Last Airbender movie reboot? Unless by some Miracle Communism in China falls, not likely gonna happen.
Wait, Last Airbender did some of those. Not very well, but it did it. There are references to reincarnation & spirits in the movie, in fact the Fire Nation's motive was changed to Hollywood Atheism for some inexplicable reason.
I can see the Fire Nation being excused because the movie made it some weird pseudoromeindia thing, but the references to reincarnation & spirits are still there.
My response is that if Hollywood needs the hipster's money, then it's useless to complain about them taking the hipster's money, no matter how big of a jerk he is, but if they don't, then they can be held at fault.
Although a little late for a reply, I've decided to drop in some words...
I really agree on what Raiden said before, specially on regards to depictions of in-universe rulers that has to some degree, inspiration from real life ones.
Besides all that, we need to acklowledge that the Party still endorses Mao's rule, as he was the one who brought the Chinese Communist Party [共产党] to power, leading the path to the current day government. And the fact that in the show, Ozai [and to some extent Sozin as well] carries policies that aren't too distant or different from what Mao did (albeit with a ancient twist), to the point there's a whole "the great helmsman"-like cult around him, with kids drawing him and bringing his portrait home.
All of that while being depicted as the show's greatest villain and what not, the guy who needs to be overthrown no matter how. This would be the most striking thing that would get caught on the radar. Don't even get me on the whole "Air nomads peaceful monks vs. Fire Nation soldiers [who interestingly, enjoys a lot of Red on their uniforms][and even more interestingly, wears Han-Tang iconic chinese armory and weaponry]" with the result being the total destruction of the monastic society... one doesn't even need to have a decent grasp on recent asian history to have a notion of how easy it would be for the entire work be blocked.
Also, all rulers who look like and/or have to some degree inspiration from chinese rulers have been depicted as bad, tyrannical, damn evil, useless or anything between that. From the "incompetent" ruler that killed a sacred spirit [The Rift part 1/2]. wearing the clothing of a warring states ruler to Hou Ting, the awesome earth queen, which sadly has met a most unfortunate fate. From Kuei to the "really evil" Ozai, and from Chin the conqueror to Raiko, often a complete dork [Raiko is somewhat inspired in Sun Zhongshan/Sun Yat Sen, president of the first chinese republic, revered until present day in both Nationalist KMT and Communist Party rhetoric].
And even Amon, who could be an interesting way of introducing a communist/socialist-like libertarian movement that could shape up to the worker unions and labor rights activists in Asia around the 20-30s (often victims of persecution and "white terror" policy by Japanese militarists and Chinese fascists) turned out to be a fascist-esque group bent in exterminating/removing benders from society and turned out to be a huge fraud.
So yes... the movie would not hit the shores well, even if it was accurate with the depictions shown in animation.