Villains and losers in Airbender

Correspondent JT keeps us abreast of the casting developments in Avatar: The Last Airbender:I remember you talking about Avatar before.

Jesse McCartney, who was considered for Prince Zuko, had scheduling conflicts and couldn't take the role.

His replacement is British actor Dev Patel.

Which is an interesting casting choice because Zuko is a member of the Fire Nation, who are seen as the antagonists of the Avatar world.

Race in Avatar

As much as we'd like to believe that they're actually casting 'authentic Asians'--as opposed to fake Asian?--in the movie, this recent casting call has only led us to realize one thing: Paramount Pictures intends to cast according to the races of the lead roles. Therefore:

The Fire Nation (genocidal villains) will be brown/SE Asian.

The Earth Nation (indecisive, saved by white heroes) will be East Asian

The Air Nomads (peace-loving, oppressed saviour) will be Caucasian

The Water Tribe (whitewashed, brave heroes) will be Caucasian

Comment:  To refresh your memory, the Water Tribe is the one that's supposed to be based on Inuit culture.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.