Noah Ringer as Aang in "The Last Airbender"
In response to my recent column listing top Asian American directors, a reader pointed out director M. Night Shyamalan's casting controversy surrounding his new movie "The Last Airbender."
The casting controversy, which made headlines earlier this year, came about when karate-trained Texan Noah Ringer, "Twilight" actor Jackson Rathbone, "Deck the Halls" actress Nicola Peltz and singer Jesse McCartney were originally offered the roles of Aang, Sokka, Katara and Zuko.
The casting of the four Caucasian actors brought out negative reaction from fans and two prominent Asian American advocacy groups which protested Paramount Pictures accusing the production of racial bias in selecting white actors to portray ethnically Asian characters on screen.
To read more about the casting controversy click here. Also check out www.racebending.com
From looking at the credits for the Caucasian actors selected to play the lead roles, I see one clear indicator for their casting -- and that is their marketability.
Aside from Ringer, who is trained in martial arts, the other actors are recognizable by mainstream American teen and "tween" audiences (Rathbone from "Twilight," Peltz from "Deck the Halls," and McCartney, who's a pop singer).
Interestingly enough, Rathbone was born in Singapore and has lived in places ranging from Indonesia to Midland, Texas. Ringer was also born and raised in Texas. (I guess the filmmakers wanted to make sure George W. Bush will make it out to see this one!)
FYI: McCartney later dropped out of the role of the "villainous" Prince Zuko and was replaced by "Slumdog Millionaire's" Dev Patel.
But the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) pointed out that "in a Eurocentric twist, actors of color have been relegated to villain, supporting, and background roles" in the movie.
Again, the casting decisions seem to have been geared towards marketability for the predominantly Caucasian moviegoing general public.
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Cast photos for "The Last Airbender"
The Census Bureau estimates that as of 2008, the Asian American population stood at 15,480,349 (13,549,064 of whom are monoracial Asian) and Asian Americans comprise 5.1% of the total U.S. population of 304,059,724.
Taking those numbers into account, one can clearly see why the Hollywood studio and producers chose Caucasian actors for the lead roles.
Nevertheless, I'm asking readers, should Asian actors have been cast in the lead roles for "The Last Airbender" movies?
Was the casting discriminatory? Is this another case of "white-washing" a movie similar to what happened with the movie "21" last year? (Click here to see my article on "21" and the "white-washing" debate.)
Please feel free to leave your answers and suggestions in a comment box below.
Apparently, some fans of the hit Nickelodeon animated series, upon which the movie is based, were reportedly not happy with the latest batch of promo pictures released showing the cast members. To read more click here.
According to its filmmakers, "The Last Airbender" follows Aang and is set in a world where human civilization is divided into four nations: Water, Earth, Air and Fire. With the help of a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara and her bull-headed brother Sokka, Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world. But, his goal will meet a tough challenge from exiled Fire Nation’s evil prince Zuko who is sent to capture the Avatar in order to restore his honor and right to the throne.
The movie is scheduled to open on July 2, 2010.
To read more articles about this topic click the following links:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/avatar-the-last-airbender/avatar-the-last-airbender-movi-30051.aspx
http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=26148
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi
http://talkinstuff.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-whitewashing-continues-in-hollywood/
http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists/voynar/2009/090422.html
www.nwasianweekly.com/2009/28_11/pages/front_avatar.html
Comments
I'm a really big fan of Avatar, and I don't see anything bad in the cast. Besides, that thing of "in a Eurocentric twist, actors of color have been relegated to villain, supporting, and background roles" is a very bad and slight argument. Well, they have to see the series to KNOW that Zuko has his own twist in the book 3, and he is NOT a supporting character in it.
It worries me more than Mr. Shyamalan treat the story with respect. Besides Aang, Sokka, Katara and Zuko will be forever as the cartoons. Any actor will never replace them.
And everybody forgot that Avatar is made in USA?? if Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino are cool with it, so am I.
the ang kid is half asian but i guess he wasnt good enough to be asian!!!!
I think they meant he was the Villain... but you can read their article by clicking the link... Also check out MAANA dot com
What does Avatar being made in the US have to do with anything? Are Asians not Americans too? Are there not Asian American actors out there? Are there not Native American/Inuit actors out there? Bryan and Mike could very well be fine with the casting but due to contractual obligations, they can't say otherwise even if they wanted to.
The show rocks! If i see one picture of noah ringer as aang smiling i will invite a hundred kids over and happily by them tickets and take them to the movie. And I agree with Lali Zuko is a main character in book 3. Anyway I'm glad aang managed to stay until the next decade. AVATAR STATE YIP YIP!!!
I could spend a lot of time talking about all the points that this article failed to mentioned, but if anyone wants to know more about this, simply visit www.racebending.com
The website you you mention is listed in the article... Was the film "Whitewashed" like the movie 21 where the actors should have been Asian American? Did the Producers discriminate? Those are all judgment calls that audiences will make when with their wallets. The best way to protest if you don't like the casting is to NOT PAY to see the movie in theaters...
YES or NO... that is what I'm asking.. everybody so far that has replied has danced around answering my actual question of "Should Asian Actors have been cast in the lead roles?" Does no one even have a yes or no opinion or is it that murky a subject that no one can decide...
as long as the actors can act and pull off the characters, I don't care what their race is.
The thing is, the cartoon AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER was already popular to begin with, and it was *because* of the Asian cultural influences. For Hollywood to use unknown Asian actors here would've been a relatively safe bet (compared to an original story). NOBODY would be complaining right now if Asian actors had been chosen.
The source material was heavily drawn from Asian and Inuit cultures. There are organizations across the US that exist to help racial minority actors find roles. Paramount could've tapped into these resources and gotten young people who ethnically represent the characters better. Instead, the casting people specially said in the casting calls, "Caucasians and other ethnicities." This shows they had a preference for white actors for the four main roles.
Most of the ethnic minorities in the film will be in the background or play minor characters except for Dev and the other actors who are playing characters from the Fire Nation which is the antagonist nation in the series. Geez, dark skinned villains versus light skinned heroes. I don't think I've NEVER seen Hollywood do this before. *rolls eyes*
For anyone unfamiliar to this but is interested in reading more about how wrong this whole thing is, please go to www.racebending.com.
I think that the points that Lali made sum up my own feelings, and I hope the feelings of millions of fans, nicely. Especially what is said about Zuko, who in many ways turns out to be one of the most noble, and crucially important, characters by the end of Season 3, as authors of articles such as these would know if they actually watched the show and didnt just jump on the "Hey, THEYRE RACIST!" bandwagon that seems to be haunting this movie. I think that maybe M Knight should have re-thought his casting choices because of the negative publicity it is obv ALREADY causing, but I also get the sense that he has a personal love for the series, which is connected to the love of his kids, of whom his daughter is supposedly a devoted fan of the show. I think that he is going to translate that love/connection into a really memorable film.He has to have his reasons for choosing who he did, and I don't think those reasons are even in the same sphere of thought that this article/some fans claim..
What do you think about MNS's love connection now?
YES, they were DEAD WRONG in casting Caucasians instead of Asian-Americans in this film. First to begin with, Caucasian Americans have been happily consuming anime from Japan, featuring Japanese people, for a several years now. Secondly, the source material got popular WITH the original cast of Asians and Native Americans in there. There was already a built in audience for this who were quite used to the premise of teh film. Thirdly, way to whitewash the POC fans of the film. Fourthly, are you seriously advancing as an argument that since Asian-Americans comprise a small amount of the US population, they should be erased by white people? Fifthly, if Caucasians are so racist, which I doubt, exactly how long is their racism going to be coddled at Asian-American's and Native American's expense?
One thing that I have noticed while following this movie's development is that all of the Earth bending characters DO seem to be Asian, and this is a fact that is almost always overlooked in articles like these. My guess is that a) Toph is going to be an Asian actress. b) Earth-bending kingdom is going to have a HUGE part in the second movie, which hopefully will get made because all of the politically "obsessive compulsive" correct people decrying all sorts of crimes against humanity now will still anty up to see the movie, and c) the trilogy taken as a whole, will have a decent representation of various races and cultures across a wide spectrum, thus making the movie and hopefully the message that much more accessible to the masses. Thank you and goodnight. 8)
No I am not suggesting that because Asian Americans are smaller percentage of population that we should be left out... I am merely pointing out the Hollywood side of the argument... And asking readers to VOTE YES OR NO to the casting choices.... If you read my comments here I state that if YOU DON'T LIKE the CASTING... DON'T PAY TO SEE THE MOVIE... I personally wish they had cast more Asians and a real INUIT actor
Can a white boy sing the blues? Why not. The blues, R&R and jazz, all unique products of American culture now belong to the world... because that how culture works in these times. Asian culture has also been adopted by the entire world. If you don't believe me, ask the two white guys who created Avatar. And just because Asian culture is celebrated in Avatar, does not mean that the characters in Avatar are Asians.
Anyone who says that the principal characters in Avatar are all Asian is simply imagining things. Most of the main characters are of ambiguous, unstated races. Not only do some of these supposed Asians have blue eyes the size of teacups, but their world is filled with decidedly non-Asian folks like pro wrestlers, hippies, swamp people, surfer kids and arab raiders - all partaking of the same wonderful Asian culture.
This is mostly a made-up controversy, and it is being forcefully orchestrated by a very small group of fans on-line.
"Highly recognizable"? Peltz has exactly two acting credits on IMDB. Ringer has no acting experience. Rathbone had a grand total of one line in "Twilight." These kids are unknowns. There was absolutely no reason why they couldn't have gone with Asian unknowns or at least *diverse* unknowns rather than all-Caucasian ones.
my concern is that those actors are adults (don't get me wrong, i love Jackson) but when watching cartoon, you see the kids, that's one of the main ideas of the series. I just think it'll lose most of the meaning of it
Well the "Hollywood argument" didn't dissuade Clint Eastwood from finding real Hmong teenagers for "Gran Torino," or Chris Weitz from getting real Native American actors for "New Moon." Or hey, have you seen the trailer for the Wachowski brothers' new movie, "Ninja Assassin"? Why don't we ask them where they got their little bald Asian kid who does martial arts?!
Keong Sim: "Earthbending father"
Randall Duk Kim: "Old man in temple"
Taken from IMDB, which BTW, makes it seem as though, the water bending/northern tribe (read cold, aka, white lol)is primarily white actors and actresses, while the fire nation is primarily actors with an Indian (read sunny and hot for fire nation, aka tan and brown people), and then the Earth benders, as I pointed out, seem to be on line to be primarily portrayed by Asian actors and actresses. Perhaps M Knight is up to something profound? Anyway give the guy a chance, later my four nation peoples ~Avatar Grey Pilgrim
P.s.-- M. Knight! If you ever see this I have faith in you! And PLEASE PLEASE make Aaang's tattoo the bold blue color from the series through the power of CGI, the tribal design will STILL look sick and everyone will be really happy to see it looking so bright on the screen. And for the love of Appa and Mo-mo, PLEASE go for a pg-13 (NOT PG!!) rating on this movie! It can still be bloodless like
-The idea that Zuko is the villain is not only being pushed by protestors (who have seen the show and know that Zuko *is* the villain for the first season which is what this movie will be based on. We know he will turn into a hero and that his now dark-skinned villain father and sister will remain villains) but is ALSO being pushed by the marketing people of this film: see the USA Today article that brought us the first pictures of Aang and Zuko.
-Protestors also know that the Earth Kingdom is "Asian, East-Asian and Africans" (according to the letter the "Producers" sent MANAA; it is available on MANAA's website) and are therefore boggled that the "producers" are apparently willing to find and cast Asians to play (non-speaking) extras and villains but not for the heroes.
-Asians are *diverse*; the producers are using "more diversity (in villains and extras)!" to justify the fact that they wanted white people in the leads.
None of the protesters I've heard from even want an all-Asian cast. The emphasis is on the characters being DIVERSE. Katara and Sokka are from an Inuit-based culture and noticeably darker skinned than anyone else in the cartoon. But the casting directors couldn't find anybody brown for them? Latinos? Blacks? Middle-easterners? Native Americans?
Vina... I agree with you... I am not defending Hollywood.. just giving their POV... and did you miss my little George W. sarcastic remark... I was poking fun at them for picking two guys that were from Texas... I personally wish they had gone and found real INUIT and Asian actors...
Gee, the East-Asian actors get such big roles in this film, their characters don't even have names. Good grief.
Vina, I do concede that you make some very valid points regarding Sokka and Katara.. I think they were the ones that I had the most trouble accepting initially. And I agree, I think they could have def found a super smoking hottie dark skinned/blue eyed actress to play Katara and someone of Inuit origin to play Sokka, it would have been much more happily welcomed by the fans as a whole, but I still am hopeful that only a small percentage of the fans will still not be happy with the casting choices by the movie's end..
Doc Pomus, would you be saying what you just posted about the casting decisions for films inspired by European cultures, such as The Lord of the Rings? I suspect most people would find it odd for Aragorn, Elrond, and Frodo to be played by non-white actors because the groups they represent are obviously Northern and Western European in origin.
Your comments about the characters eye shapes and color are also problematic. Anime the style of animation that the series is based off of is no matter what some may believe is predominantly filled with Japanese and other Asian characters. It's just how the animators draw the characters that don't make them stereotypically Asian. Also, there are Asians with blue eyes. Google image that along with Asians with green eyes.
For Ed: Yes, I want Asian and Native American (for the Water Tribe) actors in the lead roles and if not (eg. Sokka and Katara) than other racial minorities. Just not white. But I'm sure everyone figured that out already.
Like I said before though, Earth-bending kingdom's moment in the sun will come in the SECOND movie, because that is where they come into prominence in the show. Before then there wont be a whole lot of earth-bending characters with names to be played by Asian actors, its just how it is. And trust me, if they portray Toph in the same way they do on the show, she basically takes the spotlight from everybody else for a lot of season 2, and it works because her character is so super strong and confident, with all the trappings of usual adolescence but a force unstoppable in an earth-bending fight! But I forgot, then the argument will become "What, you think I can kick your butt just because I'm Asian??" Adios mio lol, cant we all use our pent up passive-aggressive frustrations towards some positive goal, like I don't know ending world hunger or something? Well, we do it one white-washed movie at a time as they say...
Thanks Ed, but the Hollywood POV is really no excuse. You can be culturally sensitive and still make money. *Like the original show did.*
I definitely feel there was something to this whole casting thing... not just with Last Airbender but with other movies involving Asian or Diverse ethnic characters... check out Jeff Yang's article link in the story... He makes valid points... You can also look up Jeff on SF GATE under Asian Pop
Using statistics and demographics and polling and marketing and financial motivations to justify discrimination does not make it okay.
"Anyone who says that the principal characters in Avatar are all Asian is simply imagining things."
Does that include several people who worked on the films, including the creators, animators, and cultural consultants. Because they have gone on the record confirming these characters were not white.
"The emphasis is on the characters being DIVERSE."
The original show had a diverse selection of Asian cultures. The movie is diverse in that whites now play Tibetan monks (Air Nomads) and dark skinned actors play bad guys (Fire Nation). It is offensive to see how disrespectful these filmmakers are towards casting what should be Asian heroes. America is ready for a Asian American heroes!
This angers me the characters and basis for the show is blatantly and obviously asian, Anyone who can't see that is blind, these roles should have been filled with inuits and asians, it would be like filming LOTR with an all black or latino cast when its an obvious European setting.I am a fan of the show and will not be seeing it beacuse of this. Btw if it matters i'm white.
Jay,
Apples & oranges. Avatar is pure fantasy, drawing on a hundred traditions and pop culture besides, it owes no single race anything, and is well in the fantasy/sf tradition of created universes. For example, the tv series Star Trek had an episode where a far-away planet developed a Nazi society, yet there was never the suggestion that its citizens were ethnically germans. They could have been any race without damaging the story.
LOTR, while drawn from a far more specific specific (European) tradition than Avatar, could certainly have had Asian actors playing elves and multi-racial races of men.
The entire anime rationale is just bunk. Some characters are drawn in anime style, some not. Some characters look very Asian, some not at all. If the creators wanted to make it clear what race various characters were, they certainly could have. The fact they are on-board as Exec. Producers of the movie says volumes.
Blue-eyed Asians are rarer than hens' teeth.
I'm going to go ahead and say yes, they should have been, and the race of the characters isn't a difficult decision to arrive at whatsoever.
I'd debate here, but any points I'd make are mostly brought up by the other posters and over at racebending.com, as well as in the grievances made public by the East West Players and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, two groups that were great assets for the show, but were left out of the production (Not to mention the professor they hired for their Hanzi calligraphy work and the martial arts coordinator who helped make the bending styles and action scenes so unique are also out of the loop, and both support the protest effort. I wish I could say for certain how the two creators feel, but they've got NDAs, and can't say anything. However, they're listed as executive producers, a job position that has no creative control over a film, and thus no decisions made for the production, even the casting, are their doing whatsoever)
Actually Brian and Mike(the creators) where very specific and have been so about what cultures,mythos,races etc Avatar is based on, i would link but am not allowed to post links in the comments you can look though its there google it.
Doc,
"Avatar is pure fantasy, drawing on a hundred traditions and pop culture besides, it owes no single race anything"
You couldn't be more wrong. That's not what Mike & Bryan said way back in 2005:
"We came up for the concept for "Avatar" 3 years ago. Nickelodeon wanted to make a "legends & lore" type of show with a kid hero. That’s a genre we are very interested in, but we wanted to create a mythology that was based on Eastern culture, rather than Western culture. Although "Avatar" isn’t based on a specific Asian myth, we were inspired by Asian mythology, as well as Kung Fu, Yoga, and Eastern Philosophy...
We read a lot about Buddhism, Daoism, and Chinese history. We also have several consultants who work for the show - a cultural consultant that reviiews all the scripts; a Kung Fu consultant who helps choreograph all the bending moves so that they are accurate to the style on which they are based; and a Chinese calligrapher...We don’t use any written English words in th
DocPomus,
What would it take for you to think the characters of Avatar are Asian? Must they have yellow skin, tiny little eyes, and speak with "funny" accents? (Never mind that there are Asians who speak mainstream US English, have different shaped &/ colored eyes, and different skin colors, ranging from dark to pale.) That they are drawn in anime style doesn't indicate that they're one race or other: rather, it makes their physical description a weak indicator of race. (And indeed! Harry Potter, the Pevensies, and loads of other characters are never specified to be white in the text, but we all think they're white anyway.)
In this case, we must give more weight to their cultural markers, of which the characters in Avatar have lots and lots of: Asian names, Asian clothes, Asian architecture, Asian writing, Asian martial arts, etc. etc. Even the style they are drawn in is Asian. I think it might just be possible that these characters are Asian.
Moreover, the idea that the characters in Avatar are raceless still doesn't explain why the producers would prefer white actors. If they're raceless, why didn't they just audition "All ethnicities"?
There are also questions of authenticity: why didn't they at least try to get white actors with blue eyes? Dark skin? It doesn't make any sense.
The creators of the show have been very clear about the fact that they had nothing to do with the casting. Their names in the credits doesn't indicate that they agree with the casting, but only that they created the source material. They are not allowed to say anything negative about the film due to NDAs.
Sorry Murph,
But you ain't paying attention. I have already pointed out many of those non-Asian aspects of Avatar, and there are plenty more. In fact, the personalities of most of the principal characters could hardly be less Asian or more like teenaged America... not coincidentally, the largest part of the show's demographic.
And the "mythology," which is all Mike and Brian spoke of, is only one part of the larger whole.
Apparently, as a white American, I can only relate to a character if they're white also? This is serious bull on the part of Paramount and the entire casting department. I won't bother trying to explain that the characters of the show are in fact of Asian/Inuit descent/inspiration, (despite the fact the creators themselves outright say that). Seriously, why can't we get some Asian heroes in our epic fantasies? Why, when it comes down to it, are we always force-fed these cookie cutter and so called "relatable" protagonists?
Hollywood, here's a wake up call for you: They can stay Asian and still save the world. Or, to speak your language: They can stay Asian and still make you lots of money.
"In fact, the personalities of most of the principal characters could hardly be less Asian or more like teenaged America... not coincidentally, the largest part of the show's demographic."
So what makes a personality Asian Doc?
Also newsflash this show does run in other countries.
DK,
So you think I'm a small-minded racist? Sorry dude, I'm post racial, and think that the race of characters should never matter unless clearly motivated. If TLA is true to the "cultural markers," as you put it, and the heart of Avatar, I wouldn't care if Morgan Freeman played Uncle Iroh. It's you guys who are all race obsessed.
But since you asked, Zukko and his clan in the cartoon seem Asian to me, not so much the others.
BTW, the producers DID audition all races for most of the parts, or so I have heard. I'm guessing they factored in many things in their choices: physical similarity, personality, demographic appeal, martial arts skill, acting skill and so on, ultimately choosing different people for different combinations of reasons.
Paramount did not put a gun to Brian and Mike's heads and force them to get involved. They certainly made up their minds about the film well before they inked the NDA.
Doc Pomus:
One moment, what exactly is an "Asian" personality? Aang is a 12 year old boy who loves fun, adventure, and goofing off on occasion, why is that somehow tied down to one culture? How's this, add on "who also is a monk who practices Ahimsa" or even "who is also a major spiritual figure who reincarnates as a different person each generation. He was discovered by being presented the toys of previous incarnations as a young child, and the monks knew he was the one." What did those last two things just describe? The Avatar among the air nomads, or the Dalai Lama, who goes through the same process?
They threw in an occasional shout out to a non-Asian idea, like the Earth Rumble, how does that suddenly negate all the Asian themes? Why is it up to debate whether or not Asian cultures played a primary role here when the creators and network have said so?
To Mr. Moy, sorry to bring the debate to your publication here, but some people seem to need to get their facts stra
Argh,
It's easier to point at what makes a personality American, but with the understanding that we are making generalizations for convenience, and that different parts of Asia do exhibit different tempers, I would start by examining the precepts of Confucianism, which has influenced practically all of Eastern Asia.
Are you familiar with it?
I'm on my Wii right now so yea, I cannot make the titanic post right now that would put Doc in his place.
However, to answer the main article question. Yes, this is very bad. They should have casted Asian/Inuit people for the right roles. Expecially Katara and Sokka. They casted the Whitest White People for the Brownest role.
Oh and I know your article mentioned the URL of the website, but all I was saying is that there are way more points about the casting that was not brought up that our website has. Such as that they are even removing the chinese caligraphy from the series.
P.S. Doc, I hate to break it to you, but we do not live in a post racial socity. In fact, by ingoring race and issues of race, all your doing is prepetuating more racism.
I love how in the united states the way to solve racism is to act like it's solved when it's not. Right, maybe that will work on other things. Lets ignore health care and our economy, I'm sure it will fix itself in no time! *ignores*
Sharkman,
You have chosen a very good example, Aang. A boy raised in LA or NJ loves fun, goofs off, etc. A boy monk, raised by monks in a culture where the defining precepts are respect for authority and mission is very nearly the exact opposite.
P.S.S. Doc, another thing I hate to break to you but...
All pre-teens and teenagers around the world, in all time periods are the same. They are aquard, lanky and in growing pains. The worry about how they look, their shoes and their social status. They also like leasure activities like surfing (an indiginous activity) and rebelling against the adults. If you have not noticed, the adults attribute all the Confucious qualities (as well as Bhuddist and Taoist) that an "Asian" would have, expecially that they are coming from an older generation.
I still have no idea how that aspect factors into that the original concept arts done Mulan style were dead on Asian/Inuit ethnicities, it's steeped in Asian/Inuit culture and has Chinese Caligraphy as it's main writing system.
P.S. So you would also love to see a remake of Roots were the slaves were white or asian? Yea, tell me how well that production goes.
Oh and please don't use Star Trek. Star Trek is about the future, of course i
Doc,
I'll have to second the sentiments stated by others, what is an 'asian' personality?
You aren't referring to the use of a few Western slang phrases, are you? (i.e. Aang in the Finale: Oh man, this is SO messed up!) If that is what you're referring to, I must point out that Avatar has aired in other countries in other languages utilizing the slang and devices of their respective languages. For example, in the Japanese dub Katara is constantly calling Sokka "onee-chan" (big brother).
Jordan,
Sorry to bother your Wii, but I have a bigger challenge for you, finding Inuit actors who can carry a major summer movie. That's almost as hard as finding Inuit actors to begin with. Inuits btw, in certain critical respects have exactly the opposite appearance of the cartoon Water Tribe - due to the harsh reflections of the arctic snow and ice, they have developed eyes that are very nearly slits. I find them very appealing people, but they might be a tough stretch as teenage heartthrobs.
I never said we live in a post-racial society, but that's my view, where you'all are mired in the race thing.
And you could not be more wrong about all teenagers, but then again, I have lived all over the world... and you?
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