“Avatar: The Way of Water” debuted in theaters over the weekend, 13 years after its predecessor.
Much has changed since 2009. In 2022, casting white actors as blue aliens is racist. It’s a form of “cultural appropriation,” in fact.
That is according to a woman named Kathia Woods, who credits herself as a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.
Woods sometimes writes for NBC News. She recently reviewed films such as”Babylon,” “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” and “Avatar 2.”
Woods enjoyed “Guillermo.” But she can’t say the same about “Avatar.” She rated the sequel 4/10. It did not impress her.
Particularly, the casting is to blame. Ms. Woods is fed up with studios casting white people as blue-smurf-looking creatures. Hence her low approval.
Woods calls the beings in the film “people of color,” whom basic whites shall not portray.
“Jesus fix it.”
Woods turned her Twitter account to private immediately before the publication of this article. Update at 5:55 p.m. she turned her account public anew, five minutes later. Update at 8:32 p.m.: she locked her account, again.
She’s mad.
Now, back to reality, in which we are unsure Kathia Woods lives.
You come across these journalists and struggle to tell if they are living caricatures of their trade. But it appears, in this case, Woods is serious in her critique.
Best of all, her information is not accurate. Her screenshot includes the character Tonowari. He’s the blue “guy” up front. See, a privileged white does not portray Tonowari in the film. Rather, the actor is a man named Cliff Curtis, who’s of Maori descent.
Perhaps that makes playing one of a blue species less cultural appropriation-ish. At least we hope so, for the sake and sanity of Kathia Woods.
Film critics have become parodies of themselves.The industry is on the same trajectory as the corporate press: deteriorating in credibility and purpose.
Elsewhere, professional reviewers are warning fat people to avoid consuming the film, “The Whale.” According to a Rolling Stone Vulture, the studio’s decision to cast a normal-sized man in a fat suit instead of an actual 600-pound actor is a form of #Fatphobia,
We are not joking.
Critics are now indifferent to storytelling, dialogue and acting. More important are the skin colors of the performers who portray blue aliens and the weights behind the fat suits.
Racism and fatphobia are at stake. And the cultural appropriation, of course.
Delay the planned December 20, 2024 release for “Avatar 3” until all the white actors doing the culturally appropriating are fired.
