Racebending.com

Welcome to another edition of the Saturday Link Roundup! This week, we take a look at the racial tensions at UCSD, Sifu Kisu showcases Perris Aquino’s talent on YouTube, and a blogger takes a hard look at what Toph’s character really means to viewers with disabilities.

• UCSD Student Suspended For Hanging Noose – via CNN
  

  Ever since a UCSD frat held a “ghetto-themed” party in “honor” of Black History Month – including references to fried chicken, watermelon, and the “n-word” – the campus has been ablaze with controversy. Continuing along that theme, a UCSD student left a noose in the campus library “with the intent to terrorize,” according to the police report. More following the link.

  Black students make up just 1.3% of the UCSD student body. Since the original incident, Filipino American Professor Jody Blanco released this statement encouraging solidarity with the black community. Absolutely worth the read.

• Sifu Kisu with Perris Aquino – via Sifu Kisu on lokhopkuen’s YouTube
  

  Longtime followers of Racebending.com will remember Perris Aquino, a pre-teen Asian American professional martial artist and budding actor who auditioned for Aang and didn’t even receive a call back.

  Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender should also be familiar with Sifu Kisu, who was the martial arts consultant of the animated series. (Kisu was not hired for the film adaptation.) Sifu Kisu recently uploaded a youtube video that is a collaboration between him and Perris Aquino! It’s an amazing display of Aquino’s talents.

• Loin cloths and rubbed noses . . . why would anyone be offended? – via Nicole Jeffery of The Australian
  
  Just a little follow up on the Russian Ice Dancing team of Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. They did go on ahead with their “aboriginal” themed dance, which Australian aborigine leaders have repeatedly called offensive, particularly for it’s lack of authenticity and the brown body suits worn by the skaters.
  
  Their routine failed to wow the judges or the crowd. The pair was rank first going into the performance, but dropped to third place after the execution of the performance.
• The Last Airbender trailer: Avatar it ain’t – via Anna Pickard of The Guardian
  
  The Guardian pokes fun at the latest The Last Airbender trailer for it’s rampant use of cliches and special effects. From the perspective of someone who has no context about the film other than the trailer…
• TV writers settle age discrimination suit – via Dave McNary of Variety

  A ten year old class action anti-discrimination lawsuit gets Hollywood’s attention! In the Television Age Discrimination Litigation, 165 TV writers over the age of 40 filed suit against 24 networks, production studios and talent agencies. They claimed that talent agencies did not want to represent older writers, and networks and producers did not want to hire them.

  Although attorneys for the defendant networks, producers, and agencies denied allegations of ageism, they also conceded that it would make more sense to settle than to go duke it out in court. The class-action settlement calls for payment of $70 million to affected writers.

• Media portrayal of Disability and Martial arts (a personal statement) – via bbrutlag of the Feministing Community
  

  Blogger bbrutlag at the Feministing Community writes about her experience as a Martial Artist with Cerebral palsy. She began taking karate classes as a kid to help with her balance and equilibrium and now has two black belts.

  bbrutlag takes what she calls the “Super-crip” archetype to task, including taking a critical look at the character of Toph.

• Depardieu rejects ‘too white’ claim – via MSN Movies
  

  An update on the Alexandre Dumas casting controversy. Actor Gerard Depardieu was asked about his casting to play Alexandre Dumas in a biopic. Depardieu, a blonde and Caucasian actor, said “the debate over his role as The Three Musketeers writer in the big-budget production L’Autre Dumas is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unnecessary.’” He also said the issue is “not interesting” and “not a problem”.

  Dumas was a 19th century mixed race author who faced discrimination during his time for being of Afro-Caribbean descent. In 2002, his body was exhumed and reburied in the French Panthéon. During the ceremony, then French President Jacques Chirac explained that due to racism, Dumas had not been buried in the Pantheon when he died.

• Alaska village among Native communities reclaiming ancient traditions banned by missionaries – via Rachel D’Oro of Los Angeles Times
  

  A century ago, traditional Inupait Eskimo dancing in Alaska was outlawed by white American Quaker and Russian Catholic missionaries. Today, villages in Alaska are slowly breaking away from the belief that traditional dancing is ‘evil’ and reclaiming their traditions.’ Inupait Alaskan Americans communities are re-learning how to dance!