#kidulthood

[casasupernovas]

by the way noel clarke is going to court as he is trying to sue the guardian for libel and THIRTY TWO people are going to give evidence to confirm he is indeed a prick.

Thirty-two people to give evidence for Guardian in libel case brought by actor Noel Clarke

Documents for high court hearing show that 26 will support allegations of serious misconduct against him

[glittertomb]

Call me, my interests, my clothes, or my lifestyle “cringe” if you want, I’m having lots of fun 💁🏼‍♀️🌸✨

As long as you aren’t hurting anyone, who the hell cares 🐸

[alwaysscreechingbasement]

‘Sexual predator’: actor Noel Clarke accused of groping, harassment and bullying by 20 women

Women from TV and film industry speak out against Bafta-winning producer, director and screenwriter

[italianoutlanders]

#Repost from @noelclarke . When fandoms collide. 6am Sweat club. Getting smashed up with sam heughan and @tom.hopperhops . #Blacksails #Kidulthood #Outlander #DoctorWho #Adulthood #UmbrellaAcademy #Brotherhood #GameOfThones #Merlin #SamHeughan #TomHopper #NoelClarke https://www.instagram.com/p/BqI6lWSgbNF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12p6zf8z0toak

[kidulthoodreviews-blog]

The Last Airbender (M. Night Shyamalan, 2010)

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a phenomenal animated series that I have, and always will, be fond of. My childhood was filled with days where I lost my self in the show’s immersive plot, characters, and animation; I wanted to be part of this world. However, M. Night Shyamalan’s attempt to create a live-action film adaptation of this series, unfortunately, feels like just that… an attempt. 

Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender did a poor job of drawing from its source material, and fell short of capturing its essence in tone, characters, and action. However, back in 2010, an easily pleased, naive 11-year-old me, went to see this film in cinemas and enjoyed it thoroughly, blissfully unaware of the torture I had just subjected my parents to.

The Last Airbender is an epic tale set in a world divided into the Fire, Water, Earth and Air nations; with the people of these nations holding the ability to manipulate their elements. After awakening from 100 years of dormancy, a young boy named Aang reawakens to find the world in peril at the hands of the destructive, domineering fire nation. Aang is no ordinary boy however, it turns out, he is the avatar; the one being who can master all four elements and restore peace and balance to their world.

The actors deployed in the film are all skilled in their craft, however, their performances were unconvincing, feeling at times as if you watching the rehearsal of an amateur production, scripts in hands. This was a major drawback to the film overall, coming from an adult’s perspective, with this weak dialogue repeatedly reminding you that this is a film with the uncritical audience of children. In addition to this abysmal delivery of lines, the casting of these characters is not what should be expected. Aang, the protagonist child monk, was portrayed by white American actor, Noah Ringer, and the characters of Sokka and Katara, are also played by white American actors, Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz. These white protagonists look rather out of place among the rest of the cast, who are portrayed by people within the ethnic culture of their original characters, being Inuit or East Asian. Not only were the characters too white, they were also two dimensional. Scandals revolving around live-action adaptations of anime’s being whitewashed have been commonplace in Hollywood over the last few decades. Unfortunately, this is still happening today, with films like Ghost in the Shell (Rupert Sanders, 2017, USA) casting white actors such as Scarlett Johannsen to play Asian character roles, frustrating fans all over the world who expect to see an interesting adaptation of the beautiful Asian artform, not a whitewashed Hollywood version.

A prominent theme that originated in the animated series is that of unity and collectively in the face of an oppressive evil. The fire nation represents the militaristic imperialism that can come with rapid advancements in industrialisation. This is demonstrated in one scene, when Aang, Sokka and Katara travelled to an Earth Nation village enslaved by the Fire Nation. They were told of the initial foot battle won by these earthbenders against their attackers, however then Fire Nation “came with their machines. Huge machines made out of metal. There was nothing we could do”. This is representative of many historical events in human history, where more advanced nations have used their technological superiority to attack and oppress those who are less developed. Our protagonists then worked together with the people of the village to fight back against their oppressors, liberating themselves in the process. This would not have been successful without the teamwork and cooperation employed by the different nations under attack from the fire nation, being water, ground, and air, which is an inspiring way to teach children importance and effectiveness of unity and teamwork.

This adaptation did a poor job of drawing from its source material, carrying an overly serious atmosphere and with a gaping hole left where the film fails to emulate that perfect balance of comedy and serious dramatics that the series did so well. One of the best things about the animated series is its intense, fast paced action scenes, where the elements are used regularly and impressively in combat. The movie, however, had a serious issue with its use of special effects and pacing in these action scenes; with ridiculously bad yet humorous timing in fight choreography, and a noticeably delayed pace of editing when fighting with the elements, this film does not match the smooth, fast mechanics of the animation.

The Last Airbender did not live up to expectations, kids may love this film, but it is doubtful any adults will be adding it to their top 10 list; which cannot be said about its animated source material. Although this film has a relatively fun plot and is simple to understand, there are more successful kids films out there that speak to both children and adults alike. Evidently, this story is one designed to prosper in the realm of animation, and has not translated into live action as successfully as Shyamalan could have hoped. There were moments of cinematographic beauty, where hope and potential shone through, however, disappointingly, these were rudely interrupted by the poor delivery of a disastrous script. Unfortunately, Shyamalan’s directive style did not translate effectively into this film; neglecting to adapt his trademark techniques, such as the inapt use of awkward close-ups and emotionally distant characters, resulting in a film that feels more like a distant cousin than a close relative to its lovable, animated counterpart, not doing it the justice it deserves.  

REFERENCES

The Last Airbender. (2010). [DVD] Directed by M. Shyamalan. Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.

[scootsenshi]

Never Forget

[scenesandscreens]

KiDULTHOOD (2006) Director - Menhaj Huda, Cinematography - Brian Tufano “I’ve seen some shit today… that made me think about life. And you’re the best thing in mine.”

[krtrs]

Me: Nicholas Hoult is so precious and cute. My sweet little nervous angel.

Nicholas Hoult: *is in a movie entirely about drugs, alcohol, and murder*

Me: So innocent. So pure.