Welcome/Toph Candidate Debate 1

Dear Readers,
I've been tracking posts on The Last Airbender 2 (TLA2) Wiki for quite some time now and have finally decided to have my first blog post! Upon reading this post I will discuss some of TLA2's Toph candidates and some of the comments and concerns on them.

• Casey Lee - Casey Lee is a 14 year old found on Youtube. She is of Singaporean and Taiwanese (generally Chinese) descent. It is unknown if she has an agent but her informal auditions have taken Youtube by storm. Although I admire Casey's obvious love for acting I don't see her playing Toph. She can't deliver lines well enough and seems too sweet to play Toph.  

• Meg Barron - Meg Barron (often confused with Megan Lewallen) is 12 and is praised for her voice resemblance to Jessica Flowers (the original Toph). She is of Mexican and Italian descent. As a user from the Wiki pointed out, his/her name will not be revealed, I agree that people are just focused on her voice resemblance and not really her acting skills. Meg Barron is defiantly someone to consider, though. Many people praise her but most people just praise her VOICE resemblance. 

• Megan Lewallen - Megan Lewallen  (often confused with Meg Barron) is 13 and known for her flawless deliverance of her lines, as some wiki contributors say. She is Caucasian (it is unknown what she descends from) and many like her determination for the role. She's posted the more videos than the other Toph candidates on Youtube of her doing informal auditions (a total of 7) and she says that there will be more. She is praised for delivering her lines and being 'a natural in front of the camera' but some reviews say they don't see her as Toph but they support her as an actress. She has received many negative reviews. 

• Heather Dowling - Heather Dowling is 14 and Caucasian (it is unknown of what she descends from). Most people don't consider her as a true candidate because she doesn't seem dedicated. 

• Erin Kong - Erin Kong is the most recent of the Wiki candidates and not much is known about her. 

• Emilirose - Emilirose is 14 and not much is known of her.

• Karen Vo - Karen Vo is 17 and of Asian decedent but she does NOT have an audition posted. 

A recent poll shows that 58% of fans would chose Megan Lewallen to play Toph. 

• 58% - Megan Lewallen
• 14% - Meg Barron
• 14% - Karen Vo 
• 9% - Casey Lee
• 0% - Heather Dowling
• 5% - Emilirose 

(ERIN KONG WAS NOT LISTED AS A CANDIDATE AT THE TIME THE POLL WAS CREATED BUT IT IS ASSUMED SHE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD OVER 8% OF VOTES)
 
The candidates are all, in some ways, good and, in some ways, bad. Most of the audition tapes we find are titled as 'informal'. Meg Barron, while a leading candidate, has yet to beat Megan Lewallen in voting but more people, as I have noticed, comment on her talent and voice rebalanced and I think that most people are just impressed with the sound of her voice but not focusing on her acting talent. Megan Lewallen has been given negative reviews but this is to be expected because she is, obviously, not Asian or very foreign for the casting. Karen Vo, tied with Meg Barron in voting, has been reported to have had an unsuccessful audition tape posted but took it off the internet due to negative reviews. It is highly unlikely Karen Vo would be cast because of her acting skills, which we've seen in other Youtube movies (such as I.M. Me), as well as her age. 




Another recent poll shows that 65% would NOT have Toph Bei Fong played by an Asian. 
Q: "Would you rather have Toph played by an Asian? Why?"

• 65% -No, because it doesn't matter what race you are. It matter's how well you can act.
• 3% - No, because I see Toph as a Caucasian.
• 6% - Yes, because I believe that Shyamalan is portraying raciest casting.
• 28% - Yes, because I see Toph as an Asain.

What does THIS poll tell you? Not even a quarter of voters say that M. Night Shyamalan is portraying raciest castings. 28% say that they want Toph to be Asian because that's how they envisioned her. My opinion goes with the 65% that said 'No, because it doesn't matter what race you are. It matter's how well you can act'. Shyamalan is NOT portraying raciest casting. I believe that the idea of raciest casting was formed by someone who thought TLA was a terrible movie and they just wanted to complain more about it. The debate, however, will be contentious despite the fact that its obvious that Shyamalan isn't raciest.

*** FUN FACT: SHYAMALAN IS ASIAN

Thank You,
Jessica F. (Blogger)