Asian Student Union

Word of the Day: Racebending

Racebending: The act of casting someone, for a part in a play, movie, or show, that is any race or ethnicity other than the desired or originally proposed one
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/racebending

When the race or ethnicity of a character in a story is changed to an ostensibly more “palatable” or “profitable” ethnicity. (A common practice in Hollywood, where the most coveted roles are frequently given to white actors to play, even if originally, the character was a person of color. Aspiring actors of color are marginalized and may have to play “racebent” bad – guy characters that were originally white.) -Urbandictonary.com

Most Notable Recent Racebendings

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
(Jake Gyllenhaal has no Persian background)

Dragonball: Evolution

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