can’t believe this is an unpopular opinion, but Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) was amazing. A lot of people liked the movie and the history/heritage behind it but not the message of the movie. and while i 100% adore and appreciate the heritage, the message was what made me love the movie.

people think that the message is wrong to say we should trust those who are untrustworthy or who have given us reasons not to trust them, that Namaari and Fang didn’t deserve forgiveness or trust in the movie.

but that’s exactly the point- it’s not about deserve. Raya and the Last Dragon is 100% a reflection not only of Southeast Asian culture, but of our world today. especially in regard to politics, we don’t trust each other, we don’t work together, and we let fear divide us. In the movie, Raya realizes that while Nemaari may not be the most trustworthy person, someone has to take the first step in working together to fix the world. and that’s so important.

today, it’s so much easier for us to say that we shouldn’t have to take responsibility for a problem just because we didn’t start it. it’s easy to point fingers instead of join hands. but that’s not the way to improve things. sometimes you have to trust and come together not because the other person deserves it, but because the world does.

and that’s exactly the message Raya and the Last Dragon conveys- not necessarily trusting blindly, but trusting others because WE ourselves are trustworthy, and it’s the only way to truly grow.

Your gentle, friendly reminder that its perfectly fine to want one of the nastier Villains (Or just plain hated villains), whether its for raw animalistic sex stuff or because it feels good to be liked and wanted by someone who hates everything else, rather then a soft boi that loves his mummy and will do crafts for you. If you're just not comfortable or attracted to the 'redeemable' ones, that's fine. You're not bad, or over-sexual. This is all about your inner happy fantasies- if you want Freddy Krueger to call you a bitch and tease you rather then have Jason Voorhees give you hugs and save you from drunk teenagers, then freaken enjoy that XD Bitch me too.

Same the other way too of course, but this is for the Villain fuckers that don't get enough signs that they're valid. You are.

So, India is dying.

Look, I know a good number of you are from the US and things aren't amazing there either, but my country is literally on the brink of collapse. So I'd love it if we could talk about that for a minute.

If you can't do anything else, please just read and reblog.

Colors of the Star Wars: yellow

if you don’t think representation in media matters, i cried watching the raya and the last dragon trailer because, hey! that person looks like me! those swords look like the one my grandfather has! that mythology is similar to mine! it feels so strange to be represented but so nice.

I love atla but the comments on the trailer are kinda ridiculous. One person said that raya isn’t “original” since it’s atla’s setting and raya is basically korra.

Like atla is based Inuit, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan cultures, while raya is based on southeast Asian cultures like Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines.

We should probably stop comparing the two and just really appreciate the visuals, animation, soundtrack, and the diversity of the cast. Raya looks promising and I’m excited to see it!

I am South East Asian and I’m getting tired of people writing away my culture.

I am not sure how many of you know but Disney just released a trailer for the movie “Raya and The Last Dragon” and many people have been taking the moment away from the South-East Asian people (like me) by comparing it to The Last Airbender. Now I’m going to tell you why you should NOT be comparing them.

First, we need to debunk the idea that we can cumulatively call someone “Asian”. That is very much an American concept, a label slapped on our continent to make it easier for them to identify us. However, we have 48/49 countries, with over 1 000 000 languages and cultures. It’s very problematic to pin us down as Asian when we all have distinguishing ethnicities that sets us apart. If anything, certain provinces have similar mythologies, or came from the same previous kingdom, and for that reason it would make more sense if we were identified as North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia (The ‘stans), Western Asia (The Middle East or Near East), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina). I kind of wish a large number of Americans can see this so they will start calling us by these human geographical groups rather than a continent, and this may dispel the need to compare “Asian” movies.

Now to the comparison of the two movies. The Last Airbender follows East Asian (and some South Asian, New World, Inuit, and Sireniki influences). That is very very different from Raya and The Last Dragon, which completely South-East Asian. Here are some cultural aspects from the trailer:

Please do not take this moment away from us- South-East Asian culture and mythology has always been written away in South Asian and East Asian dominant movies. Our culture was put into the Legend of Korra and was written off as East Asian and due to this misinformation of cultures, we are now compared to some show that has never represented us. Please stop it. Let us have our moment- though our cultures are mashed together for this South-East Asian adaptation, it retains alot of our key aspects. 

South-East Asians are not South Asians or East Asians or Central Asians. We are our own. Let us have that. For once in Hollywood, “Asian rep” is not a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Indian.

I don’t understand how anyone on this God-forsaken website can hate Rose Tico. She is literally everything that they’ve been demanding for years.

She is a woman of color and the purest being to ever grace us with her existence. She doesn’t have a traditionally “feminine” job, works with her hands, is extremely compassionate, believes in justice, and is shown to be rather intelligent. The only thing that she’s missing to make her Tumblr’s golden child is being homosexual.

This isn’t even to mention the fact that how she reacts to meeting Finn is exactly the same to how any of us would react to meeting John Boyega.

So, yeah, Rose Tico is a treasure, and any of you who disagree can fight me.

What can a female character do without being criticized mercilessly?

here is your sign, if you needed one.