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.)
(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.)
Paramount is racebending the the characters of The Last Airbender--Sokka's going to be played by a sparkly sparkly vampire!
Are they really going to be racebending Sosuke Sagara into Zac Efron?
Jackson Rathbone's helpful guide to racebending: Pull up your hair and get a tan.
Dee Dee Ricket's helpful guide to racebending: You don't have to wear a big African thing, just put a scarf around your head and you'll be a Ukranian peasant. (And Koreans should wear kimonos!)
Are they really going to be racebending Sosuke Sagara into Zac Efron?
Jackson Rathbone's helpful guide to racebending: Pull up your hair and get a tan.
Dee Dee Ricket's helpful guide to racebending: You don't have to wear a big African thing, just put a scarf around your head and you'll be a Ukranian peasant. (And Koreans should wear kimonos!)
by jedifreac September 19, 2009
an extended practice in comics and movie and tv show adaptations from comics, novels and other sources where fictional characters and historical figures' race are changed. in the past, this used to happen in the form of caucasian actors being given the roles of black, brown and asian characters and historical figures, known today as whitewashing. nowadays the trend has shifted dramatically in what is known as blackwashing, where under the excuse of lack of diversity white characters and historical figures, important and minor, are cast (or illustrated in the case of comics and animated shows) , almost always, as afro blacks.
-dude, did you hear about the les miserables show? they made Javed black!
-what?! for the love of God, when will these people stop racebending white characters?
-what?! for the love of God, when will these people stop racebending white characters?
by elessal March 12, 2019
Movies or TV series based on other fiction or history where the race of a character are non-Caucasian but are cast with Caucasian actors. Coined to describe the movie The Last Airbender where clearly asian characters of the anime series Avatar The Last Airbender are cast with white actors.
Avatar The Last Racebender was a terrible movie which had the main character Aang played by a white kid.
The Karate Kid remake does not count as a racebender, since the whole story was altered.
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer wearing blackface was the first racebender.
The Karate Kid remake does not count as a racebender, since the whole story was altered.
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer wearing blackface was the first racebender.
by spacechampion June 30, 2010