South Asia Turned America, Headdress Turned Hummingbird

Works Cited

My introduction to the Guardians universe was not The Guardians of Childhood series, but rather the movie adaptation, Rise of the Guardians. The film has been a childhood favourite of mine since it came out in 2012, and after rewatching it this semester, I was reminded of the parts I had always loved. The animation was vivid and colourful, and the found family theme helped build up the angst that gave way to a fairytale ending. But what stood out to me was how the perfect, neat ending had come at the expense of one of my favourite characters: the Tooth Fairy. Before my project, I had not read the original book series, but I was inspired to after deciding to analyse her character. I discovered how much of her heritage and background lore had been cut or changed in the movie, and I wanted to explore the implications and impact of this change on its audience. Due to the lack of POC representation in any of the main or supporting characters in Rise of the Guardians, I wondered if the oversimplified characterisation of the Tooth Fairy ran deeper than a decision out of convenience or a lack of run time. Additionally, I had grown up unhappy at my primarily white Catholic school, but later moved to a majority East and South Asian school for middle and high school. Even as a young kid, I saw the importance of feeling represented among my peers, which I valued in the books and movies I consumed. 

These examples are among many and are simply some of the most popular controversies in American movies aimed at children. I wanted to highlight with this table that though these women are from various ethnic backgrounds, they all received hatred online for replacing a traditionally white character. Additionally, with the case of Avantika, it is not even necessary for the POC actress to be actually cast for her to receive backlash. However, there is also the reverse situation, where white actors play the roles of characters of colour, erasing the culture of that character. These situations may not always seem to face the same backlash, which I believe shows a “Eurocentric” view, or a “tendency to interpret the world in terms of European or Anglo-American values and experiences” (“Eurocentric”), in American narratives and among American audiences. The same people who may bash young actresses like Jeffries are unlikely to have that same outrage for the replacement of a POC character, because the white representation fits their “Anglo-American values.”

Aside from the cultural context of racial change in American narrative media, it’s important to establish the universe of The Guardians of Childhood. Rise of the Guardians is the 2012 film adaptation of a series called The Guardians of Childhood by William Joyce. In an interview with MediaMikes, Joyce explains how The Guardians of Childhood series explains the origin stories of popular childhood figures, such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, and how they assemble over time to form a league of guardians against antagonist Pitch Black, or the Boogeyman (Joyce). His lore establishes a battle between good, who seek to protect children and uphold values such as wonder and hope, and evil, which seeks to instil fear and gain power. The 5 novels in the series focus on Nicholas St. North as Santa Claus, Queen “Tooth” Toothiana as the Tooth Fairy, E. Aster Bunnymund as the Easter Bunny, Sanderson “Sandy” Mansnoozie as the Sandman, and Jackson “Jack” Frost respectively. However, other guardians include Katherine as Mother Goose, Ombric Shalazar as Father Time, and the supporting character of the Man in the Moon. In contrast, he explains how the movie “takes place 200 years after the team’s formation in the books; it tells the story of Jack’s recruitment to the team and centers around four of the guardians; Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny” (Joyce). The movie is set in modern times, whereas the books are set in the past, leaving those “200 years” as a sandbox of lore where anything could have happened. This change could serve to explain any plot differences between the books and the movies. However, as invested in his universe Joyce is, he claims that the movie is “center[ed] around four of the guardians,” but leaves out the fifth guardian of the Sandman, even though he has a pivotal role in the movie. This interview was a few days before the release of Rise of the Guardians, and in between the publishing of two of his books about Sandy. So, Joyce forgetting one of his main characters, despite having recently written about him, suggests to me a possible bias toward characters he has written about more, such as Jack. Due to my project’s focus on the Tooth Fairy, I found that this bias also seemed to extend to her, as there were very few posts from Joyce on his Tumblr or Instagram accounts, or even in his interviews. However, I specifically examined the third book in his series, Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies. There seems to be no sign of the Boogeyman after their battle with him in the last book, making this story set in a Golden Age after his defeat (Joyce 3-4). After the main character, Katherine, loses a tooth, the characters predict a visit from the Tooth Fairy, who has yet to be introduced as a guardian. 

While examining her lore in Toothiana: Queen of Tooth Fairy Armies, it becomes clear that Toothiana draws on South Asian culture. Her mother, Rashmi, is first prefaced as a Sister of Flight, part of “an immortal race of winged women who ruled the city of Punjam Hy Loo, which sits atop the steepest mountain in the mysterious lands of the Farthest East” (Joyce 72). Her city of Punjam Hy Loo is said to be in the “Farthest East,” where the “East” is typically used by Westerners to refer to Asia. The “steepest mountain” on Earth is Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, and is also the tallest mountain in Asia. So, Joyce establishes that Toothiana’s place of origin is in the Himalayas, which are geographically in South Asia. Her father, Haroom, was born a slave and served as an advisor to an Indian king, referred to as the maharaja (Joyce 72). This background implies that Tooth’s father is culturally from or geographically near India and grew up there in the king’s palace. Furthermore, in the official art in the book, Haroom is depicted as wearing a pleated headscarf. In a Seattle Times article on the description and purpose of various turbans and scarves from South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, they explain that “Indian men sometimes wear turbans to signify their class, caste, profession or religious affiliation” (“Understanding turbans”). This seems to align closely with Haroom’s “class” or status as the closest companion to the king. It also explains how “Sikh men commonly wear a peaked turban[, and]... Sikhism originated in northern India and Pakistan” (“Understanding turbans”). This “peaked” shape aligns closely with Haroom’s turban due to it having an angular, tall, triangular structure seen in the official art. So, his turban is most likely of Indian, or even specifically Sikh origin. Additionally, styles from other regions are either associated with Islam or are designed to cover the eyes to protect the wearer from desert weather (“Understanding Turbans”). Haroom is not described as living in the desert, so it's unlikely he would be wearing a North African turban. Though he is not connected to any religion, including Islam or Sikhism, the Muslim turbans are typically circular or cone-shaped (“Understanding Turban”), which Haroom’s is not. Overall, both of Toothiana’s parents are rooted in South Asian culture, and the city where she was born, which later became her palace, is in South Asia.

When viewing fan interpretations of her movie self, such as the picture above, smaller details in Toothiana’s design become clearer. Her gold has been turned into patterns of gold feathers where the jewellery used to be. This replacement seemed to apply to earrings. At first glance, they may still look like earrings, but she no longer has visible ears, which makes it likely that they have been turned into a set of yellow feathers. Additionally, while her book design’s blue eyes may not be typical for a South Asian, they are much more realistic and feasible for a human compared to her movie design’s purple eyes. Her lore of those winged warriors and her parents is also never mentioned in the movies, erasing her past that’s rooted in her South Asian heritage. These changes take away from her identity in the books, which is balanced between the human and non-human worlds, thus eroding the core that makes her more grounded with the children she seeks to protect.

I added these images because they were the depictions I had in my head when hearing the word “wedded” used to connect those two. The first image is one that came up when searching for a wedding picture with no cultural or racial characteristics attached. This shows me that weddings between a white couple are the typical example in America when talking about weddings. Additionally, having a white dress as a “neutral” or pure colour is a Western custom. This practice is why I added the second picture of an Indian wedding to show that not all cultures use white dresses or follow the West, which is why Western couples should not be the forefront example. I argue that when race seems to be invisible, it simply means that it has been replaced by Anglo-American values so normalised that they have been looked past. And, by taking away Toothiana’s “context,” she has been labelled as white by default, highlighting that whiteness becomes a baseline to a problematic extent. So, by taking away the fact that Toothiana was born and raised by South Asian parents in a village in the Himalayas, her culture has been erased. This cultural erasure is due to William Joyce's choices, even if he was not the sole decision-maker.

This picture of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina depicts a group of people waiting in line for a shelter. I felt this photograph was a good representation of the local communities in New Orleans affected by the hurricane. I also liked that it showed a large group, which makes it less likely that the photo was simply cherry-picking one racial group. It shows a diverse demographic, including people of many races, making it clear that the community was not all white. This “distortion in the retelling of history” has also occurred in The Guardians of Childhood, erasing the South Asian roots of Tooth’s hometown of Punjam Hy Loo. So, Joyce's removal of history and culture in his other stories reveals a pattern in his works that I argue is present in The Guardians of Childhood towards Toothiana. In The Fantastic Flying Books, the white main character implies that New Orleans itself has always been a predominantly white community, rather than a vague location with a vague history that pretends to be detached from race. Toothiana's Punjam Hy Loo rides a thin line between these two, being a fictional place with history only established in Joyce's lore, unlike New Orleans, which has centuries of history that is "ret[old]." However, with an explicitly stated location of the Himalayas and plenty of ties to Hindu and Buddhist mythology, I think erasing all of these references rewrites Punjam Hy Loo to be a place of a "predominantly white community" instead of one that was deeply centred on South Asia. This twisting of history connects to how some Western authors avoid race to keep children’s literature neutral, but it is often unrealistic, as kids will eventually be forced to confront their community history and racial background. 

Additionally, I wanted to include this photo, which depicts a selection of Stephen King’s books, because it highlights the variety of his genres and plots. It features titles like The Eyes of the Dragon, a classic fantasy story, Rose Madder, a horror novel based on Greek mythology, and Desperation, a horror novel more typical of his style. Many of these works are in the horror genre, with dark themes, but they also feature a diversity of other themes, settings, and styles. So, I felt like the differences between his works highlight how he had explored his interests within and outside of the horror genre. So, one must accept what really appeals to them, rather than hiding those interests or choosing the more traditional or lucrative path. This process of introspection helps someone understand what truly motivates them, which is essential to finding oneself and recovering one’s history and past memories.

So, I added this close-up image of a red gemstone to symbolise Tooth’s past. Its deep colour reminds me of the bloodshed she had endured from losing her parents. When zooming in on the gem's face, we can see many triangular reflections of light and a deep, layered view. Each facet, to me, represents a memory from Toothiana, making the gemstone's top view reflect both her traumatic past and her ongoing self-reflection. Additionally, the way the stone reflects the light suggests to me that each gem is unique in its carving, even though there may be standard cuts for each type of gemstone. This reminds me of the point Dykstra is making: each person may have a unique background, but exploring that history can reveal connections within the community. This note also shows how Toothiana’s backstory as the Tooth Fairy is deeply rooted in her parents' values, as shown by how they kept her childhood teeth and taught her to use them in trying times. So, it is especially problematic that her background is removed from the movies, as it is integral to her identity as a guardian. Additionally, the removal of this background means Toothiana can no longer use her past to connect with others around her who share similar stories. And as a guardian of children, this diminishes her ability to connect with those she has sworn to protect. 

So, I added these two images of Pennsylvania between the 20th and 21st centuries to highlight the differences. The first picture is in black-and-white and shows a 20th-century mansion. The more modern picture is in colour and depicts a long street with many storefronts. The 20th-century building is almost gothic in nature and extremely tall, as seen when using the people along the street as a reference. However, the 21st-century street is much shorter but wider, and has many colourful signs, highlighting the clear difference in architecture. What stands out to me, though, is how similar the trees and the road signs look in both photographs. This shows to me that a setting having some enduring or common features is not mutually exclusive to having been transformed. Additionally, I tried to find a modern photo of the mansion in the first photo, but the photographer claims it was burnt down in 1980 (Peter A. B. Widener House). With that fact and with these images in general, I wanted to emphasise how much can change in a physical location over one time skip, just as Thakore emphasises how much South Asian representation can change in that same amount of time. Additionally, large jumps in a temporal setting, such as a 200-year shift, result in significant changes to the generations featured. The perspectives of South Asians in America vary widely, even within generations. Many South Asians who immigrated for “financial and professional success… were able to experience upward social mobility as a result of the educational capital they brought with them. Additionally, their success influenced the success of their children and proceeding generations” (Thakore 150). This narrative starts by saying that South Asian immigrants were looking for “success,” were able to find “upward social mobility,” and passed along “their success” to their children. So, this implies that by “experienc[ing] upward social mobility,” they were able to achieve “financial and professional success.” I argue that this conflation of “success” with Thakore’s earlier use of “financial and professional success” shows a priority to social success. So, for professional and educated South Asians, success in American Eurocentric society is more important than success in one’s career, even in the modern, capitalistic American workforce. Additionally, by saying that an immigrant’s “success influence[s] the success of their children,” Thakore shows that it’s not as simple as a hand-me-down where a parent’s hard work guarantees benefits for their children. Instead, a successful environment can create opportunities for first-generation immigrants to find it for themselves. Finally, revisiting the earlier conflation of different types of success raises a new question: is it necessary for the children of immigrants to come from a “financial[ly] and professional[ly] success[ful]” or will thriving socially also influence their ability to achieve economic and career stability? I argue that with Thakore’s choice of wording, with social success highlighted, the answer to this question is yes. Nevertheless, it is clear that the hardships and prosperity of a South Asian’s parents will impact them, showing that generations of immigrants can have vastly different lives and opportunities. So, even within a single time span, generations of immigrant Americans can change significantly. This development connects to how geographic and cultural locations can also be deeply impacted by a time shift.

This responsibility that teachers of young children have is why I included this image. The photograph is of a group of elementary schoolers’ art project made of paper figures, which is described as a look into self-expression (Children's Art Projects). Despite being self-portraits, there is a clear blueprint in the art, with matching blue pants and outlines. These parallels represent the influence of the teacher giving them instructions, even if the teacher had no intention to do so. Many of the children seem inspired by each other, seen with similar hairstyles and drawings on their shirts, which could show how kids “transmit” language and values to other students. This connects back to educators having a responsibility to correct students with harmful preconceptions, which can be done by introducing certain literature. Another sign of what is authentic to Asian culture is the author's background. Even in the cases where “cultural details are portrayed more accurately, when “outsiders” write about Asians, they often miss aspects of what is authentic to those who are native to Asia” (Harlin and Morgan 189). Their wording states a key difference between “accuracy” and “authentic[ity].” Thus, White American authors can be accurate to a certain extent when writing Asian characters, and may be able to write about some “cultural details” and “aspects.” However, they are unable to become fully authentic because they are “outsiders” to Asian culture. “[O]utsider” has one meaning of someone who doesn’t belong to a certain culture, and one of someone who is not accepted by it. This wording made me wonder if it would go beyond people who don’t belong, such as non-Asians, and people who may not be accepted or may not feel a sense of belonging, such as mixed-race Asians or children of immigrants. However, the authors use “native to” instead of “Asian natives.” Using “Asian native” would mean only people born in Asia, including Asians in Asia and Asian immigrants. So, their use of “native to” removes this exclusivity and extends the term to include non-outsiders from Asia, such as first- and second-generation immigrants and half-Asian Americans. Overall, authenticity is impossible to recognise for those who are not from the culture that they are writing about, at least for Asian American characters. But authenticity is also essential, as it helps educators know which children’s books to teach and which to avoid. 

The perspective of authors exploring the impact of Asian American representation added to those exploring Eurocentricity. Scholars researching representation provided context on why changing a character’s history or location is harmful and why an authentic portrayal of racial minorities is so important in children’s literature. Nasara challenged the perspective of authors like Joyce, establishing that getting rid of “the characters’ contexts reveal[s]... the cultural imperatives of whiteness as it is wedded with neutrality” (240). So, she argues that writing characters without their cultural backgrounds is harmful because it creates “whiteness” as a neutral baseline. When Harlin and Morgan explored authenticity in children’s books, they determined that “when “outsiders” write about Asians, they often miss aspects of what is authentic to those who are native to Asia” (189). Non-Asian authors fail to connect to Asian American audiences and may delete or change what is really central to the cultures they write about. This finding may explain why Eurocentric authors remove ethnic contexts, as they may be “outsiders” to the culture and do not understand the importance of what they are excluding. This outsider label applies to Joyce, a White American, who had control over the “d]esign, story, and casting” (Joyce) in Rise of the Guardians. Nasara also goes beyond removing a character’s racial background, and claims that “distortion[s] in the retelling of history is one way that black characters are rendered invisible or whitewashed in children’s books” (244). So, “retelling” the history of a community is a form of “whitewashing. She also found that in one of Joyce’s other books, having a white main character altered perceptions of the book’s setting of New Orleans, a mainly Black community (243-4). I argue that not explicitly keeping Toothiana as South Asian rewrites the people of the Himalayas, where she is from. So, changes to a character’s setting, or even having a central character be white in a diverse community, can dictate how that book conveys race. I believe this connects to Thakore’s research, which shows that each generation of South Asian immigrants had different opportunities and representation in American television. She found that history and location were deeply tied, as South Asian representation changed from “Indians in India… [to] Indian and South Asian characters in an American, usually urban, environment” (Thakore 152). So, the setting shifted from India to America, to a modern environment that reflects a connection between more South Asian characters and modernisation. I believe that Nasara established that a character’s race in a story can shape the environment, and Thakore adds to this by saying that this environment can shape representation. Additionally, authors like Joyce may believe that it’s beneficial to remove race to protect children from racism. However, this view is naive because children “encountering painful situations [around race] is inevitable… [and] the child who is a member of the targeted group sustains deeper wounds” (Nasara 242). So, because children are bound to see the constructs of race and racism, the only group that is protected from the removal of race in children’s books is white children. They do not have the “deeper wounds” from racism in everyday life, and are not challenged by opposing views in their books. Harlin and Morgan give additional support to this idea, and add that a child’s learned racial intolerance can be swayed by children’s literature with representations of minorities. They argue that teachers must be responsible “because children’s books transmit values and are more than just resources to teach reading” (Harlin and Morgan 189). So, novels with stereotypic representation of Asian Americans and other minorities can impact a child’s view, perpetuating the “deeper wounds” (Nasara 242). This eliminates the idea that Eurocentric authors may have that erasing racism is harmless or that it may have no impact on children. 

The psychological researchers and scholars also illustrated the harms of Eurocentric authors like Joyce. They point out the importance of memory, including personal memories and understanding one’s history, and reveal the issue with removing or changing a character’s background. Drawing on the work of psychologists and theologians, Dykstra argues that Jack from Rise of the Guardians could fully understand himself only by "reclaiming a repressed and traumatic childhood past" (707). So, he establishes why personal history and personal identity cannot exist or be built upon without the other. This adds to Nasara’s claim that removing “the characters’ contexts… provide a mechanism for readers to ignore elements that do not reflect and affirm their lived experiences” (Nasara 240). So, deleting a character’s racial identity confirms to white readers that that identity was not important. However, just as Jack needed his memories to understand who he was, cultural history can help audiences understand fictional characters and identify with them. By removing Toothiana's South Asian origins, Rise of the Guardians takes away a part of her identity that makes her distinct. Additionally, it is important to accept every part of yourself, and let yourself “to be interested in what interests [you] despite the shame” (Dykstra 709). Dykstra mainly discusses this in the context of personal interests and passions, but after reviewing Nasara’s work, I would expand this to cultural identity as well. Eurocentric authors may write books that allow “readers to ignore elements that do not reflect… their lived experiences” because it may be too difficult or shameful to accept anything else. So, it is difficult to understand one’s own culture in the context of American society without exploring the world views of people with other “lived experiences.” Furthermore, if someone has not accepted or explored the significance of their own ethnic background, they are stopping themself from true self-reflection and growth. So, the removal of Toothiana’s background robs her, and any audience member that related to her, of the opportunity to understand their culture, let alone other cultures. This is especially significant because of Toothiana’s personal connection to her childhood memories. Her parents reminded her that in difficult times, she must “remember that which [she] need[s]– a memory of happy days, or of deepest hopes” (Joyce 93), or of her family. By accepting both her memories that were traumatic and those that reminded her of better times, she could conquer the difficulties that came her way. Memories, including one’s racial background, are extremely important for self-discovery and to understand others, and the removal or loss of these memories can serve to reinforce cultural erasure.  

The Tooth Fairy has changed in many ways between The Guardians of Childhood series and The Rise of the Guardians movie, particularly in her design, time period, geographic origin, and family background. In the books, Toothiana’s hometown and palace were stated to be in the Himalayas, and her parents both originated from and lived in South Asia. The time shift in Rise of the Guardians also changes the generations depicted and gives Tooth a different background. After considering the various perspectives, I believe these changes were made because Toothiana’s culture was deemed not important enough to retain, which reflects a Eurocentric view. These changes are also harmful because of the importance of self-reflection, as erasing someone’s background robs them of the chance for full self-acceptance and success. Finally, the differences between her film and book selves affect young Asian American audiences, as cultural authenticity in children’s literature can teach kids to question racial stereotypes. These findings connect to an aspect I was unable to fully explore. While researching Toothiana’s parents, I found that the Indian king that her father worked for later became a villain and was turned into a monkey. As an Indian American, I’ve heard “monkey” being used as a slur and have seen many harmful stereotypes around the word. So, I wondered about the harmful stereotypes or generalisations about South Asians that were hidden in this story. Other questions arose while researching her backstory, and I hope to explore this topic in the future. Toothiana’s mother was a member of the Sisters of Flight, which may have originated in the kinnari, a winged hybrid from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Her origin story also mentions elephant armies and a winged elephant, which have adjacent myths in Hinduism and Indian cultural stories. Other parts of her design also remain unsolved or underexplored for me. When examining the book cover, I noticed that her clothing was very similar to a South Asian shalwar kameez. She is also wearing some facial make-up, and its white base and swirls reminded me of Burmese thanaka. Additionally, as someone with a passion for fiction writing, I think I’ve learned the value of diverse racial representation and proper background research for ethnic minorities after this project. I also see the impact of continuity across different media, and how changes made without regard for this cohesion can be more harmful than they seem. For example, changes to Toothiana’s design that may seem simply like a different character look had repercussions for her cultural expression. The same is true for differences in setting, such as a time skip, or plot, such as removing background information. Though it may seem necessary to cut some of a character’s backstory, I think changes like that should be compensated for in other ways when that backstory contains their cultural heritage. For example, though Rise of the Guardians did not have the run time for Toothiana’s history,  filmmakers could’ve given her clearer South Asian clothing or made her palace’s setting of the Himalayas explicit. Overall, though the project’s scope limited what I could explore, I learned many skills that helped me become a better writer.

Zahed, Ramin. The Art of Rise of the Guardians. Titan Books, 2012.