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I know there are many people in the Bionicle fandom who dislike art that re-interprets Bionicle characters as human or organic. I disagree. I think that humanized art can be a wonderful interpretation if it's done well. Not to mention that some Bionicle characters are already quite organic looking, like the Barraki and Piraka. However, there is a frequently-pervasive aspect of humanized art that is problematic, and that is the tendency for most or all characters to be drawn as white. This baffles me to no end. We have a group of characters who live on a tropical island, in tribal societies, with a language clearly based on, and even directly taken from, Maori? Nope, must be white people! It would be like drawing human versions of the Lion King characters, a story that takes place in central Africa, as white people. Oh wait people already do that. Other areas of the Matoran Universe don't have a cultural base (Metru Nui, Voya Nui, etc), so those characters are more up to interpretation, but Mata Nui's inspiration is obvious. I will say though, that 2015 Pohatu is so Australian it hurts, so he's definitely Aboriginal. Also, Bara Magna was based on ancient Greece and Rome, so it would be ok for a good chunk of the Agori to be white. Of course, I, or anyone else, can't really stop you from drawing white bonkles. But as socially-conscious people, we have an obligation to represent underrepresented groups. And to depict characters who are so obviously based on Pacific Islander culture as white people is insulting, and frankly, quite racist.
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