I wish Korra actually showed that life was worse for non-benders. Other than the one scene with the gangsters Korra fights in episode 1, we don't see at all how benders are the ruling class. We should have had scenes of proles walking to work while waterbenders surf past on a magic wave and drench them all in slime water. We should have seen non-benders struggle for warmth in their apartment that doesn't have power, while a firebender lights a cigarette outside. Or a bricklayer breaking their back while an earth bender walks by and casually tosses it aside as a joke. Instead it seemed like most benders tooks care of most public utilities: metal police, electricity bending power grids, water bending healers. Give the Equalists a good reason to fight, don't just cop out with "there are gangsters who bend."
benders made up the entire police force & the governing body. even in the text of the show unsympathetic to the equal-guys those conditions are textbook intolerable. fuckssake the avatar's son whose tribe is all of 6 people got an equal say to the earth, water, and fire people
But we don't see any affects of that. The Metal Bending police aren't shown oppressing non-benders. The Council isn't shown making decisions that favor benders. They aren't shown doing anything really other than responding to the Equalists. It's a purely liberal understanding of government where representation is all that matters, aesthetics.
For instance the victory for non-benders is shown to be having an (I think elected) non-bender president. But what actually changes from that? Metal Benders are still the police, benders are still the military. My complaint is that they only show the surface level, which is why the Equalist movement feels so hollow.
I wish Korra actually showed that life was worse for non-benders. Other than the one scene with the gangsters Korra fights in episode 1, we don't see at all how benders are the ruling class. We should have had scenes of proles walking to work while waterbenders surf past on a magic wave and drench them all in slime water. We should have seen non-benders struggle for warmth in their apartment that doesn't have power, while a firebender lights a cigarette outside. Or a bricklayer breaking their back while an earth bender walks by and casually tosses it aside as a joke. Instead it seemed like most benders tooks care of most public utilities: metal police, electricity bending power grids, water bending healers. Give the Equalists a good reason to fight, don't just cop out with "there are gangsters who bend."
benders made up the entire police force & the governing body. even in the text of the show unsympathetic to the equal-guys those conditions are textbook intolerable. fuckssake the avatar's son whose tribe is all of 6 people got an equal say to the earth, water, and fire people
But we don't see any affects of that. The Metal Bending police aren't shown oppressing non-benders. The Council isn't shown making decisions that favor benders. They aren't shown doing anything really other than responding to the Equalists. It's a purely liberal understanding of government where representation is all that matters, aesthetics.
For instance the victory for non-benders is shown to be having an (I think elected) non-bender president. But what actually changes from that? Metal Benders are still the police, benders are still the military. My complaint is that they only show the surface level, which is why the Equalist movement feels so hollow.
Equalist techniques would've been actual good ways to detain benders safely. But instead they do super brutal techniques like hurling rocks at people.
So that checks out for policing in the world.
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