I knew almost nothing about this show going in, but I enjoyed The Last Airbender so I decided to check it out. I heard it had problems, but no one told me it was straight-up fascist propaganda.
What I'm about to rant about isn't me reading too much into it, because the points they're trying to make are about as subtle as a horse pissing, and this is a popular franchise that all ages watch and are influenced by.
Republic City is clearly supposed to be America.
The Equalists are clearly supposed to stand-in in for a leftist group fighting against oppression. Their posters are even designed like leftist posters.
The Equalists are disadvantaged minorities, similar to MLKs civil rights movement or the woman's suffrage movement. Except in this show, these people have harder lives because they are born without superpowers, and because of this they are jealous and bitter of those who do have superpowers and want to take everyone's powers away because of jealousy.
This is akin to saying minorities aren't really oppressed, they're just genetically inferior and not 'special'. Korra straight up tells an equalist that they want to be whiny and oppressed. Our Hero, everyone.
Can't wait for the episode where Korra tells someone who can't afford cancer treatment that they're just jealous of healthy people. Hell, considering how hamfisted the Equalists as an expy for leftists is, this is like saying that leftists are jealous of healthy people and want to make everyone sick.
This isn't subtle, the way this show misrepresents the left is straight out of the Nazi propaganda playbook.
Even if you can look past the pro-fascist morals, the show is just boring. Gone is the adventure and unique fantasy setting of The Last Airbender. The show now spends most of the time focusing on a boring love triangle and an uninteresting sport. It was actually this that made me stop watching because it was so slow-paced and the characters were so unrelatable/unlikable.
I mean, The Last Airbender could be lib as shit sometimes (the Ba Sing Se episode comes to mind) but it at least was a fun adventure about defeating a fascist empire. In The Last Airbender, the hero wins by taking away the superpowers of the leader of the evil empire. Making the pro-power, pro-empire morals that The Legend of Korra is trying to put forward seem even more hypocritical and hollow.
Another thing that sucks is that I've seen most criticisms of this show are hand-waved away as people just not liking it because Korra is a "strong female lead".
Neo-Liberals hiding fascism behind progressivism, name a more iconic duo.
Anyway, that was me shitting on a show about 10 years too late, but fuck it. I had no idea it was that bad.
Mfw I actually really love the series especially season 3 for the anarchists, but yeah it’s very Obama Era neoliberalism-y and the second season sucks bad
But do you empathize with the "villains" or the hero? Cuz first and third season I couldn't not empathize with the villains.
Second season sucked in its own bad written way, instead of sucking in the horrible-message way
I can only assume the point of the entire show was to make the viewer realise that having an avatar sucks and frankly they should put the avatars back on ice
Season two basically made the avatar the embodiment of good. aka :jesus-cleanse:
It sort of did but it also failed to address why the world still needs an avatar
The problem is that you think the world means people in this analogy. The world is literally the world here and it says it needs an avatar people be damned.
Ok but there was no avatar for 100 years with no real issue on that front. Stick em in ice and bring them out whenever there's a spirit world issue
Do things without a god given chosen one? But that would actually be interesting. Also it was the energy of his past lives that kept him alive and it shorted his lifespan I think. So I think there would have to be some willingness on the avatars part. At that point why are they even in ice? Wait wasn't this the Fire Nation's plan? :thinkin-lenin:
The past avatars could have awoken Aang or let him die at anytime, but they actually wanted the Fire Nation to colonize the Earth, ie pre Yangchen dude was holding the reins the whole time
Is this from the novels or a comic I missed ? Thats horrific within the context of Raava being the spirit of good. :hillgasm::obama-drone: :biden-harbinger:
The first part could be interpreted as cannon, the second and third parts are logical deductions
The cannon is the past avatars kept Aang alive. So they could have let him die and let the cycle continue. Of course, maybe let your future self die isnt in their spirit logic
is Raava actually the spirit of good or is it just a powerful spirit
We kinda already have spirits of yin and yang, the moon and ocean spirits. This basically leaves no room to try to interpret them as anything other then cosmic good and evil. Unalag literally tries to become the "dark avatar" as well and we see them both effect the entire spirit world with there powers making them not just powerful spirits but the most powerful spirits. Remember how the moon spirit got sick and the moon was genuinely screwed when it died? Theres also even more ridiculous spirits that still recognise the avatar. Korra is literally warcrime Jesus. :jesus-cleanse: :the-doohickey:
I would disagree that being the most powerful spirit makes it analogous to Jesus. It's not the ultimate good it's just a powerful spirit that acts good
Im not exactly sure what the difference between a spirit with power over all of reality and a god is supposed to be, but its nonexistent to the people who have to deal with it.
a god sure but it's not inline with the more monotheistic notions of god you were referencing
and it isn't a spirit with power over all of reality it has an explicit equal and opposite number thus isn't all powerful
This just pedantic. There is no actual difference to the avatar world. Thats the entire problem with this story element. Also thats not how omnipotence works. Jesus is not weaker then God or the holy spirit despite them all being both god and distinct beings. Multiple omnipotent beings existing and fighting eachother is a thing in fiction.
I think you were trying to frame the spirit through a Christian view of spirituality that doesn't fit either christian belief or the depicted events of the show. They are pretty clearly two spirits of limited power that are fighting. They can even be killed
There is a difference the difference is that this spirit is just another being it has no moral right to tell the people of the world what to do than anyone else. The only thing it can point to on that front is it's power to kill
I remember it's the spirit of Good(TM)
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Roku didn't do any better, what makes you think anything would've changed if Aang stuck around and died during the genocide? Then the following water tribe avatar could have been born in the southern tribe and been killed during that genocide, leaving an earth kingdom avatar. So you've got a fresh new earth kingdom or northern water tribe avatar and they need to uh, go kill Sozin? Lead an army against the invading forces? Probably get shot full of lightning by Azulon or Ozai or Iroh in the avatar state and end the avatar cycle?
A whole lot of luck went into Aang succeeding lol
That's what the Kyoshi books are for