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Those Absurdities... They Need An Arbiter

@arbiterofabsurdities

she/her | too damn old for this shit | bi-bi-bi | fan of many things | will spam you with ships | currently binging an ungodly amount of (sports) anime | AO3: archiveofourown.org/users/arbiterofabsurdities
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endless-nightshift

Something Something Avatar The Last Airbender was fundamentally about showing the horrible long-lasting effects of both war and violence in a grand sense (the way people suffer under fire nation occupation including the air nomad genocide and the state of the southern water tribe) but also a personal sense (zukos entire arch) and the show goes to great lengths to avoid glorifying war, often specifically choosing only depict the aftermath of terrible violence while not graphically depicting the violence itself.

And I think it's a profound misunderstanding, maybe even an insult to the source text to continually depict gratuitous death and violence as a focal point of the live action.

#jessie gender made this point in a recent video and it’s so well…. on point#we do not need further depictions of genocide or horrible graphic violence to drive home the violence of colonialism#we do not need retraumatization#we need stories about the impact#about how the intentional destruction of culture and lives is an ongoing trauma with so many layers and further impacts#we do not need to revel in airbender CGI as they are burned alive#we need to understand what the loss of this people and their values and culture and community has on the world…#and on Aang#i have not watched the live action nor will I#I am offended by so many aspects of the story they have chosen to tell#and at the fact that they have missed the deeply political message of Atla#this show made me who I am#it made me the person who asks annoying and awkward questions that have complex answers that I can’t even determine#this show taught me how to listen and then let me come to my own conclusions without shoving them in my face#it taught me in a post-911 world to not be complicit and speak up and amplify and rage#I am so grateful for that having grown up in a conservative household#I would not have been able to unthink myself from the box I was molded into without this and many other lessons#we are in a pro-war and still deeply colonialist time… we need more stories that question the supposed purpose of war#and openly defy any propagandist takes that violence must be shown and glorified to be understood and felt
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therandommoogle

Katara and the fight for equal opportunity

Disclaimer: I have not watched the Netflix adaption. Still deciding if I want to. I just saw the show trending and decided to talk about Katara in a general sense

There's an overlooked aspect of Katara's fight against Pakku that I feel needs to be acknowledged

Katara wasn't trying to prove her strength

Katara was trying to prove her potential

Waterbender is a martial art. There's a limit to how far you can go without guidance and experience. Katara understands this, which is why she kept insisting on Master Pakku teaching her

Katara's not talented. She's no prodigy. When she was teaching herself, she was constantly messing up. By her own admittance, she needed an entire month to master push and pulling the water. That's why she got upset when Aang seemed to pick it up so quickly

Katara can't just work harder. She needs to work smarter, too, and the best way to do that is to have a teacher who respects her enough to offer experience beyond her years and history she deserves to be taught

It's also important to remember that Pakku's teachings are not the only things Katara learns throughout the show. It's not like all her skills come directly from a man. He is one of the many steps that helped her reach new heights

Katara didn't care about proving her strength

Katara wanted to show that she's just as hardworking and determined as any boy Pakku had trained as long as she was given a chance

#I will not be watching the live action and I need to shut up about it bc I’m legit losing friends#but this is important#the battles in atla are NEVER about strength#they are meant to show you something else#Katara vs Pakku: your perception of my worth is wrong and archaic watch me demonstrate why#Sokka vs. Suki (yes in training): Sokka must learn humility and to overcome his limited perspective and respect a fellow warrior#Katara vs Azula: again your perception of me as an unimportant and worthless peasant is flawed I will outsmart you no matter your skills#Toph vs The Boulder: you underestimate me at your peril and lack awareness beyond your own sense of self importance#Zuko vs Azula: you underestimated my determination and the hope that now resides in me because of my friends and journey#Sokka vs Piandao: you are more skilled than I will ever be but I will use the gifts I have and that you have taught me to value#these aren’t just fights#these are lessons#beautiful and insightful pieces of storytelling#character building that shows you who they are in that moment and how they have grown and changed#one more…#Aang vs Ozai: your brute strength will not overcome hope and self-determination and freedom and the wisdom I have learned#avatar the last airbender#atla
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