Avatar Book One “The Blue Spirit”
06 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar, TV Shows Tags: Aang, Avatar, Katara, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zhang, Zuko
This episode is an excellent follow-up to the last episode, “The Storm”.
In this episode, Aang and Zuko work together, without ever knowing it — well, without Aang knowing it. After Aang is captured by the Fire Nation (while bringing back some frozen frogs for Katara and Sokka), a man in a blue mask sneaks into the fortress and frees him. This man doesn’t speak, but he works with Aang to escape from the Fire Nation. Right at the last second, though, they don’t make it over the last wall, and they’re trapped by soldiers. The blue-masked man brings his swords to Aang’s neck, prompting Zhang to let them both go. After being hit by an arrow, the blue-masked man passes out. Aang goes to help him, and he sees a scar underneath the right eye socket. He lifts off the mask and discovers that it’s Prince Zuko!
Aang could run and save himself, or he could also save Zuko. He almost leaves alone — this is the villain who has been chasing him all over the place. But he thinks about how he just saved him from the Fire Nation fortress, and Aang does the right thing and brings Zuko to safety.
When Zuko wakes up, Aang tells a story about how he loved playing with one of his best friends, who was from the Fire Nation — and he wonders if he and Zuko would have been friends had they been given the chance. This scene foreshadows a possible friendship between the two. Building upon the stories from the last episode, it provides even more depth to Zuko’s character, making him even less the heartless villain. Zuko’s last scene in the episode is genius for this cause. He’s resting on his ship and he looks at the Fire Nation flag, and he bitterly turns away. One must infer what he was thinking, but I think it’s pretty obvious that he may have been resentful at his people — thinking about how a Fire Nation boy a hundred years ago could be friends with an Airbender.
The content of this and the last episode is what I love about this show. The show could have kept a predictable and boring trajectory of the hero and the villain, always fighting against each other. Everyone does that. But in this show, they’ve started weaving the two together, showing their similarities, showing their depth, making you feel for both the hero and the villain — changing the perceptions of the words “hero” and “villain”. As I concluded the last episode, it starts showing how everyone has their own backstory; everyone is not who they appear to be.
Avatar Book One “The Storm”
06 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar, TV Shows Tags: Aang, Avatar, Katara, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zuko
This is a beautifully crafted episode — full of character development (and I’m all about character development!)
The episode alternates between Aang’s and Zuko’s pasts.
The clever thing about this episode is that through the flashbacks, Zuko is the one who is the more noble one — even though he is the “villain” of the show. Aang’s backstory is that he was told he was the Avatar. At a young age, he was thrust with immense responsibility into a world of burgeoning war. His friends started treating him differently, and he overheard the decision to separate him from his guardian, Gyatso. Aang, overcome with fear and hopelessness, ran away.
Zuko’s backstory is that he, eager to learn as much about his future kingdom as possible, convinces his uncle, Iroh, to allow him into a war meeting. He’s told not to speak, but when he hears the general’s plan to sacrifice a battalion of soldiers, Zuko speaks out against injustice. As a punishment for his disrespect, he’s to participate in a duel — the kicker is that the Fire Lord was ultimately the one disrespected, so he is to battle his own father. His outburst, while out of place, was a noble thing for him to do. Then, when he’s standing before his father in battle, he again does the noble thing and refuses to fight. His father does not accept his unwillingness to duel, and he “teaches” him respect by unleashing his fiery wrath on his face — giving him the hideous scar he forever bears.
These two different stories show these two characters in different lights. It brings sympathy to Zuko, and it brings some disappointment towards Aang. Aang, the hero, the Avatar, ran away from his duty. His punishment is coming back to the world, 100 years later, only to find that his entire nation has been destroyed. Zuko, the villain, actually is a righteous man, albeit with a fiery temper, but he’s been punished for his good qualities.
The episode meshes their stories together via a storm. This storm resembles the storm that overtook Aang when he tried to run away, where he instinctively saved himself in a ball of ice. While he tries to save Katara, Sokka, and the fisherman, a giant tidal wave pushes them into the sea. This time Aang isn’t alone; he’s with the people that he loves, and that motivates him to escape the sea and continue his mission. He could have escaped into another ball of ice, away from the responsibility to save the world, but he redeems himself by surging out of the sea (which could be interpreted as his mental/dream state) and into the air (consciousness). As flees the storm, Zuko and Aang exchange glances — sharing an unknown bond. Their relationship is more complicated than hero-villain.
I love this episode, because I love character development. I love this episode also because it shows Zuko in a different light. Sure, he can be a real jerk, but if you begin to understand his past and his motivations, he’s a lot more accessible than anticipated. The lesson with this episode is that so is everyone in the world. Don’t judge so quickly.
Avatar Book One “Jet”
02 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar, TV Shows Tags: Aang, Appa, Avatar, Katara, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zuko
This episode focuses on Sokka.
The backdrops in this episode are quite beautiful. It must be autumn, because the leaves are all bright red — giving a nice contrast with the golden light of the sun.
As the gang prepares to leave for the next leg of their journey, Sokka expresses that they probably shouldn’t fly anymore. Zuko tends to find them, because he thinks that Appa is really easy to track. He brings up his instincts and that he really feels like following them.
The gang follows Sokka’s lead, and they end up walking into a Fire Nation camp. Trapped, the gang is prepared to fight the 20+ group of Fire Nation soldiers, when suddenly a group of rogues arrive and neutralize the soldiers. Jet, the leader of the group, mesmerizes Katara and impresses Aang. Sokka isn’t entirely taken by him.
This episode focuses on Sokka’s leadership and warrior skills. Katara and Aang follow his lead in the beginning just to humor him; they don’t really believe that his instincts are correct. The truth of the matter, though, is that Sokka’s warrior skills are very impressive in this episode. He cuts down the monkey-trapping cages down with his boomerang; he uses his knife to detect the footsteps of an approaching stranger; and he stealthily follows Jet and his gang in the dark. Sokka, for the most part, is comic relief and he is depicted merely as an adequate warrior — but this episode proves that he is good at what he does. What really pains Sokka is that Katara and Aang don’t trust him entirely; they stick up for Jet, whom they have only just met.
Jet, who does have good intentions, proves to be a very flawed character. His hatred towards the Fire Nation has skewed his perspective. He used to fight against the Fire Nation and protect the innocent, but he’s reached a place where he’s willing to sacrifice innocent people in order to hurt the Fire Nation. Katara and Aang finally break out of their hero-worshiping bubble and realize that Sokka is the one they should have trusted the entire time — and it’s Sokka who saves the day.
This episode shows that there’s more to Sokka then comic relief; he’s a crucial part of the team.
This episode also shows some of Katara’s new moves. She can bend water out of her canteen and use it as a whip. She can also freeze water with her breath — which is pretty badass. Katara’s skills are improving!
Avatar Book One “Winter Solstice: Parts 1 & 2″
27 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar, TV Shows Tags: Aang, Appa, Avatar, Iroh, Katara, Roku, Sokka, Sozin's Comet, The Last Airbender, Zuko
I didn’t use my time very wisely last quarter, and I’m going to now try to cram in the rest of the series in the next 8 weeks — in preparation to recital-theme research.
These two episodes revolve around the ability of the Avatar to access the spirit world. As the Avatar, he/she acts as a bridge between the earthly world and the spirit world. In Part 1, Aang is asked by a village to help them get rid of a spirit that kidnaps villagers every night. Aang struggles with something that he’s had to struggle with before — and something he will struggle with in the future — which is his lack of training. People around the world have grown up with the stories of the past Avatars and the various abilities that they have, but Aang is only 12 — and he’s been frozen in an iceberg for 100 years, so he’s out of the loop. He genuinely wants to help, but he’s not sure how he can. He encounters the spirit and finds himself stuck in the spirit world, but his time there gives him some insight on how to speak with Avatar Roku.
An interesting juxtaposition occurs in this first part. It opens with Aang being childlike and silly, jumping off of a flying Appa for fun. The next scene cuts to Zuko, urging his uncle to get out of the hot springs so they can go. Iroh tries to persuade Zuko to relax a little bit in the water, but Zuko is stubborn in his plans. These two scenes show the opposite ends of the spectrum. Aang still has some maturing to do; he indulges in his childish desires. Zuko is too serious, and he doesn’t give himself a break. It’s important to note this comparison, because it shows how both characters must learn a little about the other character’s personality in order to be a well-rounded warrior for success.
The second part takes the gang to the Fire Nation. This is the first time we hear about an important comet. The gang heads to a crescent island, and Zuko’s ship closely follows. They run into a Fire Nation barricade; Aang’s group maneuvers past it and Zhao allows Zuko to pass through so he can follow him to the Avatar. When Aang and the gang arrive, they are stopped by 5 Fire Sages who used to support the Avatar (whomever he/she may be) but now support the Fire Lord. Aang, Katara, and Sokka run, trying to find the place where Aang can speak with Avatar Roku, but one of the Sages finds them and tells them that he still supports the Avatar and pledges to help Aang. They find their way to a locked door that can only be opened by Firebending. They trick the other Sages and Zuko to open the door, and Aang dashes inside. Once the sun of the Solstice shines on Roku’s statue, Aang and Roku talk about Sozin’s Comet — that which gives the Fire Nation even more power than they already possess. It was at the comet’s first coming that gave the Fire Nation enough power to start the war, and it’s at the comet’s next coming — the end of the summer — when the Fire Nation will be able to win the war for good. Roku gives Aang a very hurried mission: to master the other three elements before then, so he can stop the Fire Lord before the comet’s next coming.
Then, to help Aang escape from the Fire Nation ambush that awaits him, Roku performs an impressive display of Firebending that helps Aang and the gang escape. Roku had tremendous power, and it shows the kind of power that Aang can have as his powers grow.
Avatar Book One “The King of Omashu”
27 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar Tags: Aang, Avatar, Katara, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zuko
First off, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all! I hope you had a nice day and I hope you have a great New Year.
This post will be pretty short; this is a pretty straightforward episode.
This episode is unique because it’s the first episode of the series where Prince Zuko and his side of the story hasn’t been included. This episode focused solely on Aang and a lesson he has to learn, as the Avatar.
Aang detours to Omashu, an Earth Nation city. The city is an elaborate labyrinth of shoots and slides, used as a mailing system, but Aang comes to Omashu just to ride them. After losing control and creating a ruckus, the gang is escorted to the King of Omashu, who, instead of punishes them, throws them a feast.
Upon seeing Aang, the king tricks him into showing his Airbending power, outing him as the Avatar. The king then challenges Aang to 3 challenges, and he puts creeping crystal on Katara and Sokka so that Aang has to accept his challenge.
The three challenges make Aang think outside the box. Aang is physically capable of a lot, but these challenges show that physicality is not everything. Once he completes the three challenges, the king asks Aang what his name is. Recalling a memory he had of a childhood friend in the city of Omashu, he realizes that the old king is Bumi (André Sogliuzzo). The lesson that he teaches Aang in this episode is to “think like a mad genius”.
Avatar Book One “The Warriors of Kyoshi”
23 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar Tags: Aang, Avatar, Jennie Kwan, Katara, Sokka, Suki, The Last Airbender, Zuko
I was looking back on my earlier Project Avatar posts, and I noticed that they were more summary than analysis, which I’ve tried to stay away from on my blog, so I’m going to be focusing more on the analysis found in each episode instead.
This episode is a great episode, and it’s full of interesting talking points.
This episode is all about gender roles, focusing mainly on Sokka. It all begins with an exchange between Sokka and Katara on Appa’s back. Sokka says that girls are better at sewing and guys are better at hunting and fighting and etc, and that it’s the natural order of the world. Katara obviously gets offended and she throws his pants back at him, still ripped. With Katara’s defiance, it shows a subtle tilt of power in her favor. While he feels that he’s better at fighting/etc naturally, he’s still the one with ripped pants — and he isn’t capable of fixing them himself.
Then the gang finds themselves on Kyoshi Island, an island of female Kyoshi warriors. The warriors incapacitated and captured them, and when Sokka realizes that the warriors are girls, he becomes very upset — so upset that when the village is offering them unlimited food, he sulks in the corner, hungry and embarrassed.
It does make sense that Sokka would feel this way. His father was the warrior leader of his village, and when he left, he appointed Sokka as his successor. From then on, Sokka had to struggle with being just as good as his father was at hunting, fighting, and leading. These are all traits that he identifies with masculinity and being a successful man. When he sees others, especially girls, who seem to have a better grasp at these things than he does, he becomes frustrated — and confused internally. He has a mental idea of what a man is, and of what a woman is, and it takes time for him to understand that there isn’t one universal male and female role. It even becomes more difficult for him having Katara for a sister; she is a strong, defiant girl who is a Waterbender. She has this gift that he doesn’t possess; as the series progresses, it will seem like he’s not the most capable member of the team, which will be frustrating for him.
He tries to build up his masculinity by confronting the Kyoshi warriors again, but Suki (Jennie Kwan) shames him miserably. He then comes back, but this time, he’s learned a valuable lesson. He’s pushed past his mental gender roles staples, because he respectfully asks Suki to train him as a warrior. At first Suki doesn’t believe him, but its apparent from his body language and the tone of his voice that he’s clearly serious; his voice is soft and submissive, and he kneels in respect to her. Suki makes the exception and teaches him, but she makes him follow all her traditions — which includes wearing their traditional dress and make-up. He does it, but he’s still not comfortable with it, especially with Aang walks by and compliments his “nice dress”.
But when outside influences, which can be seen as society in general, are omitted, and he and Suki are training alone, he learns from her and he becomes a better warrior. When the Zuko’s ship lands on the shores, and an elder yells for all the “girls” to come fight, Sokka at first tries to correct him, but then shrugs it off, because there are more pressing matters.
His developmental journey completes when Aang and Katara decide to leave the island, and Sokka tries to say goodbye to Suki. She says there isn’t any time for goodbyes, but he persists and then tries to apologize. He says that he’s sorry for treating her like a girl, when he should have treated her like a warrior. That’s a big deal for him, and I appreciate this growth from him. Then Suki says that she’s also a girl, and she kisses him — which may have been Sokka’s first romantic interest, which is now a very sweet story.
To conclude with gender roles in this episode, it’s important to consider that Kyoshi, the heralded past Avatar from that village, was a woman. Avatars are not solely men; they reincarnate in different elements and in different genders. So this world should be one where women can be as strong as men, since there are women Avatars who can master all 4 elements.
The last thing from this episode to talk about is the budding romance between Aang and Katara. On Appa, Aang tries to impress Katara with his new airbending trick, and he’s disappointed when she doesn’t even pay attention. On Kyoshi island, he tries to impress her by riding the elephant koi, but he’s disappointed when he sees her leaving the beach. Then there’s the back and forth jealousy as Katara gets jealous from Aang’s Bierber-esque fanclub and Aang gets upset that he still doesn’t seem to get her attention at all. At the end of the episode, though, they reconcile and speak pretty openly and honestly, which is healthy in this friendship.
This is a great episode! I like episodes that develop these characters, and these are fantastic characters.
Avatar Book One “The Southern Air Temple”
21 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar Tags: Aang, Avatar, Gyatso, Iroh, Jason Isaacs, Katara, Sab Simono, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zhao, Zuko
In this episode, Aang, Katara, and Sokka journey to the Southern Air Temple. This was Aang’s home 100 years ago. Katara is conflicted about whether or not to tell Aang about the Fire Nation’s genocide of the Airbenders. She tries to warn him that things may have changed in 100 years, but Aang doesn’t really accept that. It’s not until he accidentally discovers remains of Fire Nation soldiers and his master, Gyatso (Sab Simono), that he truly understands the ruthlessness of the Fire Nation and that stakes of the war. He is on the last Airbender in the world — he is truly alone.
At the Southern Air Temple, Aang recalls a memory he had when he was younger. His master, Gyatso, told him that he shouldn’t worry about the past and to enjoy the present. He also told Aang that, once he’s old enough and ready, he will enter the Air Temple Sanctuary and meet someone. After remembering all of this, he decides to go to the Sanctuary. He opens it with Airbending, and the gang sees a myriad of statues — all in Water, Earth, Fire, Air Nation order. This scene shows the audience that the Avatar is reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle, the same cycle seen in the opening sequence of the show.
When Aang sees his master dead, he’s overcome by so much sorrow that his emotions take over his body and he enters into the Avatar State. His eyes and his tattoos glow white, and he floats up into the air, almost creating this storm of high winds and sadness. By entering this Avatar State at the Air Temple, he triggered Avatar shrines around the world, indicating that the Avatar has returned. He no longer has the element of surprise on his side now.
Meanwhile, things with Prince Zuko aren’t going so well. He takes his ship to a Fire Nation station to get repaired, and he tries to hide the fact that he’s found the Avatar. Commander Zhao (Jason Isaacs) interrogates Prince Zuko, taunting him during the process. Zuko gets so angry easily; his temper is extremely fire-y, which is hard to relate to — but during his scenes of the episode, we find out that he has a troubled past. His father, the Fire Lord, has exiled him from the Fire Nation and will welcome him back only if he brings back the Avatar to him. Also, it was during a duel where Zuko got his terrible scars. Zuko’s heated temper makes him challenge Zhao to a duel, and Iroh tries to guide him to success. At first Zhao has the upper hand, but once Zuko listens to Iroh’s advice, he finally defeats Zhao. Though, instead of giving Zhao a set of scars, like he threatened to, Zuko spars him this one time. As he walks away, Zhao then attacks him from behind, but Iroh stops the attack. This scene shows that Zuko has a moral code — which most of the Fire Nation doesn’t seem to have. As Iroh’s pupil, Zuko is an honorable man, despite his hot temper.
During Aang’s emotional breakdown, Katara calms him down, saying that he, Katara, and Sokka are a family now. As Aang calmed down, Katara and Sokka stood behind him, and this image showed them to be very parental to him. They’re going to take care of him and help him, very much like family members do. After finding a lemur in the temple, Aang takes the critter under his wing, adding another member to the family — Momo.
Avatar Book One “The Avatar Returns”
19 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar Tags: Aang, Avatar, Katara, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Zuko
The second episode starts with a similar, but different, opening sequence. This time, Katara reveals Aang to be the Avatar, and establishes hope and belief that he’ll be able to save the world.
This episode picks up from the events of the last episode. Katara and Aang had boarded an abandoned Fire Nation ship, and they accidentally triggered an old booby trap that sent up a signaling flare. Prince Zuko and his crew saw the flare, and they set sail for the Water Village.
When Katara and Aang return to the village, Gran scolds Katara for boarding the ship, and Aang takes the blame for the entire mishap. Sokka then banishes Aang from the village, and Gran agrees. Katara, overwhelmed by her desire to find a Waterbending teacher, threatens to leave the village also, but Aang tells her that he doesn’t want to stand in between her and her family. This is a moment that shows how mature and wise Aang is, despite his age.
What follows is a montage of scenes of the Water Village and the Fire Nation crew preparing for battle. The music and the images are very intense, especially for a 2nd episode of a show — it suggests that a big conflict is about to happen. Sokka paints his face in warrior style, and Zuko adorns himself with battle armor. This scene is insightful to Sokka’s character; while he’s comic relief much of the time, he also is a strong character who strives to protect his family and tribe. It’s evident in his battle preparation.
Aang returns when he sees the Fire Nation crew at the Water Village, and he offers himself up in return for the village’s safety. This is yet another indication of his maturity; he’s wholly selfless in sacrificing himself for the good of the village — people he’s only known a short amount of time. Actions like this establish his noble character, worthy of being the Avatar.
Aang’s escape from the Fire Nation ship is telling of his abilities as an Airbender. He clearly has mastered those skills, and is a formidable opponent for Prince Zuko. Also, during this battle, Aang enters the Avatar state for the first time. While that is not explained, after seeing the show, one can understand what the Avatar state is. Aang’s eyes and tattoos glow white, showing that he’s being overtaken by some force, and his powers are even greater in this state. While in the Avatar state, he was able to bend water in such a devastating way. Aang will be struggling with tapping into and controlling this power during the series.
After the escape, when Aang, Katara, and Sokka are flying away from the South Pole, Katara asks Aang why he never told them that he was the Avatar. He responds, “Because I never wanted to be.” I immediately thought of Buffy when he said that. His is another example of great responsibility thrust upon someone, without the option to accept or decline. He’s stuck as the Avatar, just as Buffy was stuck as the Slayer — and sometimes it’s difficult for them to accept it and go forward.
Something that makes the Avatar a little bit interesting is how, at the end of the episode, he tells Katara and Sokka about three places they need to visit before they make it to the North Pole — places where he can partake in this sport and that sport, things that his 12-year old self would like to indulge in. For the rest of the show, he’s going to have to battle with his 12-year old innocence and his Avatar responsibility.
Avatar Book One “The Boy in the Iceburg”
19 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Project Avatar Tags: Aang, Airbender, Appa, Avatar, Dante Basco, Iroh, Jack DeSena, Katara, Mae Whitman, Mako Iwamatsu, Sokka, Zach Tyler Eisen, Zuko
Hello all!
I am excited to announce a new TV project for my blog: Project Avatar!
Please do not worry; I have not given up on Project Buffy. I will be focusing on Project Avatar for the time being but I will be continuing Project Buffy at the same time. The reason I’m starting Project Avatar is because my senior recital’s theme is based on this fantastic show, and I want to rewatch the entire series in preparation. And because my senior recital will be in spring, I have a deadline to watch the show before, so that’s why I’m interrupting Project Buffy.
Before I start the episode (the DVD is and awesome flute/drum music is playing right now), I need to talk about my first experience with Avatar: The Last Airbender. I watched the series this past summer (2010), because the live action movie was coming out later that summer (which is the movie that pushed me to actually start this blog!). I didn’t know much about the series; I knew a couple of people who liked it, but even they didn’t really tell me much about it. So I didn’t have many expectations at all when I first started, but after I started watching it, I was blown away. The show is incredibly deep and meaningful for it being a children’s animated show. I can’t wait to blog about it! 
Let’s start with the opening. The opening sequence for this pilot episode is different than those for the rest of the show, though, there are some similarities. The opening, narrated by Katara (Mae Whitman), introduces the world as made up of four nations: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Since I study Chinese at school, I was always interested in learning and understanding the characters that are displayed during the opening, so I’ll post them here so that everybody knows what they mean.
For water, these two characters are displayed: 水善。 The first (pinyin: shui) means water, and the second (pinyin: shan) means benelovence and adaptivity. Knowing what the characters mean, one can now understand that they describe the element itself and then a trait that is associated with that element, as well as a trait that will be associated with bending that particular element.
For earth, we see: 土强。The first (pinyin: tu) means earth, and the second (pinyin: qiang) means strength and stability. The first time I saw the show, I got excited because I knew the second character — it’s part of my Chinese name: 汤强。 Sorry for the tangent!
For fire, we see: 火烈。The first (pinyin: huo) means fire, and the second (pinyin: lie) means passion and intensity.
For air, we see: 气和。The first (pinyin: qi) means air, and the second (pinyin: he) means peace and harmony.
It will be important to keep this all in mind as the show progresses, to see how the different elements and benders align with these descriptions in the opening sequences.
The opening sequence also gives a very good summary about what’s happening in their world. The four nations once lived in harmony, but the Fire Nation has started a war with the rest of the nations. The Avatar — he who can master and bend all four elements — is the one who can restore balance in the world, but he has mysteriously disappeared for over 100 years. Katara’s added heartfelt expressions of hope add to the effective opening sequence.
The show itself is quite delightful. The characters are interesting and the conversation is entertaining. The show starts off with Katara and her older brother, Sokka (Jack DeSena). Katara is a young waterbender, and Sokka is a warrior; they’re both in charge of the tribe now that their father has left to fight the war. They clearly get on each other’s nerves, because Katara lets loose at him after he mis-navigates their canoe — though, her letting loose is what leads to their finding the Avatar.
They find this ominous shadow in a huge ball of ice, with eyes and tattoos glowing white. Though, after Katara breaks the sphere open with a club, this little boy falls out. And even then, the expectation for him to be a wise or powerful sage is there, but when he finally talks, he sounds just like a little kid, asking to go penguin sledding. He completely defies our expectations — which can be a good thing. This 12-year old boy is named Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), and he is an airbender. In this episode, we find out that he is the last airbender (which is where the show gets its name). He is wise and also childlike, which will be an interesting dynamic to experience. He has a flying bison named Appa, whom I find delightful.
This show has created a wonderful world, filled with interesting animals! In this episode alone we encounter a flying bison and penguins with multiple sets of flippers and whiskers. I give them an A+ in world building!
The last two characters to talk about are Prince Zuko (Dante Basco) and his uncle Iroh (Mako Iwamatsu) of the Fire Nation. They clearly are the antagonists, since they’re of the Fire Nation. Zuko has terrible scars on his face and an explosive temper, so he really fits the bill as an antagonist. His uncle, though, is calm and wise. He acts as Zuko’s mentor. I loved Iroh from the very beginning, because he likes jasmine tea — and I enjoy jasmine tea.
I am very glad to begin Project Avatar! A new year’s resolution is to blog consistently, so lookout for more posts soon!
“The Last Airbender”
02 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in Movies Tags: Aang, Avatar, Dante Basco, Jackson Rathbone, Katara, Netflix, Racebending, Shyamalan, Sokka, The Last Airbender, Yue, Zuko
I feel that this movie is a very appropriate beginning to my blogging endeavors. I will admit, though, that two weeks ago I knew nothing about the “Avatar: The Last Bender” world at all. Because I knew the movie was coming out — and because the entire series was streamable on Netflix — I decided to watch the show in preparation for the movie.
And before I get to the movie, I must address the show briefly. I was entirely surprised when I began watching the show. I really had no idea what to expect from the show; it being a kids’ show, I suppose I automatically had some kind of bias, but it soon disappeared. I don’t want to get too much into the show, but I will say that while there definitely were kid-y elements (teachable moments, morals, young characters, etc), the characters were all extremely interesting, the plots entertaining, and the world fascinating. What really struck me most was that the writers excelled in character development. I’m all about character development, and I was blown away by the attention to detail and sensitivity to let the audience experience their deep motivations and understand their struggles.
When I finished the TV show, I was beyond excited to watch the movie. There was so much potential in taking a somewhat unknown world and bringing it to the masses, and with today’s technology, all the fantastical bending could be seen for real!
Sadly, the movie did not even come close to reaching its potential. That being said, I don’t believe it was the disaster that so many reviewers claimed it to be.
Let’s start with the special effects. Many have criticized the special effects to be lame and ridiculous. I didn’t watch the movie in 3-D, which I’ve heard hindered instead of enhanced, but I felt that the special effects were fine. Everybody’s bending looks very much like it does in the animated show, everything from the water tendrils to the rising sheets of rock from the ground. I was actually pleased with how all the bending looked, especially Aang’s airbending. It didn’t look pushed, which it definitely could have been. I’d even go as far as saying that some of the bending looked graceful — which is definitely the goal.
While I feel good about the special effects, the writing was pretty terrible. I can understand where the trouble comes from, though. There is the challenge of taking a season of a TV show and compacting it into the time-span of a movie, but the writers did not come through at all. Before I saw the movie, I heard many complaints about too much talking, and there was too much talk. I don’t understand why the writers didn’t step back and take a lesson from the TV show. They were able to develop backstories, explain situations, etc all through action and the visual. This movie tried to talk itself into understanding, but it instead talked itself into boredom. I remember fidgeting a lot, which I don’t tend to do in a movie.
Too much talking might be alright if all the conversation was witty and intelligent, but it unfortunately wasn’t. I’d say that “The Last Airbender” suffers from “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” syndrome. Natalie Portman is a great actress, but even she sounded dumb with the script given to her. I’m sure the actors in “The Last Airbender” are capable individuals, but the script was pretty crappy. There was hardly any witty banter or intelligent expression. It was very juvenile — ironic since much of the kids show was exceptionally intelligent.
Next is the plot. The storyline was quite shaky. The story felt like it was just wandering along with no destination in sight. The scenes seemed to have no connection from the previous and to the next. It pretty much was a stumbling story, falling into the next scene without reason or will. That being said, the plot also felt rushed. They were trying to fit so much information into one compact movie by explaining this and introducing that and hurrying on to this place and that place — creating no cohesive path to follow. Not to mention that their rushing totally skipped out from any character development whatsoever. Seriously, if you’re going to release the first part of a trilogy, you need to start making these characters like-able, interesting, and relate-able so that an audience will want to stick with them in future installments. The TV show was masterful in that aspect. You learned to love and feel for the characters, but in the movie, they’re just as hollow at the end as they were in the beginning. I felt that Zuko was the character closest to being developed. They showed a small scene of his past, when he gets banished from the Fire Nation; it wasn’t much, but it was something. I feel that they really needed to delve into these backstories more to 1) help express the devastation of the war and 2) make these characters more than talking dummies.
I won’t get into the characters on screen compared to the characters in the show, mostly because many viewers who watch the movie will have never seen the show or won’t ever see it. However, no matter how different characters in a movie are from their original format, these characters have to be unique and memorable. Aang might be memorable — just by being a young, bald kid with really intricate tattoos. But the rest of the characters in this movie are just banal at best. That being said, I felt that Jackson Rathbone’s Sokka came somewhat close to being a memorable character. He even channeled some of Sokka’s cartoon version when Katara froze him in ice, reacting a little over the top, just like he does in the cartoon. Though, the funny and dorky Sokka was mostly absent from the movie. Once he meets Princess Yue, though, his flirting brings out his sweet and cute self. I did get a little chill watching the young couple interacting. Unfortunately, these little moments were little needles in oceans of hay.
Now comes the part that I really had a beef with: the racebending. I really respect the work that racebending.com is doing. They’re trying to bring about awareness of casting practices in Hollywood. Race has been an enormous issue with this movie. I must say that I wasn’t too concerned with it at the beginning. But after watching the TV show, and then watching the movie, it just felt wrong. It feels wrong to have a show that is based on Asian and Inuit cultures, that gives kids some Asian role models, be manipulated. What I can’t understand is how they’ll keep all the Chinese writing in the movie, keep the martial arts and meditation practices associated with bending, keep the Asian names and clothes, write Asian-sounding music for the soundtrack, and then just change the looks of all the people. It doesn’t gel at all. Watching the movie just felt so weird. It felt so wrong.
Dante Basco, the voice behind the original Prince Zuko, commented about the racial issues in his blog: http://dantebasco.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-last-airbender-to-boycott-or-not/. He talked about how there are barely any Asian roles in Hollywood in general, and then Asian American actors can’t even get roles that are Asian roles. This just isn’t right, in my opinion. How can movie makers create a movie strongly based in a particular culture, and then blatantly disregard it? And why is it OK, seemingly, to cast white actors in ethnic rolcs, but not the other way around? While I’m unhappy that the casting turned out this why, I am glad that it’s raising this issue up so strongly. I hope to follow up with some news about racebending’s work. It’s definitely important, because the racial mix-matching took away from the movie (which didn’t need anything extra to take away from it).
All in all, this movie wasn’t a disaster. It’s disappointingly far from what it could have been, but I will take the optimistic stance and say that the next two movies of the trilogy — if they get made — can be made better. The casting can’t really be changed, so we’re stuck with that, but if the writing takes some strides forward, the next two movies could be way better. “Book Two: Earth” was an amazing season, drenched in character development. The writers have so much to work with; it’s all in their hands.
Let me know what yall think! Thanks for reading!!
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