As
a kid, my most favorite TV show was Avatar: The Last Airbender. I love the creativity
of it – the characters, the world, the conflicts. The very idea of people who could
manipulate the four elements (water, air, earth, fire) appealed to my youthful
imagination. And at the center of it all is Aang, the upbeat young protagonist
with the burden of being master of all four elements as well as the last of the
airbenders. However, despite his great responsibility, he always finds some way
to be hilarious or ridiculous, impressing everyone with his fun-loving personality.
Now that I’m older, though, I realize that Avatar is an incredibly mature show.
It delves into dark, sometimes morbid subjects that kids’ shows seldom address.
As a child, it was just a fun cartoon for me to watch, but now I realize how
influential it was in forming my world view. Kids’ shows never touch serious
issues, but The Last Airbender proves that it can be done, and done in such a
way as to keep the show entertaining while still touching upon the important points
that make viewers stop and think.
Mature
themes are pervasive throughout the series, starting in the very first episode.
The show begins with Sokka and Katara, a relatable brother and sister pair, out
fishing to help feed the water tribe, when they unexpectedly stumble across the
lost Avatar Aang, who had been frozen in an iceberg. In their conversations, it’s
revealed that Sokka and Katara’s dad is away fighting a war against the fire
nation, and their mom has been taken and sold by the fire nation. Later, fire
nation prince Zuko visits the water tribe searching for Aang, and he treats the
people as less than human, shoving them around, grabbing them, and yelling at
them as he demands tribute. On the surface, this is pretty standard stuff—
introduce some downtrodden child heroes and establish a main antagonist—but so
much more exists beneath the surface. Look closely: in the first two episodes,
the show has already included aspects of poverty, war, racism, imperialism,
slavery, and human trafficking.
This
pattern continues for the whole series. For instance, genocide is addressed
when Aang discovers the ruined air temples. Then, sexism is touched-upon when
Katara tries to learn to fight, an activity which society considers inappropriate
for a girl. The creators masterfully blend these mature nuances throughout the
plotline of the entire show. The amazing part is that they do it so subtly at
times. The show never tells anyone how to think, or overtly states the moral of
the story. Characters simply face situations in which they must make tough
moral choices, and viewers are invited to watch the outcomes.
All
that being said, the most interesting thing about Avatar: The Last Airbender is
the way in which the creators approach the concept of good and evil. It’s so easy
to create a show with a well-defined “good” and “bad” side; but in Avatar, this
line is intentionally blurred. Characters who are initially heroic can be
revealed as immoral, and vice-versa. For example: after the first episode, it’s
easy to think of Zuko as the main antagonist. However, it’s quickly revealed
that he is a lost soul with a troubled past, who needs to make hard decisions
about his future. In this way, Zuko becomes more than a typical villain; instead,
he is another main character who people can become emotionally invested in.
The
same is true with the four nations. For instance, the creators purposefully
cause mental dissonance for people who think of the fire nation as a ubiquitous
evil. Some of the kindest characters, like Iroh, come from the fire nation.
Then, in season three, when they enter the fire nation, it’s revealed to be
much more than just Bowser’s Castle. It’s a nation made up of individuals who
are just as human and good-natured as those on the outside. Conversely, the
show goes out of its way to reveal unfairness and corruption in the societies
of each of the other three nations as well. The Northern Water Tribe turns out
to have restrictive gender roles for women. The earth kingdom capital turns out
to be a police state headed by a corrupt advisor and a puppet king. Even the
air nomads have flawed institutions. This approach is really neat because it never
dehumanizes anyone; no group is just an evil target, and no group is a flawless
force for good. All factions in this world have character, and they are just as
flawed as the people who compose them.
Truthfully,
I could go on about this show for a while, but I couldn’t do it justice. I highly
recommend watching it, both for parents and kids. It’s a mature show with some
really morbid topics, but it isn’t done to be funny, or satirical, or ironic.
Everything is simply put out there, and in truth, it proves that kids can
handle thinking about such things. Watching Aang struggle with his powers or Zuko
trying to redeem himself, makes us consider them more deeply than we would for
other TV show characters. Avatar: The Last Airbender achieves something seldom
reached in children’s television: it invites us to look past the surface and to
really try to understand the characters and powers at work in the world, and by
extension, it forces us to examine our own as well.
