The Avatar Masterpiece

Nickelodeon Animation Studios has long been known for great cartoons such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, and Rugrats. These shows have had a significant impact on generation Z, which is getting older, but they are iconic and memorable in their minds. Avatar: The Last Airbender, a popular show that debuted in 2005, is regarded as a masterpiece by generation Z, and many other generations. The beautiful story takes place in a world best introduced by the opening sequence: “Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar [who was trapped in ice], an Airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.” Though this is a children’s show, the story is far from contemporary; it draws viewers into a world filled with action, adventure, fantasy, drama, and comedy. Don’t be misled by the genres of Avatar: The Last Airbender; the show as well as its sequels continue to address global issues. In Avatar’s world, we see a variety of political issues addressed, including feminism, dictatorship, underrepresentation, and many others.

The world in which our main character Aang awakens is different from his own; he must learn to adapt to this new world while also attempting to save the abusive and destructive world from the Dictator Firelord Ozai, who seeks to abuse his power and nation for his own benefit. Regaining the power to say “no”: imprisonment, resistance, and freedom in Avatar the Last Airbender is a magazine article written by Author is Fulya Icoz who is considered credible because their publisher is Departments of English Language and Literature and American Culture and Literature, Ege University. The author wants to connect with Avatar: The Last Airbender fans who are interested in reading about the political issues addressed in the show. As evidence from the show is used to connect it with the main topics discussed, the author’s tone is informative and objective. The purpose is to examine how topics such as resistance, hegemony, race, tyranny, power, and freedom are addressed and dealt with in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The genre is a descriptive writing piece in which the author uses metaphors and similes to add more details to their writing for readers to understand the show’s depiction of resistance and tyranny. The author believes that Avatar Aang was able to resist the tyranny that he and the other nations were subjected to as a result of the Fire Nation’s authoritative rule and that Aang’s actions were for the better for everyone because they resulted in massive changes in the world. The author uses technical language to analyze everything, and back up their claims with specific evidence and scenes from the show. This is demonstrated when it states, “Considering Aang’s role in the episodes Day of the Black Sun: Eclipse and Into the Inferno, he is portrayed as a figure of transgression against the disciplinary society created by the Firelord,” implying that the author uses specific situations in the show to create analogies and investigate them thoroughly.

Following the completion of Avatar: The Last Airbender, many fans were left wanting more. This led to the creation of The Legend of Korra, which was officially released in 2014. Staff from Entertainment Newsweekly contributed to the news article Nickelodeon Greenlights New Series From the Creators of the Animated Television Hit Avatar: The Last Airbender. They are credible because of their affiliation with their institution, Entertainment Newsweekly. Nickelodeon fans and fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender who want to see their favorite childhood show expand would be the target demographic. Through this article we get an idea of what this new series has to offer fans, “This new avatar is not only a girl, but also hot-headed, independent and ready to take on the world.”, which piques the interest of the readers in this new series and what this new Avatar will bring through the excitement the author promotes. The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the new Avatar: The Last Airbender sequel series The Legend of Korra. The change in an Aang a quiet and pacifist, to Korra is blunt and combative female was purposefully done because in our society has a strong independent woman shows the authors trying to bring in feminism. This is demonstrated when the author brings up, “Mike [Dante DiMartino] and Bryan [Konietzko] [Creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender] have imagined a compelling new story inspired by the Airbender mythology that they so brilliantly crafted when the TV series began,” indicating that the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender are working on their next big project, which will excite millions of fans old and new. 

The genre of the article is an informative paper that provides the reader with positive news about what is to come in the future, specifically the sequel to a show that was extremely popular when it was first released. The author appears to believe that this new series will be a success, with a significant fanbase and revenue comparable to Avatar: The Last Airbender. The author’ uses common language while including a brief description of the series as well as the quest that Avatar Korra faces as Aang’s successor in the new modern world. Other rhetorical elements found in this article is logos, “[Avatar] the Last Airbender, which has already grossed more than $115 million at the box office to date.” which uses the amount of money made by the original series Avatar: The Last Airbender to give readers an idea of how much money the sequel could make. Kairos is also shown because this story was published in late 2010, and the new series, “will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011,” thus it is being revealed and marketed at an ideal moment.

While Avatar: The Last Airbender performed exceptionally well on its own, the studio decided to expand the franchise into a live-action film, The Last Airbender, which followed the same story as the original show. Fan activists and the politics of race in The Last Airbender by Lori Kido Lopez is a credible scholarly source because it is published by SAGE Journals. The intended audience of this article would be fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, particularly those who have seen the film and are dissatisfied with the producers’ casting of three white actors as the heroes and an actor of South Asian descent as the villain, even though the show is set in an Asian world. The author’s tone is disapproving due to the lack of Asian representation in a movie that revolves upon Asian cultural practices, architecture, religious iconography, costumes, calligraphy, and other aesthetic features from East Asian and Inuit cultures. The goal of this article is to bring to light the major issues that have led to fan activism, where fans with similar viewpoints banded together, resulting in the “racebending” movement, in which fans expressed their dissatisfaction with their lack of proper representation. The genre of this writing piece is an article that moves towards addressing underrepresented racial issues specifically those shown where actors are being cast for roles that they do not represent

The author believes that the actors cast in The Last Airbender did not do Asian Americans justice and took away minority representation that could have gone to Asian actors rather than white actors. The author believes that the fanbase is correct in bringing in activism against unauthentic casting choices that detracted from how it could have inspired Asian Americans if done properly. The author uses technical language by stating specifically what the fanbase did to try to innate change using many different platforms to get their message out. it’s amazing to see how changes in their world triggered activism because this franchise means a lot to a lot of people.

As we all know, the Avatar franchise is much larger than we expected, with everything from a show to a movie, a sequel, and even a graphic novel. These graphic novels tell the story of Aang on his journey to defeat Firelord Ozai, but they also continue to tell the story of Aang and his friends after the animated ending. IALA’S BEST LISTS 2013, written by Booklist Publications, is credible because it is published by the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. It is written for people who want to know what the most popular graphic novels for teens are in 2013. The tone is straightforward, with a list of the most popular graphic novels in alphabetical order and a brief description at the bottom. The goal is to draw attention to great graphic novels that are underappreciated.  

The genre is a simple list of the best nonfiction graphic novels that are for readers ages 12 to 18 according to a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The author believes that Avatar: The Last Airbender is a fantastic graphic novel that tells the story of “The adventure continues as Aang and the gang must find a way to bring peace to a postwar world,” which occurs after Aang has defeated Firelord Ozai and the world is in shambles. The language used is technical as the author just states the title, the author, the price, and the description.

The creation of a graphic novel that tells the story after defeating Firelord Ozai has a fanbase that wants more to continue onto the novel that deals with what happens to the various nations after the war and who suffers as a result of it. A long time after Avatar Aang has died and the new Avatar Korra has emerged, she must learn to balance and protect the world after modernization and in a world where people no longer need her. It’s interesting because many people believe that during Avatar Aang’s time, people needed a strong-willed Avatar-like Korra, whereas a peaceful modern era requires an Avatar-like Aang. Regardless, the creators must exercise caution when casting actors in their franchise because it is very culture-oriented and may offend Asian Americans who want their culture to be properly addressed.

In conclusion, the Avatar franchise immerses the viewer in a different world where people can control the elements (Water, Earth, Fire, and Air), but this does not indicate that it is a perfect world without problems. Although it does not have to be stated explicitly, the purpose of this show is to address issues in our world and their world. 

References

Icoz, Fulya. “Regaining the power to say ‘no’: imprisonment, resistance and freedom in Avatar the Last Airbender.” Interactions, vol. 23, no. 1-2, spring-fall 2014, pp. 113+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A363103640/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=2916b2b2.  

“Nickelodeon Greenlights New Series From the Creators of the Animated Television Hit Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Entertainment Newsweekly, 6 Aug. 2010, p. 40. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A233346595/ITOF?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ed2d000b.

Lopez, Lori Kido. “Fan Activists and the Politics of Race in The Last Airbender.” International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 15, no. 5, Sept. 2012, pp. 431–445, https://journals-sagepub-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/full/10.1177/1367877911422862 

“Ala’s Best Lists 2013.” Booklist, vol. 109, no. 14, Mar. 2013, pp. 5–31. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86163192&site=ehost-live.