Avatar the Last Airbender follows a group of ragtag kids in the world of benders as their friends they accompany Aang who is a legendary Avatar that reincarnated every century around the world as he tries to understand what went on with his world after 100 years of being trapped in ice. The world-building, the complex characters, and the cultural representation the show offered were very new for the television of those days. Even though it was meant to be a kids’ show, all these aspects not only created a hugely dedicated fanbase but also subverted the television standards of that time.

Though the people on the forum do not seem to hold such conversations, other platforms such as TikTok and Twitter fans dissect the text extensively, discussing gender, race, and politics in depth. They criticize the fandom’s response to Katara’s trauma and they also call out all the problems the fandom exhibits.

At the time it aired, mainstream critics were a little slow to embrace the show: It lost its one Emmy nomination, in 2007, to the tenth season of South Park. Still, its final season won a Peabody for “adding thoughtful substance to a genre best known for its style.” That observation proved prophetic because Airbender went on to dramatically alter the landscape of children’s animated television. The series is widely believed to have started a “golden age” of serial animated TV which, while aimed at children, dealt with complex, nuanced themes that also gave the show wide appeal among adults. 

  • Romano, 2020

 

When it was announced that ATLA would be made into a live-action, fans on all platforms were buzzing with worry. They could already tell that Netflix was going to ruin what made ATLA so great. This in turn sparked conversations all across platforms on what it is that makes this show so great and what aspects of it they would absolutely dread if it were changed.

One thing that seems to be omnipresent in every fanbase it seems is the inescapable opinions of men. Sexism it seems follows us wherever we go and the ATLA franchise is not different in that regard. The first installation of this franchise has a 12-year-old boy who is by most accounts, goofy and honest, and quite likable. For the sequel, the main character is a teenage girl who is brash and simply a teenager acting out. Nickelodeon was hesitant when it came to Korra simply over the fact that the main character was going to be a woman, and maybe that’s how the sequel was doomed from the start. From the get-go Korra did not receive the same kind of unanimous love as ATLA did, in fact, it quickly became a very divisive show for fans. Of Course, some of the criticisms were valid as the show seemed to stray away from what its predecessor had established, but the dislike for Korra can simply be boiled down to misogyny.

Possible spoilers for Avatar: the Last Airbender!!! I don’t understand why people like Katara. Sure she’s a pretty decent water bender but that contributes nothing when you have the literal avatar on your team. She also complains about her dead mom so much. I know that gets brought up a lot so I won’t rant about it. She does have qualities to make her a good person but that does not make her an interesting or good character. She isn’t even a good person all the time though. She legit walked into the northern water tribe and demanded that they change their traditions just because she didn’t want to learn how to heal people. She does help the story out a ton and I’m not pretending that she isn’t vital to the story. I just cannot like her for the life of me.   

  • LordFaceOfAll Reddit

 

In this thread, fans discuss their dislike for Katara on the basis of her reaction to her trauma. Rarely do we see television series cover heavy topics such as PTSD, war, and other heavy topics, much less for a show that is considered a kids’ show, but ATLA did. And while almost all of the character’s pain and trauma empathize, fans hate and belittle one character. Even Zuko one of the villains of the story is allowed to be the bad guy for the longest time because the audience saw and understood his pain or Azula, the psychotic character that displays no signs of mental stability is warranted a certain amount of empathy from fans. Similarly, another popular and similar attribute witnessed in the fandom is the hate that is shown toward Korra.

In both Katara and Korra’s cases, the dislike for both characters comes from the fan’s lack of acknowledgment of female trauma. Katara had seen her mother die with her own eyes, her mother had made sure the fire nation troops did not know that her daughter was the remaining water bender in the southern water tribe and instead gave herself away to ensure she survived. Growing up she took on the role of the mother of the village and took on the responsibility of an adult at age 12. She never allowed herself to lash out but during the moments when she does fans dislike her. Many of the characters in this show have some sort of PTSD or have experienced very traumatic childhoods and it manifests itself in various ways, but Katara’s way of showing her pain is brushed off as her being attention-seeking and complaining, all comments women often get when showing emotion too much. 

Korra’s character is a teenager. Her growth is observed when she learns from her mistakes. She experiences PTSD, falls in love, makes mistakes, and learns and grows from them. Similar to Katara fans did not empathize with her character. If it were a male character, all these unlikeable characters would have helped make the character even more likable. Another reason for the hate Korra recovers is because of her queer representation in the final season. In the last few minutes of the show, Korra is seen moving to the spirit world with her female friend Asami and by the final moments, we see them share a look that suggests something more. The scene on the internet circulated where Korra and Asami are seen kissing. Whether it was censored in some countries, fans did not care. For queer fans, this was a huge moment of joy while for others it became even more reason to hate the show. (Weiss, 2020)  

Compounding the character’s subversive femininity was the show’s controversial queer ending — an implied relationship between Korra and her former rival-for-love, Asami — which drew equal backlash and praise from fans. Though their romantic relationship — ship name Korrasami — was so barely there that the creators had to confirm it had actually happened after the fact, Korra had one of the first implied examples of queer relationships in children’s animation.

 

  • Vogue
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Nonetheless, this show is still a popular and comfortable show for many, and during these difficult times of isolation, the show has taken off with the newer generation. Upon being installed on Netflix it became one of the most-watched shows in the US and it was trending top 10 in many countries days later. The newer generation held multiple discussions on Tiktok and Twitter and this time there is heavy criticism against the people who show hate towards the characters on the basis of their femininity. 

Apart from the issue of misogyny in the fandom majority of the discussions surrounding the show are complex and ask varying questions. The subject of colonialism, genocide, cultural appropriation, cultural imperialism, re-writing history, and anti-imperialism were among some of the popular subjects fans discussed (Lavery & Erens, 2018). If fans are not discussing these then they are cosplaying, shipping, or doing Fanart of their favorite characters. There is a variety of activities on the platform and from the comments, one can see how the show is being interpreted. For some viewers, the Anti-imperialist sentiments ATLA has are either negotiated or simply rejected as their anti-communist beliefs would refuse them from accepting such an ideology. For such fans, Legend of Korra would seem like the show that would get them to agree fully as LOK is known to have a rather ambiguous stance in that regard, but those very same fans are often too blinded by their sexism to truly give the show a chance. While sites like Tiktok are immediate in calling out those with such beliefs, Reddit is not correcting as other platforms are. 

For POC fans in the United States and other countries, anti-imperialism sentiment resonated with them deeply and even more now at the height of the BLM movement. There is raising awareness of the effects of post-colonialism and Avatar the Last air bender has found itself to be relevant almost a decade after its initial airing. Another popular subject of discussion is the cultural accuracy of the show. From designs to the martial art in the show, the creator put a great deal of time and effort into making sure the show represents the countries it took inspiration from well. The racial diversity in it itself gave many fans the space to see themselves represented on TV that is not in an oriental lens.

 

References

Creeber, G., & British Film Institute. (2006). Tele-visions: An introduction to studying television. London: BFI.

Lavery, D., & Erens, P. B. (2018). Full of Secrets. Goodreads.com. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/298028.Full_of_Secrets

LordFaceofAll. (2020, August). r/unpopularopinion – Katara from ATLA is a terrible character. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/hh7lns/katara_from_atla_is_a_terrible_character/

r/TheLastAirbender – Why The Legend of Korra Sucks! (2020). Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/2emo96/why_the_legend_of_korra_sucks/

Romano, A. (2020, May 15). Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of the best shows ever, is on Netflix. Vox; Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/5/15/21259004/avatar-the-last-airbender-streaming-on-netflix-why-you-should-watch-series-guide

Romano, A. (2020, August 13). Legend of Korra is on Netflix: A look at its messy, complicated legacy. Vox; Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/8/13/21362113/legend-of-korra-netflix-controversy-korra-vs-aang-korrasami

Weiss, N. (2020). Comfort TV is all the rage in the pandemic era amid the decline of Prestige TV. Primetimer.com. https://www.primetimer.com/item/Comfort-TV-is-all-the-rage-in-the-pandemic-era-amid-the-decline-of-Prestige-TV-62Sbdx