Cultural Inspirations in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1 - Water

Have you ever had such complicated feelings about whether Avatar The Last Airbender is good cultural representation that every time someone asks you the question, it sends you into like a 10-minute philosophical crisis? That's me. That's happened to me for years now, but I'm finally starting to impact my thoughts. Before I impact though, huge disclaimer. Everything I'm about to say is strictly personal opinions and other Asian or Inuit people might feel differently. I'm just one perspective, and mine is that the question of whether Avatar is good cultural representation is a fundamentally unfair one. Because Avatar never set out to represent real-life cultures. The characters aren't Chinese or Japanese or Inuit. They're Fire Nation, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, or an Air Nomad. Asking if it's authentic representation is like asking whether Lord of the Rings is authentic rep of European cultures. So like, it doesn't make sense to put this burden on Avatar when it's very explicitly loosely-inspired fantasy. I think where this debate about authenticity comes from is when some fans put Avatar on too high of a pedestal when it comes to representation, and that's a detriment to both Avatar and the cultures it's inspired by. A lot of kids like me love this show because it had so many familiar elements for us that don't typically appear in Western media, but if you ask my perspective as a Chinese person, whether Avatar represented my actual culture well, I would say no. Because if I started looking for Chinese things, I would start finding like Japanese or Indian stuff in the same places, and that doesn't happen in real life. So I guess the deeper question is whether Avatar contributes to the sin of conflating Asian cultures and contributing to the notion that we're an interchangeable monolith. And I would say not one that never claimed it was representing any specific culture. Like, it would be different if it said this story takes place in fantasy ancient China, and then had this whole bunch of influences that clearly aren't Chinese, but it didn't. It's also not one of those fantasy works where the European-inspired parts are all complex and diverse, while the Asian-inspired part is like one big blob. Or where the Western names are real, but the Asian ones are just random syllables. So I'm cool with Avatar. As long as the fans don't overly praise Avatar in the representation front, I'm cool with it. But what real-life cultural inspirations did Avatar take? I'm gonna rewatch the whole series and go on a scavenger hunt for them, for fun and also to try and give credit to the cultures that Avatar borrowed from. And again, I'm not any sort of authority, these are strictly personal observations and opinions, unless it's explicitly taken from an official source, I'll make it clear. So like, this is not a definitive guide. Remember this. And comment if you see any observations you disagree with or you want to add something. We can make this a discussion. So right away, there's the 4-element system. According to the artbook, it was developed before the Asian and Inuit influences were decided. All the creators Brian and Mike envisioned in the beginning was that a bunch of water people were in trouble because of attacks by fire people. They mention in the artbook that they did find the 5-element system that's native to East Asia, but they eventually chose the 4-element system over it because the 4-element system is more universal and easy to understand. Some people, including me, have been disappointed that they didn't go with the 5-elements. It's not really a criticism though, like I'm not taking points off because of this, but it just would have been really nice if they could have went there. Because then it wouldn't be so difficult to explain this system to people. Like, it would have become part of the pop-cultural consciousness. Though of course, they couldn't have foreseen how big of an impact this show would have, even like over a decade after it's airing. But in case you don't know much about the 5-element system, let me explain it here. It's wood, fire, earth, metal, and water instead. And they're not really elements in the sense that they're the fundamental building blocks of the world. They're more like metaphors for the forces that interact throughout the universe. Gonna oversimplify here, but wood represents like the nurturing and rising forces, fire represents powerful and destructive forces, earth represents balancing and stabilizing forces, metal represents precise and disciplining forces, and water represents flexible and calming forces. It gets a lot more complicated than that. Like, they each represent one of the cardinal directions too, and then one of the planets, and they have their own mythical creature, and they have this almost like Pokemon-type style interaction system where they either like overcome or generate each other. So I can see why the Avatar producers would think it's too confusing to understand. But honestly, it's not hard if you grew up with it deeply embedded in your culture. I don't think modern East Asians give it too much thought on a daily basis. We're not going around being like, hmm, what does the 5-element system tell me I need to do today? But like, it's in a lot of random places in our cultures. Like, Japan named the days of the week after it. So like in Japanese, Tuesday is fire day, Wednesday is water day, and so on. Also, as a sci-fi and fantasy author who uses this system a lot in their stories, my life would have been a lot easier if Avatar had established this in the cultural consciousness. But no, we can't have it all, you know? Anyway, onto the actual Avatar element system. In the title cards, they're each accompanied by a trait that generalizes their nation. Water is kindness, earth is strength, fire is passion, and air is harmony. When they show the map, it says the many mighty powers divided in four up top. I don't know if this was intentional, but it reminds me a lot of the Warring States period of Chinese history, which is like 2,500 years ago, where the seven warring states were called Zhan Guo Qi Xiong, the seven mighty powers of the warring states. Then the bottom says something like all under heaven are pacified by one. This is a spin on a saying from a really old Chinese text, and this is probably a reference to the Avatar. And the Avatar production staff hired like an actual master Chinese calligrapher, so it's all legit. And the Fire Nation backstory specifically reminds me of how the Warring States ended when the Qin state conquered the other six and created China. Imperial Japan might have been a more direct inspiration for the Fire Nation, but at some point late in the production, the Fire Nation aesthetic was changed to be more Chinese, probably to distance itself from Imperial Japan, which did cause a lot of like recent trauma still remembered by people alive, so like that went out of it good. There's like this stereotypical view of Chinese dynasties as all very Confucian and scholarly and stuff, and the Qin dynasty was definitely not that. The Qin dynasty was like China's emo grunge phase. Their national clothing colors were red and black, and they were all about like strict laws and going off to war, and they were almost like an MMO, like World of Warcraft. They had a whole system of 20 ranks, and then you ascended through the ranks by cutting off the heads of your enemies and turning them in. I'll do a video on them someday because they break all sorts of stereotypes about Imperial China despite creating it. And then we're introduced to the concept of a reincarnating avatar. This is taken from Hinduism, where certain deities are believed to incarnate on Earth lifetime after lifetime. The Chinese subtitles for this show up top literally means the deity who descends upon the world. Cool, right? And then episode 1 officially begins! Oh man, when we first see Katara waterbending, Sokka is very dismissive of it, to which she insists that it's an art form, not magic. I think the distinction matters to her because magic implies a very like willy-nilly thing that's not well understood, but bending is based on martial arts, so they do in fact have a whole system of techniques that you can learn. And waterbending in particular is based on Tai Chi, which is the perfect choice because Tai Chi is all about soft and flowing movements, and it's done mostly for health benefits. In China, you could constantly see grandmas and grandpas just like doing Tai Chi in a park or something. And according to the art book, this idea of adding like a fun supernatural element to martial arts is inspired by Stephen Chow movies like Xiaoling Soccer. A martial art consultant called Sifu Kisu was the one who assigned a specific martial art to each element. I'll talk more about them as we see more bending. Then, I love how we're immediately introduced to Sokka's character arc, where he starts off with like a hefty serving of annoying misogyny and toxic masculinity, and this probably comes from him being like the oldest dude left in his tribe so he feels like he has to overcompensate. And speaking of overcompensating, Zuko's here! God, isn't it so weird to see his Season 1 look again? This hairstyle of his is influenced by samurai and Imperial Japanese nobility who shave their heads in... interesting ways? But in-universe, there's actually like a new explanation. In The Rise of Kyoshi, a novel by F.C. Yi about Kyoshi's life, and it's considered canon to the Avatar universe, it's stated that if you lose an Agni Kai and you're spared by your opponent, you have to shave all of your hair except the topknot part. So this is retroactively a hairstyle of shame that Zuko wears everywhere. I think Uncle Iroh just has male pattern baldness though. But man, he is such a good foil for Zuko. I really appreciated how they didn't make the Fire Nation this generic like evil to be defeated, but a whole distinct culture with its own complexities. I really like my complex villains, you know? Also, random fact from the art book, Aang wasn't frozen solid in the iceberg, but he was hovering in a sphere of energy. The Air Nomads are heavily inspired by Tibetan culture, and the monks there wear a lot of orange, yellow, and red. So that's probably why the Air Nomads are color-coded this way. Also, Aang's name may only sound like one syllable, but they actually picked two Chinese characters to represent it. Peace and Soaring. Very fitting. One gripe people had with a live-action movie is that they pronounce his name Ong there. That is actually how you pronounce his name in Mandarin Chinese, but I'm not gonna be too nitpicky with the names in this show, nor am I gonna like read too much into them. Because they're not technically supposed to reflect real Asian names, even when they sometimes do. Like, dao. Another fun fact from the art book is that the Avatar world was heavily influenced by Miyazaki films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. This influence is obvious when it comes to stuff like Appa. He's so cute. I want a plushie of him. I can't wait to be emotionally destroyed whenever we watch Book 2! Meanwhile, Zuko is yelling about his honor. This is influenced by the perception that honor is a big deal in Asian cultures, but I think it gets overused in Asian-inspired media made in the West. Thankfully, Zuko's character ends up being more complex than this singular motivation. And then Aang wakes up in the Southern Water tribe! According to the art book, the look of the tribe is inspired by the movie Adonadra the Fast Runner, which depicted life in a small Inuit tribe. There's an amazing thread on Twitter by Ruth Dan, an Inuit person, that speaks more about the inspiration Avatar took from Inuit cultures. Plural. They're not a monolith. Like, inspirations such as Katara's hair loopies and a lot of water tribe names. I'll link the thread in the description below. Meanwhile, Zuko is practicing firebending. Firebending is based on Northern Shaoling martial arts, which have a lot of fast strikes and aggressive kicks. Uncle Iroh tells Zuko that his fire comes from the breath, which is probably a nod to the concept of qi in Chinese culture. Qi is literally translated as air or breath, though it's more of a vital energy that flows through all things. Qi can also be divided into subtypes according to the five element system, like fire qi is a thing. It's believed to give you mouth ulcers if your fire qi is too imbalanced. So like, Zuko probably gets a lot of ulcers in his mouth. In this penguin sledding scene, it's pretty sad that Katara considers herself an adult even though she's only 14. It speaks to how the war has disrupted life in her tribe so much that she feels like she has to take up all these extra responsibilities. When she and Aang get into the abandoned Fire Nation ship, there are a lot of weapons modeled after ancient Chinese ones. There's like a crescent moon sword at the very left, which is most popularly associated with Guan Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, though there is debate on whether he actually had a weapon like this. There's also a qi, which is like a combo spear and poleaxe. These have many variations, and this is only one of them. And there's also a pu dao, a blade weapon attached to a long pole. It's reportedly used to cut the legs of horses during battle. I'm not a military nerd at all though, so forgive me if I got any of these wrong. In the next episode, when Zuko's ship gets to the Southern Water tribe, Sokka puts on war paint. I don't think this particular look is inspired by any particular culture. Official sources say that it's just meant to look like a wolf and serve as camouflage. As for the Fire Nation armor, the artbook says that it was originally inspired by samurai armor, but they had to streamline the details when actually animating it. I have to say though, having your troops wear skull masks is a bit on the nose. Though I guess the Fire Nation is into that grunge aesthetic. Oh, and random fun trivia here. It's revealed in the Korra comics, Turf Wars, that the Arab Benders were very open-minded and accepting when it comes to relationships and sexuality. So like, queer Arab Benders didn't even have to have like a whole coming-out process. The Fire Nation was really homophobic under Sozin, though. And here, the pottery in the background is probably based on an ancient Chinese vessel called a ge, which were basically clay pots with three hollow legs to conduct heat and cook porridge quickly. It's so obscure that I'm pretty sure that the production team just saw it in a Chinese drama somewhere and then added it in. This is the thing to keep in mind about these influences. There were so many artists who worked on this that it's impossible to really tell who got inspiration from what. I have a hard time imagining some background artist is like specifically Googling 3,000-year-old Chinese pottery for one shot. So like, sometimes it really isn't that deep. When Aang fights Zuko, he demonstrates how airbending is based on Bagua Zhang, or a trigram palm. It's a martial art that uses a lot of evasive, circular movements to dodge your opponent's attacks and lure them into exposing their weaknesses. This is why you see Aang swiveling behind people a lot. And then we go to episode 3! Do you guys even know how it feels to have your only name representation in the West be this guy? Fun fact though, he's voiced by Jason Isaacs, also known as Lucius Malfoy. What? So the gang gets to the Southern Air Temple, which is built on the Potala Mountain Range. This is probably named after the Potala Palace in Tibet, which by extension is named after Mount Putilaka. I'm probably pronouncing that wrong. A mystic mountain in Buddhism. And according to the art book, air temples were for ceremonies, festivals, and training apprenticed monks, while adult airbenders are just out there vibing all over the world. But oh my god, I'm not ready to experience this episode again. I swear, I was like traumatized by this episode as a kid. I really appreciate how deep the worldbuilder goes in Avatar though. Like, just for one scene, they created and animated this whole airball game. But hold on. How was Sokka supposed to play fairly? He can't bend anything! I'm pretty devastated by the slow buildup to Aang realizing the airbender genocide really did happen though. I mean, man, this show really went there! Monk Gyatso is named after the second name that all Dalai Lamas except the first one had. It means ocean in Tibetan. And guess what the current Dalai Lama's name is? Tenzin Gyatso. No wonder this show never aired in mainland China. Then Momo is here! The Avatar Extras say that flying lemurs were originally trained by the air nomads to fetch their staffs. That's cute. Also, apparently there was almost an episode about Momo being Monk Gyatso's reincarnation. All right, okay. Meanwhile, Zuko and Zhao get into a spat and challenge each other to an Agni Kai. Agni means fire in Sanskrit and Kai means meeting in Japanese. Clearly, when firebenders go fight me one-on-one, they mean it. And then, oh god, here it comes. No, I kid you not. I was legitimately, like, traumatized by this scene as a child. I had to straight-up close the episode and hide. For Aang though, it sent him into the Avatar state and a bunch of stuff starts glowing across the four nations. The tower in the Fire Nation is explicitly based on the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China. If you make a virus joke, I swear I'm gonna- Anyway, Zuko trounces Zhao in an Agni Kai, which surprised me. I don't know why I expected him to lose. And then Katara calms Aang down by telling him that she and Sokka are his new family now. Man, it really is a lot for, like, a 12-year-old kid to process. I mean, from his perspective, his whole culture was still alive and vibrant a few days ago. It's amazing that he can still look on the bright side. He decides to take Momo as his new pet. Momo means peach in Japanese. So he might be holding a peach here? Or maybe, like, Aang just based it on his face shape. I really love this final shot, which shows that, like, despite Aang cheering up on the surface, he's not really over what happened to his people. And that's realistic. I mean, he can't possibly get over something like that that fast. And then of course, like, later on, we get a whole episode about it, which is just great. We'll talk about it when we get there. And then episode 4! In this shot, asides from more ancient Chinese food vessels, there are a pair of crescent moon blades hanging on the wall. They're also known as deer horn knives. This is another kind of ancient Chinese weapon. And interestingly, it's associated with Bagua Zhang, which is what airbending is based on. Also, for those of you who read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, this is Karu's signature weapon. In this episode, we're introduced to the Kyoshi warriors, who are heavily influenced by Japanese culture. This speaks to the internal diversity even among the Earth Kingdom. I've seen people say that the Earth Kingdom is strictly based on Ming and Qing Dynasty China. This is not true. Like, none of the nations strictly correspond to a real culture. Even airbenders have more than just Tibetan influence. And by the way, Unagi is Japanese for freshwater eel. Or, if you watched Friends, a state of total awareness. That's not real. Don't be a clown like Ross. And the character on the Kyoshi warriors' sleeve is Red Kyo in Japanese, meaning capital. And their face paint is heavily inspired by geisha and kabuki face paint. Though, in-universe, it references the face paint Kyoshi wore when she was part of a criminal organization called the Flying Opera Company. This is revealed in the Kyoshi novels. This organization was created by Kyoshi's criminal parents, an earthbender thief named Hark, and a renegade air nun called Jessa. Literally, Jessa was a young airbending master before she met Hark and realized that, you know what, she liked the criminal life better. And then she tattooed snakes over her airbender tattoos. And so her parents disguised themselves as a theater trope to keep on the down-low. And they painted their faces like Peking opera actors. This sequence, this is randomly one of my favorites in the entire show. It's just such good worldbuilding. Like, the way it showed how food actually gets to the character's table, and how gossip can spread along the supply chain. Oh, it's like, it's so effective! It's like, oh my god. God! The worldbuilding of this show! Later, the food the Kyoshi islanders give to Team Avatar, there are a few that look like Japanese snacks. Like vaguely, not like entirely accurately, but vaguely. Like the discs on the left are probably based on dolayaki, which is like pancakes filled with red bean filling. And then the ones below could be norimaki rice crackers? And then the flower-shaped things could be monaka? Also a pastry filled with bean paste. If you haven't had any of these, I highly recommend trying them. Japanese snacks, so good. So when Sokka goes to attempt to flex in front of the Kyoshi warriors, they're practicing with metal fans based on real war fans used in Japanese martial arts. In the Kyoshi novels, though, it's revealed that they were first created by Kyoshi's mom, Jessa. Because like, after she turned into a criminal, I guess she had more like worldly attachments, so her airbending ended up getting really weakened. So she created these fans to supplement her fighting. Also, there's a katana in the background. I don't think I need to explain that to you weebs out there. Here, Avatar Extras say this little girl Koko was named after Kyoshi's daughter, who governed the island after she died. And coincidentally, it's also the name of my cat! Though my cat is named after the Mongol princess Kokochin instead. Then, when the Fire Nation attacks, everything changed! You know what I mean? Anne gets very angsty. This moment was really well done because even though he won the fight, Anne didn't feel any spark of joy or pride at all. His expression immediately just wilted. This town treated him so well and was so excited to have him, yet because of him, it was destroyed. So I like how they explored the instant fame aspect of being the Avatar that would appeal to a young kid, but also the realism of getting dragged into a war and having a bunch of responsibilities. Being famous is, uh, not as fun as it seems like. Trust me. Also, I really like this part where Asaka apologized to Tsuki for treating her like a girl instead of a warrior, but Tsuki says that she may be a warrior, but she's a girl too. See, I don't really vibe with when feminist messages go in the direction of rejecting feminine things like makeup and fashion altogether. When a strong female protagonist demonstrates how strong she is by scoffing at other girls who only have makeup and boys on their minds, I don't think this is the way to go. It's just a different breed of misogyny, actually. It's like saying women only deserve respect if they distance themselves from what people usually think of women. From like those traditional feminine things. And that not only further belittles those feminine things, it continues to put stereotypically masculine qualities on a pedestal, and that's how we get nonsense like boys getting beat up for wearing dresses. Women are the only people who have feminine traits. Come on. Belittling feminine traits, it's just, it hurts everybody. Anyway, mini rant, but I appreciate the diversity of female characters in Avatar. It's not just one type that's portrayed as respectable. Like, Katara's awesome and she uses seaweed lotion for her skin. And finally, appreciation for Aang dunking on Zuko yet again. Episode 5, the King of Omashu. Here we can see the Earth Kingdom symbol, which is based on Banyan Coins, the first standardized coinage of Imperial China. They were created in the Qin Kingdom, and they're round on the outside to represent the heavens, and square on the inside to represent the Earth. They're pretty iconic. And we also have the first appearance of MY CABBAGES GUY. The artbook says that him as a recurring gag character was inspired by those three old guys in Cowboy Bebop that would just randomly show up on a bunch of different planets. Once again, Omashu demonstrates an incredible level of world-building in the Avatar universe. They didn't have to go this hard on the details, but they did. Then we meet King Bumi. His headdress is generally something worn in Chinese operas by very fierce characters, like Lyu Bu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Sun Wukong the Monkey King from Journey to the West. Bumi then tricks Aang into airbending to confirm that he is indeed an airbender. As if the orange and yellow robes and the tattoos didn't make it clear enough. Here, if Aang had slid a few more centimeters down, he really would have been the last airbender. The final one. Then when Aang is picking between the fighters and thinks he's so clever for picking Bumi, it reminds me of that scene in Kung Fu Hustle where Steven Chao keeps trying to challenge the people that look weak, but then they reveal themselves out of the crowd and then they're like super tall or super buff or whatever. I'm not sure that it's an inspiration, but it is something I was reminded of. Watch Kung Fu Hustle if you haven't, by the way. It's an amazing movie. So funny. The artbook confirms that Bumi's physique was inspired by the Meccas in Evangelion though. Like his arms are super long. Bumi demonstrates how typical earthbending is based on Hong Gar, a martial art from southern China that has a lot of low stances, firm kicks, and powerful punches. It's like a combination of a tiger's power and a crane's grace. After realizing Bumi's identity, Aang gives him a Kung Fu salute, where you like wrap your right fist in your left palm and bow. This is a far more hygienic greeting than handshakes, and I think it's about time we brought it back in fashion. The relationship between Bumi and Aang also makes me super emotional. Like lots of things about this show makes me emotional. Just because like, come on. Bumi is his only human connection to his former life. It's been a hundred years and yet they can still meet. So episode six, we meet Haru, also known as Great Value Lan Wangji. I'm kidding. Haru's great. Sokka suggests caution, but Katara goes right up. She just goes right in, scaring Haru off. In Haru's town, Aang buys what is apparently referred to as an Asian conical hat in English. It's just a popular style in Asia, not much to it. Haru makes a very good point about the gang looking very out of place with their obviously water tribe and airbender clothing though. Their lives would probably be way easier if they just like bought or borrowed some local clothes, like in book 3. But you know what? They're new at this. When the Fire Nation soldiers come to collect taxes, we can see a shot of actual banyan coins. In the Avatar universe, they're apparently made of several different minerals, and copper seems to be the cheapest. Later, Katara has her first of many bonding moments with the pretty boy over how the Fire Nation destroyed their families. I wasn't involved in shipping when I was younger and watched this show, but man, she has chemistry with so many people! She convinces Haru to save an old man from a mining tunnel collapse, but the old man ends up turning him in instead. You know, this is the thing with helping people. You can't expect them to automatically treat you the same in return. You have to do it out of principle, not for the gratitude. The gang catches a pretty ingenious plan actually to make fake earthbending, though I think Aang is being a little bit out of character here. I mean, it's a big deal that Katara is about to get herself captured. I don't know why he's like not taking this seriously. Katara gleefully roasts Sokka for his big ears though, and eventually the plan works out. Katara gets taken to the prison rig. The warden, by the way, is voiced by George Takei. George Takei is like, this entire rig is made of metal. You can't possibly bend your way out. Toph is on her way, as we speak. There's another interesting piece of worldbuilding in the way he speaks to the earthbenders though. Like, he calls earthbending brutish savagery that passes for bending, which is very telling to the attitude that the Fire Nation has developed toward the Earth Kingdom to justify their invasions. I mean, isn't this how colonialism happened? The Fire Nation made a bunch of technological advancements and suddenly they wanted to civilize everywhere else. From Katara's perspective though, the earthbenders were mighty, courageous heroes in her bedtime stories. So that's a really interesting dichotomy. Katara's inspiring speech does not inspire them, but the gang uses something similar to the fake earthbending plan to vent a bunch of coal to the earthbenders. All it takes is for one person, Haru's dad, to stand up and the rest gain the courage to fight back. They go ahead and dump George Takei into the ocean. This episode feels great. It's like the true start of this momentum against the Fire Nation's imperialism. Katara loses her mom's necklace though, and Zuko finds it. The Avatar Extras say they were originally supposed to become a couple, but the creators Brian and Mike have also denied that. So like, I can sense even conflict within the production team itself over whether Zutara was supposed to be canon. Next, episode 7, The Spirit World! It opens with Aang being devastated at a devastated forest. Man, people have been discoursing about environmental degradation for decades now, and still we don't learn. I was almost a biology major in university and I swear half the course content was just like, crying. Meanwhile, Uncle Iroh is having a soak in some hot springs while Zuko is angry as usual. Iroh heated the water himself, that's so convenient. Unless Jet is watching, I guess. The new town the gang has arrived at is plagued by a forest spirit though. Its name is Heibai, and they do explain in the show that it means black and white. It was originally a panda, the symbol of conservation, of course. Uncle Iroh gets ambushed and captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers. I like how this show has made Iroh so sympathetic that you actually feel a sense of anxiety for him, even though he's one of the imperialists. I think this complexity is necessary when writing villains. Just because someone has a lovable personality, it doesn't mean they're not capable of doing terrible things. In fact, they're the most dangerous people to deal with. Iroh was a general. He wasn't innocent. He invaded the Earth Kingdom and put Ba Sing Se at siege for 600 days. Tons of ordinary citizens probably died because of him. If his son hadn't died and he had become Fire Lord like he was supposed to, I honestly don't think he would have stopped the war. He may not have committed the airbender genocide, but he still would have kept going with the invasions. I don't know. This is a topic for discussion and debate, I guess. Anyway, Aang meets Hei Bai for real. The artbook says that Hei Bai is, again, inspired by Evangelion. The angels, this time. Man, the producers really loved that show. Aang enters the Spare World by accident and gets taken for a ride on Roku's dragon. Very neat detail here that Uncle Iroh can see the dragon while no one else can. Also, there's some discourse about Asian dragons being creatures of water more often than fire, so that's what Avatar should've portrayed. But it's honestly not a HUGE deal to me. I mean, the distinction between Western and Eastern dragons get muddled a lot in modern Asia too. I do think it would've been cool to see water dragons being represented though. I mean, we see fire-breathing dragons all the time. It's nothing new. When Aang gets to the Fire Temple, the writing on the floor correspond to the Spring Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Not a big surprise there. But what IS a big surprise is Zuko straight up shattering Iroh's chain with one kick. Damn. You know, Zuko gets dunked on by the gang so often that it's really tempting to clown on him. But when he's fighting anyone else, he's actually like, pretty impressive. Loving uncle in the loincloth, by the way. Finally, Aang convinces Hei Bai to have hope that the forest will grow back, the way that Katara cheered him up with an acorn at the start of the episode. Hei Bai turns back into a panda and releases all the people it captured from a spontaneous bamboo grove. Man, if only we could've had the same hope for our planet. Then Episode 8, Avatar Roku. Once again, I so appreciate how they didn't paint everyone in the Fire Nation as straight up villains. In this Fire Temple, we stand Shiyu, the only one with his priorities straight. Here, the whole sequence where Sokka tries to blast open the door fails, but then Katara realizes that it could be used to trick the fire sages anyway. Brilliant writing. This is what satisfying problem-solving should look like in fiction. It actually makes the characters look clever instead of lucky, which are very different experiences to the audience. And then after the sages are duped into opening the door, the moment of suspense before it's revealed that Zuko caught Aang, the action beats in this episode are spot on. And then of course, there's this moment where the door opens and then everybody sees Roku instead. Ugh, Shiyu? Shiyu's dead! No, I'm kidding. He appears in the sequel comics as the new fire sage, so he was only imprisoned, not executed. Episode 9, The Waterbending Squirrel. Katara finds it on a pirate ship. The moves on it are based on the 24-step form of Tai Chi, and the Chinese characters on it just say Waterbending Practicing, First Sent. Second episode with the Cabbage Merchant. I really liked Katara's character arc in this episode. Like, jealousy is a natural emotion, and if you deny it, you're only gonna end up lashing out at people who haven't necessarily done anything to deserve it. It's easy to think people are gloating or bragging when they talk about their accomplishments, but most of the time, they're probably not doing it with any malicious intent. They just want to share good news because they're happy. If you start feeling negative about a successful person, you gotta take a step back and consider if your reasons for hating them are actually valid, or if you're really just frustrated at yourself for not having what they do. I say this from experience, the best way to overcome jealousy is to achieve your dreams yourself. You can only move ahead if you focus that energy inward, not outward. And I guess that is what Katara tries to do. And while Uncle Iroh says that it's kind of her fault that Zuko fined her, I don't think it's something she could have anticipated. Also, this episode, I can definitely see why people ship Zuko and Katara that hard. Again, I'm neutral and will remain neutral. Do not drag me into your ship wars. But I will say that I personally would never date a guy with a hairstyle like that. At the end, I'm glad they didn't do the typical kids show moral of returning the squirrel. It's okay to steal from pirates if the fate of the world is on the line. I am most definitely not lawful good. Next episode, Jet! The art book says that he was inspired by Spike from Cowboy Bebop. The Avatar Extras say that the design of the forest was inspired by the movie House of Flying Daggers, though the art book says that it's also inspired by the Ewok forest in Return of the Jedi. Jet's hook swords are based on Chinese tiger head hooks, weapons that are mostly used by Northern Shaolin monks. He is also the second hot boy Katara bonds with over Fire Nation trauma. I love her harem. And I actually really like Jet's character because I'm a huge fan of like morally complicated characters. He has almost like a cult leader level of charisma. He easily ropes people into doing what he wants by appealing to their egos. His psychological tactics are honestly brilliant. Like up until the final reveal, you honestly have no idea if he's telling the truth. Each episode of the show so far has explored a different aspect of how this hundred-year war has changed the Avatar world, and I'm glad they didn't leave out this type of extremist on the rebel side. I guess this episode also explored why Katara didn't become team leader, though I honestly think that she's the one holding it all together. Anyway, the Avatar extras say that the fight scenes in this episode were inspired by Naruto and Samurai Champloo. The resolution was kind of a bummer though. I mean, the gang can't win at everything, but it's sad that Jet actually destroyed the village. Like, the people may have been saved, but that is a lot of property damage. I actually do like the romance between Katara and Jet though, as in I like how it didn't have a happy ending. If you're gonna do awkward whirlwind teenage romance, then you should show a few instances where things just go terribly wrong. And then episode 11, the Great Divide. Nothing happened here. Bye, next one. I'm kidding. I actually don't mind this episode. It's true that it's not as deep as the previous ones, but it was still entertaining. The Lan Ningjings, I mean, the Ganjings, literally mean the cleans. They give off the vibe of ancient aristocrats seen in Chinese period dramas. They're all wearing very fancy Hanfu, the so-called traditional clothing of China. Though I have to say that Hanfu styles vary greatly, and this particular style looks more like a modern interpretation, like one of those period costumes that's meant to be more pretty than historically accurate. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, fashion is fluid. Also, the Ganjings all have long hair, which was the norm in ancient China because of the Confucian belief that your body is a sacred gift from your parents, and you shouldn't tamper with any part of it, not even like cutting your hair. I talk more about this in my Mulan 1998 video. I'll link it below. The fancy hairpieces the Ganjings wear over their top knots are called guan, or crown, and it's generally something exclusive to ancient aristocrats. Ancient commoners just wrapped their top knots in dark cloth. On the other hand, the Jiangs are close to sounding like the dirties in Mandarin. They're clearly just inspired by like the stereotypical cave people aesthetic. These two tribes represent the public health dichotomy of- I'm kidding, it's probably not that deep. But that's probably why this episode wasn't received as well as the others. It's a rather simplistic dichotomy for Avatar. I mean, we have high expectations by now. Famous last words by the canyon guide here. You may have noticed that the animation style in the Jiang flashback is really stylized, and it's inspired by the work of Hiroyuki Imaishi. This is from Avatar Extras. When the Jiangs and the Ganjings finally duke it out, the Ganjing leader uses a jian. This type of straight sword is actually considered very refined and elegant in ancient China, and you can totally find poets who are well-trained in using them, like Li Bai. In general, the Ganjings have a very xianxia vibe, which is that genre that has a lot of pretty people fighting each other prettily. Aang gets furious when he finds out both the tribes smuggled food, but becomes weak when he spots an egg custard tart. Fun fact, Chinese egg tarts are actually inspired by a Portuguese type of egg custard when they colonized Macau in the 1900s. Avatar Extras say that this is Aang's favorite food, though he doesn't know that this particular tart is like 4 weeks old. In the end, this episode did deliver a clever problem-solving moment, with Aang figuring out that they can ride the canyon crawler safely if they tie their food pegs over their snouts. Pretty good tactic. As for how he ultimately solves the feud between the tribes by lying, I feel eh about it. Not because I have a problem with him lying. It was just...eh. What I think is that this episode missed the opportunity to explore the effects of propaganda, and how history can be distorted through biased retellings in context of the war. Remember when Aang goes to a Fire Nation school in Book 3, and they ask the students about the so-called Air Nation army? Having something like that in this episode would've made it feel a lot more connected to the plot. It's probably intentional that this episode is more lighthearted though, because the next one is The Storm. Oh boy, let's explore some trauma, kids. Honestly, if I were a member of Zuko's crew at this point, I'd be pissed at him too. For some reason, it's hardly ever immediately obvious to people that Aang is the Avatar, even though them eventually recognizing his airbender tattoos means they know what they are. So how many bald monks in yellow and orange do they see on a regular basis? In the flashbacks, when the monks explain that they believe Aang is the Avatar because he picked the four Avatar relics out of thousands of toys, this is based on one of the ways that the Dalai Lama's reincarnation is confirmed. In the Zuko flashback, the artbook says that the Fire Lord's throne room was inspired by Chinese and Egyptian architecture. And Zuko losing everything because he spoke out in a war council? It may seem extreme, but it's not that surprising in a regime that's this authoritarian. The Fire Lord can't maintain his authority if his kid son is like yelling at his generals in his war room. This is the thing with authoritarianism. It is so damn fragile. I also like the complexity on the other side with Aang and the monks. You can see both perspectives. Like, the other monks are obviously nervous about the impending war, and they want Aang to be trained as fast as possible, but Gyatso also realizes that as a kid, Aang shouldn't be put under 100% pressure all the time. It was pretty cruel for the other monks to suggest like straight-up separating Aang and Gyatso though, even though they were separated in the end. Also see how Ozai wears a fancy headpiece over his topknot? Sign of an aristocrat. Azula wears one too, but Zuko and Iroh don't because I honestly don't think the character designers were sticking to the convention that closely. This is another thing about these potential inspirations that I'm musing about. The show isn't necessarily adopting them as strict internal rules, just the occasional aesthetic. This is the first shot of Azula though, one of the greatest villains of all time. In general. Not just kid media. Though I'm of the opinion that most of the kid media I've seen, like Avatar and Transformers Prime, they are legit like so much more well-written than adult media. The most relatable exchange here between Sokka and the Fisherman. Then Aang saves them and all is better and we're leaving this episode before it makes me any more emotional. Next up, the Blue Spirit. The yu in Yuyan archers is probably based on the Mandarin word for feather, yu, since, you know, that's what's at the end of arrows. I don't know if the yan has any special meaning though. Ginger tea is commonly used to treat colds in many cultures. Famous last words, Katara. Go self-quarantine for 14 days. This Wanted poster of Aang reads, Wanted, the Avatar. This fugitive has the ability to airbend, being able to create tornadoes and run faster than the wind. Be careful beyond careful when capturing. Issued under command of the Fire Lord. Avatar Extras say the stairs to the Herbalist were inspired by the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. After the Yuyan archers capture Aang, Zhao makes a good point. They'll just have to start the Avatar hunt all over again if they kill Aang. Even if the Fire Nation wins with the power of Sozin's Comet, Korra will be born, waiting to lead a rebellion. Hey, that's not a bad fanfic idea actually. Somebody write this. Someone who isn't me. Avatar Extras also say this fortress was originally an important Earth Kingdom trading outpost. Guess the Fire Nation is so dedicated to their brand that they repainted all the roofs red. And the artbook says that Zuko's blue spirit mask was originally red, but got changed because it gave off too much of an ancient Korean Spider-Man vibe. Ultimately, it was inspired by the mask of the Dragon King Nool, though in-universe, it's an Earth Kingdom opera mask. Again, it's like Zuko has some mad skills when it comes to anything except capturing or fighting Aang. He's using two Dao swords here, a Chinese broadsword with one slightly curved blade edge. The action in this episode, my god, how do you even choreograph a sequence like this? I have nothing but respect for action choreographers, especially in animation. Then the quiet moment between Aang and Zuko at the end? Ugh, just kill me. Okay, next episode, The Fortune Teller. So, some of you may be inclined to say Katara friendzoned Aang here. No. Aang relationshipzoned Katara. The whole concept of the friendzone is unfair to the person doing the rejection because they likely had no idea of your feelings until you confessed them. So like, how does it make sense to say that they did something to you instead of the other way around? There will be no friendzone propaganda in my house. In general, the people of Aunt Wu's village give me a very strong Tang Dynasty vibe. The Tang Dynasty is considered the peak golden age of Imperial China. This kind of hat with the two droopy flaps in the back is very iconic to this era. One day, I'll do a video on how to identify a historical Chinese drama's precise dynasty by clothing alone. This is a superpower that a lot of Chinese people have. We see like one hat in a palace drama and we're like Xiong Dynasty. Also, another fun fact, the Avatar Extras say that this comdude is based on a security guard in Nickelodeon. That's so funny. Speaking of the Tang Dynasty though, I wonder if Aunt Wu was named after Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. Or she could be named after the word for shaman, Wu. And this white hair guy, I swear, he must be a reference to some anime character. I just don't know which one. Meng is voiced by Jessie Flower, the eventual voice actor of Toph. Aunt Wu's fortune-telling is based on oracle bone divination, also known as osteomancy. This is an ancient, and I mean like neolithic ancient, form of fortune-telling in China. They carved writing on the shoulder bones of oxen or the shells of turtles, and then threw them into fires. The bones would then crack, and the cracks across the writing would be interpreted to tell the future. It is thanks to this tradition that we have archaeological findings of Chinese writing that's like more than 3,000 years old. They are primary sources from the Xiong Dynasty! And you can trace modern Chinese writing directly to this oracle bone script. Imagine if you were reading up on your horoscopes, and then 3,000 years later, someone found your fossilized hard drive and were like, whoa. So these Scorpio people had a tough time back then, huh? Also in the background, there's a large bell that's probably inspired by bianzhong, a type of bronze instrument that's especially iconic to this super ancient Xiong and Zhou Dynasty times. They were hung on a frame as a large set and played with mallets. So they were like extra hardcore xylophones. They made real music back in the Xiong Dynasty. I was born in the wrong generation. No for real though, there's a really well-preserved bianzhong set that was found in a tomb about 2,400 years old, and this is what it sounds like when played. Aside from Tang Dynasty and Xiong Dynasty vibes though, there are also Qing Dynasty vibes in this one shot. This style of clothing with a straight collar and knot buttons, it comes from the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is China's last imperial dynasty, not to be confused with the Qing Dynasty, which is China's first. I know. The Qing Dynasty was actually ruled by an ethnic minority in China, the Manchu people, who were originally nomads and different from the Han people, who were the dominant ethnic group in China, what people usually think of when they hear Chinese. But China's not a monolith, like even the government recognizes at least 56 distinct ethnic groups alone, and there are a lot more that they don't recognize. It's a big country. English honestly doesn't have enough nuance to fully express just how diverse being Chinese can be. It just groups us all under Chinese. It can be really stressful sometimes. Though fun fact, this style of clothing is what China makes world leaders wear at APEC summits. Aang tries to confess to Katara during the crowd's cheering. She doesn't hear it. Oh well. Aunt Wu says that Katara will have her third great-grandchild before passing away quietly in her sleep. No wonder she's still alive in Korra. Pity that Aunt Wu didn't predict that Aang would only live till like 66 though, biologically. Ugh Sokka, no, the number one mistake nice guys make is having being nice be their only personality trait. And if you're nice to someone just to get them to date you, are you really nice? The solution isn't to act aloof, it's to bond with the person on a deeper level. If you can't find ways to bond on that level, then you're probably only attracted to the person on a superficial level and then that was never gonna work out anyway. It's pretty funny to watch Aang seriously take relationship advice from Sokka though. But one thing is true, you shouldn't come on too strongly in the beginning. That actually makes you feel less genuine because if you're doing so much for a person you barely know, how easy would you move on to the next person? This whole town feels like a nest of anti-vaxxers in the making. But I love the casual reminder that things work totally different in the Avatar world because of the existence of bending. They could just talk about digging a huge trench within a few hours because of the existence of earthbenders. Seriously, why are the people with shovels even there? They just get in the way. This is the first moment where Katara seriously considers Aang as a love interest. I think if they wanted to make the Katang ending more convincing, then they should have had more moments like this. Because throughout the rest of the show, she seems very conflicted about a potential relationship with him, you know what I mean? Her attitude is totally different from when she had chemistry with Haru and Jet. That in itself might be a statement, but it's never a good look to give up the vibe that a female character was pressured into a relationship. If they didn't have those scenes where she seemed conflicted and pressured, I think it would have gone over better with audiences. But we'll get to that when we get to later seasons. For now, episode 15, Bato of the Water Tribe. No, come on, we all know the bigger star is the bounty hunter Jun. The artbook says that she's based on Lisa Yang, a post-production supervisor. Though she… I blame her for fueling Zutara. When Aang gets the map to Katara and Sokka's dad, it says under protection of the ocean and moon up top, and then the locations are labeled with tribal chief and soldiers. Here, this cat. I need her backstory. Koko-chan, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again? I really need to thank the Avatar and Korra producers for never giving us, um, an Uncle Iroh deathbed scene. I don't think we could have handled it. Jun continues to represent Zutara shippers, though she is right in that they don't match on an aesthetic level until Zuko grows his hair out. And here, see? Like, this is what I mean. Zuko seems so powerful and badass until he fights Aang. Uncle Iroh here. This is technically harassment. Come on. Seriously, this episode, though. So much ship tease. And although I'm not a Katang shipper, it's interesting to note that last episode was the first time Katara considered Aang as a potential love interest. And then in this episode, she kisses him on the cheek. So I guess there were signs, okay. Next, episode 16, The Deserter. The artbook says that this episode was partially inspired by Heart of Darkness. Once again, appreciating how the writers gave the Fire Nation a vibrant culture that isn't just war and pillaging. Though Avatar Extras do say that this festival is meant for Fire Nation-occupied territories in the Earth Kingdom, to like bring them a slice of home. And then it also says that Jon Jon is based on the president of one of their animation studios, D.R. Movie. His wanted poster says, Jon Jon, former Fire Nation admiral, age 60, white hair, looks gentle, but is actually a master of firebending. Captors, be careful. The gang seriously needs better disguises. Dancing dragon! If you've been to like a Lunar New Year parade, you've probably seen one of these. Here, it really puts things into perspective when you show these Fire Nation kids being worried for the Fire Lord puppet. I mean, imagine growing up in the Fire Nation. Actually, I can. I'm from Mainland China. Despite what you've heard, we're not all brainwashed. In fact, every single person I know from Mainland China, including my own family, has some sort of grievance with the government. They're just not vocal about it because the consequences are too severe. But seriously, like, among regular Chinese citizens, there really is this collective sense of ---- at the government. Even my grandpa, he's like an actual member of the Communist Party, and he would write poems praising it, but on the down low, he would admit that, oh yeah, they're not all that. So that's what it's like to live under an authoritarian government. You act like everything is fine for your own safety, but you know, everyone is side-eyeing in secret. And these kids, they're gonna grow up side-eyeing too. Here, I'm surprised Aang doesn't get the point of Jon Jon telling him to meditate. I mean, I know he's anxious to learn firebending because of the deadline, but he's a monk. He should be used to stuff like this. After this moment where he burns Katara, he actually sticks to his vow. He doesn't firebend again until Sugu comes teach him in Book 3. Next, episode 17, the Northern Air Temple. Another episode that shows a very interesting side of people who are impacted by this war. When you see the sacred morals being destroyed by technology, you actually do feel for Aang. He ends up accepting the changes in the end, though I do think that the refugees could have been more respectful. I like how this episode set up this steampunk aesthetic that would become the focus for Legend of Korra though. Like, some people say that the technological advancement in Korra came out of nowhere, but really, like, look at this episode. Technological advancement has always been, like, this point of conflict in the Avatar world. And then this episode also shows a good side of it. Like, with the right technology, you can remove the barriers that keep people with disabilities from participating in society. Technology can be a good thing, but it also has its negative sides because, okay, pay attention here. You can see Tao's dad designing the drill that will be used on Ba Sing Se in Book 2. It was him. It was him all along. I don't have much else to say that I haven't covered already, so let's move on! Episode 18, the Waterbending Master. The gang has finally arrived at the North Pole. For some reason, koalas live near the North Pole in the Avatar world. Or actually, I think they're called koala seals or something. Avatar Extras say the water chambers here were influenced by the locks at the Panama Canal, and the waterways in the city are inspired by, of course, Venice. The art book says that the structure support of the buildings are made from whale bones, and then everything else is made from ice. That's so cool. Let me tell you, the Northern Water Tribe is probably my favorite setting in Avatar. The first time I saw it, I was amazed. I really love the whole winter and ice aesthetic. You know, I'm Canadian. And I love that so much of it was made possible by waterbending. Though, if you want to see an ice city like this in real life, you can go to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival that happens every winter in China. Whenever the Songhua River freezes over, they haul out blocks of ice and make a whole city of sculptures out of them. Then they light it all up with LEDs and it's all very cool. The festival runs for however long the ice stays frozen, so it'll probably get shorter and shorter every year. I don't think this is a direct inspiration for the Northern Water Tribe because ice cities are just like a thing in fantasy. But if you wanted to experience something like it in real life, go and catch the festival. The instrument being played here is an ancient Chinese one called a pipa, also known as the Chinese lute. Though, unlike bianzhong, they're still pretty popular today, probably because no one normal can fit a whole set of bianzhong in their house and practice on them. It's explained in show that Princess Yue's name means moon, and that's how it is in Mandarin Chinese. Though, if you were speaking Mandarin, you wouldn't pronounce it Yue. It's just one quick syllable. Yue. Since Tai Li's qi blocking confirms the existence of qi in the Avatar world, then this is a model of qi meridians. In traditional Chinese medicine, qi, your life energy, runs through your body through a network that's separate from your veins. It's the basis of stuff like acupuncture. By sticking needles in someone's qi meridians, you can manipulate their qi flow. Ugh, the most annoying thing about Pakku getting mad at Aang for teaching Katara waterbending here is that it's a very familiar attitude. Some people think that the sexism in their cultures is a rightful part of their traditions, and that any attempt at questioning them is bad Western feminist influence. Women's rights and women's bodies have always been necessarily tangled up in politics. And that is just so annoying. According to the DVD commentary, this move where Pakku traps Katara with icicles was inspired by a scene from House of Flying Daggers. I don't know if I liked Pakku doing a 180 with his attitude just because he found out that Katara is the granddaughter of his former fiance. I think it has something to do with him realizing the life he could have had if he wasn't such a sexist jerk, but I wish that we got a deeper emotional moment from him, you know? But of course, these episodes are pretty packed. Here's Sokka's second kiss ever! Next up, episode 19! Sokka uses Appa to impress Yue. Note to villains, never include a mask in the design of your minion uniforms. It only EVER causes trouble for you. But it's great that the Fire Nation regularly updates their uniforms. This is a really neat detail about how the North hasn't fought the Fire Nation in so long that they almost blew their entire cover with outdated uniforms. I think this scene is the first time that Uncle Iroh gets really deep and emotional. Man, I highly relate to Han getting Zhao's name wrong every time. You wouldn't believe the mistakes people make with mine. I swear, it's just four letters! But actually, this is a Korean family name that uses the same Chinese character as mine. The moon and the ocean spirits are push and pull in Mandarin. And if you consider that the moon only pulls tides, not pushes them, that means that the ocean is tui, and the moon is la. They are clearly inspired by the concept of the yin yang, which ties into the fact that waterbending is based on tai chi. Tai chi itself is named after the concept that yin and yang merge into a single ultimate. Epic fight between Zuko and Katara here. Love how the moon and sun both come into play. It ends with Zuko finally capturing Aang, but how will he get away? He doesn't. Next episode, the finale, Siege of the North, part 2. This baboon spirit is voiced by Mark Hamill. You know, Luke Skywalker. I really don't know why they keep getting these big-name actors to voice random characters and then don't even tell people about it. In the comics, it is explained why Ozai inherently dislikes Zuko so much. It's because of a whole drama where Ozai forced Zuko's mom, Ursa, to marry him even though she was already engaged. And then after they got married, she kept trying to write letters to her former fiancé, but then Ozai kept secretly intercepting the letters and then suspecting him of intercepting her letters. Ursa wrote a fake letter saying that Zuko is actually her fiancé's son. And then after Ozai confronted her with this info, she was like, aha, I knew you were messing around with my letters. But he was still so pissed that she would write this letter to begin with, that he was like, fine. You know what? From here on, I will treat Zuko as if he's not really my son. People have never called me Xi'an J. Troy, but they call me Xi'an J. Zhou a lot. I don't know why. The writing on the ancient scroll that Zhao found is indeed super ancient Chinese. I think seal script. Over 2,000 years old. Zuko never has a good time when fighting the gang. I love how this is what makes Uncle Iroh finally turn against the entire Fire Nation. Though, you know, it's understandable. Why would you fight the moon? Things would be so inconvenient at night if there was no moon. Yeah, giant spirit monster! Probably inspired by the Nightwalker from Princess Mononoke. Sokka's first girlfriend turned into the moon. That's rough, buddy. Zuko finally just lies down in exhaustion. That's relatable, buddy. I love how the final shot of the season is Azula. Oh boy, we were not ready when we first watched this. We were not ready for her. None of us were. So, after all of that, you might be inclined to still be like, oh my god, Avatar has such amazing representation! Look, like all the research they did! But I have to put in another reminder here that, yes, while they did do a lot of research, a lot of it was adapted for superficial aesthetics, and were blended with aspects from other cultures, or were streamlined for easier animation. So in the end, this was all just fun trivia and guesswork. Avatar does not attempt to depict real cultures. They're also not perfect when it comes to handling the process of taking inspiration from underrepresented cultures. For example, while they did have actors like Dante Basco for Zuko and Mako for Uncle Iroh, and they did work closely with Korean animation teams, they could've hired more Asian or Inuit creators in prominent voice acting and production positions. Especially Inuit creators. My opinion is that when it comes to making a big media production that's inspired by underrepresented cultures, production companies should have an instinct of prioritizing hiring creatives who are actually from those cultures. Make sure that if you're going to be making such a huge profit off of their aesthetics, that you're actually supporting their communities too. Nowadays, people of color are pushing hard for the opportunities to tell their own stories. But every so often, someone fires back with, well, stuff like the original Mulan cartoon and Avatar the Last Airbender were created by white people, and they're considered masterpieces. So why aren't white people allowed to tell these stories anymore? First of all, it's not that white people aren't allowed to tell these stories. They're going ahead and doing it anyway, all the time. What you're talking about is whether they can do it without backlash. And you have to understand that this type of backlash comes from the frustration that the creative industries inherently favor white creators. So creators of color constantly lose out on opportunities, even for projects related to their actual cultures. To have someone who like didn't even grow up in your culture suddenly decide how to present it to the world, that's just a very terrible feeling. And then in the creative industries, projects are rejected all the time for being like even a little bit too similar to something else. If you're white, and you're thinking of working on a project based on a culture you don't belong to, you have to take a step back and think, am I actually the right person to have this opportunity? Am I potentially taking it away from someone who's actually of that culture? There is no shortage of talent among creators of color, but they still struggle way more. Especially if they're from cultures that aren't too enthusiastic about pursuing careers in arts, like mine. I've had so many huge fights with my parents over my book writing, and only when I started landing multiple book deals did they stop yelling at me. Seriously, they didn't even back off after my first book deal. They thought it was a fluke. If you didn't know, this book is Iron Widow, a Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale reimagining of China's only female emperor. It comes out Fall 2021 from Penguin Random House. When it first sold, my parents were not impressed. But guess what? Now it's sold to four more publishers. It'll be translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and German. So far. The cover should also be revealed soon, so stay tuned. But like, during the submission process to publishers, it did get rejected plenty of times for being too similar to something else. And while I don't know what exact books these were, if it was a white person who didn't grow up in Chinese culture who used it and then caused me to be rejected? That's just tragic, you know? And I'm not saying that what white people create are necessarily like poorly written. Mulan and Avatar are extremely well done. But as I've explained in my Mulan video, it is not the masterpiece of representation for Chinese culture that some people think it is. It got plenty of things right, but plenty of them wrong as well. And then Avatar. Avatar isn't even actual representation. Don't put these works on a pedestal in this regard. And especially don't use them to shut down creators of color who are just fighting for opportunities. Anyway, no more rambling. If you want to see more videos from me, like dissections of the other two Avatar seasons, consider supporting me on Patreon or tipping me on Ko-fi. On Patreon, you'll get updates about where I am with the videos instead of waiting in the void, and you'll be able to suggest and vote on future topics. You can also get sneak peeks of book content, like what my cover might look like? Anyway, thanks again for watching all of that. I hope you enjoyed it. Goodbye.