Reasons I Love Avatar 1: Character Arcs
Apr. 8th, 2011 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljwritesThe world of Avatar: The Last Airbender (Avatar: The Legend of Aang in Britain and Korea) is one of fantasy and adventure. It abounds with heroes, villains, spectacular element-bending and acrobatic martial arts. Oh, and also spirits, monsters, and intrigue. That's what it is, right? An action-packed adventure animation for children.
Which is an accurate description, but it's also true that works don't always stay in their original target audience. Whether it's the Twilight Moms or one of the many, many other examples of periphery demographics (TV Tropes link warning), fiction meant for children or young adults can speak to adults as well. (And I'm not even creepy, I swear!)
The reason Avatar speaks to me in this way is that the world has a lot more depth and truth to it than it may seem at first. I mean it's gorgeously animated, rich in detail, very well written, has good production values, etc. etc.--but even more than that, it's one of those works that really move me and say something about what life is like. I would like to discuss those aspects of Avatar in this and other posts. Call it the grown-up fan's defense of liking a children's animation.
If you want a comprehensive analysis of the show, or if you're interested in any kind of in-depth critique of Avatar, you absolutely must give Alex's Extended Analysis a read. I won't try another full critique of the show, because as far as I'm concerned that wheel has been invented . My goals for this series are humbler: I want to talk about the reasons why the show appeals to me as an adult.
So without further ado, let me start with the first reason: The characters of Avatar, and specifically the way they grow and change.
Reasons I Love Avatar
Reason 1: Character Arcs
The first and most important reason I like the series so much is the characters. A story is only as interesting as the characters in it, and Avatar is one of those shows that just swim in character depth All the major characters have their flaws and virtues. Even Aang, the titular hero, is no angel nor saint; he's a good little kid and reluctant hero with very understandable fears and doubts, who manages to (spoiler!) save the world in spite of them. The same goes for Katara, Sokka, and all of the gang: They each have strengths that give them their moments to shine, and each have character flaws that have real consequences. The writers did a good job of not sugarcoating or avoiding the mistakes the children made, and also did a good job of showing them learn and grow from those mistakes.
Sometimes, as happens so often in life, a flaw is simply the other side of virtue. One of Katara's greatest strengths, for instance, is her dedication. It's her total commitment to becoming a master waterbender that drove her to challenge Master Pakku and to put in the work to become both a great waterbender and Aang's waterbending teacher. That dedication showed an ugly side early in the series, however, when she stole a waterbending scroll from pirates, and when she grew so jealous of Aang for his facility with waterbending that she snuck off to practice by herself, getting captured by said pirates as a result ("The Waterbending Scroll"). She realized and admitted the consequences of her obsession, made amends by apologizing to Aang, and let go of her competitive streak--though not of her ferocious dedication. And she ended up kicking Aang's tattooed butt at waterbending anyway, though ironically this was after being better than her friend ceased to matter to her.
When it comes to character flaws with real consequences and character growth, though, I would submit that the most dramatic and important character arc belongs to Prince Zuko. As I will discuss later, the very fact that a prince of the "evil empire" was included as a sympathetic and deeply flawed main character is one of the reasons why Avatar has such depth as a story. His journey is long and difficult with dizzying highs and abysmal lows, and is key to the end of the war and any hope of a lasting peace. A full analysis will deserve a separate posting of its own, but in brief, Zuko's craving for his father's approval and his obsession with catching the Avatar put Aang and his friends in constant danger and culminated in Aang's temporary death at the end of Book 2.
As an aside, I think the number of AU (alternate universe) stories that focus on Zuko making a different choice at that crucial juncture testifies to how disturbing this last part was to Zuko fans. There's no getting around the fact that Zuko's choice to side with Azula contributed to Aang's death. He showed no remorse for this, either, but instead tried to make it a reality by hiring an assassin. Talk about abysmal lows.
Speaking of abysmal lows and killing saviors of the world, there's a reason Judas Iscariot is more reviled than Pontius Pilates. Pilates never indicated by word or deed that he would be anything other than the Roman governor of Judea, one of whose jobs was to execute supposed criminals in horrible ways. Judas, on the other hand, had actually given Jesus and the disciples reason to trust him and then used that trust to betray them. Zuko, while not one of the Gaang up to this point, had nevertheless shown Aang and especially Katara his more human side. It's not surprising that Katara was the last of the group to accept Zuko; not only does she have a protective streak wider than the breadth of Ba Sing Se (remember, dedication), but it's painful and what's more, humiliating to have your trust violated like that. As far as she was concerned, Zuko was Judas (Zudas?).
Zuko had a long, hard climb to make from this nadir, and he does so Zuko-style: Inch by inch, fighting tooth and nail all the way. He goes through some of my favorite character development ever in the early half of Season 3, whiny and self-absorbed, destructive and angry and desperately confused, possessing everything he ever wanted and wondering why he was so unhappy. When he was finally faced with the ultimate choice between the total destruction of the Earth Kingdom and keeping his father's approval, he made the right choice at last and took responsibility for his life and his choices. This is significant for the world at large, not just because Zuko's change of heart is the key to ending the war, but because his journey parallels the change the Fire Nation as a whole must undertake, from being bound into a destructive and self-destructive war to taking charge of the solution and its own destiny.
On a greater or smaller scale, then, the story of Avatar is a story of spiritual growth, of many interlocking inner journeys. There is plenty of colorful and interesting action, but this action comes from the rich texture of the characters themselves and is resolved by the character's choices, which choices in turn shape not only the world and events but the characters themselves. Science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin once said that she grew very bored with some science fiction stories because the more that was going on outside, the less seemed to be happening on the inside. With Avatar there is always a rich interaction between the outside action and inner changes in the characters That, to me, is Good Story, one that has power and relevance beyond anything that a thrilling plot and flashy gimmicks can deliver.
Of course, no character exists in a vacuum. The next discussion will be about character relationships, not just romantic ones but friendship and family ties as well. For thoughts on the three main romantic relationships in the show and in fandom, see the shipping essay.
Which is an accurate description, but it's also true that works don't always stay in their original target audience. Whether it's the Twilight Moms or one of the many, many other examples of periphery demographics (TV Tropes link warning), fiction meant for children or young adults can speak to adults as well. (And I'm not even creepy, I swear!)
The reason Avatar speaks to me in this way is that the world has a lot more depth and truth to it than it may seem at first. I mean it's gorgeously animated, rich in detail, very well written, has good production values, etc. etc.--but even more than that, it's one of those works that really move me and say something about what life is like. I would like to discuss those aspects of Avatar in this and other posts. Call it the grown-up fan's defense of liking a children's animation.
If you want a comprehensive analysis of the show, or if you're interested in any kind of in-depth critique of Avatar, you absolutely must give Alex's Extended Analysis a read. I won't try another full critique of the show, because as far as I'm concerned that wheel has been invented . My goals for this series are humbler: I want to talk about the reasons why the show appeals to me as an adult.
So without further ado, let me start with the first reason: The characters of Avatar, and specifically the way they grow and change.
Reasons I Love Avatar
Reason 1: Character Arcs
The first and most important reason I like the series so much is the characters. A story is only as interesting as the characters in it, and Avatar is one of those shows that just swim in character depth All the major characters have their flaws and virtues. Even Aang, the titular hero, is no angel nor saint; he's a good little kid and reluctant hero with very understandable fears and doubts, who manages to (spoiler!) save the world in spite of them. The same goes for Katara, Sokka, and all of the gang: They each have strengths that give them their moments to shine, and each have character flaws that have real consequences. The writers did a good job of not sugarcoating or avoiding the mistakes the children made, and also did a good job of showing them learn and grow from those mistakes.
Sometimes, as happens so often in life, a flaw is simply the other side of virtue. One of Katara's greatest strengths, for instance, is her dedication. It's her total commitment to becoming a master waterbender that drove her to challenge Master Pakku and to put in the work to become both a great waterbender and Aang's waterbending teacher. That dedication showed an ugly side early in the series, however, when she stole a waterbending scroll from pirates, and when she grew so jealous of Aang for his facility with waterbending that she snuck off to practice by herself, getting captured by said pirates as a result ("The Waterbending Scroll"). She realized and admitted the consequences of her obsession, made amends by apologizing to Aang, and let go of her competitive streak--though not of her ferocious dedication. And she ended up kicking Aang's tattooed butt at waterbending anyway, though ironically this was after being better than her friend ceased to matter to her.
When it comes to character flaws with real consequences and character growth, though, I would submit that the most dramatic and important character arc belongs to Prince Zuko. As I will discuss later, the very fact that a prince of the "evil empire" was included as a sympathetic and deeply flawed main character is one of the reasons why Avatar has such depth as a story. His journey is long and difficult with dizzying highs and abysmal lows, and is key to the end of the war and any hope of a lasting peace. A full analysis will deserve a separate posting of its own, but in brief, Zuko's craving for his father's approval and his obsession with catching the Avatar put Aang and his friends in constant danger and culminated in Aang's temporary death at the end of Book 2.
As an aside, I think the number of AU (alternate universe) stories that focus on Zuko making a different choice at that crucial juncture testifies to how disturbing this last part was to Zuko fans. There's no getting around the fact that Zuko's choice to side with Azula contributed to Aang's death. He showed no remorse for this, either, but instead tried to make it a reality by hiring an assassin. Talk about abysmal lows.
Speaking of abysmal lows and killing saviors of the world, there's a reason Judas Iscariot is more reviled than Pontius Pilates. Pilates never indicated by word or deed that he would be anything other than the Roman governor of Judea, one of whose jobs was to execute supposed criminals in horrible ways. Judas, on the other hand, had actually given Jesus and the disciples reason to trust him and then used that trust to betray them. Zuko, while not one of the Gaang up to this point, had nevertheless shown Aang and especially Katara his more human side. It's not surprising that Katara was the last of the group to accept Zuko; not only does she have a protective streak wider than the breadth of Ba Sing Se (remember, dedication), but it's painful and what's more, humiliating to have your trust violated like that. As far as she was concerned, Zuko was Judas (Zudas?).
Zuko had a long, hard climb to make from this nadir, and he does so Zuko-style: Inch by inch, fighting tooth and nail all the way. He goes through some of my favorite character development ever in the early half of Season 3, whiny and self-absorbed, destructive and angry and desperately confused, possessing everything he ever wanted and wondering why he was so unhappy. When he was finally faced with the ultimate choice between the total destruction of the Earth Kingdom and keeping his father's approval, he made the right choice at last and took responsibility for his life and his choices. This is significant for the world at large, not just because Zuko's change of heart is the key to ending the war, but because his journey parallels the change the Fire Nation as a whole must undertake, from being bound into a destructive and self-destructive war to taking charge of the solution and its own destiny.
On a greater or smaller scale, then, the story of Avatar is a story of spiritual growth, of many interlocking inner journeys. There is plenty of colorful and interesting action, but this action comes from the rich texture of the characters themselves and is resolved by the character's choices, which choices in turn shape not only the world and events but the characters themselves. Science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin once said that she grew very bored with some science fiction stories because the more that was going on outside, the less seemed to be happening on the inside. With Avatar there is always a rich interaction between the outside action and inner changes in the characters That, to me, is Good Story, one that has power and relevance beyond anything that a thrilling plot and flashy gimmicks can deliver.
Of course, no character exists in a vacuum. The next discussion will be about character relationships, not just romantic ones but friendship and family ties as well. For thoughts on the three main romantic relationships in the show and in fandom, see the shipping essay.
