As someone with access to Netflix, HBO, and Hulu accounts (I’m not rich, I just have generous friends), I’ve watched a decent amount of TV shows, including The Office, Parks and Rec, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and Friends. However, my favorite show of all-time is still one that I watched as a child–Avatar: The Last Airbender. Because there are so many aspects that make it great, I’ll be solely focusing on the thematic elements that make this show such a brilliant piece of entertainment.
For the rest of this post, I’ll be referring to the three season TV show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. We will not speak of the 2010 abomination of a film adaptation that has a 5% on Rotten Tomatoes.
A Quick Summary
The show starts with a young girl, Katara, and her brother, Sokka, finding Aang frozen in an iceberg. They soon learn that Aang is the Avatar, the only person who can control all four elements in a world where “benders” can usually only control one of the elements: fire, earth, water, and air. Together, this young group must bring down the Fire Nation, an imperialistic empire who is trying to take over the world. Along the way, Aang and his gang travel across the entire world, fighting side villains and meeting a diverse collection of characters.
Themes
To a young audience, the show is just another really good cartoon with great animation and a riveting story. The plot is quite familiar: a lovable hero trying to save the world against the forces of evil, even getting the girl at the very end.
However, after rewatching the show this summer, I realized the genius of the show’s creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
The show touches on some pretty obvious themes like overcoming adversity, sacrificing one’s self for the greater good, and finding true love. These simpler themes make the show something that can inspire the youngest of audiences.
Still, when you really try to analyze it, you arrive on deeper themes that you would be surprised to find in a show broadcasted on Nickelodeon.
1. Treatment of those with Disabilities
One of the most beloved characters of the show is Toph, a young blind girl who is an earthbender, meaning she can control rocks, split ground, move land, etc. By introducing a main character who is blind, Avatar’s creators argue that a disability does not limit one’s potential. Toph is headstrong, fierce, and one of the strongest figures in the show. She is iconic and doesn’t allow her disability to define her.
2. Global Politics and Cultural Identity
Central to the show’s storyline is an extended war between the four political units: the Air Nomads, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation. All four nations have contrasting governments and cultures.
The Air Nomads are a peaceful and highly spiritual state, ruled by a council of wise monks. The closest real world analogy I can think of is Tibet.
The Water Tribes, situated at the North and South pole, have limited technology, rely on the oceans to sustain their economy, and have a tribal form of government.
The Earth Kingdom is a lot like Ancient China. It is the largest of the four, includes a capital city with layered defensive walls, has a secret police, and is headed by a ceremonial emperor with no real power.
Last but not least, there is the Fire Nation. Ruled by a royal family with absolute power, the nation is militant, imperialistic, and has the most advanced technology (think Japan before World War 2).
Along with the theme of global politics, Avatar also touches on cultural identity and cultural change, something that varies greatly between nations and even within them. For example, the Air Nomads’ ascetic and peaceful ways are a stark contrast to the vibrant festivals and lively society of the Fire Nation. Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom also offer case studies into the fusing of conflicting cultures.
3. Ethics and War Crimes
In arguably the darkest episode of the series, the squad encounters a woman who can “bloodbend.” In other words, she’s a waterbender who utilizes the water content in people’s blood to control them against their will like a puppet. Obviously, Team Avatar see this as morally repugnant and brings down this woman who’s actually fighting the Fire Nation just like them.
The show also touches on genocide (I’m going to spoil the third episode of the show right now). When Aang brings his friends to his home, the Southern Air Temple, he is shocked to find a deserted temple littered with skeletons. It’s soon revealed that the Fire Nation systematically massacred all of the Air Nomads as their first step to global domination. As one of the first episodes of the show, it’s surprisingly dark. I believe it’s a potential historical allusion to the Holocaust or the Rape of Nanking, but that kind of makes you wonder why this is in a kids’ show.
These three themes are just a short sample of the different elements which make Avatar: The Last Airbender such an irresistible show. It also touches on religion and spirituality, government propaganda, assassination, and crime. In addition, there are dozens of non-thematic elements, such as the greatest character redemption arc of all-time and brilliant filler episodes, which make Avatar such a complete show, but that’s a rant for another time
How the creators managed to fit all of this into three seasons while also making it enjoyable to such a wide range of audiences makes Avatar: The Last Airbender nothing short of a masterpiece.
The most touching scene from the show:
Eric, I really enjoyed this post! I also remember watching ATLA as a kid; it was brainless entertainment and a good way to start off a Saturday morning. As I began to rewatch though, I also noticed the deeper themes; it’s an incredibly complex TV show meant for children. I especially liked how you touched on the theme of characters with disabilities- this representation is often left out of mainstream American shows, and I find it interesting the writers of ATLA found a way to incorporate it.
Hey Chen – great post!
While you and the rest of the lads have been trying to get me to watch this childhood TV show, I never really knew the deeper commentary that this cartoon had. Like you mentioned, I definitely thought before reading this that ATLA was a childish superhero story about a bald guy and a fluffy flying cow thing. However, I now can see the appeal it has to both children and adults alike, and seems to have some real-world implications in addition to the bending and hard-to-pronounce names.
Too bad our senior first-day costumes were not as elaborate nor stunning as this show appears to be (white t-shirts with fire, water, wind, and earth now don’t seem to do this show justice, anymore).
I have quite literally spent hours upon hours watching youtube videos of people picking apart each part of this show, and I continue to grow more amazed by how skillfully constructed this entire animated series was. To this stay I occasional watch a “Iroh gives life advice over tea”. In my opinion, Uncle Iroh is the most important character, and my favorite, simply because of how many themes he is able to represent, and how many people should aspire to become like him. I loved this appreciation post, and enjoyed learning even more about the complex world of Avatar, with the new themes that I have learned about.
I loved reading this! I am also a TV show buff and an avid subscriber of one too many streaming services and have seen way too many popular TV shows. This post was very refreshing since I don’t think I was cool enough to have watched this show when when I was younger. It does, though, seem like a cutesy show and I am a fan of any show that can tie in societal themes really well like you describe this one to be able to. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll be sure to check it out sometime!
Hi Eric!
I watched the show over the past summer to see what all the hype was about. Honestly, I was pretty surprised by the show because I expected it to be like every other PG13 Nickelodeon series. However, there was something about The Last Airbender that was engaging. Over time, I realized that, like you said, the episodes had real-world meaning as well. I also noticed that every episode had its own clear moral, which was pretty cool to see since the show was targeted towards young kids.
Like you said about The Last Airbender, your blog post was “nothing short of a masterpiece.”
Treatment of those with Disabilities. Global Politics and Cultural Identity. Ethics and War Crimes. Insert fourth element here.
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie attacked.
Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed and my brother an I discovered the new Avatar, a blogger named ERIC CHEN, and although his memeing skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.
But I believe ERIC CHEN can save the world.