The Avatar Remake Doesn't Understand Avatar

the liveaction Avatar The Last air bender adaptation is terrible I know shocking why is no one talking about this this is why you come to me to say the things that others won't no one no one is talking about this don't check but what's interesting and why I wanted to make this quick little video though knowing me it'll probably much longer than I intended about it is why it's bad because it's terrible in ways that intrigue me for what it indicates about the thinking that went into the series because it certainly isn't wokeness that killed it well actually it kind of is but not in the way that online Outreach Merchants who like to put weird googly eye monstrosities in their thumbnails would argue I swear to God I am not here to just Rage Against the show I actually want to provide a Nuance critique of it indeed at times it is an improvement over the M Night Shyamalan disaster where it took four earthbenders doing a mildly choreographed dance to move a simple Rock in fact the liveaction TV show's first scene gives us some kick-ass earthbending action that we all wanted to see I mean look at that that it's a little cool but that's exactly the problem it looks cool and that's about all the liveaction Avatar The Last air bender is going for it's a simple surface level nostalgic resurrection of Avatar the Animated Series without actually adding to or building on top of what the original had to say its surface level approach to necrom matically recreate the past not only adds nothing new But ultimately lets the show run entirely counter to the M nuanced anti-colonialist worldview that the original series was trying to present also it did the most unforgivable thing it made my adorable problematic boy Saka insufferable and Uncle iro boring as hell unforgivable you go in the corner and think about what you've done Netflix you know I hope that I can show you the entire problem with the liveaction Remake without spoiling the entire season as you can see the issues underlying the entire series on full display within critical decisions made in its first two episodes that ultimately reveal why I find this liveaction Avatar adaptation not only pointless but actively counterintuitive to the original series that said I will briefly touch upon some issues that occur in later episodes so spoiler warning overall but I'm mainly going to be focusing on the first two episodes the first one I want to dive into is one that most people were even concerned about before the series released and the series coming out didn't just prove those concerns correct but prove them to have not been big enough a couple weeks before the live action series released showrunner and former Entertainment Weekly editor Albert Kim and the lead child actors for the series were interviewed by shocker of shocks Entertainment Weekly and in that article guy wundo Tarbell the actress who plays guitara is quoted as saying I feel like we also took out the element of how sexist Saka was I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy after this quote the Entertainment Weekly article then goes on to site lines like this one where Saka displays a sexist view of women in the original series girls are better at fixing pants than guys and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that the article then goes on to site quote entire Reddit threads to argue that fans found Saka incredibly sexist and problematic as a result yet the article leaves out critical context let's for example watch the rest of that clip it's just the natural order of things all done with your pants and look what a great job I did here we can see that Saka sexism isn't just put on display in part of the series but instead is a immediately challenged by the woman in the scene qara on top of that the entire Reddit threads that the article cites was one person 4 years ago intrigued by how Saka despite being sexist got some of the ladies cuz heaven knows my boy got some speaking of if you actually look through the Reddit thread you can find that four years ago there were many people commenting that the reason Saka got so much was because he learned from his encounters with other women underlining how growing from his sexism was a critical part of his character Arc Within in the original show take for example the early fourth episode of the Animated Series where the gang visits Kyoshi island in the episode Saka repeatedly displays a chauvinistic and sexist attitude yet the show itself displays this within the episode itself as something that Saka needs to grow out of and repeatedly challenges him to do so the episode opens up with that scene that I showed earlier establishing Saka ingrained Assumption of the delineations between men and women's work and the biological essentialism that he takes As Natural that is implied within his statements after after late of that episode being captured by the all women Kyoshi Warriors Saka presumes it must have been men who kidnapped them because of course girls couldn't be strong enough to get went over on him who are you where are The Men Who ambushed us there were no men we ambushed you wait a second there's no way a bunch of girls took us down later Saka grumbling about having been beaten by girls showcasing his mild emasculation at that feeling intrudes in on the Kyoshi Warriors training assuming it must be dance lessons that women must be dancing because it is inherently their place girls sorry ladies didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout despite his attempts to mansplain how to fight he gets his ass handed to him by my gal Suki now this may be a little tough but try to block [Music] me good eventually Saka dons the Koshi armor and makeup in order to learn how the Koshi fight so that he can learn how to be a better Warrior from the women it feels a little girly it's a Warrior's uniform you should be proud the silk thread symbolizes a brave blood that flows through our veins the gold Insignia represents the honor of the Warrior's Heart bravery and honor hey Saka nice dress at this moment despite his embarrassment Saka is actively choosing to take on what he sees as feminine traits like wearing dresses and makeup in order to do something that he views as masculine fighting this underscores him slowly learning that these concepts of masculine and feminine are not intrinsically separate nor more importantly opposing girls come quickly hey I'm not a ah whatever even more subtly though in the scene we see Suki not just as a narrative tool for Sak's growth but as her own person with her own feelings when Saka does beat her in one moment she plays it off I fell on purpose to make you feel better I got you admit I got you okay it was a lucky shot as a result we see that the pridefulness that Saka displays is also within Suki just not filtered through sexism as it is with Saka this is the show showing us how men and women are both human even outside of Saka character Arc it also is a show allowing us to see Suki as a flawed person on her own terms giving her depth Beyond just being a narrative tool for Saka thus it's the show despite centralizing on a male character allowing women to have agency as well Saka at the end of the episode learns to grow as a warrior but more importantly as a human being who sees Suki and women more generally as whole people not just objects to be relegated to specific gendered roles Saka hasn't broken down all of his sexism in a single 22-minute episode he still displays chauvinistic attitudes later on in the series but it's an early episode to set up the series long Arc of him overcoming these issues bit by bit the framing of tarbell's quote and let me be entirely Fair here that Entertainment Weekly article did not do the show any favors in how it presented the actor's outof context quotes alongside other quotes like more weight with realism in every way as if sexism is somehow not realistic ultimately led to a lot of backlash from fans of the original animated series towards the liveaction remake with them citing that the Remake must not get the original show if they didn't understand this core Arc for Saka as a character which to be fair to the liveaction show at the time was an unfounded accusation while certainly talented Tarbell is is the actor not the writer or showrunner and her comments about the removal of sexism within the series might not have been reflective of what the writers intended or what's in the final edited show even further to be fair it could have been that sasa's sexism Arc was replaced by another just as exciting or even more dramatic character trait that could be explored and dissected that would reveal the larger themes of the avatar The Last Airbender liveaction remakes ideas and Concepts that it wanted to wrestle with it wouldn't be that they just removed Saka sex ISM and still tried to play the episode the same exact way right right episode two of the live action series adapts the same Koshi Island storyline and it does it much worse instead of starting off with Saka sexism the liveaction episode starts with Saka being concerned about Duty and his responsibility to his own water tribe back home instead of him believing that he has the ability to save the world alongside Ang and qara we did our part we saved him from the fire Benders now it's time to go home my duty our duty is to protect the village like Dad told us to they can protect themselves besides what good is saving wolf Cove if we don't save the world katar do you hear what you're saying save the world us there's absolutely no sexism displayed here in the character despite scenes in episode one displaying his chauvinistic Tendencies to take charge over the women around him I'm Saka son of aota Lord of uh snow and ice yeah this attitude is never explicitly filtered through sexism within the show so it goes mostly entirely unchallenged instead these moments are used to paint this version of Saka as unconfident and full of anxiety I'd hoped when he really had to prove himself that he' do better the truth is not everyone is meant to have people's lives in their hands so when live action Saka meets Suki to reflect this version of Saka current character Arc the show sets up Suki as a character with all the weight and responsibility of the Kyoshi Warriors in order to contrast her with Saka who is also a protector of his village who feels that he can't live up to the duty and responsibility that is currently trying to be placed upon him to go alongside Ang as the Avatar so how are you protecting your people if you're here what I'm not I mean I am I may I may not physically be there uh but still that is I'm I have to save the world first as a result Saka in this episode does not showcase any sexism towards Suki but instead a desire to be just as strong as Suki given she looks down on him as someone who supposedly abandoned his village we still get a sense that Saka is emasculated but the show then is trying to build up Saka from his emasculation instead of challenging to understand where that sense of emasculation comes from as a result the conflict between Saka and Suki in this episode becomes more about Saka needing to learn to prove himself as a warrior and discovering that he is strong enough to save the world compare how the live action show is presenting Suki in the scene compared to the similar scene from the Animated Series [Music] now this may be a little tough but try to block [Music] me good of course I was going easy on you of course let's see if you can handle [Music] this the liveaction show makes Suki appear regretful at having beat Saka leading to her later trying to build him up needing to demure her herself to Saka so he can feel more confident the Animated Series in contrast presents Suki as powerful and thus teaching Saka a valuable lesson that girls are capable of fighting and winning challenging sasa's incorrect belief in his natural superiority as a man even further the episode takes a moment for Suki to look in on Saka and see his sexy abs and body highlighting not only Suki's physical attraction to him but also to Showcase to us the audience that we should find him physically strong as well and thus believe that Saka insecurity is actually incorrect on his part equating his physical strength with his desire to become a warrior as a result this version of Suki becomes a prop in order to bolster Sak's development into the man that he was destined to be as a result the live action show removes the storyline of Saka sexism and instead presents a sexist worldview where Saka physical strength as a man is highlighted and Suki is used as a tool to Showcase his physical strength also the series never has Saka Dawn the Kyoshi armor which as my fellow transgender filmmaker Mia Moore argued Netflix did put Saka in the Kyoshi Warriors outfit because they don't want to be seen as supporting drag SLC Crossing in children's media and that's way more misogynistic and conservative than having him call Suki a stupid worthless girl right before she beats his ass and sadly I believe that Mia is correct oh by the way as an aside here you should get excited for Mia's upcoming sci-fi film again again coming later this year between Mia's film Abigail Thorn's Dracula's ex-girlfriend Jane show Bruns I saw the TV glow and my own identities it's going to be a banger year for Trans genre art most tellingly though the live action series removes this scene from The Original Episode spit it out what do you want I would be honored if you would teach me even if I'm a girl I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier I was wrong I cannot stress enough that that scene is exactly why you make this episode in the first place the journey for the avatar characters in the original animated show was for them to grow not just to be be able to physically beat the Fire Nation but also to philosophically challenge the imperialism and settler colonialism that it represents the Fire Nation is a culture built on the idea of hierarchical Supremacy meant to justify its colonialist Ambitions such as with its Firebender supremacist rhetoric saying that the firebenders are just naturally better a concept that they themselves generate to validate their occupation of earthbender society we are the loyal Sons and Daughters of five the superior element the entire point of Sak's Arc in the animated series is for him to confront the hierarchical assumptions that he had ingrained in him from his own culture the southern water tribe did not have a racialized hierarchy like the Fire Nation but it did have on some level ingrained biological essentialism of women's and men's roles and the differing values of each role that Saka himself had internalized for him to see Suki as both a warrior and a girl intentionally breaks down his belief that strength and Womanhood are separate and opposing Concepts showing him that his sexist beliefs are a generated not natural hierarchy thus allowing him to see where other hierarchies may have been generated in the world around him such as with the Fire Nation in their colonialist Ambitions I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior I am a warrior but I'm a girl too sanka's Arc is consistently reinforced throughout the series so when Saka does face the Fire Nation at the end of the series itself and the end of the season he presents not just a physical adversary but a philosophical rival to the fire nation's racialized imperialism and this is the arc for all of the animated avatar characters the original show is not just going around trying to say look how horrible the Fire Nation is we need to beat them up instead the show is asking us to look at the ideology of this settler colonialist culture and how it dehumanizes not only the people it colonizes but also the colonizers themselves and asks us through the arcs of its characters how do we build something better instead of what the Animated Series episode does which showcases to us that physical strength is not always what is necessary to become a better Warrior this episode highlights physical strength as a necessary part of being a strong Warrior the episode ends up arguing that Saka shouldn't feel emasculated because he isn't a bender but should just be stronger willed not being a bender means we have to be even better than vendors we can't reshape mountains and burn Forest so we have to fight with what we have the upod then becomes about Saka needing to see his own prowess ability that he has innately to see how special he really is and not be afraid to take on the destiny that was put before him removing this early story in the liveaction show and making it instead about Saka learning to be a better Warrior rather than overcoming sexism makes his story about who can fight stronger it removes his story's ability at this early stage to challenge imperi materialism's core philosophy that might makes right thus by removing it the live-action Avatar challenges nothing and ultimately reinforces an oppressor belief system the show replaces Sak's animated Arc with one that says to win you need to punch harder which is precisely what the Fire Nation believes by trying to make the liveaction show in show owner Kim's own words Mass Market consumable by removing any aspects that might upset someone on a superficial level be it someone who is upset at the mere appearance of sexism within a show even if it's challenged or to not become the target of the right-wing culture War vilification of drag in children's media that is rooted in transphobia the live action series ultimately then presents a status quo point of view that reinforces the ingrained sexism and CIS head of patriarchal assumptions of our modern day politics because these ideals are not seen as political given that they are implicit biases within our society today the live action show is essentially arguing for the philosophy of imperialism within the story of its supposed anti-colonialist Heroes the show fails to argue what the animated series did so well that Collective unity and the valuing of the capital O other is not only the best way to fight back against oppression but more human and necessary if you wish to make something Beyond it this is a recurring issue throughout the live action series The Core Arc for an in the live action show this season is for him to accept his power as the Avatar which he is initially afraid of and we know this because of exceptionally on the nose dialogue I don't want the responsibility I'm scared of my power I'm scared of being alive in episode two he gets a warning from a vision of the prior Avatar telling him that he has a responsibility to be the Avatar even to the detriment of his ability to live his own life he has a destiny he has power that he has a responsibility and right to wield death will naturally be a part of his wielding of righteous power but it is still right that he does it all the same and not be afraid of it the show argues at least run away from your responsibilities again and even more will be hurt being the avatar means putting your duties above all else even your life and this seemed to be a critical point for showrunner Kim to get across as he's constantly quoted in Entertainment Weekly about how he desired to show the power of the Avatar throughout the season we drew upon elements of what happens when he meets Roku in the original series and gave it to kioshi because we needed that element early in our series to see the power of the Avatar conversely though the Animated Series always presented Ang's wielding of the Avatar power with a hint of horror and trep ation indeed the past avatars that Ang talks with throughout that series are shown to have misused their Avatar power the Avatar 2 iterations prior Koshi sundered the land in her Fury leading to numerous problems the Next Generation Avatar Roku was a pacifist and never stood up to the fire nation's expansionism allowing the Fire Nation attack that sets off this series to occur thus the Animated Series presents the Avatar's power both used and non-used as a philosophy to discuss between these two distinct representations the show argue that the use of power and might does not always make right but also it argues that resisting oppression is essential lest you become neutral in the face of violence therefore the use of power in some form is sometimes Justified yet the live action series actively in Kim's own words compresses Koshi and roku's stories into Koshi alone and then she's presented within this show as arguing for simple usage of power rather than a balance between the understanding that violent power and pacifism are two sides of a coin used to enable harm by doing this instead of showcasing the Dual issue of wielding or not wielding power within a leadership position the live action show instead says the Avatar needs to be strong and punch things good it's the same thing that happened with Saka the live action show is saying that both of these characters have a duty to protect the world they're the hero of the hero's journey refusing the call but soon accepting it to become very special boys both Saka and Ang are presented as people with no real issues other than the fear of using their power that they were given innately to its fullest as a result the show implies that those who are oppressed are weaker or are just fearful of using power which is a Viewpoint of the oppressor that the show is supposedly about taking down I want to be very clear here though I don't think the show or Kim is overtly arguing that the Fire Nation or vicariously its expansionist imperialism is correct and to be fair to the show from time to time it does overtly push back against its ideology arguing that Collective unity and friendship are what we are fighting for rather than simply just fighting against the imperialism of the Fire Nation mainly when it sticks to directly adapting the stories and points of views of characters from the original show you didn't do it on your own so you didn't learn anything at all you were wrong you can rely on your friends and that's the only way I'm going to save the world but when the liveaction show changes these story lines it often actively Sands off their edges and leads to story lines that actively work against their messages because they are oversimplified or reinforce the status quo or at the very least it dilutes them such as with Avatar Roku only presenting a single fleeting line in counter to kyoshi's might argument that she gets five whole minutes and an action sequence to reinforce but in addition to being a warrior the Avatar must also be a diplomat the series lets her show and tell her ideology of Might makes right while only allowing the counter to have a few seconds to breathe similarly the series near the end pays lip service to Sak's true strength being his caring for his friends when he tells qara to stand up to institutional sexism in a story taken directly from the Animated Series no what I'm trying to tell you is go kick his ass but by having removed and altered the core buildup Arc to that scene in ways that negate it this payoff feels distant detached and unearned instead the series wishes to focus more on adding scenes that look powerful or cool yet the worst Choice the show makes is its first one one actively made to differentiate this live action adaptation from the Animated Series the first episode of the live action series begins with a 20-minute sequence showing the leadup to the fire nation's genocide of the Airbenders 100 years prior to the show's main narrative something that the original animated series show never depicted show owner Kim argued that this was the one thing that he wanted to add in this adaptation that was not in the original but I felt it was important to see the event that creates the story of Avatar the famous line is everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked I wanted to see that but the question that I have is why do you want to see a genocide occurring I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't but it's a weird thing to say that you want to see it without presenting a why you wanted to see it do you want to showcase its Horrors do you want to add context to the storyline that you're telling to just say that you want to see a genocide occurring on its own terms is kind of ghoulish to be fair to Kim he does kind of give a reason later on where he states that he wanted to depict this violence because this is an adult show made for the kids who watched the series growing up so now he argues that as adults we can finally see the genocide yet this reason assumes numerous things firstly it assumes that we the audience as kids always wanted to see the genocide which is kind of a leap and still makes me question why Kim wanted to see it it also assumes that the only reason the genocide was not depicted in the original show was limits on what could be aired in front of kids on top of that it also assumes that to depict violent genocide is inherently adult but I'd argue that the way the liveaction series presents this genocide is childish compared to the Animated Series while Kim never outright says it if you watch the sequence the entire point it seems to me behind Kim's desire to depict the Airbender genocide is for the show to get a chance to see Airbenders fighting this sequence is all dis played as yeah look at this cool stuff happening isn't it awesome you know the murder of children in an entire civilization even worse to my mind though the way this genocide is filmed doesn't depict the events as all that tragic it's just a vehicle for Cool fight sequences there's no commentary in the show on the horrors of this event there's not even sad music to be very clear I'm not arguing that the show is saying genocide is cool what I am arguing though is that it's presenting this genocide as cool visually as a result of its desire to show us the cool airbending fight sequences Kim's impulse here is the same one that you see in numerous Star Wars fans and writers that leads to shows like book of Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi this desire to see nostalgic Star Wars characters from your childhood fighting because you thought it would look cool as a child when you mashed action figures together back when you didn't have to think about a story that would give context or commentary on that violence this by the way is why I kind of respect the Rogue one scene of Darth Vader it still presents Vader as badass but the scene is horrific and terrifying as he murders Rebels there's at least some commentary within that scene on Vader's actions in contrast though in Avatar these sequences of genocidal violence just look badass its action figures being mashed together without really presenting any artistic point of view about that violence's context and to my mind that's really rather juvenile than adult and I know some people will argue differently which is why we need to talk briefly about why fascists and oppressors often love Aesthetics something that I spoke about in my and aeronox video on Star Wars that released way back in December which you should check out if you have a quick 6 hours to watch the best video on Star Wars that you'll ever watch and I'm someone riddled with self- anxiety so me praising my own work means you know it's good we often see many right-wing conservatives in the United States and elsewhere argue that art should just be AP political that it should just present us with aesthetically pleasing images and comforting Escapist stories that don't have deeper meaning or challenge us as viewers in any way it's not that they don't have commentary their commentary from top to bottom but they hide their commentary behind this veneer of objectivity and that veneer of objectivity is one of their great weapons it's one of the most manipulative tactics that they have and we thought you know there are people who want to hear the news they want to hear the news with very little bias the curtain are blue and should stay blue as they say this is why fascists can watch Star Trek and miss its Progressive politics or how conservatives will watch Starship Troopers and miss that is a parody of fascistic society's need to create and generate a capital O other to fuel a political machine that is fueled by the need for Endless violence because those conservatives are too caught up in how the bugs need to be murdered it's because because to them art shouldn't present a point of view and thus they deny when a point of view is very clearly present these types of folks will only get upset when they see superficial visual appearances of something that challenges their preconceived biases like a black person in a lead narrative role that challenges their sometimes unconscious white supremacist worldview rooted in things like colonialism or capitalism so even when a show is deeply anti-colonialist they'll claim it's just a fun kids show for kids because they don't really read any deeper into it and and that's intentional because their inability to read deeper stops them from being capable of imagining anything outside of the status quo this is why I'll often see conservative leaders attack academic institutions especially art programs as pointless their goal is to make people not be able to think too deeply about art and instead Revel in Shallow fleeting images of power symbolized by visuals of strength and physical Grandeur this is also why capitalism strip Minds meaning from works of art like avatar The Last Airbender these leaders wish to educate people simply to be actors of capitalism itself a form of evolved colonialism rather than teach people to be thinkers or dreamers who could Envision a world beyond the present now you're not supposed to be challenging kids with radical new ideas you're supposed to be able to trust your kids in a culture it's supposed to mean that any adult can trust their child with any other adult you can send your kids to school and assume that they're not going to have radical gender and race theories shoved on them I'd highly recommend this video by Professor Boer that goes into greater detail about how capitalism itself an evolved form of colonialism as argued by folks like Cedric J Robinson intentionally Works to harm our understanding of Art and how our impulse to just want Escapist entertainment at all times rather than seeing that art whether intends to have a message or not always presents a point of view even if that view is made seemingly Invisible by it adhering closely to the status quo is an Impulse intentionally stoked by capitalist desires for us not to think deeply about alternatives to the system of exploitation and control that we live within this is not me arguing that a desire to escape into fiction for comfort is a bad thing in and of itself I've rewatched that one episode of Deep Space 9 too many times for me to think [Music] that but what I am saying is that art itself always has meaning regardless of what you go to it for and that's something that we shouldn't actively try to avoid and deny every time that we engage with art and in fact we should be willing to engage with art in more rigorous and challenging ways more often and we can see the effect that this has has on our ability to read art the actor who plays Ang in the liveaction show was quoted in the Entertainment Weekly article saying I think the Airbender genocide is really cool well no no not like that I I mean it's not a good thing but watching it is going to be sick now to be clear I'm not here to attack the actor he's a kid paid to do a job and I think he did it rather well but I think his words are just more emblematic of the takeaway that I think many kids and adults alike are intended to and may take away from the Fire Nation attack sequence because it doesn't challenge the audience to actually think about anything beyond the surface level meaningless spectacle sold to you as a product built on the Strip mind soul of the original work in contrast the animated series shows us the genocide through its aftermath and over there is where the Bison would sleep and what's wrong this place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison now there's just a bunch of weeds I can't believe how much things have changed Ang 100 years after the genocide happened sees the bodies of his loved ones and is visibly Disturbed to the point of entering the Avatar State and nearly destroying everything around him the series made a genocide that happened over a hundred years ago within the story's narrative still feel fresh raw and immediate and by doing so the series showed how the horrors of settler colonialism still reverberate across generations for these wounds are the foundation upon which Empires are built and are never allowed to heal to ever become scars for these genocides are constantly Revisited in The Echoes of the oppressor states that they are built upon the show also shows in this moment how these open wounds then cause more Violence by those who are oppressed and hurt and harmed by it the show then goes on to show how this mindset creates an endless loop of violence and the three season long story of the show is showcasing how much effort it takes to break that Loop and how much learning and healing you have have to do and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love I went through the same thing when I lost my mom Mon katoo and the other air venders may be gone but you still have a family thus the animated show by depicting the genocide this way made the past present and artistically displayed the horrific violence of an oppressive now it showed how the oppressive present continually recreates itself through its un healed wounds yet more importantly this scene also speaks to the Future Ang and us as the audience see the death of what could have been the life that Ang and so many other Airbenders could have lived the potential Futures extinguished if being able to dream of a different future is to imagine a world resistant to the dominant oppressive order of the present then oppressive forces destroying those potential Futures is a horror that locks us into the oppressive now into consistently recreating an endless loop the artistic depiction of genocide within the animated series is more meaningful touching and introspective in a way that motivates not only the entire series but me as a viewer to want to say never again to the violence of settler colonialism by depicting the genocide as simply a present event as the live action show does it locks it to the moment of the event rather than showcasing how it echoes long after the live action show does have a brief moment where Ang looks at his dead past but it's in the last 4 minutes of a cramped pilot episode instead of within a full 22-minute episode where it gets to breathe and even then in those four minutes the liveaction show uses this moment to show us how powerful Ang gets when he's angry showing us his Avatar State for the second time in a way that isn't depicted as terrifying as it was in the original animated series thus using this moment of showing the violent aftermath of an oppressor thought to ultimately uphold the values of an oppressor of needing to be strong the thing about losing everything is that that's when you learn how strong you really are it's when you learn to fight to be fair to it the live action series does do a couple things rather well most notably with Fire Nation characters the series does seem to at least understand the abuse and intentional distrust and infighting that colonialist societies Tred to create within their own cultures in order to continually enact cycles of abuse this isn't something you learn in a textbook little boys should know better than to play at War the show does display how these types of cultures try to kill the souls of those it tells are superior and should be oppressors so that they then go on to enact that violence on mass towards others teaching them to not value introspection or connection we see this quite clearly in how Fire Lord ozai played by my boy Daniel de Kim intentionally plays aula and Zuko against each other shouted and discover the Avatar Zuko did he's the one who displayed resilience and dedication not self-serving flattery and koi whisper as well as retelling Zuko's Arc of being abused by his father as oai Works to instill a might makes right mentality in the devaluing of human life in his son you must be willing to give up the weak to make yourself strong that is what makes us the Fire Nation that is why we sacrific the 41st division that is what you must do earnestly this is the only storyline in the show that actually got an emotion out of me I really felt for Zuko in these scenes even if it was just a pale echo of his Arc from the Animated Series but it Suns that ability for the show to empathize with and understand the harm that happens within hegemonic colonialist cultures was not coupled with an understanding of how that mentality Works to reinforce itself within its cycle of violence narratives such as deconstructing the idea that the weak simply need to become stronger in order to fight back against oppression sometimes the weak can become stronger sometimes you just have to give them a chance to show how societies of settler colonialism are not just dehumanizing to those that it colonizes but the colonizers themselves how the system of oppressors and oppressed while certainly much more traumatizing and worse for the oppressed is a system that destroys everyone who is involved in its Humanity that to be the oppressor is itself a violence against oneself instead the live action show simply depicts Fire Nation bad in highly simplistic terms we can see that quite clearly in how the live action show doesn't take the chance to update the mistakes of the original series like with the character of jet which both series present as a violent unreasonable anti-colonialist terrorist who is presented as almost equally culpable in the cycle of violence instead of taking the time to show the Nuance that men like jet while certainly wrong for their willingness to murder civilians and should be criticized are not as complicit or culpable in the enaction and continuation of mass violence as those that they are fighting against even as their oppressors use men like jet to justify escalating violence men like jet are often intentionally propped up by settler colonialist cultures because their blind rage at all those associated with oppressors be they civilian or military alike allows the colonizers to argue for further expansionism instead both shows present jet as an isolated entity who should be held individually responsible for his actions rather than presenting an understanding of how his trauma and rage is an intentionally generated part of the system of harm what about the people in the town won't they get wiped out too look Duke that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation in fact by compressing jet storyline into two episodes along with three other storylines from the Animated Series instead of giving it Focus the live action show arguably does jet storyline worse than the already somewhat problematic version in the original animated series The live action show is dead set on trying to ignore the past and instead focusing on just action and the present now it's one of the final lines of this entire season dang This Is War there's going to be losses there's going to be pain none of that is your fault and the fire Benders aren't giving up we have to prepare for whatever they throw at us next and so stop worrying about the past and start thinking about what you still have to do I think I understand something gatu was trying to tell me he told me let go of the past we're all never of a [Music] future but in truth to be able to fight the dominant order of now requires us to carry the bodies of our dead in our past into battle with us is about knowing what we have lost and feeling that weight and understanding what we are fighting to stop that helps us be able to build what comes after you me and opa we're all that's left of this place we have to stick together to fight simply for the sake of doing it to focus solely on the now as the live action show States removes our ability to look towards a horizon a horizon of Hope and possibilities instead it just asks us to recreate the same endless loop of violence the liveaction show is just trying to be nostalgic and apolitical rather than using Avatar to say anything about today yet by being apolitical it reinforces the status quo the idea of our society of Might makes right not just within the context of the series itself but within the world that avatar The Last Airbender is going out into our world right now by not analyzing the original series themes and trying to be straightforward a political entertainment that doesn't say anything meaningful and by adding in more violence simply for the sake of it being more in its eyes adult the liveaction show ends up not challenging the ideals that our society today in America where this show is written and mainly aimed at shares with that of the Fire Nation given the racial capitalism and neocolonialism this country still enacts and the settler colonialism and slavery it was built upon this is not something I'm saying every show has to do but it is something the original show attempted to do imperfect as it was because dear God it had problems and cor seasons 1 and two was even worse in that regard the live action show attempts to really say nothing and as a result just reinforces the core assumptions of boarded identitarian politics strength and individualism that the philosophies of neoliberalism and colonialism are built upon when conservatives rail against wokeness what they mean is that they are angry about seeing anything that disrupts their worldview that stands up to the status quo that dares to imagine possible worlds and Futures Beyond this present oppressive now that they try to make appear as past present and future and as if it's the only way the world can be come take part with us in building the future in fact if you go to dailywire.com sbuild thee future right now you can become a dailywire.com member if you want to because I know the price is high if you want to save a little money you could use promo code build the future and we'll give you 45% off and honestly Avatar the live action show gives them exactly what they want it only regurgitates a nostalgic superficial remembrance of avatar The Last Airbender not an actual look at what it had to say and by doing so it tries to tell us that the original animated series didn't mean anything I either the live action series is trying to erase our memory of the past to try and tell us that the original show was just as meaningless as this one and only capable of presenting power and control as the only options I once got dragged on Twitter for a tweet that I wrote that said leftism isn't about winning certain online voices complained that saying this meant that I was about losing that leftists like me would continue to lose to fascists and conservatives if we didn't Focus solely on fighting back against them but the point that I was trying to make was that pushing back against depression means fighting for a world Beyond them beyond the oppressive status quo because if we don't do that we fall in to its trap our lives have to depend on winning we can only win by winning we create in US versus them instead of fighting for the collective we of a future that does not yet exist that has moved beyond the generated borders of identitarian Politics As a result we become a tool for the oppressor to fight against against a generated endless fight that only feeds their loop I think that it's the future that's actually only being dreamed of by a tiny segment of radicalized extreme left we'll be challenging them in Commerce we'll be challenging them in news and commentary we'll be challenging them in entertainment we'll be challenging them in kids content we believe in our daily wire audience we believe that they will subscribe in fact if you're watching right now and you're not a dailywire.com subscriber I'm asking you not for a donation I'm asking you not begging I'm asking you go buy something something of real value go buy a membership to the Daily wire go buy a membership to Jeremy's razors put your money where your mouth is that allows them to control our story for them to say that the only story is oppressor and oppressed and that we can only change who is on top to create a vision of a future beyond that story is incredibly hard and that's why works like the the original avatar The Last Airbender are so worthwhile and meaningful it was a show that taught us that in the end we don't need to recreate cycles of violence but can Endeavor to move Beyond them works of art like that help teach us that to choose to fight systems of Oppression are necessary but are only a first step on the path towards building a better tomorrow we need to know that a future that destroys the borders our society of today has created to tell us that we are different higher and lower can be made but that it is a horizon that needs to be walked towards together or not at all with a full understanding that we are building something new not something already present because the present is oppressive apologies sorry I didn't realize that I was getting on my leftist high horse preaching pants for that moment let me just take those off for a second now I'm not wearing anything but underwear so you can stop taking me seriously because you really never should have that's on you the ultimate point that I'm trying to get at is that the liveaction show not only misunderstands but actively works against what the original series was trying to say and perhaps that's why the original animated series creators left it the live action show had the potential to take that story and update it for the modern day by doing three things first it could have done stuff in live action that was not possible in animation second it could have fixed issues with the original series because heaven knows that while Saka sexism is pertinent to the original story's message the original work was definitely not free from Colonia storytelling impulses something that my friend princess weeks pointed out in her own excellent video that you should go check out and third and finally the liveaction show could have updated the original series message for a more modern context ultimately the liveaction show superficially does the first two and definitely doesn't do the third in fact it actively removes the original Show's message and as a result it's not just a pointless show but one that actively is in conflict with the original Show's intention at the very least Momo is still adorable oh my God what do they do to Momo hey there inbs I hope you enjoyed this video this was something I didn't intend to do but I had a lot of thoughts after watching the live action Avatar series before you go quick thing to just State I do have a really big video coming up in the next couple weeks that looks at a huge piece of anti-trans propaganda put out by one of the biggest right-wing outlets in the world one that is itself funded by a right-wing cult so I am going into all of that it's a fascinating story if slightly depressing and we're going to get into all of the wild conspiracy theory stuff that goes into it that being said that video is a huge undertaking and I'm also at the same time finishing up my science fiction film identities that is going to come out in just a few short months quite literally today that I'm filming this we finished off our VFX spotting session we still have a lot of work to do for visual effects and sound design and music and all of that but we are closing in on the home stretch so I am so freaking pumped if you haven't heard about it it's a movie that I made starring many wonderful amazing folks such as John Delany from Star Trek the Next Generation Abigail Thorn from philosophy tube and Maggie May fish from here on YouTube as well it's something that I'm just so excited to get out to all of you and something that I hope mirrors a lot of the stuff that I've been talking about in this video that all being said though between identities this other video project and other projects that I have coming down the line that I am super excited about including maybe some uh other fiction work that I'm hoping to have come out Beyond this year I am doing a lot of work right now and the way that I able to sustain myself between all of these large projects because heaven knows that YouTube does not pay my bills is through my patreon please if you do like my videos if you do like my work if you want to support me making this and other stuff like identities patreon does really help me pay the bills and if you want to get your name in videos get videos early get some exclusive videos and content like uh interviews that I do with some cool folks please uh go support me over there it really does mean a lot it allows me to pay all of my bills I would not be able to do this without all of you and being frank uh there's been a lot of uh big bills lately um for many of you who don't know my cat new um recently very uh tragically passed away and uh sadly death is not free in this country which uh really really sucks so that's been some big bills as well as some other medical expenses I've had to have some surgery and stuff like that but I am doing all okay I will be able to pay for it but um any any help on patreon does help with all of that so thank you so much for those of you who are able to help me there if you are not able to help me there totally fine I totally appreciate it I hope you all live long and prosper my friends and take care of yourselves Joe Herman hold Carrie Ellen fos Neil's Osborne Oden home arer Barbie Anne rounds Sarah Montgomery Jack McAllen Steven kleard Hannah friederick Christian Hurst Jazz Miss Randy Thompson Samuel Howard quite beish Marshall NY Rose connley Elan tivy Courtney Ray Kelly dark Aron and an Kate 808 terara Rose Lily blainley Vincent Ellington Amada Kaiba Mara Kel Zay schusler Michael walnuts Matt Chung Alex Miller niasa mer super Desi spooky Heather Sylvia Todd verling Meadow Whisperer Joseph Dewey semi Joe retro Jem Shin iron Chris showers Lily gray Angela Hendrick Joelle Gil Luna James KDA Shep Alderson Dominic Noble weirdy beardy Kaylee Lang son R Puro Nathan fron farango quatro Ryan Hunter fre George Holstrom W Randy Edy Shan Sullivan Kevin 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all

Channel: Jessie Gender

Views: 349,178

Keywords: avatar the last airbender, netflix avatar, avatar review, avatar reaction, avatar reaction epsiode 2, avatar the last airbender netflix, avatar the last airbender reaction, avatar the last airbender netflix review, avatar the last airbender review, avatar the last airbender fire lord, avatar fire lord, netflix avatar the last airbender, avatar the last airbender trailer, the avatar remake is painfully bad, little joel, lil joel, Big Joel

Id: j9L3RNmG7a8

Length: 49min 49sec (2989 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 25 2024