The Stunning Second Life of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (newyorker.com) 80
A fifteen-year-old cartoon is an unlikely contender for most-watched show in America. And yet when "Avatar: The Last Airbender" arrived on Netflix, in May, it rose through the ranks to become the platform's No. 1 offering, and even now it remains a fixture in the Top Ten for the U.S. From a report: The series first ran from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon, and swiftly made a name for itself as a politically resonant, emotionally sophisticated work -- one with a sprawling but meticulously plotted mythos that destined the show for cult-classic status. Last summer, after "Game of Thrones" flubbed its finale, fans and critics held up "Avatar" as a counterexample: a fantasy series that knew what it wanted to be from the beginning. Like all such stories, "Avatar" (created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, and no relation to the James Cameron blockbuster) demands some exposition. In a world where nations are defined by their connection to one of the four elements -- water, earth, fire, and air -- maintaining the peace falls to the Avatar, the only person who can achieve mastery of them all. Just as the Fire Nation launches an attack, he vanishes.
The series begins a century later, when a twelve-year-old boy named Aang is discovered and revived by a pair of Water Tribe teen-agers -- and the Fire Nation is well on its way to global conquest. The first two episodes are largely what you'd expect: world-building punctuated by moments of whimsy. In the third, Aang returns to the temple where he was born to find the aftermath of a genocide. He is, he discovers, both the Avatar and the last of the Air Nomads. Where earlier shows might have hinted at such an atrocity for adult viewers' benefit, "Avatar" is overt, taking seriously its young audience's capacity to confront the consequences of endless war. Moral ambiguity abounds, and people from all nations see the conflict as, variously, an opportunity or a tragedy; there are Earth Kingdom citizens who have become cynical or apathetic after generations of fighting, and those from the Fire Nation who are fully capable of doing good. Aang, like the monks who raised him, is a pacifist at heart, but the series makes it clear that his is not the only way of bringing balance to the world. On the eve of his confrontation with the Fire Lord, one of his past lives -- a warrior named Kyoshi, who has killed would-be conquerors before -- counsels that "only justice will bring peace."
The series begins a century later, when a twelve-year-old boy named Aang is discovered and revived by a pair of Water Tribe teen-agers -- and the Fire Nation is well on its way to global conquest. The first two episodes are largely what you'd expect: world-building punctuated by moments of whimsy. In the third, Aang returns to the temple where he was born to find the aftermath of a genocide. He is, he discovers, both the Avatar and the last of the Air Nomads. Where earlier shows might have hinted at such an atrocity for adult viewers' benefit, "Avatar" is overt, taking seriously its young audience's capacity to confront the consequences of endless war. Moral ambiguity abounds, and people from all nations see the conflict as, variously, an opportunity or a tragedy; there are Earth Kingdom citizens who have become cynical or apathetic after generations of fighting, and those from the Fire Nation who are fully capable of doing good. Aang, like the monks who raised him, is a pacifist at heart, but the series makes it clear that his is not the only way of bringing balance to the world. On the eve of his confrontation with the Fire Lord, one of his past lives -- a warrior named Kyoshi, who has killed would-be conquerors before -- counsels that "only justice will bring peace."
Watch it! (Score:5, Informative)
Anyone who is surprised hasn't seen it. There's a level of storytelling in that 'kids' show you don't find every year in Hollywood.
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It doesn't have as much fan service as I would prefer.
But still high up on my watch list.
Re:Watch it! (Score:5, Informative)
I would also recommend Gravity Falls, it's on Disney+. (they also have Hamilton which was amazing)
It's a kids show but has interesting plot and tons of things I laugh out loud at that the kid's don't get (couple of X-File references, well placed).
The $-17.00 bill was awesome.
It's a clever show.
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I saw some Gravity Falls back when I had satellite, and it was interesting. I never got hooked on it though as it was about the time I cut the cord.
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Did you ACTUALLY watch it, or read 2 sentences of it's wikipedia page?
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Did you ACTUALLY watch it, or read 2 sentences of it's wikipedia page?
My reaction also. He could not have really watched the series.
Re: Watch it! (Score:1)
Just finished it and it was awesome. Some very well written characters with awesome dialogue. Several episodes left me and my kids with huge grins on our faces...swordmaster, sun warriors, amongst many. And the ending was awesome!
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Anyone who is surprised hasn't seen it. There's a level of storytelling in that 'kids' show you don't find every year in Hollywood.
This is true for a lot of Anime, especially that based on a manga. There's a story. It goes through a complete arc in a season. Often that's it. Compare that to the vast majority of write it as we go western TV which seemingly exists only to setup a sequel for itself and you end up by comparison with a far more compelling story.
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Absolutely - I always watched with my kids. I enjoyed it even more than they did, as I could see more of what they were doing with source material references, etc.
Maybe they will do a live action version some day (no there is no live action version - it does not exist, it could only exist if it was done with an all Asian cast as all of the characters are clearly Asian).
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News Flash! (Score:1)
Sometimes cult followings are just cult followings (not to knock 'Twin Peaks' but I could't get into it when I tried a few years back); well written, with good ideas and well made ages better (I'm surprised how the X-Files are still somewhat current).
This is completely NOT NEWS starting with Nick-At-Night years ago.
Lessons w/o Being Preachy (Score:5, Informative)
My wife and I are part of the Netflix crowd watching the show. We just finished the 1st season last night and I have to say that it approaches almost everything thus far with a fairly light touch.
The writers seem to (properly) assume that people (even children) are capable of filling in certain types of "blanks" and thus don't focus too heavily on any major issue for an extended period of time. The summary mentions an "atrocity", but the show doesn't throw down such words. There is no 5 minute monologue that sounds like it was written like a press release from a human rights organization. None of the child characters are irrationally experienced in the ways of global politics and equity. That keeps it light and ensures that important lessons are actually accepted.
Even when there are questions of gender equity, they keep it a light touch and allow the characters' experiences to teach them-- not a lecture. (And important lesson for those of us on the left who can get VERY preachy. We often need to focus on "being the good experience" instead of trying to convince our philosophical opponents that they are simply wrong.)
Lastly, the summary mentions "moral ambiguity", but I disagree. To say that there is moral ambiguity suggests that there is an over-arching right and wrong and that the characters find themselves somewhere in the middle. That's not 100% correct. Instead, the characters find moral relativity in their travels around the world. Everyone lives very different lives and for very different reasons. The characters aren't moral imperialists correcting the backwards people of the world, but they're taking a bit of every culture they meet and leave a little of themselves with each community.
Re: Lessons w/o Being Preachy (Score:2)
There will be some some greater shades of grey in the later books.
What was most impressive is it felt like it improved in the mater seasons.
No surprise itâ(TM)s doing well in the desert known as Netflix.
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This is because because she was raving about a Netflix show called "The Dragon Prince", that i realized was created by the A:TLA headwriter .
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If you like a complex story arc, attention to detail in a fantasy world, moral ambiguity, and don't want to be spoon-fed every single detail, I highly recommend Watanabe's 26-episode "Cowboy Bebop" series. It achieves moments of greatness. It is also not for kids.
There was a time when recommending Cowboy Bebop to anyone on Slashdot was pointless, because everyone had already seen it. Ah, I miss those days.
The music is great, the animation is right for what the story is, and the characters are well realized. It's perhaps a bit old-school-TV episodic for modern tastes, with little ongoing story, but it's from the days before binge-watching and the story within each episode is usually pretty good. Plus IMO some of the silly slice-of-life isolated episodes produce so
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I've never heard anyone suggest that Cowboy Bebop takes itself too seriously. I mean, we're talking about a show where Feng Shui can be used to predict the future, a horse-riding cowboy accompanied by his own theme song is a competing bounty hunter in space, and an entire episode is dedicated to them getting high on mushrooms.
Calling it over-stylized? I'll disagree, but it's something you could reasonably argue. Saying it doesn't deliver? Again, I'll disagree, but there are arguments to be made there, sure.
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You forgot to say "it insists upon itself". Geez, lrn2meme.
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Loved it. I have the disks on a shelf, and they come out from time to time to be replayed. Strangely, it's sandwiched between the original "Clangers" DVD and "Northern Exposure" on that shelf. :)
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the summary mentions "moral ambiguity", but I disagree. To say that there is moral ambiguity suggests that there is an over-arching right and wrong and that the characters find themselves somewhere in the middle.
How do you figure? While absolutists and relativists will disagree about how you determine right from wrong, they both agree that right and wrong exist, and all you need for moral ambiguity is a lack of clarity about which is which in a particular situation.
Speaking broadly so as to avoid spoiling anything specific, one of the biggest sources of ambiguity is the question of what's acceptable in war. Is war a valid means by which to pursue peace? Is it right to respond to violence with violence? Is it right
Why was the movie so hated? (Score:4, Interesting)
Was the movie just not close enough to the source material? Or was there something else that people hated about it? I can't find a consistent answer on the matter.
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I'll open by saying I have never watched the cartoon series, only due to having never had the spare time to do so. I saw the movie in the theatre (in 3D, if I recall correctly) and thought it was entertaining. It wasn't a cinematic masterpiece but I thought it was pretty good. Yet people who are fans consider it total garbage and some nearly want to murder me for suggesting otherwise.
Was the movie just not close enough to the source material? Or was there something else that people hated about it? I can't find a consistent answer on the matter.
I think because while the movie might be entertaining schlock, the series is both a critical and fan darling that many people have a deep emotional attachment to, especially if they watched the series as kids. I came to it as an adult and while I don't have any of the nostalgia for it, I do think it is fantastic. Hands down it is near the top of any list I would make of my favorite serial television.
So I think it comes down to people just thinking the move did the series dirty I guess. It probably caused
Re:Why was the movie so hated? (Score:5, Insightful)
You have seen the equivalent of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" and are asking how close is that one to the Star Wars trilogy source material.
Or trying to judge the entire Batman franchise by seeing one single movie starring Jared Leto as the Joker.
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Quote: " I can't find a consistent answer on the matter."
You haven't search then, 'cause there are thousands of them.
Anyway, this the "I-don't-read-too-much"-version of them:
1) Characters. In the original animation, all are CHILDREN. They laugh, make mistakes, are serious, etc. In the movie, they are STIFF.
2) Fights. In the original animation, they have a purpose: learning, proving who's evil, etc. with collateral damage. In the movie, they're scarce and.. let say superfluous.
3) Story. In the original anima
Re:Why was the movie so hated? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why was the movie so hated? Because it was mostly seen by people who saw the original TV show.
You lucked out. You've nothing to compare it to.
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When cartoons characters are better actors .. (Score:2)
The Avatar movie was actually a cut down, speed up, shortened version of the first and second season and well that was the least of it's problems, because they mostly left out the good parts.
Hint:
Just watch the cartoon series and you will realize the difference, mostly that the cartoon series takes a slower pace but deeper story telling.
Re:When cartoons characters are better actors .. (Score:4, Insightful)
Just watch the cartoon series and you will realize the difference, mostly that the cartoon series takes a slower pace but deeper story telling.
Yup.
The basic premise is pretty cheesy, in my mind, but perfectly serviceable as children's fare.
What the series offered was surprisingly good storytelling, where we learn about the characters, new characters, how the characters learn and grow, the world, and its people, in a very incremental and organic way.
Strip away the well-developed storytelling, and it devolves to cheesy children's fare.
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What is most adult fair strip away the sex, violence, and drug use what do you get?
Action: Good guy hurt by bad guy, Good guy recovers and kill bad guy, ooh gripping. Sorry missed the modern part in series about the good guy pouting how they are guilty of hurting the people around them even though the bad guy is killing everyone.
Romance: people meet don't like each other, grow to like each other, something happens so they break up, then they realize they like each other.
Dystopian: Humans are bad, look at th
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Why was the movie so hated?
Was the movie just not close enough to the source material? Or was there something else that people hated about it?
As the summary stated, the James Cameron movie is totally unrelated to the cartoon. The movie was named after the technology used to drive its plot.
As for why it's hated, it's a blatant and ham-fisted anti-colonization screed that's a note for note rehashing of Disney's Pocahontas. As long as you're looking at the pretty pictures, it's fine, but if you make the mistake of watching it a second time, you realize you're being clubbed over the head by a preachy asshole, and people are getting more than a litt
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We’re talking about the bad M Night live action AtlA, not the unrelated Cameron Dances With Blue People movie.
It's a shame no one ever created a live action version of the Avatar series, especially not M. Night Shyamalan.
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Yet people who are fans consider it total garbage and some nearly want to murder me for suggesting otherwise.
Not just fans. Many movie critics who had never seen the TV show consider it garbage. I have never seen the TV show, and I consider it garbage. As for people wanting to murder you, that's unfortunately the nature of the world today where you having a different opinion is not acceptable to some people.
Was the movie just not close enough to the source material?
Nowhere close. Time-wise the movie tried to cram in an entire 20 episode season with an average episode run time of 23 mins into a single 103 minute movie. This is the first problem with many movie adaptations
Re:Why was the movie so hated? (Score:4, Insightful)
As a fan of film, the movie had terrible writing, terrible directing, and terrible acting. The plot was hard to follow to the point of needing heavy exposition. The only redeemable thing about the movie is that some of the CGI was pretty cool.
As a fan of the cartoon, they took this amazing, deep, earned plot and character development, and devolved it into basically a CGI spectacle with barely recognizable caricatures. They sped through every important moment, and removed some big ones.
One thing to consider is that the cartoon was damn near perfect. Every aspect that the movie failed in, the cartoon nailed. Every aspect that the movie was okay in, the cartoon nailed. Really the only way it had to go was downhill, so they were doomed to fail from the start, but man they botched it way more than they should have.
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The biggest mistake (IMO) was the boneheaded decision by the studio (as happens all too often in Hollywood these days) to use white actors in roles that are clearly of other races in the original source material.
That and generally just not understanding the source material at all.
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Hardly. Back then the topic of whitewashing wasn't even a thing and no one cared. Also you're begging the question. It would have been better if the studio decided to use actual actors. Hell for the main character it was his first movie. The supporting character it was her 2nd.... 3rd? Can't remember. Point is the acting was woeful.
Everyone needs to start somewhere, but that somewhere is not normally a $150m blockbuster.
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I've never seen the film, but my wife saw it in theaters before seeing the series and was not a fan. She found the acting poor, the characters flat, the plot full of holes, the CGI lacking, and the pacing uneven. Which, given her tastes in movies, doesn't actually say much about the merit of the film, though it does line up with most of the complaints I've heard from others.
It took me a couple of years to convince her to give the series a shot since a cartoon "for kids" was not at all something she was inte
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Netflix has lots of great anime right now, but GitS SAC 2045 looks like a bad Red vs. Blue remake from 15 years ago. Not sure why they wanted it to look like a poorly textured video game level.
Shame, because the rest of GitS has been great.
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Yes, but the GP is asking something different. Avatar isn't anime. It's created by people from places like Vermont.
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I think that people care more about the style these days than the national origin. Yes, "japanimation" and all that, but get with the times: It's gone global.
You're trying to make the champagne argument.
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You're trying to make the champagne argument.
Perhaps, but if it's authentic champagne it tastes different depending on region and technique. Maybe not better or worse, but different.
I think that people care more about the style these days than the national origin.
A quasi-oriental setting created by white men seems a little cringy to me. Passing it of as anime when it doesn't tie into Japanese culture in any meaningful way is more like false advertising than simply "copying a style". Admittedly modern anime follows story structure more closely to Western styles than older anime/manga did, and I think that is a quality of it going to
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Arise was also shit.
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Why is this story tagged as anime? I'm not sure it meets the definition. I believe it's anime-inspired, but I don't think it meets the definition. Anyone care to chime in?
"Avatar is/is not an Anime" has been debated so much within the anime community it's almost become a meme in itself, and the issue has gotten more pronounced in the years since as more and more content is released globally.
IMHO, it's not "anime", but if you want to see all sides of the debate rabbit hole, here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Is+Avatar+an+anime [youtube.com]
tl;dr: Netflix and various other providers are probably best staying out of the debate and labelling the category "Anime and Anime
Nostolgia. (Score:3)
2008 is 12 years ago.
Kids who watched it were 8-15 on average. Making them 20-27 years old now.
Getting jobs, forming complex relationships. They would like to watch stuff during their normally most optimistic part of their life.
Old enough to do stuff. Young enough for Major responsibility.
For me watching shows from the mid 1980s - early 1990's is my nostalgia spot for me. It isn't that the shows were better than, but it is like going back to old friends, who hadn't changed.
Now I have heard that Avatar the last air-bender was a good story. So for people at that age, probably was their first experience to such a story arch.
Ages
0-4 Moving pictures that keep you attention.
5-9 Connection with the characters
9-15 Connection with the story
16-21 Connection with the Style and types
When you get past your 20's you are seeing new shows, and they just seem like rehash of older stuff. Because you have now experienced older stuff.
When you were younger it was often the first time you have experienced it, so it was new to you.
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Actually I watched that show in my middish to late 20s stumbled upon it and I really liked it, because it was no run-of-the-mill cartoon but had really good story scripting and "acting", also the visual quality of the animations and the mix with the music and sound was great.
So I say don't just think you can find a liking in cartoons just because you came of age.
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I saw it in my 40s and liked it for its story and characters.
They managed to write a proper heel-face turn, which is no mean feat, because a heel-face/face-heel turn is Serious Business. It has to be built up and justified, not just "I'm pissed off/bored, so I'm joining the other team".
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I'll second that. Castlevania was really, really well done. They didn't pull any punches on hard moral questions, and it was still thoroughly enjoyable to watch. I was recommended it because of the beautiful artwork (hand painted backgrounds, which seem to be going away in a lot of newer shows).
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That is generally true, but I didn't watch this series until I was in my 40s and it still blew me away!
no kidding (Score:2)
It's well made, it's good TV. A good story, spans all ages, holds up well. Some intense parts, some funny parts.
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And, of course, "Zhu Li, do the thing!"... Zhu Li's eventual character arc was so unexpected for a background role. Loved that.
Honestly, I have a hard time remembering what Korra did at all... the real story was all about the non-avatar characters. She was more of a plot device. Maybe that's why the show didn't put "Avat
Because nobody was offering it before. (Score:2)
That's because nobody had bothered to put all of "Avatar: The Last Airbender", on a streaming platform before. Hell when it was still airing, the local cable VOD systems would only pick random episodes to even watch. The only way to watch the entire thing in order was to pirate it. The only thing that was on Netflix was the awful, horribly mis-cast live action film.
It's an excellent series (Score:4, Insightful)
The praise is well deserved... (Score:1)
I am an avid watcher of animation of all sorts and Last Airbender is definitely on my best of all time list (along with its sequel series Korra).
Like much of the best animation, they both have that quality of being appealing to both kids and adults.
It's a good show (Score:2)
Daughter watched Avatar and Cowboy Bebop in grade school. I was at first astonished at the level of violence in both shows, but then got hooked and watched each to completion with her.
They're right, Avatar works up to a very satisfying finale, and each part of the story is a piece of the puzzle. We both liked it very much. And they're right, it was the exact opposite of GoT, which has nearly a Lost level of ineptitude at the finale.
The live action film, in contrast, was beautifully photographed but the s
Its very well done. Watched the original (Score:5, Informative)
I was narrating her Mahabharata too, honorable people on the wrong side, Grandpa Bheeshma, Prince Karna. The earth bender King Bhumi, means Earth in Indic languages. Was an instant hit in our family. We still discuss some of the episodes and use events in the serial in conversations, inside jokes etc.
The movie was a disaster. Dont want to give away the ending, but it was very nice too.
Thematically, the Fire Nation seems to be Japan, The Earth nation seems to be China, The Air nation seems to be Tibet and the water tribes seem to be inuit.
Re: Its very well done. Watched the original (Score:1)
You nailed it on the nations!
"Korra" sequel isn't awful either (Score:2)
I enjoyed "Legend of Korra" overall... although the writing was somewhat uneven, and it did tend to get preachy in places ("Last Airbender" did a much better job at that).
Some of the villains were rather well written. I tended to find their characters more interesting than Ms. Avatar's.
I haven't watched "Last Airbender" on Netflix though... we bought the series as soon as it was available, so I've ripped it to my streaming box.
Worldbuilding at its finest (Score:4, Insightful)
Not only did they build a rich, complex world with multiple cultures, but they never dropped a thread. If something happened early, you'd likely see the consequences later.
And the Korra sequel (which I never did finish watching because Nick messed with scheduling, yes I know I can get it any time now, but I'd probably have to start over), took that world building and turned it on its head: What happens if civilization advances from just-barely-industrial into, say the Jazz Age: there's suddenly organized sports, factories, cars, etc. in 40 years, and it makes sense. Gorgeous design overall.
Hoping for a new season! (Score:1)
Sounds like its the perfect time for them to get the crew back togeather and animate Avatar: The Last Airbender - Imbalance!
In marketing this is called "The Long Tail" (Score:2)
Wired even wrote an article [wired.com] about it.
Sometimes the long tail even see a resurgence of popularity.
This isn't anything new.
Lean left a little harder? (Score:2)
While I concede that the show is, predictably, about solving problems with talking, etc... ...let's not forget that ultimately a NUMBER of the problems are solved with straight-up violence.
Certainly, if you're just looking for validations, the show pushes your buttons. But I think it's fairly objective. including a number of points about things like the importance and value of tradition and faith.
Literally just finished the series (Score:1)