Watching strong women and Asian fighters on the Avatar: The Last Airbender (A:TLA) empowers me as a Filipino girl growing up. A:TLA is an animated series that aired on Nickelodean from 2005 to 2008. A:TLA revolves around a young Aang as the “Avatar,” who with his friends must end the Fire Nation’s 100-year tyranny. I find A:TLA’s position in popular culture a fascinating evolution. Since it aired on a network targeting children, A:TLA should be classified as a children’s show. However, more than 15 years since it first aired, it has skyrocketed in popularity due to mature themes. Fans of the show range from viewers who have grown up with the show or first-time watchers after it was recently released on Netflix. Using the works of Ziesler, Adorno and Horkheimer, I will discuss how A:TLA originated in a niche market but has grown for mass consumption and social commentary.
As a children’s television show, A:TLA was originally isolated to a niche market based on the age of 2 to 17 years old (Hemsworth, 2018). Though later offering social commentary, its initial episodes employed elements of children’s media. The comedic relief with children as the protagonists and familiar “monsters-of-the-week” structure reuses the formula of many Nickelodeon or children shows. From Adorno and Horkheimer’s perspective, early A:TLA reflected the standardization of children’s media, or when the products in the culture industry are essentially the same (2002, p. 95). Therefore, it was unable to break into the mainstream due to its seemingly identical plot and structure to other children’s shows.
However, A:TLA later portrayed mature themes, season-long arcs, and sophisticated character development, diverging from the standardized form. One example that best captures this is the theme of female empowerment embodied by its characters. One character, Katara, is introduced through the male gaze with Aang being infatuated by her beauty. Ziesler defines the male gaze as reducing women as just “objects to be looked at,” (2008, p. 8) thus making them vulnerable to men. Eventually, Katara becomes a strong fighter and overcomes a system that wouldn’t train her because of her gender. A:TLA subverts the male gaze, empowering female viewers with a strong representation of women of color, which is rare to find on television. People might assume that because it is a children’s show, it is unable to carry social commentary, but A:TLA challenges such classifications. Due to its wide appeal and social commentary, this is the catalyst for A:TLA becoming more validated as mainstream pop culture.
Although A:TLA’s fandom has been persistent since it ended in 2008, it recently experienced a resurgence in popularity, contributed by the political climate during its release on Netflix. In June 2020, A:TLA was released on Netflix and immediately became number 1 in the US (Hood, 2020). Netflix is a significant driver of pop culture, able to bring media into the mainstream, especially since A:TLA was released during the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) (Phillips, 2020). A:TLA’s themes of fighting against injustice resonated with the goals of the BLM movement to overcome marginalization. In fact, some BLM protestors used quotes from the show, highlighting A:TLA’s universal themes are more timely than ever (Gibson, 2020).
Evidently, A:TLA’s politics is integral to its evolution in the culture industry. This diffuses a widely believed notion Ziesler mentioned that pop culture’s only job was to amuse (2008, p.1). Interestingly, what makes A:TLA so appealing and relevant is its ability to “inform, enrich, and inspire” (2008, p.1) which Ziesler mentioned was widely believed to only be reserved for high art. A:TLA can’t be high art because of its accessibility, but it is acclaimed due to its ability to portray social issues in an entertaining way. Thus, A:TLA successfully combines social significance with entertainment, garnering its timeless status, especially with the well-timed release on Netflix. Without A:TLA being released on a platform that is a significant driver of pop culture, A:TLA wouldn’t face its resurgence.
A:TLA has expanded into a multi-media franchise since the culture industry has exploited nostalgia to attract fans with a standardized formula. A:TLA had a live-action film remake without involvement from the original creators, a spin-off series, and an upcoming Netflix live-action series remake, in which the original creators departed due to creative differences (Alexander, 2020). Adorno and Horkheimer would be skeptical of this, claiming consumers or fans of the original series become “helpless victims” (2002, p.106) for mass consumption, to the point where some of the products aren’t overseen by the original creators. Because the culture industry constantly produces commodities, fans would be attracted, especially since A:TLA has significant nostalgia for many of the viewers.
However, I argue fans have the agency to call out commodities of the culture industry. For example, The Last Airbender, the 2010 live-action remake garnered immense controversy for casting Asian and Inuit roles with caucasian actors, diminishing the original representation of people of color (Harrison, 2019). The film being unfaithful to the original series was perceived as exploiting nostalgia, rather than bringing social issues to a wider platform. However, when works add social commentary, fans can validate it because they find it genuine. For example, although the spin-off The Legend of Korra uses the standard plot with a new Avatar, it was praised for its representation of a queer female protagonist (Romano, 2020). Hence, the franchise has evolved for mass consumption, yet the fans still push back against commodities, going against Adorno and Horkheimer’s claims that audiences lack agency.
Ultimately, the significance of A:TLA highlights that popular culture can entertain wide audiences, being enjoyable but also thought-provoking. The culture industry tries to eclipse A:TLA, but the fandom will always resist due to the gravity of the themes and their application. Accordingly, fans have the agency to invalidate popular culture done without real justice and as a commodity.
Works Cited
Alexander, J. (2020, August 12). Avatar: The last airbender creators quit netflix live-action adaptation over creative differences. The Verge. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/12/21365329/avatar-last-airbender-netflix-live-action-michael-dante-dimartino-bryan-konietzko-departure.
Harrison, M. (2019, July 2). The last airbender: What went wrong with the movie? Den of Geek. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-last-airbender-what-went-wrong/#:~:text=There%20was%20also%20the%20controversial,it%20had%20even%20come%20out.
Hemsworth, A. (2018, January 3). Viacom's Nickelodeon remains driving force for Media segment. Market Realist. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://marketrealist.com/2018/01/viacoms-nickelodeon-remains-driving-force-media-segment/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed.
Hood, C. (2020, June 6). How avatar: The last airbender became Netflix's #1 show. ScreenRant. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-netflix-biggest-show/.
Horkheimer, M. & Adorno, T. (2002). The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. In G. Noeri (Ed.), Dialectic of Enlightenment (pp. 94-136). Redwood City: Stanford University Press.
Phillips, M. (2020, June 18). 'Avatar: The last airbender' imagines a world free of Whiteness. The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/arts/television/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix.html.
Romano, A. (2020, August 13). Legend of Korra's messy, Complicated Legacy. Vox. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/8/13/21362113/legend-of-korra-netflix-controversy-korra-vs-aang-korrasami.
Zeisler, A. (2008). Feminism and pop culture. New York, NY: Seal Press. Pp. 1-21
As a children’s television show, A:TLA was originally isolated to a niche market based on the age of 2 to 17 years old (Hemsworth, 2018). Though later offering social commentary, its initial episodes employed elements of children’s media. The comedic relief with children as the protagonists and familiar “monsters-of-the-week” structure reuses the formula of many Nickelodeon or children shows. From Adorno and Horkheimer’s perspective, early A:TLA reflected the standardization of children’s media, or when the products in the culture industry are essentially the same (2002, p. 95). Therefore, it was unable to break into the mainstream due to its seemingly identical plot and structure to other children’s shows.
However, A:TLA later portrayed mature themes, season-long arcs, and sophisticated character development, diverging from the standardized form. One example that best captures this is the theme of female empowerment embodied by its characters. One character, Katara, is introduced through the male gaze with Aang being infatuated by her beauty. Ziesler defines the male gaze as reducing women as just “objects to be looked at,” (2008, p. 8) thus making them vulnerable to men. Eventually, Katara becomes a strong fighter and overcomes a system that wouldn’t train her because of her gender. A:TLA subverts the male gaze, empowering female viewers with a strong representation of women of color, which is rare to find on television. People might assume that because it is a children’s show, it is unable to carry social commentary, but A:TLA challenges such classifications. Due to its wide appeal and social commentary, this is the catalyst for A:TLA becoming more validated as mainstream pop culture.
Although A:TLA’s fandom has been persistent since it ended in 2008, it recently experienced a resurgence in popularity, contributed by the political climate during its release on Netflix. In June 2020, A:TLA was released on Netflix and immediately became number 1 in the US (Hood, 2020). Netflix is a significant driver of pop culture, able to bring media into the mainstream, especially since A:TLA was released during the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) (Phillips, 2020). A:TLA’s themes of fighting against injustice resonated with the goals of the BLM movement to overcome marginalization. In fact, some BLM protestors used quotes from the show, highlighting A:TLA’s universal themes are more timely than ever (Gibson, 2020).
Evidently, A:TLA’s politics is integral to its evolution in the culture industry. This diffuses a widely believed notion Ziesler mentioned that pop culture’s only job was to amuse (2008, p.1). Interestingly, what makes A:TLA so appealing and relevant is its ability to “inform, enrich, and inspire” (2008, p.1) which Ziesler mentioned was widely believed to only be reserved for high art. A:TLA can’t be high art because of its accessibility, but it is acclaimed due to its ability to portray social issues in an entertaining way. Thus, A:TLA successfully combines social significance with entertainment, garnering its timeless status, especially with the well-timed release on Netflix. Without A:TLA being released on a platform that is a significant driver of pop culture, A:TLA wouldn’t face its resurgence.
A:TLA has expanded into a multi-media franchise since the culture industry has exploited nostalgia to attract fans with a standardized formula. A:TLA had a live-action film remake without involvement from the original creators, a spin-off series, and an upcoming Netflix live-action series remake, in which the original creators departed due to creative differences (Alexander, 2020). Adorno and Horkheimer would be skeptical of this, claiming consumers or fans of the original series become “helpless victims” (2002, p.106) for mass consumption, to the point where some of the products aren’t overseen by the original creators. Because the culture industry constantly produces commodities, fans would be attracted, especially since A:TLA has significant nostalgia for many of the viewers.
However, I argue fans have the agency to call out commodities of the culture industry. For example, The Last Airbender, the 2010 live-action remake garnered immense controversy for casting Asian and Inuit roles with caucasian actors, diminishing the original representation of people of color (Harrison, 2019). The film being unfaithful to the original series was perceived as exploiting nostalgia, rather than bringing social issues to a wider platform. However, when works add social commentary, fans can validate it because they find it genuine. For example, although the spin-off The Legend of Korra uses the standard plot with a new Avatar, it was praised for its representation of a queer female protagonist (Romano, 2020). Hence, the franchise has evolved for mass consumption, yet the fans still push back against commodities, going against Adorno and Horkheimer’s claims that audiences lack agency.
Ultimately, the significance of A:TLA highlights that popular culture can entertain wide audiences, being enjoyable but also thought-provoking. The culture industry tries to eclipse A:TLA, but the fandom will always resist due to the gravity of the themes and their application. Accordingly, fans have the agency to invalidate popular culture done without real justice and as a commodity.
Works Cited
Alexander, J. (2020, August 12). Avatar: The last airbender creators quit netflix live-action adaptation over creative differences. The Verge. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/12/21365329/avatar-last-airbender-netflix-live-action-michael-dante-dimartino-bryan-konietzko-departure.
Harrison, M. (2019, July 2). The last airbender: What went wrong with the movie? Den of Geek. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-last-airbender-what-went-wrong/#:~:text=There%20was%20also%20the%20controversial,it%20had%20even%20come%20out.
Hemsworth, A. (2018, January 3). Viacom's Nickelodeon remains driving force for Media segment. Market Realist. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://marketrealist.com/2018/01/viacoms-nickelodeon-remains-driving-force-media-segment/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed.
Hood, C. (2020, June 6). How avatar: The last airbender became Netflix's #1 show. ScreenRant. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-netflix-biggest-show/.
Horkheimer, M. & Adorno, T. (2002). The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. In G. Noeri (Ed.), Dialectic of Enlightenment (pp. 94-136). Redwood City: Stanford University Press.
Phillips, M. (2020, June 18). 'Avatar: The last airbender' imagines a world free of Whiteness. The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/arts/television/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix.html.
Romano, A. (2020, August 13). Legend of Korra's messy, Complicated Legacy. Vox. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/8/13/21362113/legend-of-korra-netflix-controversy-korra-vs-aang-korrasami.
Zeisler, A. (2008). Feminism and pop culture. New York, NY: Seal Press. Pp. 1-21
Hey Bettina, love your discussion post topic!
ReplyDeleteOn this topic of placating to the masses, I certainly believe the creators tip-toed a line between challenging their audience and fearing their anger as it pertained to the actual story content of the original plotline. We have to remember that the first objective of any show creator is to not get the show cancelled. So when it came to Legend of Korra, there were certainly a lot of creative decisions made narratively in the show that demonstrate the production team’s fear around cancellation. In fact, if we remember correctly, Legend of Korra was actually taken off the air. As stated in this Vox article, “...Nickelodeon pulled [Legend of Korra] from its TV schedule, citing declining ratings. Instead, the last half of season three and all of a truncated season four were only released online.”
Therefore, the creators decision to show Korra’s queer identity in the final season could be read two different ways. One could see it as representation as defined by Stuart Hall, or it could be seen as an attempt to represent queer identities with a stunted, limited portrayal of a lesbian romance—for fear of any kind of recoil. Regardless, this change in character by Korra was met by a lot of backlash, not only by homophobic fans who were unhappy with the implication of this love story with Asami, but also from fans who craved this love story and felt that the implication of it fell short of true representation. When you really think about it, all that is shown to indicate a relationship is their holding hands in the very last scene of the final season—everything else could be interpreted as a close friendship. I think in this way, the creators of the show instituted their theme of including diverse storylines and topics, but with the hesitance around complete cancellation (as the final season was moved online), they restricted themselves from fully committing to this character development.
On that note, it is fascinating to remember how the move to online for Korra’s final season hurt viewership, when now, the move to streaming services has skyrocketed viewership to unprecedented levels. In fact, it is so interesting because I had actually started to rewatch ATLA before it moved to Netflix, because my brother owns all the DVDs and I actually own a flash drive from a friend with all the episodes. That was life before accessibility on streaming platforms. Crazy! We could almost classify this under Walter Benjamin’s definition of “distribution”, which we described as the technical reproduction of an original that can be put into situations that would be out of reach for the original itself. If we view the “original” as being the DVDs—since their are no reruns of Legend of Korra on Nickelodeon and it’s episodes online, besides Netflix—then we could certainly consider the shift to streaming services as a type of reproduction that widen the shows original audience base.
- Paola Camacho
**** Anaya Shroff's response ****
ReplyDeleteHi Bettina! I enjoyed reading your article and learning more about Avatar the Last Airbender as a series, and specifically how the resurgence of the show accurately reflects current social contexts and themes. I think you explained this well in your explanation of a deepened appreciation for A:TLA for its central message of fighting against injustice during the Black Lives Matter movement.
Your point on A:TLA’s ability to encourage social commentary reminds me of Jenkin’s argument that a show’s popularity is able to “transform personal reaction into social interaction and spectator culture into participatory culture.” Jenkins claims that this is one of the central characteristics of a fandom. I feel like this relates with the changing popularity of A:TLA with the onset of streaming services like Netflix, as well as the decisions of the writers to include more mature and sophisticated themes as well as their emphasis on character development. A:TLA’s resurgence prompts the consolidation of a fan base who might consist of old fans as well as new one, and who have engaged with A:TLA’s growth over the years.
You have spoken about how A:TLA has a wide audience and how fans have the agency to resist injustice. Jenkins speaks about how underground groups are protected by anonymity and fandoms can express dissent towards portrayals of important themes in tv series. Movements can be generated by fans in these ways and enough noise can turn into producers actively responding to fan criticism. Such is seen through the flashback of the 2010 live action remake where A:TLA cast Caucasians to play Inuit and Asian roles.