“You’re…You’re just oppressing yourself!”
I wrote a big post when it was airing about objectivism in Korra, how Amon’s mission of equality was what showed the true colors of Tarlok being the opposite side and his ideal that you’re only as good as what you can contribute and if you aren’t a bender, you’re not as good as one, etc.
Objectivism is one of the great unwinnable arguments… both sides have a point, both sides can go too far, and the winning move is to live in and maintain the balance between them, a la, the Avatar.
My personal stance leans more towards equality but that is because I am a humanist…. You have to think about it for yourself. Also, watch the Incredibles. Same idea. Only Brad Bird is a professed Ayn Rand supporter :p
Submitted by eccoecco.
((OMG, THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ When I created this blog for Korra, I had been debating about whether to make a Korra blog or a Katara blog. I chose Korra over Katara because I connected with Korra more. Wanna know why? Because of her flaws. I can be hotheaded and stubborn, just like Korra. So I connect with her. Which is why I chose her as my muse.
When people argue that the characters are flawed, well guess what? People are able to connect more with them that way.
*I’m not saying I like LOK more than ATLA. I love both of them equally. But when people say LOK is a shitty sequel, it pisses me off*))
Sigh… The problem is not that LOK’s characters are flawed. The problem is that those flaws are never addressed, and therefore are implicitly excused. For instance:
- It’s okay to kiss the boy you like and expect him to like you back, even though he’s dating and apparently in love with someone else. Because in the end, he’ll leave her for you.
- It’s okay to cover up that you kissed the girl you like who isn’t your girlfriend. Your girlfriend will get mad at you, but then she’ll forgive you, and you’ll still be great friends.
- It’s okay to threaten to light someone on fire if he doesn’t tell you the whereabouts of the-girl-you-like-who-isn’t-your-girlfriend, even though he may not even know. Or, as most people call it, torture.
- If you’re upset, it’s okay to get so drunk that your brother has to carry you home, apparently repeatedly. (Since Mako knows just where to find Bolin, I think that he’s done this before.) Aside from a little embarrassment, you won’t suffer any of the negative consequences of alcoholism.
- If the leader of a social movement turns out to be a hypocrite, everyone should dismiss the entire movement, even if it may (or may not) have a point.
- Similarly, movements that act against privilege (which again, may or may not exist; I have yet to be convinced that non-benders are systematically oppressed, but I’m not convinced that they AREN’T, either) needn’t cause their targets to consider whether or not they SHOULD check their privilege.
- If your parents warn you to stay out of a dangerous situation but you think you can help anyway, go for it. You’ll be the heroes of the day.
Compare that to a few examples of how characters’ flaws were treated in A:TLA.
- Aang has to address his extreme reluctance for confrontation in his conversations with Roku and Yangchen.
- Katara has to address her unbridled desire for revenge when Aang, arguably the most important person in her life, confronts her about it and explains why it’s hurtful.
- Sokka has to address his sexism when Yue overrides his thoughts about how she should act by displaying her self-agency and becoming the moon spirit, despite his and others’ wishes.
- Suki’s expectation that Sokka will immediately want her again is challenged when he initially rejects her because he’s still in love with Yue.
- Sokka also has to address his desire to fight when his dad doesn’t allow him to for the very good reason that he’s too young.
- I don’t think I even have to explain how Zuko comes to terms with his flaws.
- Azula’s thirst for power, even through evil means, eventuates her mental instability.
And so on, and so forth. The difference between characters’ flaws in LOK and in A:TLA is that in A:TLA, the flaws were addressed; the protagonists in LOK never have to face up to their imperfections, and considering that both Korra and Mako tend to get everything they want, I agree with those who label them Mary Sues.
And that’s just addressing the issue of flawed characters. Some other problems in LOK:
- The pacing. The first five episodes (with the exception of episode 3) are slow expositions of the characters, meaning that almost all of the action gets compressed to a few episodes.
- The plotting. So much time is devoted to pro-bending, which has little to no meaning to the story as a whole, that none was left for development of the Equalists. Do they have a point? Why is Amon so attractive to so many people? We just don’t know, because Bryke chose to give the time they could have used to address such important issues to developing a game.
- Contradictions of A:TLA. Korra realizes she can airbend because the boy she’s in love with is in trouble. Though there were situations where romantic tension drove development in A:TLA (chiefly “The Cave of Two Lovers”), the series’ main point was the importance of finding power in yourself. Yet Korra’s entire self-worth is wrapped up in her bending, which is subsequently restored almost instantaneously and with almost no explanation.
Poorterrible character development. There’s only one occasion on which Bolin actually does something beyond being a stock comic relief character: when he frees Asami in the finale. And he gets no development from that; it’s shown, but then dismissed. Asami and the airbabies get a lot of screen time but little to no development, and Mako’s character arc actually goes backwards from a good person who obviously cares for his brother and girlfriend to someone who actively covers up kissing Korra so Asami won’t (rightly) confront him about it. Lin gets some development, going from despising Korra merely for her association with Tenzin to working to support Korra, Tenzin, and even Pema, but the entirety of that arc is based in her failed relationship with Tenzin. Who is Lin as an individual, outside of that past? We know that she’s a devoted cop, but that’s all we know.And frankly, I could go on. So yeah, I do think LOK is a pretty piss-poor sequel to one of my favorite series of all time, and I’m not going to apologize for that. If you enjoy it, that’s great, and I mean that! But please don’t claim that there are no problems with it.
Somehow I thought drawing Green Lantern Asami Sato would be a great idea.
Help I’ve lost control of my life
