Avatar The Last Airbender In Korean
Gibert Chisholm
In case you are unaware of the show, Avatar: The Last Airbender involves a world where people control the elements, earth, air, water and fire. Each element has their own nations. The Fire Nation ruler (Fire Lord) is the antagonizing force, as he tries to conquer all the other elemental kingdoms. The show is about a boy named Aang who holds the title of Avatar, a powerful savior.
Later in high school, around the tenth grade, I decided to revisit the series and then I revisited it again in my first year of university. After a second and third viewing, I gained a new appreciation for the already incredible series. I could appreciate how the show is able to create a world that feels real and alive. They successfully create well developed characters that you can empathize with, each having their own problems and unique arc all while tackling heavy and dark themes such as morality, responsibility, imperialism, war and genocide.
This post is going to involve me pointing out the cultural influences from each nation. I will discuss the Water nation, the Earth Kingdom, The Fire Nation and The Air Temples. Ill start with the Water Tribes.
Both the Inuit and Water Tribe have similar dietary habits. Both peoples eat fish since they live close to and on top of water. One of the main characters, Sokka is even shown fishing in the first episode.
I find this mix of Aboriginal influences interesting. I enjoyed the first season/book of this show a lot as it primarily took place in the North and South Pole. Another interesting place is the Earth Nations.
The Earth Kingdoms are my favourite locations in the Avatar universe. They are the most diverse. Each kingdom, nation or island can have very different cultural influences. The characters of the Earth Nation vary in skin tones and clothing style, unlike other nations where the dress style seems almost uniform.
The queue hairstyle is a very distinct style that is used in the Avatar universe. It involves the hair being completely shaven except for the back, that leaves a slight patch of hair and a long ponytail.
This is also a hairstyle that is a part of Chinese history. The queue hairstyle lasted from around the 17th to the 20th century. It was popularized in the Qing Dynasty and it originated form the Manchu people of China. Here is an actual photograph of someone with the queue hairstyle next to an Avatar character so you can see the similarity.
The Fire Nation is heavily inspired by Imperial Japan. Both World War II Imperial Japan and the Fire Nation are responsible for military invasions of other countries. Both have also caused a bloodbath in other nations. Japan slaughtered hundreds of thousands in the Philippines and China. Avatar references war atrocities as the imperialist Fire Nation often commits brutal mass killings and even a genocide on the Air nomads.
Both Japan and the Fire Nation censor their past atrocities. If you read a Japanese history textbook, Japan barely goes into detail about the World War II horrors that Japan caused (See this article about censorship in Japan). Similarly, the Fire Nation blatantly changes the facts of their crimes such as the genocide of the Air Nomads in their school system. Like the Japanese students, Fire Nation students are not fully aware of the horrors their country caused.
For example, Azula lost to Katara as Katara was able to creatively use the water from the drain below her to freeze Azula. Water benders are often known to be adaptable and Katara has learned a lot by travelling around the world. On the other hand, Azula, a driving force for Fire Nation imperialism, became rigid and predictable.
While the Fire Nation was an imperialist and nationalist, the Air nomads did not have a formal nation or military. Instead, they had communal temples, where they would go to train as airbenders and do other activities such as meditate.
The Avatar (Aang) is one of my favourite heroes in general. As a person who enjoys studying history and religion, his powers and philosophy are especially interesting as they are derived from religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
One interesting thing about the Avatar is the way the Avatar is chosen. The Avatar is chosen when he/she, as a child, picks out the correct group of toys. This is exactly how Tibetan monks choose their next Dalai Lama, determining if they obtain the title based on which toys the child chooses.
Avatar Aang also dresses like the Dali lama. In the third season/book, Aang wears yellow and red robes that leave one arm open. This is very similar to the Dali Lama whose red and yellow robes also leave one arm open. Below is a picture showing how the Dalai Lama dresses similarly to the Avatar.
The Water Tribes use a mixture of various Indigenous cultures, namely, Inuit, Australian Aboriginal and Aztec cultures. The Earth Kingdom of Ba Sing Se is mainly inspired by Chinese culture and history. The Fire nation pulls from Imperial Japan. This nation is also used to show how being open to other cultures is more beneficial than keeping a nationalist mindset. The Air nomads are based off of Tibetan monks. Also, the Air nomads align with the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Avatar: The Last Airbender is unique as it is one of the few shows that pulls from elements of Aboriginal and Asian history.
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