Is There A Part 2 To The Last Airbender

[Ene Vinson]

Like in the first article, you are getting an appetizer here, as I am jumping straight to the climax of the film. Even though the Moon Spirit has been revived and the defenders of the Northern Water Tribe city have regained their strength, everything is still hanging in the balance. It is up to Aang to find the inner resolve and peace required to fulfil his role as the Avatar, and to succeed in unleashing his full waterbending powers. He is hurrying up to the parapet, to face the warships of the invading Fire Nation. The following slide show unfolds that shot (please note that all slide shows can be restarted from the beginning by clicking on the current image to enlarge it and then return to the article):

Now there is a cut to a close-up that kicks off a flashback, causing an epiphany in Aang, leading in turn to the climax. In the first article I walked through the first four and the last shot of that climax. It is highly recommended that you first follow the link and take a look.

The number four might lead our thoughts to stability and completeness (the four seasons, the four winds, the four phases of the moon, the four heavenly directons, possibly the four noble thruths and the four methods of inducement in Buddhism).

The world of The Last Airbender consists of four elements and four tribes. There are four heroes and four prominent characters from the Fire Nation (and the latter all have four-letter names). The climax starts with four shots that are structurally and formally linked.

Like in Signs (see here) the circle is the most important motif of The Last Airbender. And similarly to the four motif, the circle stands for completeness and healing. It manifests itself in many ways: circular objects and circular movements, of both characters and camera. Let us first round up some objects:

Furthermore, after the majestic camera movement, when Aang is still inside the pavillion the camera is in there with him, thrice moving along with him, in arc-shaped manoeuvres parallel to its perimeter. Objects and characters are circling too. The big stone slabs that Aang puts in place as a fence are moving around their own axis, as he is manipulating them. During the entire sequence Aang is often spinning around as well. In the first article we saw how Prince Zuko made a circular movement as he was introduced. (This is not a full circle: at the end we can see Katara and Sokka in the background and the first shot was from their vantage point.) As we saw in that scene, firebenders often spin around when they are throwing fire.

A main source of the elegance of The Last Airbender is the relentlessly moving camera. Like many outstanding qualities of The Last Airbender, it does not come into its own until (roughly) the second half of the film. The camera records the action in elegant, methodical movements, smoothly alternating between tracking, steadicam, crane and helicopter shots, in lingering sweeps that constantly reveals new elements of scenes, new features of landscape. The reveal aspect is discussed in the next chapter, and in regards to sophisticated movement we have already seen some examples: Aang on the parapet, Aang in the chamber of statues, and, to a certain extent, Sokka and Yue on their way to the watchtower. Later, we will see a Fire Lord scene start with exhilarating camera motion.

In many cases the camera movement creates a bridge from scene to scene by letting the motion follow through into the next shot, for example in the already-seen panning movement linking the helicopter shot and the Iroh-Zuko encounter, before the assassination attempt.

Revealing shots, where features of a scene are gradually disclosed by camera movement, are clearly overrepresented in The Last Airbender, and is a generous provider of its elegance. By its nature, this motif is closely connected to the camera movement discussed in the previous chapter. Later the device is in action in some Fire Lord situations, for example in scene 5, where Ozai tells Zhao about his ruthless plan for world domination.

After that scene, which ends with Ozai looking up at the heavens, yearning for power, there is a direct cut to an image of the sky. We could believe that it was the heavens above the palace that he was gazing at, but the image instead shows the consequence of his plan, in a manoeuvre of cohesion:

But here the reveal has more dramatic power, since the peaceful blue sky is substituted with menacing black smoke, and not least, much less time elapses before the ship is disclosed: the danger is acute now that the ships have reached the target. (It is this smoke that causes the black snow.)

We have already seen the reveal device used many times, for example in the chamber of statues, the foot massage scene, and in the Princess Yue/Sokka scene at the watchtower. Now for some more examples.

Now the battle starts, in the following slide show. In a long take we stay with a warrior riding an attack animal that scales the wall, and having reached the top, the insides of the city are revealed. He throws fire down into it. In the next shot the camera gradually discloses how more and more enemies are coming up from the ground, having bored through the ice:

Echoes have the ability to create resonance-heightening comparison points in the narrative. Quite a few shots towards the end of The Last Airbender will recall earlier key points and some will complete previous unfinished business. We have already looked at the echo between the pre-climax shot and the climax sequence itself, but even this can be extended:

Overhead shots are something of a Shyamalan speciality. The Last Airbender contains as many as eight (see below slide show), of which the two in the opening sequence are particularly evocative:

There is an unusually high number of situations where characters are shown both from the front and back. Some instances are obviously to show that they are immersed in a situation (a kind of point-of-view shot that fully includes the person looking), others have arisen from circular camera movements (here and here) and other types of movement (here). Yet others, however, bestow a genuinely ritualistic quality upon the situations. This slide show presents a full list, always with the frontal one at the top, regardless of chronology:

This is a short but brilliant scene, a flashback where Prince Zuko (here played by an another actor) recounts a traumatic event. He knows he is about to take part in a duel, but Ozai has planned a surprise.

This is just a short scene where stylisation is provided by Ozai sitting motionless (until he straightens up at the last second) while the camera is calmly closing in on the tableau. Please note the demonstratively reclining, powerful posture. (This scene is probably a continuation of the previous one, but in the narrative flow it is experienced as a separate situation.)

After a cut, an effective full stop is bestowed on the scene with the following strange constellation, Ozai towering unnaturally high over Zhao. This is eminently suitable for a situation where the ruler is in the process of divulging a plan in which the Fire Nation shall do away with a supremely important spiritual being in order to install himself as sovereign of the known universe. Zhao is taken aback, but also enthralled by this daring and game-changing scheme.

The structure on the parapet that was so important in the first four shots is still carefully playing its part, even into the last seconds its presence is still felt. The mise-en-scne of the last shot is governed by the same ritualistic, geometric camera movements as when the climax started. It also helps form a closure together with the other stylised camera motions just before (here and here).

Like many contemporary works of fantasy for children and young adults, Avatar is a coming-of-age story built upon universal themes of duty, love, honour, and redemption. What makes the show special is the execution of its vision; the pacing of its narrative, the richness of its world mythos, its mature handling of race and gender, and its multi-faceted character development are all second to none. The fact that it is animated and marketed primarily to children does not diminish its worth and quality; creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dimartino ensured that the show never talked down to the audience, giving it universal appeal across a broad demographic. The Peabody award-winning show constantly rewards its viewers not only with a riveting adventure punctuated by expertly crafted action set pieces, but also powerful moments of pathos and poignancy. As a result of all these factors, Avatar is an enduring classic that improves with repeat viewings and holds up to detailed analyses.

Coal was the fuel of choice for powering Fire Nation war machines; many instances of its social and environmental impacts resulted from this ravenous appetite. The Fire Nation occupied Earth Kingdom territory and subjugated the local populace to work in coal mines (Imprisoned). Southern Water Tribe members learned from grim experience that a rain of black soot, a result of coal-burning warships, generally preceded a Fire Nation raid (The Siege of the North, Part 1 & The Southern Raiders). War masks, machinery, and smog come to serve as the visual imagery for the Fire Nation.

With increasing technological control came an increasingly disregard for the natural world. Forests were burned down without regard, leaving scarred and barren landscapes (The Winter Solstice, Part 1). Even Fire Nation citizens were not immune to environmental degradation; in one instance, a nearby factory discharged toxic sludge into the river that a local fishing village depended upon for their livelihood (The Painted Lady). Air bisons, giant flying creatures that served as the original inspiration for airbending, were wiped out during the genocide of the Air Nomads. Firelord Sozin also began the tradition of hunting dragons for glory, as they were seen as the ultimate firebenders; Only two dragons remain after a century of prestige hunting. Real world parallels are all too easy to find, as massacres of large game continues today for traditional medicine, sport, and status.

c80f0f1006