The Politics Of The Legend Of Korra - Book 1: Communism

[@TheTheThe_]

Korra just presents the "Communists want to make taller basketballers shorter to make everyone equal" argument, but with bending instead.

[@PonkChonk]

long bois vs smol bois

[@pickleadaykeepsthedoctoraway]

@@dripdrop5791 Did Daddy buy you that watch? Drip Drop got some massive white privilege. Should change your name to Dripping Privilege. There is so much irony in you posting here calling people dumb asses while having that profile picture. Daddy's car, Daddy's watch, Daddy's money. Sad. Even funnier if that watch is counterfeit.

[@YDOUTHINKTHETDISREAL]

@@pickleadaykeepsthedoctoraway you didn't have to destroy the man like that he had a family

[@AtomicBananaPress]

Harrison Bergeron for the neolibs.

[@noheroespublishing1907]

@@AtomicBananaPress Love how that story is a literal satire that has attempted to be used as an argument against equally under the law.

[@catb6195]

I always hates how the show tried to tell us that the non-benders were oppressed, and when the audience asks, “How are they systematically oppressed?” the show says, “Well, firebenders killed Asami’s mom.” How is that systematic? It’s a small group of people doing an individual act. Asami’s dad isn’t a revolutionary, he’s just a bitter racist dude. The one time the show showed actual systematic oppression was when Tarloq shut down the power in a non-bender neighborhood and then arrested the people who spoke out against it. THAT is targeted.

[@cyclic_infinity]

That's most likely because true Liberals have a hard time understanding systematic oppression or issues. Everything must be individualized to have any salience, which then obviously robs the story of any real political philosophical understanding of potential systemic issues in its' fantasy society.

[@appa609]

Well there's some examples. Certain kinds of work are reserved to benders only. Police officers, powerplant workers, for example.

[@bradhorowitz2765]

Li da Bill along. The show DOSNT show the extent of this “extensive discrimination,” I mean are there laws that ban benders to do certain tasks? Do nonbenders get pushed to live in ghettos? Are they severely at risk of poverty? Here’s another question, if this state wide discrimination is real and prevalent, HOW and WHEN did this start? Was this present in the OG series? If not, why not? It’s not like the fire bending nation which was industrial was THAT much different from republic city. Were the benders excluded from the council? I mean I guess that makes sense, since benders represent their nations, nations that are built on their powers. But was there a conflict? And as the video says, Amon is less of a realistic, sympathetic leader than a SCARY. Uber villain who is BAD. There’s not really any legroom for deep analysis of grey characters.

[@bradhorowitz2765]

*sorta Bill Kong. That’s what I meant to say.

[@lonemotheo1964]

Is it just me or does that seem a bit racist that almost all the "oppressed people" it's always done by fire benders

[@connorjohnson4440]

The allegory is a little muddled for me when they go out of there way to portray two lower class people, Bolin and Mako as benders, while the rich industrialists, Asami and her dad are nonbenders. If all of the benders were upper class citizens in Republic City it would make more sense but to me they constantly flip flop between using bending as an allegory for race/culture and class.

[@Vosetri]

Consider the fact that reason that Asami's dad is rich because he had an amazing idea, which any bender could have. And the only jobs Mako and Bolin had was because they were benders. Being a bender has no disadvantages, there's nothing it disqualifies you from, but the same can't be said for the reverse.

[@tibitibi9417]

@@Vosetri ok but How exactly does that translate to "we should take everyones bending away"

[@fishsteakyelk341]

@@tibitibi9417 It doesn’t, the show just wanted to make a villain and made him a propaganda version of what the red scare thought communism was. It’s why I generally don’t trust television with portraying ideologies usually because either A: the writers have no idea what their talking about, or B: producers try to restrict it as much as possible.

[@Jusmemeing]

@@nickelam3864what….

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

It's simple Equalists are non-benders supremacists, and supposed oppression is a big fat lie and fascist propaganda.

[@apeflac]

LOL "if bending is wealth is money, she's Jeff Bezos"

[@KidAteMe1LetsBuildsAndMore]

@@dripdrop5791 Oh yeah! I forgot that the time when both USSR and China basically turned their countries into the 2nd largest economies in such a short period of time to the point that they gave their people considerably better lifestyles (CIA research has shown that USSR and USA citizens had the same diet, the USSR maybe even being a bit healthier. www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00274R000300150009-5.pdf) never happened. They literally never gave anything back. HISTORICAL A C C U R A C Y from that comment HAS BEEN A C H I E V E D .

[@OMGwtfSTFUbrb]

@@KidAteMe1LetsBuildsAndMore *cough* Chinese and Ukrainian famine *cough*

[@kritische3959]

Swedish possum you do know that famine ends in the USSR in 1921-1932 and CCP in 1959 - 1961, right? It doesn’t last the entire era, that’ll be ludicrous.

[@OMGwtfSTFUbrb]

@@kritische3959 don't care if the famine ended after 2 years or 500 years, the fact remains the same that millions of people died, and for what? a system equally corrupt with people dying or sent to work prisons for dissenting and just a change of guard in the elite upper class.

[@iwolfman37]

@@OMGwtfSTFUbrb I don't know if you know this, but millions of people are currently starving under Capitalism, except the difference is that there's no end to it. As a matter of fact, it's a part of the plan. Starving people is a fear tactic used to get people to comply under Capitalism. As stated in the video, the only things Capitalists and Capitalist enthusiasts (bootlickers) can think of as worst case scenarios of Communism are things that are already happening under Capitalism.

[@uhoh2825]

high fantasy social allegories never work directly because once you actually create concrete differences of ability or nature between classes or ethnicites/races you ignore the fundamental point that there is no difference in ability or nature between humans of difference classes or ethnicites/races.

[@ravenknight4876]

Because as soon as there is a real difference, at worst, racism actually gets a point.

[@HaganeNoGijutsushi]

I think they're actually two separate questions. One is, is there really a difference in ability between X and Y? The other is, how relevant should that difference be to individual treatment anyway? Obviously certain fantasy analogies fail because when the difference is literally that some people are walking weapons of mass destruction, that KINDA matters. But it's not like these issues are so black and white in real life. Races, sure, there's no evidence of any real difference in ability. But men and women? There certainly is a difference in PHYSICAL ability, in fact men being stronger is an important asymmetry that determines power dynamics. There's a reason why in general women are more afraid than men to be alone with a member of the other sex. A feminist could argue that if men were effectively _weaker_ that would flatten a lot of differences. Or consider the quintessential ability difference: abled and disabled people. There's a lot of talk of ableism which is in fact often complicated by the fact that it's hard to argue disabled people could possibly have literally the SAME exact rights as everyone else as far as it pertains to their ability (for example, a blind person could hardly get a driving license). But where to draw the line is a point of contention (see how some deaf people argue that using cochlear implants on deaf babies born of deaf couples at birth is akin to a form of cultural genocide). Or an even more extreme issue: animal rights. There absolutely is no question animals are cognitively inferior to humans on average. Yet some very smart animals might be smarter than the lower end for humans (babies). But they still don't get the same rights. A vegan would talk about 'speciesism' there. Again, how much, and which kind of difference in ability justifies different treatment, especially if we go as far as denying a right to freedom or to life (like we do with animals)?

[@vivvy_0]

Hagane no Gijutsushi everyone has different needs, why can't we concentrate on supporting eachother so no one has to fall behind? also not all men are big and strong, some are less physical advanced but have more cognitive strengths, same with women, some women are strongely build to do activities like professional swimming etc the world is not black and white

[@_Ve_98]

@@HaganeNoGijutsushi In this case I think it would be a far better analogy to communism if the Equalists' goal was to give everyone a bending ability. It's clear that the bending elite would dislike having their special status and advantages removed and would fight back. But I don't really think Korra book 1 was intended to be about communism nor I think it should. I like it the way it is.

[@sengroagers1111]

oscar mascuñano I honestly missed the communism angle the first watch through, I just thought they were supposed to be a run-of-the-mill badly-written protest group and all the “equal” talk was just a really yikesy mistake. But it makes a lot more sense if you consider that they’re a communism allegory, but written from the perspective of someone who has no idea what communism is beyond “communism is when people are more equal”

[@DershPardonNow]

So what you're saying is that Amon is spectre haunting the avatar

[@HxH2011DRA]

I SCREAMED XD

[@DoratTheKiller]

@Cian McCabe *Soviet anthem earrape starts*

[@dddmemaybe]

@@HxH2011DRA You've even been here. You are quite the youtubee. ;) I must say we watch a fair bit of the same content ahaha.

[@unknownhandyman6821]

"An spectre across the four nations, scaring the bender bourgeoisie".

[@jessecollins3652]

God I died when I read this.

[@jaewilliss5407]

So some things. Korra gives Lynn and others their bending back. It makes me wonder if she could give bending to a non-bender. The show never explores the idea. It totally could have too, to analyze the effects of philanthropy, and good and bad ways to do it. Having what's his name in season 2(i haven't watched you're vid on that season yet, the eyeballs just brought me here) actually succeed in becoming a "dark avatar" would have set up a very different season 3 to do just that.

[@matthewholmes2332]

The show does in fact address the issue of giving the ability to bend. Season 4 presents the newfound presence of Airbenders as a completely unheard-of thing outside of the distant past.

[@jaewilliss5407]

@@matthewholmes2332 Yes and no. Sure a large population of nonbenders suddenly developed the ability to bend, seemingly as a result of Korra's actions. But it wasn't expected or intentional.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@jaewilliss5407 and of course it's implied they had some kind of latent talent that was awakened, since not everybody suddenly became air benders either. I always wondered, in both series, why there's only regular benders and an avatar. It's just presented as it is, but there's no dual specialists at all in all of history? Iroh uses inspiration from water bending to alter his own lightning bending but that's ultimately still just a subset of firebending. I think it would've been more interesting if the funky bending variants were a result of dual-bending and getting to combine both together on the "wheel" of the elements. Lava bending would be earth AND fire, vs just a special kind of earth. But of course all of that would imply anyone could learn any bending if they dedicated enough of their life to it. The fact that Korra has pretty good mastery even in the very first scenes of the show present it even more as just inherent. Whereas the fact that ATLA had Aang specifically going and learning it all, which got my brain gears turning about anybody being able to go and learn it all.

[@eqcows]

@@kaitlyn__L they explained this in the "beginnings" episode, the first avatar as a normal human wasn't able to hold multiple types of bending at once until he fused with the rava spirit. and as far as korra being able to give bending to nonbenders, I don't think that's possible because it's implied that amon wasn't actually energy-bending their bending away like aang did to ozai, rather doing some sort of advanced chi-blocking using blood bending, which korra was able to undo

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@eqcows for the latter, I'm talking about all the new airbenders, not the people Amon screwed with. But I really didn't remember very much about that flashback episode besides the connection to the spirit world being cut off and the turtles.

[@funa8843]

the problem with making bending an allegory to wealth is that wealth still exists

[@gabinooodle5308]

this!!! plus benders don’t even own the means of production in the series, just look at how dirt poor mako and bolin are. and amon teams with the ultra-capitalist non-bender sato? they clearly didn’t know what they were writing

[@ofimportance5458]

@@gabinooodle5308 I mean obviously not every bender is going to be rich, it's quite literally capitalism.

[@scienceandponies]

And bending is something you possess through innate talent + practiced skill, while wealth is (at least on a societally significant scale) a result of being in a position to exploit how society is structured. Jeff Bezos isn't obscenely rich because he's a billion times smarter, more hardworking, and more productive than the average worker. He ain't earning all that wealth through his own labor. He started out rich and the structure of Capitalism allows him to continue growing that wealth off the labor of others while he can effectively sit back and do jack shit if he wants. Elon Musk, didn't personally invent any of the tech he's famous for, he just bought the credit for it by buying the people who actually do the work, because that's how capitalism works. Also, just having powerful bending abilities doesn't negatively impact anyone unless you're actively using those powers to oppress people. Wealth, on the other hand, ultimately represents access to/control of real resources and the means of production, and hoarding that shit absolutely impacts other people. Nobody cares the little rectangles of paper themselves, it's that how much of it you have limits your access to food, shelter, medicine, etc., and confers power over others. There's a finite amount of it, and a handful of jackasses hogging 80% of the supply is going to dramatically impact everyone else. Wealth only really means anything in a relative measure. You could have a kickass standard of living with a mansion and a flying car, and whatever kind of exotic food at your fingertips whenever you want, but you're not really "rich" if that's just the standard for everyone. You'd need someone in worse circumstances to compare to.

[@mfsalatino]

wealth is created by people and destroied/stole by the state

[@scienceandponies]

@@mfsalatino Created by workers and consumed by the ruling class, be they capitalist business owners or feudal lords, using state's monopoly on force to underwrite their property claims on the labor of others.

[@nathandrake5544]

"communism is when you make everything equal; the more equal, the more communist it is"-carl marks

[@quantum6637]

Socialism is when there is more government. The more government there is, the more socialister it is - some fukin ruski dood

[@benzur3503]

Not Telling You My Name Oi source your quotes dude! It was said by Russian Santa Clause 🇷🇺 🎅

[@PhongNguyen-re8ij]

@@Josh379111 Where exactly is this quoted from I I'd like to read the original transcript as there may have been mistranslation.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Phong Nguyen I mean, they speak English. No mistranslation there

[@alkan68]

@@Josh379111 wrong.

[@ouicertes9764]

Engels inherited factories from his father, and in fact struggled for a time with the idea of abandoning his ownership, but decided the best way he could help his pal Marx was to finance him during the writing of his Very Important Book. Engels also wrote intensively on the conditions of the workers, and never shied from actually hanging out with working class people.

[@Hentzau.]

So in a way Capitalism ironically helped the creation of and the spreading of the idea of Communism?

[@Mr.internet.Lag.]

@@Hentzau. yeah they write about the contradiction of capitalism in how it leads to it's own harm and destruction

[@historiansayori2089]

@@Hentzau. In part yes. Marx even discussed how Feudalism similarly created the conditions that would lead to Capitalism’s rise as the growth of cities and other factors encouraged commerce (sorry for the brief explanation; dealing with other stuff rn 😅)

[@Hentzau.]

@@historiansayori2089 No worries my friend it's alright

[@Nameless0061]

Both were hypocrites. They could make changes for their own people, give them a better life, but they didn't. They chose to stay with all the money while telling others to do something even they didn't want.

[@IshtarNike]

4:17 very perceptive. Although I'd argue that this response to socialism is very realistic. Rich people DO see their wealth as part of their sense of self.

[@KayAndSkittles]

I agree. It's things like this that show exactly whose perspective is being represented in this season when discussing socialist ideas!

[@aevum6667]

@@vintheguy Watch the video and find out.

[@hollowman9410]

@@KayAndSkittles 9:31 - You say that socialist leaders being part of the wealthy elite is a "myth". But you never make an argument that proves this "myth" wrong. You just change the subject without ever addressing it. You only said that Amon being a bender would not stop people from supporting him, since communists still like Marx and Engels even though they were part of the "enemy group". Which while true, still does not change the fact that the so called "Golden Boys of Communist" are often part of the wealthy elite. And while Amon being a hypocrite can not be said to be a legit criticism of communism itself, it can be stated to be a legit criticism of those who use the ideology and how it is applied.

[@abparker9971]

The truth is you people are genocidal people who want to genocide anyone not poor

[@Jusmemeing]

@@hollowman9410ll can you prove that any communist leaders had personal wealth and were a part of the wealthy elite… Also Engels didn’t own a factory. His father did, he worked for his father just so he could support Marx Your criticism of communism isn’t so legit after all

[@ambergong7201]

Screaming "Horseshoe theory" triumphantly made me cough blood. Thank you for articulate why I thought the politics in this show is so convoluted.

[@PopelessCatholic]

you cant deny fascism takes from socialism

[@tasse0599]

@@PopelessCatholic Yes, you can, lol. What does it take from Socialism in your opinion?

[@PopelessCatholic]

@@tasse0599 the way of govern, from the one party system, the powers that gain the government, actitudes towards the citizens and free speech, after all, Mussolini was a socialist before being creating fascism

[@lilyk3734]

@@PopelessCatholic those aren't socialist things. They're primarily capitalist and fascist ones

[@PopelessCatholic]

@@lilyk3734 you then haven’t study economics or read Marx, Marx clearly says it there has to be a one party government, and that government controls the economy, that’s why fascism and socialism are alike, the goddamn creator of fascism was a socialist, where do you think he got the ideas for the government, tell me a liberal economy with these things?

[@yltraviole]

I watched this season (and only this season) of Korra years ago, and the politics of the series bothered me a lot. One of the things that I could remember pissing me of, was how even though the thought of oppression by benders was dismissed, it was very obvious that non-benders were worse of. The council only being made up of benders was such an obvious example of that! Honestly, I couldn't help but think Amon had a point, and I was very annoyed that the show refused to acknowledge that.

[@tadhgogorman3459]

Sokka was the former head of the council, Bumi was a revered general despite being a non bender. Both the Earth Kingdom and Water tribes were ruled by nonbenders in the original series. In the original series, we see benders forced to hide and repress a core facet of their identity for fear of being kidnapped and taken to hellish concentration camps or wholesale slaughter, including children as young as 8. While Tarrlok and Tenzin are both benders the 2 most powerful business owners are the Cabbage guy and Sato, both of whom aren't benders. The only places in which a bender is more well off is sports crime and low wage menial labour, which doesn't really sound like the characteristics of an oppressive class. If anything throughout the series they are the oppressed.

[@catharticreverie]

@@tadhgogorman3459 idk if sokka and bumi are the best examples because they both have a high amount of prestige and status they hold from being connected to Aang. Also bending isn't just for menial labor, it's useful in every profession. Even though there must be road worker earth benders, there's earthbending architects designing buildings and houses, or creating new infrastructure technology that would be much easier to develop with their own bending than a person without it. Even though I'm sure there's water bender plumbers, there has to be water bending doctors performing precise surgery with their water scalpel and healing. I could imagine air benders being a quick and cheap way to get aerial photography for map-making and zoning regulations. they have access things that non-benders don't.

[@caitlyn2910]

@@catharticreverie exactly I can't think of one job which is specifically designed for non benders. The police force is purely benders, every sport we see in the show is based around bending, power plants and factories rely on bending as does healing. Unless your a genius or master fighter like, Sokka, Hiroshi Sato, or Bumi your at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job

[@shrekisthebestfranchiseand5032]

Caitlyn Manley How did the show ignore that? In season 2 there’s a nonbender president.

[@caitlyn2910]

@@shrekisthebestfranchiseand5032 I forgot to type this but I think that the lack of opportunities for non benders could be a possible reason as to why the equalist revolt happened in the first place.

[@dianasoletyoutube]

It's rare to see a political movement accurately portrayed in film/tv for the very reason that you need certain level of wealth to enter the animation/film industry. These people sometimes don't understand the concept of inequality since they haven't experience it.

[@alexarviso6836]

DING DING DING!!! Write what you know, as they say. If you're financially stable enough to have the education and connections needed to enter the animation industry then more likely that not, you are not oppressed. The boys are affluent straight white males.

[@PilgrimsPass]

that reasoning would delegitimize Engels and his perspective as well. If you need to experience it to understand it then that's a problem. And contrary to what Kay and Skittles affirms, the leadership of every socialist movement necessarily has an elite background because this economic theory is something you learn in university. You won't have time to read all those books old Marx and Engels wrote if you're actually working.

[@hollowman9410]

@@PilgrimsPass Finally someone who noticed this. Skittles only says that Amon being a bender would not stop people from supporting him, since communists still like Marx and Engels even though they are part of the "enemy group". Which while true, still does not change the fact that the so called "Golden Boys of Communist" are often part of the wealthy elite. Castro was the son of a rich farmer, who used his money and power for his personal goals like investing a shit ton of money in the ice cream industry, just because he had a milk obsession. And while Amon being a hypocrite can not be said to be a legit criticism of communism itself, it is a legit criticism of those who use the ideology and how it is applied.

[@wildfire9280]

@@PilgrimsPass Which is funny because the free time to do that was greater in the Middle Ages than in modern, industrialized society.

[@bradhorowitz2765]

I disagrees yes Castro might have been wealthy. BUT MANY communist leaders weren’t wealthy. Many were poor individuals or at least somewhere in the middle class structure. We THINK of the big bad guys like Stalin, mao, Castro, Che; but as the video stays “that’s predominantly a bad critique of the political philosophies driving these men.” Yes, they may be wealthy BUT they saw inequality, they lived and fought alongside the ppl, THEY BELEIVED in their ideas wholeheartedly. It’s like if I said FDR and Eleanor WEREnt social reformers because they DONT know what real poverty is. That would be a stupid idea. The video was correct in that the mvomeent Amon led failed, not because his supporters believed in achievable change, but because their hero lied about his background. This deismisses the REAL concerns a nonbender May have and it falls apart even more when you realize that social movements in history continues benefits when the leader dies or was dismissed. Lenin died, but the communists kept going. Hitler died, but to this day neo-Nazis and right wing extremists are inspired by the Nazi regime to commit horrible deeds. Chavez of Venezuela died yet his government still exists as does many of his supporters. And how many reformers who weren’t violent, evil men led movements whoose influence outlived them?

[@AsiniusNaso]

I appreciate shaking “tHeRe iS nO aLtErNaTiVe” Thatcher

[@kaitlyn__L]

@Cian Abroad unfortunately her policies are still hurting people, long after her death :(

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

@@kaitlyn__L Like Regan still hurting America today he the reason why America is the way it is today especially in politic

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@USSAnimeNCC- absolutely

[@clown-cult96]

That moment when Tarrlok is a better villain and his motives and actions line up better to a political ideology than the season’s actual villain.

[@alexarviso6836]

Tarrlok was a shit lib right?

[@Aldrius]

I... guess? He's pretty boring and nonsensical.

[@anakeenskywalker6007]

Nah Amon is a well better villan he, imposed fear, he is powerful, he used the most broken form of bending beyond our dreams....

[@cherryboywriter6299]

Finally a balanced takedown of Korra's politics without... insanity.

[@Tacom4ster]

Lily Orchard is a Tankie class traitor who gaslight Anarchism.

[@rogofos]

@@Tacom4ster she just dont know actual thing about it. Its ok becoes her blog is about animation rather then politics/philosophy.

[@Tacom4ster]

@@rogofos later she insulted Breadtube, and doesn't like Contrapoints, she directly gaslighting

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Adrian Dezendegui Stop smearing her

[@wisdommanari6701]

@@Tacom4ster my God stroke that hate boner.

[@crumbluscrisp]

This season is especially ghoulish if you read the Equalists as an allegory for the Black Panthers. An oppressed group organizes for liberation and protection from discrimination and violence (just from a few bad apples 🙂), but they go too far and become just as bad as their oppressors. In response, the government (who was previously uninvolved🙂) has to crack down on them, hurting innocent minorities in the process. The conflict is resolved when the leader (who was a really bad guy for sure 🙂) is "removed." And now one of the minorities is president so everything is okay 🙂.

[@whyareyouhere7474]

Extremely this. The equilist definitely feel like they're intended to be read as communists, but they don't really have economic policy at the forefront; instead, they talk about differences between benders and non-benders which makes it read much more like a racial allegory about inequality, at which point it just feels like the show is trying to red-bait civil rights activists. The script is way to close to what I'd expect if you asked an edgy teenage republican to write a story about how malcom x was a bad, very bad meany :( who hated white people... but with magic.

[@marshmallowbudgie]

NOI, to be exact

[@westernwizard13]

@@whyareyouhere7474 Did he hate white people?

[@abparker9971]

You communists are just weirdos.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Or making shit up to making something look problematic. Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascistS. The way they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@jordang7479]

Now I remember the reason I wasn't a big fan of Legends of Korra. I didn't make the socialists/communist connection but I did connect non-bender discrimination to real world racism and did not like the way the show handled it.

[@jordang7479]

@JohnnyTheWolf Cool! I'll check it out

[@jordang7479]

@JohnnyTheWolf lol :)

[@unknownhandyman6821]

RWBY did the same. That time with, huh, humans with furry characteristics?

[@catalayalafaye5337]

Yeah I thought the same when I watched the first few episodes. I just found the politcs badly handled and the way how Korra viewed non benders made her deeply unlikeable to me, so I couldn't commit to keep on watching

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@redactedredacted6656]

This just reminded me of how easy it is to accidentally slip eugenist undertones in your media with people with superpowers.Everything wish it had what x-men usually has (focusing more on mutants as a different type of human rather than an upgrade).

[@sengroagers1111]

Redacted Redacted TRUE! And Korra could’ve SUPER EASILY done this by like, idk, having the equalists be racists that think bending is unnatural, having no concern for equality... or they could’ve, like, wrote it like “non benders can see the world differently, not in the spiritual but in the material, allowing them to create fascinating technological marvels,” and have republic city be some symbol of bender spirituality and non-bender ingenuity coming together... OH SHIT i just realized that would work really well with the non-benders they met in the Northern Air Temple in ATLA.

[@YamiNeji13]

@@sengroagers1111 I mean the most ingenious of inventors have been shown to be non-benders. The Sato family and Varrick are non-benders who currently rule the world in terms of invention and innovation. Also the equalists' methods of being heard was to remove the freedom and liberties of their fellow humans because they possessed a trait they didn't like that benders had no control over having/not having, that's perhaps one of the most vile forms of oppression one can deal out in the name of "equality". Once you analyze the methods Amon was going for to attain "equal rights for non-benders" it becomes pretty apparent that he was spearheading a movement for his own agenda to control Republic City. There was never any chance at diplomacy, it was either fight and lose part of who you are, or surrender and STILL lose part of who you are. An ultimatum designed to force them into acting just the way Amon preached to his followers that they would to stop them, because the choice was an illusion.

[@scienceandponies]

@@sengroagers1111 But then how would they force in horseshoe theory and smugly assert that seeking any radical change from the status quo is equally wrong?

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@Elneco1]

Thanks Kay for doing this, I had such high hopes for the story when I first saw the 1st season of Korra. Like there was such potential to genuinely discuss the bender/non-bender dynamic and show the aftermath of such issues - but no they stuck to easy status quo good, revolution bad. Korra always felt anti-climatic, every season ended abruptly like there was more to explore but they just cut it short.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Yeah I know what you mean, a lot of dangerously half finished ideas. I still enjoy it but it's just not up to par with TLA which is the absolute bomb.

[@dimoned123]

Kay And Skittles I feel like most of the blame goes to Nickelodeon for that, apparently they were not confident in the show to the point where they may have possibly tried to sabotage the whole thing judging from what I’ve heard from Mike and Brian themselves.

[@Giaphaige]

@@dimoned123 I also heard that they were constantly under threat of cancellation. That probably influenced how well they could write the show.

[@Stonemask5]

@@Giaphaige Like any of these villains could have been the major antagonist for several seasons, but it's hard to truly flesh out any one of these ideas if you don't know if this season is going to be your last.

[@racheljohnson3850]

LoK was supposed to run originally for six seasons but they decided to cut it to three (and then they pushed for and got four) and so all the narratives were massively shortened and not fleshed out

[@Willow.Delilah]

That scene of the metal benders rounding up peaceful protestors in ep. 8 hits differently in 2020.

[@sebas8225]

It does, doesnt it? Also after those Kyoshi novel, Amon´s proved right, benders shouldnt be able to bend, when even the avatar can resort to killing moves.

[@seanhartnett79]

Yep.

[@appleseeds3408]

what sucks about the show's portrayal of amon is that his politics don't have to be accurate to leftist ideology to be perceived as such by most people.. it doesn't take much for it to become capitalist propaganda. And for a show that was so anti-imperialism in ATLA, it feels like a betrayal for them to turn around and do the Villain Who Is Really Just A Leftist trope

[@LjubicaServaas]

@bertybrecht Great analysis, and yea the original show was pretty liberal idealist too, it had the typical "violence never justifies violence" rhetoric, completely divorcing it from the context of exercising oppression vs revolting against oppression. It all reminded me of the sanitised image of figures like Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela, two revolutionary figures that hated moderate liberals and supported the use of violence to fight back against your oppressors (MLK was a socialist and Mandela was a communist), but propaganda has whitewashed them into ideals of the only viable way to achieve change: non-violence protest, and maybe one day your oppressors will listen and feel bad about things and change their ways and you must forgive them.

[@randomthings1293]

EXACTLY, thank you for putting my feelings on paper (even thoguht I'm a year late lol)

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

You know society is deep shit when you can't recognize that Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists and supposed oppression is fascist propaganda. Also imagine seeing Hiroshi Sato as communist and not bourgeois...

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

​@@LjubicaServaasBullshit, every villain in TLOK is fascist.

[@lindabirita4234]

​@@LjubicaServaasthis is a really interesting perspective

[@Bruteworldwide]

Let's be real here, Cuban exiles are most likely even more angry that their family's wealth was redistributed to their former under paid workers.

[@saraecheverria2461]

it’s been two years but i still have to comment to clarify that none of the wealth was redistributed which was the problem

[@seekingabsolution1907]

​@@saraecheverria2461it was though. It was largely collectivised.

[@roryreviewer6598]

@@saraecheverria2461If they didn’t use the wealth, how did they build and fund so many new medical centers in rural areas where poor people could actually get to them and use them freely. 🤔

[@saraecheverria2461]

@@roryreviewer6598 i’m from rural cuba, born and raised, and can guarantee that none of the money was redistributed. it’s always funny to me how the only people that defend the communist regime are people who have not lived through it themselves. no cuban (rural, city, rich, poor) will defend what was done to their land

[@saraecheverria2461]

@@seekingabsolution1907 it absolutely was not. look at the castro family eating lobster on a yacht while the cuban people have use black beans to make “coffee”

[@owenjolley351]

“I want to get rid of all bending in Republic City because my daddy wasn’t nice to me” This one phrase alone sums up Amon and his character

[@mariebourgot4949]

More like "he was evil, and thus bending is obviously the source of said evil". Stupid, on a logical point of view, but common. The guy wasn't "not nice" to his children or anyone else. He was a full on psychopath or sociopath. he assassinated and tortured plenty of people and his own children.

[@redanwrong]

Deserving wealth based on inherint personal characteristics of people....hm....sounds kinda like social darwinism.

[@stevenirizarry1304]

This is the foundational problem with applying real world political ideologies to fantasy...the magic user class are rich because they are literally higher beings than the lower classes, this does not apply to real life at all and trying to shoehorn in allegories without careful research would lead to toxic fascist messages.

[@haroldushawkinsi5804]

Steven Irizarry I don’t think every fantasy world fails but certainly any world with extreme power disparity between different creatures wizards/ etc. I think Terry Pratchett tackled them well (albeit with much more humour and self awareness than avatar)

[@dddmemaybe]

@@stevenirizarry1304 Knowledge is power though right? People who are raised to know a lot more meta stuff about real life are at a significant advantaged _start._ I think if you can learn magic in such fantasy word at a fair pace, then the allegory actually works. I know I am not arguing against you I am just adding to the discussion. This doesn't work in Korra because bending is pseudo-inherited with no acquisitional potential.

[@stevenirizarry1304]

dddmemaybe magic being learnable could make it work...though it would need to be at a specific time and place where most of humanity is illiterate or learning magic is expensive

[@-haclong2366]

@@stevenirizarry1304 Well, inherent conscientiousness is something which is 40~60% genetic and it (alongside intelligence and emotional stability) are the main factors behind someone being/staying wealthy, yes, it's also 40~60% environmental, but you have to be lucky to have been born in an environment that stimulates the development of these traits. So no, we're not all born equal and human beings aren't inherently equal, in fact the tabula rasa myth is actively harmful because instead of uplifting those disadvantaged we just say that they should uplift themselves, despite them being born with a unique set of challenges that will make it more difficult, if not impossible, to help them improve.

[@Pazliacci]

The whole "secretly nobility" also kinda applies to Anarchism, like Kropotkin was decendant of nobility, but that doesn't change the validity of his points.

[@Ash-Winchester]

@@elaovi ???

[@saladcaesar7716]

Wealth destruction is not wealth redistribution.

[@lking1540]

Weather redistribution is a fantasy, dictators live like rappers.

[@snakesnoteyes]

Right, like redistribution would be something like all non- benders get equalizer gauntlets or something. Like empowering non-benders, not stripping them of their metaphorical legs. If it was just about ability and not political power, then Amon wouldn’t have been fixated on metaphorical leg breaking.

[@julians7613]

@@lking1540 you idiot, socialist countries are not authoritarian

[@mfsalatino]

actually it is

[@mfsalatino]

@@julians7613 venezuela, cuba, north korea, zimbawe, argentina

[@wolfonthesteps]

The first time I watched the Legend of Korra I wasn't sure why I didn't like it as much as The Last Air Bender and I didn't end up finishing it either. I have since watched it the year and because I knew more about politics and my own political belief system I understood why it felt so uncomfortable. I'm glad someone else pointed these things out in a way that's explainable.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@jimbers1802]

The analysis is really cool but I think implying the creators saw Amon and his movement as a direct analogy for socialism is misguided. I think they are more trying to follow the logical conclusion of what would happen in a world with both benders and non-benders. They also didn't portray Korra as being in the right when she was not considering the criticisms of the equalists. That scene where she says, "You're oppressing yourself," is clearly a moment showing the young Avatar making mistakes.

[@olegsagaydak1898]

This was my main issue with the video too. However, I still think that a lot of criticism here is valid because showing any big social movement without exploring the reasons for it and just painting the leaders as hateful and power grabbing is lazy and serves just to reinforce the status quo. I just finished book one and I liked it, but i hope future seasons will explore their themes in a more open-minded way

[@greenguy2372]

I think the main intention of the writers was to show how vague but overall good principles like equality or freedom can be corrupted, bastardized and used for a personal agenda by messed up, misguided and troubled people. Under this premise, Amon makes a lot more sense. His story is not a good allegory of socialism or communism, but it is a good allegory of people who use good principles & legitimate issues and corrupt them & use them for their own motives.

[@penyu1913]

ya its clearly a fiction. unlike stuff like southpark it doesnt have parallel to the real world just inspiration from it

[@blitzkriegdragon013]

Green Guy That’s all great, but one must explore the validity of these movements if they actually want to talk about them and not just present a straw man.

[@greenguy2372]

@@blitzkriegdragon013 That's assuming their main intention was to explore real life political ideologies rather than how misguided and messed up individuals can use certain principles and bastardize them for their own motives and ideals that don't align with the original principles and beliefs they use to justify their actions. There was value in the analysis in this video and the show could've definitely handled some things better, but a lot of it depends on the premise that the creators actually wanted to accurately depict & explore real life political ideologies rather than what I think their intention probably was. Both ATLA and TLOK are a lot about personal failure and growth after all.

[@Zinervawyrm]

Amon was such a wasted potential on so many levels. I would have bullcraped the writing in season two to say he at the last minute shield himself in ice during that explosion murder suicide attempt form his brother, and made him come back. Perhaps he comes back with a real scar for karma's sake. But still, I honestly thought Amon had way more potential not as a villain, but as an antihero antagonist type. Out of all of the villains, he clearly is the least evil. Korra's uncle wanted to become the anti-christ "Dark Avatar"; airbender guy wanted literal "pure chaos"; and Kuvira was FireLord Hitler 2.0. Amon stated that benders tend to be the ones who start wars, and after a century long war from the fire nation, a civil war between the water tribes, an airbender terrorist trying to literally unravel the threads of a functioning society, and earth bender gender swap hitler paving a path that could lead to avatar's version of WWII, Amon was basically right in a lot of ways. Even if the writing of it all came out forced, it's still there. Hell, him being a water bender never actually bothered me, except for the fact I still wished he was actually energy bending, would have been more interesting in my opinion. But regardless, I can easily still picture a narrative that Amon wasn't faking his beliefs, and maybe wanted to go back to the time before the world needed an avatar? And he thought getting rid of bending was a way for everyone to unlock to bend the energy within themselves, (whatever that meant) and then everyone would become equal that way? Like he romanticized the time before fire, air, water, and earth bending existed. Maybe it was believed that people were more advanced, and more spiritually in tune before they needed an avatar and the four elements.

[@mariebourgot4949]

"of a functioning society"...right. Depends n your definition of "functioning". "airbender guy" wanting litteral "pure chaos" was not for the sake of "pure chaos", but because he wanted to destroy the economical inequality and power inequality/tyranny/oppression. Which we are shown plenty in the earth kingdom with all the poverty, and the queen living in luxury and being a despote.

[@politechjunky]

Korra is the defender of the status quo i.e "balance" but we can see the evolution of her politics throughout the series.

[@RegeroTerra]

"Bending serves as an allegory to wealth." I mean, maybe they were trying to do that, but they screwed it up immediately. We never actually see non-benders being oppressed. We see a whole lot of non-benders kicking ass via Amon's group, Asami, the rise of all of these new and fantastical weapons, etc. Airbenders aren't so special when you have bi-planes and blimps. Water benders are less interesting in a world of refrigeration and plumbing systems. Firebenders aren't highly skilled masters via shooting lightning when any run-of-the-mill terrorist group can buy shock gloves. Earthbenders aren't that effective when we have guns and bombs. Hell, look at Mako: the guy is a skilled enough bender to launch lightning from his fingers all day and what does it get him? A blue-collar low paying job. Is bending really about power and wealth? As E;R said: "The only oppressive facet to benders in this new world is that non-benders can't be them." This world is more "equal" than it has ever been before in history, so the "muh fight for equality" shtick just doesn't work. What should have been explored is the much more relevant and interesting cultural clash occurring in this city. We should have seen people become bitter and isolated in this new multicultural city, they should have become lost and either extremely downtrodden or nihilistic as ancient martial arts forms are made into sport and low wage jobs. Republic City represented a very materialistic and commercialized existence in a world which had previously been very naturalistic and spiritual. This is a narrative that would have modernized Last Airbenders themes and applied them to a more modern, relatable, world of our own.

[@EF-wy3di]

Originally, I believe they were going to explore way more about that. But if I recall correctly, the creators were told thay they had to cram their 4 season story into one season because the series was cut to a limited series. After they made the first season, they got approved for 3 more. So then they had to create them as they went. Season 2 explores the increase in materialism and loss of traditions and spiritually. I can only assume they meant to explore that along with the new lack of reliance on benders in the original context of Amon trying to rid society of benders.

[@samira1584]

So interesting!

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@Lazurath101]

I disagree that the Equalists represent communism. Their aesthetics certainly take inspiration from real-world communist and anarchist movements, but they're also shown to have support from the rich too (Hiroshi Sato). It's hard to pin them down perfectly with a real world analogy since bending doesn't exist in our world, lol. They're more like an amalgamation of socialist, anarchist, liberal and Chinese millennialist movements all wrapped in one.

[@TheTheThe_]

Co-opting leftist aesthetics and terms... Support from the rich... Paramilitary group... Bigotry... Killing random people for immutable characteristics... Sound like Nazis tbh.

[@unknownhandyman6821]

"Rich people helping". It depends in real life. You may born in a bourgeois aristocratic family, but you may be attracted to socialist ideas. And you could rise the wages, let your workers start trade unions, and you could give private property back to the proletariat to support the ideas (Engels was also a factory owner, and Karl Marx was born in a middle class Jewish family).

[@unknownhandyman6821]

Yes, the fascists really copied alot of leftist aesthetic. For example, the Spanish "Falange" Copied different aesthetics of the sindicalists(anarchists). Even their political name was National-Sindicalism.

[@simfoniaco]

But as they say... Socialism is a rich man's disease.

[@TheSilentWalkerz]

Hollywood celebrities are all far left and super-rich, not to mention George Soros (who is like Hiroshi Sato) funds many alt-left groups such as Antifa and Black lives Matter (the founders are marxist).

[@Lucifersfursona]

“From their perspective they were robbed, and that’s the end of the story” gave me fucking chills 🤢

[@Lucifersfursona]

- “people with this mindset tend to be noticeably uncritical when it comes to capitalism” 👏🙌

[@Lucifersfursona]

“PAINTED AS JEALOUS OF THE POWER AND SOCIETY OF THE RULING CLASS, AND NOT TRULY INVESTED IN CHANGING THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY” “As a hate group” “we see basically no oppression of non-benders” WHOO BABEY YA WRITERS ARE AT IT AGAIN

[@Lucifersfursona]

“We just kind of have to take their word for it that they’re systematically oppressed” Harry Potter “In the end, Amon turns out to be a bender himself” HARRY POTTER,

[@Lucifersfursona]

To all the boys I’ve loved before... I wish you’d stopped at avatar I. It’s neat that Korra’s gay but like. Hmm.

[@Lucifersfursona]

THATS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO THEY CAN IMAGINE. THAT A REPEAT OF CAPITALISM IS THE WORST OUTCOME 😂it would funny if it didn’t hurt inside

[@paulapierrot9542]

FINALLY someone is talking about this. Thank you! When I watched the series the first time I was really confused that Korra didn't acknowledge at all that there really is oppression of non-benders. I expected that she would go and listen to what the non-benders need and try to establish changes... but none of it happened. Instead she just defeated the leader who didn't have any legitimate criticism. I like LoK but this is just lazy writing and has nothing to do with a political movement or people who fight against discrimination or communism or anything.

[@estevansilva1591]

you see, korra had this shift in the later seasons when zaheer practically beat her ass. it was like a slap after doing something wrong. korra aknowledges it in the final episode when she tells tenzin "i had to know what's like to struggle to be more compassionate to others, like Kuvira." i feel like when she said that, it came full circle because she didn't feel any compassion towards the non-benders in the first season when they had their reasons to hate the benders.

[@mehlodia9432]

To be honest, I still really don’t see how non-benders are oppressed? Nothing before the introduction to the equalists really gave a visual, and it was only spoken of. It seems odd for a nation to develop a system that disenfranchises non benders in about 60 years, especially when the people leading Republic City or had strong influence were the Gaabg

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

I wish i could solve every problem by finding the guy on top of it and beating him senseless. BEZOS, YOUR CAPITALIST REIGN IS OVER

[@HaganeNoGijutsushi]

@@mehlodia9432 I mean, for example we're shown how there are crime syndicates that use bender enforcers to beat non-bender people up and take their money. Cops (or at least Lin's elite force) are all metalbenders. That's a job you seemingly can't get if you're not a bender, and guess what happens if cops all belong to a single culture/ethnicity/group? You can't really expect them to treat other people 100% fairly. Then there's the Council, where sit five people - representatives of Fire, Earth, Northern and Southern Water, and Air... namely, Tenzin, who gets a seat to represent A FAMILY OF FIVE. Which is more important than giving a seat to the vast numbers of non-benders in the country (and even so, they'd be outvoted 5 to 1 at all turns, regardless of their numerical superiority. There would need to be a Parliament for proportional representation). The setup is absolutely one that would breed bending supremacy, regardless of good intentions. We do see some of it, though it's always pretty incidental. But it's even addressed as Republic City's ordering quietly changes between season, and in S2, there's an elected President. It's not clear however how they go from A to B. The only part we see is the one where Amon gets beat up.

[@lastetaslocas69]

@@HaganeNoGijutsushi Fair point about the cops belonging all to the same culture, but as we see demonstrated in the show they take orders from their Chief, who answers to the council, which is deliberately made of a figure from each culture. While it is definitely unfair that Tenzen, and by extension the air nomads, get as much representation as the others, it as not as bad as him only representing his immediate family. He is a representative of Air Nomad culture, which also includes the air acolytes. Also, the council members are not required to be benders, and IIRC the other three, besides Tenzen and Tarlok, are never shown to be benders, meaning the non-benders may actually have a majority vote in the council. And regarding job opportunity for non-benders; sure it is directly shown that benders have jobs only they can get, but every job for benders that is explicitly shown is not high income. Pro-benders clearly do not make much, as shown in episode two when Mako and the team get nothing for the previous match and have to come up with their own money to enter the championship. And working in a factory to generate electricity is likely not making them much money either, since Mako and Bolin are still living in a gym attic, despite him being able to get this job. And the most wealthy people depicted in the show are all non-benders, Varrick, Sato, and the Earth Queen (who has complete control over the largest country in the world) Taking all this into consideration, it seem that benders are not actually as oppressive as Amon paints them to be, and that he is using fear-mongering and propaganda to achieve his own agenda. This falls in line much more with a fascist ideology than a communist one; he is portraying a cultural group as the enemy for political support and power, rather than trying to redistribute wealth equally while maintaining an authoritarian geovernment. If you see bending ability as equal to wealth (despite the show explicitly showing the opposite to be true) then at best Amon's ideology is a mixture of Communism and Fascism. And ultimately, this is where the I see the biggest issue with TLOK. The writers, possibly because they were trying to do more than what they did in ATLA, tried covering too many topics, and some of them they either knew very little about or didn't do them justice.

[@Redstreakable]

I definitely found myself sympathizing more with the Equalists than the protagonists while I was watching this season

[@bentpen2805]

I’ll never get over the line from that one non-bender when Tarlok shut their power off. “You’re our Avatar too.” But Korra’s sympathy for non-benders doesn’t last more than a few episodes.

[@Rustcat666]

That makes you a commie. That's so cringe

[@HeronHero]

Is this going to be a series? This breakdown of Season 1's politics is really good!

[@KayAndSkittles]

Yep! Expect a video for every season and possibly an epilogue if I have enough points I can't find a place for in the other videos.

[@theanti-person9113]

@@KayAndSkittles is season 2 theocracy or religious fundamentalism? season 3 is obviously anarchism and season 4 is obviously fascism though, so that's not a question

[@tcaldwell91892]

Here from Xiran Jay Zhao’s recommendation. Happy to subscribe, this is great!

[@zer0w0lf94]

I'm also here from that recommendation. I look forward to watching the other videos after I watch the other seasons of Korra.

[@catb6195]

“It was horse shoe theory the whole time! *airhorn*” killed me

[@lucydm6736]

i know that a lot of people excuse this sequel because they loved atla so much but... i think a lot can be said about the neoliberalism in the original series too 🤔 i’d love to see if someone could look past the rose-tinted glasses for a moment and really take some time to go thru it too.. might have to write the essay myself.

[@lucydm6736]

like with jet and hama for example, not got anything against the ending to clarify i like aang choosing his pacifist roots.

[@taj4137]

Dew et

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@lucydm6736 TBH I think the stuff with Jet is the same ideology as the finale: resistance good, killing in the name of resistance bad. Of course Jet also was willing to kill collaborators as well as the main enemy, and the show argues they can be converted back from being collaborators, unless I'm misremembering and they were totally innocent.

[@allynracki6932]

@@kaitlyn__L I believe the problem was that it was an occupied Earth Kingdom town, so the people in it were pretty much innocent, iirc.

[@iangardner2395]

Kaitlyn L I don’t think the show actually takes the “killing in the name of resistance is bad” stance because in the finale it goes out of its way to show how killing the Firelord is the only realistic solution to ending the war. The only reason Aang manages to solve things peacefully is by getting a dues ex machina handed to him on a silver platter. The original show’s conclusion is more “solving things peacefully is preferable, but there are times where violence is necessary”, and then just makes it so that an alternative to the necessary violence is discovered, without discounting the legitimacy of the original violent solution. Jet and Hama turn out more as just “shitty people who used a good cause for selfish personal vendettas”, which is still lazy, but not anywhere near as bad as Amon’s straight up Neoliberal Propaganda

[@heckporter]

I thought season 1 was not good way back when it came out and didn’t watch the series after but was interested in the last half until I finally watched with friends this year. I still find season 1 not good even throwing out the “leftists bad” subtext. I felt they rushed the story so much and spent time on less important things when they could have been showing actual non bender oppression on screen because it’s not as if I find it hard to believe that it exists, especially in that new industrial, early capitalist era where bending has become a commodity (ie Mako and other lightening benders working the power plant). I mean the entire police force is all benders for pete’s sake! Anyway, I like the other three seasons a lot more. It’s interesting that as Korra grows and encounters more new and foreign ideologies she goes from reactionary child (“you’re oppressing yourselves!”) to actively believing Zaheer was right about some things and seeking out his help. I think it’s a nice character progression and a cool mirror of how some people IRL grow up conservative or centrist liberal but end up drifting Left with age and better understanding of the world and others’ life experiences. I’m most excited to see what you have to say about seasons 3&4. It’s not perfect at all by any means, but I think the show ends up portraying anarchism the ideology in a lot better light than they could have. More nuanced, too, beyond the “no government, chaos!” shorthand.

[@KayAndSkittles]

I agree Zaheer definitely gets a fairer shake than Amon but I'm still gonna have some Words To Say about The Boys' idea of anarchy. All in due time tho!

[@SaintTreAnos]

Regarding your point about the first season feeling rushed, that’s because it literally was. If I recall correctly, the show started off as just a miniseries and that there were external factors (Nickelodeon) that put restraints on the production. In fact Nickelodeon was basically trying to push the show into obscurity and even did some major budget cuts for Book 4. This isn’t to excuse the terrible political optics by any means, but rather to provide some context.

[@kiptelgat]

@@SaintTreAnos yeah nickolodeon did everything to mess the show up every season, it makes me wonder what kind of show it could have been nick gave it a bit more love

[@angelobarros3499]

"In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art's sake, art that stands above classes or art that is detached from or independent of politics." -Chairman Mao, 1942, available: www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-3/mswv3_08.htm

[@incineroar9933]

Thank you. I am on assistance and my mom and aunts constantly complain about people on assistance like I’m some sort of good exception in a sea of bad people abusing assistance and ruining society.

[@Void100-v3x]

Wait I'm confused what is "assistance"?

[@Hawkatana]

@@Void100-v3x Assisted Income.

[@Void100-v3x]

@@Hawkatana Ah, thank you:)

[@TechnicMedic]

This video was so good and so refreshing. Discussions about Legend of Korra tend to get so muddled and missing the point, focusing so much on in-universe justifications, etc. Your focus on "Hey, what does this presentation/story tell us about how the creators view this idea/concept?" was so solid to the point, and as I said refreshing. I think it's a much more challenging concept that's often missed in media analysis. This was a new and good way to talk about LoK, so I can't wait to see the videos on the other seasons! You've earned a subscriber :)

[@cometmoon4485]

While you certainly make great points here, overall I don't think Amon and the Equalists are supposed to be a direct allegory to communism and socialism. Communism typically involves taking power and opportunity from those with too much and giving it to those with little to none. Amon isn't doing this. In the world of Korra, benders do not inherently have more power and opportunity than non-benders. Take Mako and Bolin for example- two powerful benders, who are dirt poor and constantly scraping by each day. On the other hand, we have Hiroshi and Asami, two non-benders who have all the luxury and opportunity in the world. If Amon represented Communism, he wouldn't work together with powerful capitalists like Sato to persecute street urchins like Bolin. "The boys" could have created a world where benders have all the power and are essentially the "bourgeoisie", but this isn't the case. I don't think there is a direct real world comparison to what Amon is doing, because there is no magic bending in real life. Still, this was an interesting and enjoyable video and I look forward to watching the others in your series!

[@1n1cit3r]

despots for sure take advantage of all types of rhetoric to come to power - but, as Kay and Skittles points out, mainstream (Animal Farm, LOK, in this case) criticism of left wing ideologies almost always avoids thoughtful response to the tenets of a given ideology and focus more as a means to forcibly associate those movements as being illegitimate due to their inherent nature being contrived by populist demagogues who only want to take power so yeah Richard i totally agree with you that Animal Farm and LOK are alike in this sense, but that doesn't really endear either of them

[@1n1cit3r]

@Gery A citation needed? Haha

[@1n1cit3r]

It's always peculiar how so much criticism of Communists comes down to accusing them of what capitalists have been doing for 100+ years

[@1n1cit3r]

"capitalism and communism are basically the same" - you're joking, right

[@1n1cit3r]

@Gery A can you name a single time in US history in which the right person was chosen? Personally I think your perspective is pretty myopic to narrow the entirety of the potential for progressive change to the mechanism of electoral politics, especially considering 200+ years of it in this country have still resulted in a hierarchical society that favors a handful of elites at the expense of millions Like I don't know how you can hold that perspective of you're also aware of the reality of US state repression of any movement that's more than a step left of center

[@jerryfeelgood8455]

Great vid. This is SUCH a common way revolutionaries are depicted and it's harmful, bc. people never get an alternative take anywhere. Normal people don't know shit about communism and so the only source they have is this centrist view. That's why we need a counter culture asap: games, movies, music, books etc. that paint a different picture. Of course, the deck is stacked against anyone trying, bc. try getting this financed. But we shod still try.

[@SirGiff]

People never get an alternative anywhere? Nowhere? Not one single alternative? Not a single instance of, say, the economic-cultural-military hegemon of the entire planet designating a single day where they screech about "REVOLUTION FUCK YEAH" with fireworks and hotdogs?

[@jerryfeelgood8455]

@@SirGiff "Revolution, fuck yeah" LOL If you're referring to July 4th - Independence day - I guarantee that no one celebrating this holiday says that. Instead they say "Murica, fuck yeah" because what they celebrate is not how much fun toppling the ruling class is, but how awesome and destined to greatness the US is. It's about nationalism and it has not even the smallest kernel of subversiveness.

[@jonathanvilario5402]

I don't think Amon was communist at all, he acted more like a fascist the way he wanted to purge benders. It feels like this video mistakes an aesthetic and language for socialism, even though Amon never once suggested redistribution of wealth (hell, he even took funds from a rich millionaire in this world, that's not very socialist to do).

[@ofimportance5458]

@@jonathanvilario5402 Taking funds to fund a revolution that would give power to someone like sato actually makes sense as he is a nonbender.

[@scienceandponies]

@@jonathanvilario5402 I definitely matches up with fascism than communism, but the authorial intent bleeds through pretty blatantly. To anyone dabbling in writing, it seems very apparently that the viewer is MEANT to take the equalists as some kind of analog for leftist revolutionary movements. That what we actually got more resembles fascism under any objective analysis is just shitty Horseshoe Theory rearing its head and the writers not understanding leftism at all.

[@wasserruebenvergilbungsvirus]

I don't view bending as an allegory for wealth, but rather one for nobility and royal blood. It makes much more sense, since both are something you are either born with or not, something that gives you unearned privilege (or lack thereof) based on factors entirely out of your control. Equalists taking away bending is basically the child-friendly version of 1790s French revolutionaries bringing out the guillotines to tear down an unjust system. I really hate hereditary magic systems where you are just *born special and better than everyone else* with a burning passion, so I always root for Amon and the Equalists when I rewatch Korra. They are a group of normal people trying to fight an injustice that, in their world, is literally ingrained into how their universe functions. That's such a cool premise, and it suсks that we only get to see it from the perspective of those who want to uphold the status quo (being part of the nobility-equivalent themselves). It's like all those French Revolution stories told from the POV of Marie Antoinette, when the side of the revolutionaries would be much more interesting, much more relatable and much more justified. Zaheer and the Red Lotus were also right in wanting to take out the Avatar, because the Avatar is literally the ultimate absolute monarch demanding to rule over everyone else because it's his ~birthright~ and he was ~ordained by the spirits~ for this task. I really can't express how much I hate this trope, especially when it is played straight and we as an audience are just supposed to accept that, yes, some people are simply better by virtue of how they were born, and all those who try to change anything about this are evil villains.

[@bengallup9321]

Love your channel. I saw the equallists as being a confused Mashup of communism and ultranationalism....this goes back to how little the creators seem to understand different ideologies, while trying to make profound statements about them.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, you completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because your nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@JohnSmith-pn2ts]

I always liked season 1s plot to me it made sense that technology would cause a social revolution against a magic system

[@infinitewordcount]

the virgin Lily Orchard vs the chad Kay and Skittles

[@elspethtirel]

@Nicholas No, they said the same thing but less obnoxiously and over-aggressively, and without completely misunderstanding and misrepresenting anarchism

[@stefanmarkovic8424]

@@elspethtirel I think she's just stupid and doesn't understand anarchism, as a "tankie" myself, I like anarchists

[@FernandoMendoza-dw8nz]

@@stefanmarkovic8424 never thought I'd give a like to a tankie.

[@Tavishication]

@@FernandoMendoza-dw8nz What about giving a like to a fellow leftie?

[@FernandoMendoza-dw8nz]

@@Tavishication aye, I could do that.

[@eileensnow6153]

I like to think of bending as an extension of the bender’s identity, not dissimilar to a limb. You take it for granted because you’ve always had it. So Amon is basically saying “hey some people are born without the ability to walk! The only logical conclusion is to CUT OFF ONE LEG OF EVERY ABLE-BODIED PERSON because otherwise it’s not fair!”

[@roygbiv1122]

Yeah. If they were gonna run with the idea of inequity between benders and non-benders, they should’ve written it as a social issue, rather than an economic one. I reckon the best real-life allegory is disability. Bending is a literal ability that benders have and heavily rely on that non-benders just don’t have. Even in ATLA there are some neoliberal aspects of the way non-benders are included, as non-benders have to work really, really hard to reach the peak of their craft to compete with benders. The ones that can (e.g. Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee) feel more like the exception than the rule of most people just going about their everyday lives. Either I missed it, or this power imbalance was never challenged. And it speaks strongly to the experience of unaccommodated disabled people (speaking from my own experience as an AuDHD person with fatigue that renders me unable to work or study) having to bend over backwards and sacrifice every shred of their time, energy and wellbeing just to do things that others do effortlessly, only to fall short anyway and be punished for it by a system that has no patience for people who can’t do “such easy things”. And this kind of systemic failing could be written into the way Republic City was designed. It was founded by Aang and Zuko, and this could easily remain true for the city to foster this ableism. Aang descends from a culture where everyone was a bender, and his other friends from back then (e.g. Bumi and Kuzon) were also benders. Zuko comes from royalty where a large part of his worth to his father was dependent on his bending ability. As of the end of ATLA, most of their friends and allies are benders, and most of the non-benders among them are skilled fighters. They’ve had their fair share of interactions with non-combatant non-benders, but as benders themselves, they’ll never truly understand what it’s like, and they didn’t get non-benders involved enough. So naturally, they have some blindspots when designing it, and they inadvertently make it a bender’s world. One with numerous everyday obstacles for non-benders to face that benders just don’t. And the non-benders are often made by narratives that have developed out of Aang and Zuko’s sight to feel like it’s a personal failing they have to overcome individually, so those that don’t deserve their lot. And as a result, bender supremacists (both explicit and implicit about their views) emerge, as well as wishy-washy liberals who pay lip-service to non-benders and make superficial changes, but keep the systemic problems under wraps, and activists that meaningfully challenge the status quo and *must* be the heroes and victors by the end of the arc. The main challenge of this kind of story is that since the enemy is systemic, it’s hard to manifest that as a single villain to defeat through combat. The best idea I can think of is a coalition of owners of companies that directly profit from the inaccessibility of non-benders’ lives. And somehow, that uprising has to be conveyed through the lens of the Avatar, while also having that win predominantly led by non-benders, lest it become bender saviourism akin to our world’s White saviourism. This could work, and the crew behind ATLA could probably pull it off, so long as they include lots of different kinds of disabled people in the conversations about how it’s written, and take them seriously.

[@roygbiv1122]

Actually, in this little AU I’m coming up with, maybe Korra could start out in opposition to the people fighting for non-benders’ rights due to the unconscious bigotry she inherited and a misunderstanding of her goal to “maintain balance” as if it means “preservation of the status quo”. A big part of her character development this arc would be to slowly unlearn this bigotry through meeting people in Republic City and observing their experiences, and eventually switch sides, and convince as many of her allies to switch with her as she can, and completely turn on the rest. Maybe some could come out as “openly evil” after that, kinda like what they tried to do with Unalaq but better.

[@normtrooper4392]

Skittles gives me life. And so does this channel. Thanks for your work

[@joshuatelem8796]

This is the most detailed philosophical analysis of a children's cartoon I've ever seen.

[@vwoeng7477]

Just the fact that the show shut down the whole point of Equalists by slapping facepaint on Amon and turning him out as a bender (as if in real life there are no rich people who also support communism) just felt so disgusting. Amon being a hypocrite doesn't erase the oppression of non-benders and how Korra should have tried to solve this as that generation's Avatar. But no, they just kicked Amon and the Equalists to the curb and Asami is the main "good" non-bender in a position of privilege so she cannot show Korra how it actually is to be a non-bender in less fortunate circumstances

[@brianb.6356]

I mostly liked this video but I think you missed something important in your analysis of Killmonger. The primary problem with Killmonger's brand of anti-colonialist politics is that it's super violent and motivated primarily by a hatred of colonizers as colonizers rather than a true desire to uplift anyone. (I mean, the guy's name is literally "Killmonger") As such, his violence against people who are theoretically on his side IS a legit critique because it's an outgrowth of his ideology of constant warfare against the people he hates. Other than that I agree he's a fairly similar character to Amon, but I thought he was executed much better, in that T'Challa had to grapple with his ideas and ultimately changed his own opinions about Wakandan isolationism rather than just brushing him off completely like Korra does to Amon.

[@noheroespublishing1907]

So, would Syndrome from The Incredibles be like an inversion of the Equallists; trying to build up all to be equally superhuman instead of tearing them down?

[@Ancienregime8090]

His goal wasn't to make everyone super, it was to make money. That was a side effect. And thing of the consequences of distributing power for money. the world syndrome would create would be one where the rich would be able to exploit the poor because they're able to afford super powers.

[@noheroespublishing1907]

@@Ancienregime8090 True enough, I just find it funny that any form of attaining equality, be it a character like Syndrome, or a group like the Equallists, or the world portrayed in the short story Harrison Bergeron, it's always a rather disingenuous portrayal of equity, or a drive towards it. Most of what equality is is legal equality, but that is always just ignored in favor of the most comically absurd notion of such a thing.

[@shreyoley]

@@Ancienregime8090 while money is an aspect of it, wasn’t Syndrome’s main goal to just satisfy his ego? He wanted to be a Super, but had no powers. When Mr. incredible rejected him, he got so upset that he murdered superheroes and unleashed those killer robots just so he could be a performative hero in front of everyone.

[@scienceandponies]

@@noheroespublishing1907 I am always astounded by how many people think Harrison Bergeron was completely serious and not the blatant dialed up to 11 parody of libertarian, hyper-individualist, overly masturbatory dreck like Atlas Shrugged, that it so obviously is. The main character declares himself Emperor, claims the nearest woman as his Empress, then breaks his chains effortlessly with his bare hands and literally starts levitating by sheer force of will because he's such a special individualist snowflake. Then the Handicapper General immediately kicks in the door blast his floating ass with a double barreled shotgun and that's the end of that. How does anyone not read that as parody?

[@JwebGuru]

@@scienceandponies I agree with you but people bring it up as a story with a real and serious message all the time so I think it's a Poe's Law thing.

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

Same as creationists complaining about Evolution, without knowing what the hell evolution IS. Same here. 'I don't know what communism is, or capitalism, but let me tell you what's wrong with communism.'

[@ricopena2053]

That summer was interesting because this show and the Dark Knight Rises were both stories with Communist villains who wear masks. And both did the same twist where the villain wasn’t sincere in their beliefs and were personally aggrieved.

[@edulysse7482]

Amon should have been the final a villain

[@aldabraika1836]

I want to be clear that I haven't watched Korra in it's entirety, just specific episodes. That said, is it possible that instead of communism/socialism Amon represents populist fascism? He's essentially weaponizing the very legitimate inequalities between benders and non-benders in republic city and manipulating a lower caste with warped ideals of egalitarianism the same way fascist leaders use the lower class by disguising themselves as "of the people" socialists while singling out specific individuals and groups as the causes of their struggles instead of focusing on the oppressive system

[@slashb7836]

Amon does come off in some ways as quite the Hitlerian figure. A Ford figure with Sato is also a very direct parallel

[@robogecko4067]

I think he appears that way, and that’s the kinda ideology he is, but I recon the character is supposed to be a representation of socialism written in the classic Cold War way

[@ded4lyfe1]

It's mishandled. Because although that's what it could be what they are saying, they are clearly using communist logic to pose as facistic, but then pose that all of the ideas get left behind because of the personal dislike of what is alone, not actual parts like, my labor is getting siphoned by a system, but, hey, that guy doesn't like benders! But he is a bender! I don't like benders! Phooey, this whole thing is bunk, we're out. All oppression is gone now.

[@lilyk3734]

I think everyone here needs to learn what fascism is

[@jetkwan6707]

Surely I'm not the only one who was ticked by the fact that the hammer and sickle was laterally inverted throughout the entire video?

[@KayAndSkittles]

Sorta like how the principles of communism were inverted throughout the season eh? Eh?

[@jetkwan6707]

@@KayAndSkittles Tru dat.

[@mgmcdb7606]

Thank you Skittles for using your mastery of the four elements to bring us this video.

[@jagnestormskull3178]

In one of the flashback scenes to when Amon's father was being tried, there are non-Benders on the council. Sokka is the representative of the Southern Water Tribe, and one of the Air Acolytes (non-Bending Air Nomad cosplayers) is the representative of the Air Nation.

[@tesso.6193]

here after hello future me's video on "is amon communist". It wasn't a very convincing one, possibly because he's not familiar with the history of strawmen propaganda created about communism because Amon is that strawman to a T.

[@runelt99]

Also im pretty sure he mentioned skittles once thru the video, only reason i even knew who he was talking about was because i have watched this in the past... I mean he did have a link in the description, but nobody reads that.

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

But how is Amon that strawman? He doesn't even exist within a universe that makes communism to develop in the way that it did!

[@runelt99]

@@IkeOkerekeNews Do you think that you can only strawman communism if there is literal communism in that series or something?

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

@@runelt99 I don't really know, but I know Amon isn't strawmaning communism.

[@runelt99]

@@IkeOkerekeNews... Did you even watch the video then? Kay clearly mentions about how communism is depicted as just destroying things like amon removes bending and leaves people overall lesser. Also, right after you posted again you have 1 like... Do you upvote yourself or something?

[@thisrandomdude2880]

Avatar: But have you considered *ENLIGHTENED CENTRISM?!*

[@VictimPoliticized]

‪As revealed in the final part of this essay, because Kay believes the character’s ulterior motive revealed in the end invalidates what people believed they were doing in the beginning, he missed that Amon was functionally committing a cultural genocide and getting people to support it. Like Ozai, they believed earth, water, air, (though also firebenders) shouldn’t exist anymore. They didn’t know it was only temporary. It’s akin to getting rid of black people by magically turning all of them white as snow and blonde as a sunflower. They’re still alive, but it’s still a fundamentally messed up idea.‬

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Equalists are obviously non-benders supremacists. You know, fascists. The way how they talk about benders isn't much different than how fascists talk about Jewish people, especially how they want to clean them from their "impurities" Imagine calling someone like Hiroshi Sato, who is a successful bourgeois a communist? Oh wait, they completely ignore him... I wonder why? Because their nonsensical political analysis will collapse into nothing. Or calling Mako and Bolin, poor benders that barely made ends meet an oppressors. Every villain in TLOK is some form of fascism: non-benders supremacists, clero-fascism, anarcho-primitivism, Nazism.

[@timothymclean]

11:24: It's amazing how often this trend comes up. People want to criticize a radical ideology (usually socialism/communism), and the worst thing they can think of to say about it is that it'll replicate the problems of the system they oppose. (Bonus points if they literally take pictures of modern capitalist societies and say "This is what'll happen under socialism".)

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

The Avatar is the ultimate centrist (Jack Saint sent me!) Awesome video, btw!

[@charlieni645]

A few weeks late to the party, but this very much reminded me of The Force in Star Wars, from which the caste system that was created is always portrayed as a good thing. The Jedis are the only one that can rival the dark side users like the Sith who want to rule and destroy even though the Jedis themselves are culprit as evidenced in the Order's heavy influence in Republic politics during the prequel era. At least the writers have become more self-concious about this aspect lately given how long the series has been around. Kotor 2 and, to a less extend, Last Jedi pointed out the hypocrisy and made the thesis that the Force itself is exactly the reason of the cyclical conflict in the galaxy.

[@scienceandponies]

Except the Jedi don't really control the Republic. They're a monastic order that's often used as a diplomats and a cross between a peacekeeping force and high level law enforcement (something like a federal marshal). But they don't really have much sway in the day to day politics of the Senate. They seem to be given a high degree of autonomy to operate without much oversight, but they don't really have their hands on the levers of systemic power.

[@LiterallyGraphic]

This first season also came out shortly after occupy which was the more obvious comparison I had at the time. Struck me as pretty disgusting to defend the 1% at the time.

[@tysondennis1016]

What a cute ferret. And I a love how Korra is the anti-Aang. Aang is a skinny 12-yr old monk who prefers nonviolent solutions and travels the world, and has a humble and gentle personality, while Korra is a buff 16-yr old who’s been kept in isolation, and is cocky, reckless and hotheaded, and is mainly operating in one city. Aang is a normal boy learning to be the Avatar, whilst Korra has known that she’s the Avatar since when she took her first steps, and is learning to be normal. Aang has only had feelings for one person (guess he’s Katarasexual), and fought one overarching villain whose only redeeming trait is being voiced by Mark Hamill, while Korra has dated all three members of her team, and fought four individual overarching villains with their own goals. Aang knew how to airbend, and had to learn water, earth and fire, while Korra is of course, her predecessor’s opposite. And I loved Amon as a villain. His bending is something he treats as a necessary evil, and he genuinely believes in what he preaches, and he provided an atmosphere of fear. That has been confirmed by the creators. And I love how he knows how to sustain a good image, with him depowering crooks, cheaters, the corrupt and all-around scum, and saving the Avatar, who the people adore just for existing. And as I see Amon and the Equalists as communist metaphors, and I see Tarrlok as a fantastic McCarthyist. He uses fear of a movement that promises to level the playing field, in order to deny people their rights and consolidate power. And I love how a lot of the Equalists have genuine gripes with benders, such as Amon associating it with his abusive father and Hiroshi Sato’s wife getting murdered and presumably getting away with robbing a self-made family man of not just replaceable material wealth, but an irreplaceable human being who loved him and his only heiress unconditionally. And setting him on a dark path that’ll end with him trying to kill his daughter, and being unable to live with himself for the rest of his days.

[@gage6314]

Are you slow Korra severed dated Bolin. Just because they went on one friendly date doesn't mean she liked him. Korra made it obvious and even gave hints that she wasn't interested in Bolin. But Bolin, being so lonely and girl-thirsty, ignored the signs.

[@sengroagers1111]

I had good expectations when I saw that first equalist encounter in the first episode. “Oh cool, we’re gonna explore the relationship between benders and non-benders, korra’s gonna develop from an oblivious teen to a considerate voice of the people, and probably a whole thing about ‘the avatar has to care for everyone, not just benders,’ and some fun avatar fights against evil oppressive police... Real great.” What I got instead? NONE OF THAT

[@DasMudPie]

And the more you think about it, the more it becomes clear that the Avatar only exists to essentially restore the previous status quo (or "balance") in one form or another no matter what :/

[@sengroagers1111]

DasMudPie I thought they were gonna take “restore balance,” and apply it to benders and non-benders, making it a big moment for Korra, using her avatar power for something other than mindless combat. Instead, “restore balance” meant “become a violent arm of the state.” :/ But I think if they wrote LOK better, they could’ve very easily shown that the Avatar’s role is to restore balance, even if it goes against the status quo.

[@DasMudPie]

@@sengroagers1111 Well... since "balance" is framed as "not going too far because the status quo is fine" in TLOK, the only logical conclusion is that the Avatar is actually a conservative element at best or an anti-revolutionnary one at worst :(

[@sengroagers1111]

DasMudPie Yeah that’s true of TLOK. In ATLA, it’s definitely a revolutionary force, but sadly not in its sequel. I’ve only started the second season though. DON’T SPOIL ANYTHING, but I feel like they’re going to try to tackle some type of fascism next, with the whole “unite the cultures,” and “degeneracy” and “honor the old spirits” talk, but that’ll probably get convoluted too because the spirits and religion in this world are real, and the avatar herself is also supposed to help the spirit world. Am I right or wrong with that guess? No spoilers tho

[@DasMudPie]

@@sengroagers1111 All I can say is that, in Book 2, spirits are important but also not really :p (also, the story is so convoluted that I didn't even understand what exactly just happened during the finale, so brace yourself)

[@asideaccount393]

Gonna be honest - I don’t think the boys intended this allegory or got to explore it in the way they wanted. A large blame of the Korea series goes to Nickelodeon for not giving them consistent green lighting of the series. Each season the writers thought it was the last - and so they couldn’t flesh out ideas between seasons well. An extra episode could’ve done a lot to showing their oppression. I think it’s very reasonable how Korra reacted to Amon - he is truly the worst enemy of the avatar series by one episode and does what we couldn’t have imagined. Any bender including Aang would be terrified - his predecessor nearly defeated him too.

[@roastingpotato]

I love how after season 1 the bender/ non bender societal issues where never referenced in the show ever again.

[@AnimeFTW10]

16:26 to 16:43 In "Skeletons in the Closet," Tarrlok says that Noatak truly believes that bending is the source of all evil in the world. Bryke confirmed this to be true in a Q&A in 2014 ( www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/2k4yzy/all_spoilersbryan_and_mikes_entire_qa_session/ ): Q: Did Amon truly believe in his cause for equality, or was he only in it to destroy bending. Bottom line, did any of Amon's motives come from wanting to help others or to make the world a better place? Thank you! A: Yes, I think Tarrlok's assessment of Noatak's motivations were pretty close to the truth. He came to hate bending for what it did to his life. He saw how it made others suffer and he wanted to eradicate it from the world. But he had to believe his own lie in order to execute that vision. And thank you! Basically, the Equalist movement is a combination of Noatak's corrupted ideals of fairness and equality (they're called EQUALists, after all), and his enjoyment of power, much like how Tarrlok did genuinely want to be Republic City's savior, but his want for power (to avoid being seen as weak) corrupted that. I know you're looking at this through a political lens, but focusing purely on the Bloodbending Brothers' story line, this all makes sense. Noatak and Tarrlok were shaped to be tools of revenge by Yakone. They both reject this, and strive to be the exact opposite of him, only for them to end up doing exactly what he wanted them to do. Tarrlok gained the self-awareness of this after his bending was removed; Noatak didn't (he is repeating history by trying to get a second chance with Tarrlok by escaping Republic City). They truly are two sides of the same coin, and that is why the boat scene happened; Tarrlok knows they are too far gone to change, and knows it's better for the world if Yakone's legacy was removed, once and for all. As for the struggle between benders and nonbenders going away, I believe that the conflict wasn't truly a central theme of Book 1. One of the central themes was identity (Korra as the Avatar; Tarrlok as Republic City's savior; Noatak as Amon), and coping with the loss of it (Korra chose to go on; the Bloodbending Brothers got murder-suicide). The Equalists was part of the backdrop (specifically, the family drama between two broken, damaged men who almost ripped apart a city in two different directions, subconsciously under a dead man's poisonous influence).

[@renaigh]

a criticism that could be made against the White Lotus is how they ritualise the training of the Avatar, degrading the chosen body it inhabits and presumably the Spirit itself hence why Korra is so afraid of the responsibility. I think they could've played into this unwillingness to fulfil 'destiny' by making Korra find a way to pass on the Avatar from her life completely by consulting the Spirit World but the spirits she meets either refuse to help or simply don't know how to. Which leads to Korra hearing a radio broadcasting the Equalists message inspiring her to travel to Republic City.

[@dionemoolman]

What I like about Black Panther is that the movie itself agrees with Killmonger as T’Challa literally does exactly what he planned to do at the end of the movie, only instead of by force with him ruling the world he did it diplomatically with foreign aid. In the end it shows that Killmonger’s ideas weren’t bad, he was.

[@queencobrra]

I’m writing a story with an antagonist who doesn’t have the primary flaws of Amon: she sticks to her beliefs, is not a hypocrite, and has no alterior motive. She keeps to her word, and when she completes her mission, she has her followers lock her up in fear of her gaining too much power. Her fundamental beliefs are good. She believes that all wars and famines should end, that people should be given equal rights. How is she a villain? her methods of achieving this. She manipulates world leaders into writing in her laws with her powers. She’s willing to sacrifice pawns for the greater good, and shows no real human empathy toward anyone. She allows people to be themselves, but not to have their own beliefs. She does not view herself as a person. She is, herself, just a symbol.

[@wanderinggamer5079]

So a female version of Dr Doom? Or at least Dr Doomesque. I like it.

[@scrustle]

I'm big fan of Korra, and TLA is one of my favourite pieces of media ever. And even though I really like the characters and story of Korra, and I like that it tries to grapple with certain ideas, it has always felt like it fumbles things in the end. One of the early red flags in Book 1 is when they paint Amon as being scary and threatening long before he actually reveals his plans. He's talking on the radio, with the ominous music playing and characters huddled around in fear, when all he's talking about at that point is equality and justice. Apparently that's enough to make him in to a bad guy, that he wants to make life better for a marginalised group. The same kinds of problems come up over and over in the series, and I think some of it has to do with how messy the production was. With its future constantly being unclear, always under the threat of cancellation, there wasn't much ability to plan ahead. So it feels like each Book tries to build up from nothing each time, and then rushes the ending. I think it still does okay under those circumstances though, and Zahir in Book 3 probably comes out the best out of all of them. He actually manages to get his ideas across and move Korra to a degree.

[@KayAndSkittles]

I'm gonna have some Things To Say in the Book 3 video. Just you wait.

[@2Fiddle4U]

@@KayAndSkittles While you're at it, I was wondering if you ckecked out Lily Orchard's beast of a review on the series? As much as I love her, the video, and her content, she mentioned her views in regards to anarchism which seems indicative of, well, a lot of people's opinions towards anarchism Edit: Also, great video, as always. There's not enough of content like this

[@taj4137]

@@KayAndSkittles Don't think I've ever been so excited about a promised future vid!

[@tryingtobebetter7235]

@@KayAndSkittles Looking forward to that one. lol. I was pretty excited when we got Zaheer.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Yeah, Lily's video and a few others inspired me to make this series because while they do identify some issues in the show I found them to be pretty devoid of the sort of political analysis I think TLOK is absolutely begging for. Needless to say Lily's view of anarchy isn't too far from The Boys themselves.

[@Neo-Clik]

I always believed that this was similar to what was going on in X men. The non mutants fearing the mutant’s dangerous potential. The difference in LOK is that benders dangerous potential is already seen from the war in the previous series, and how the benders form gangs and miss us their powers on non benders. Ammon wasn’t after them for wealth or power, but because benders were bullying non benders, like when the triple threat triads were forcing a group of non bending shop owners to pay a fee for being on “their” tertory, or how Sokka was bullied in certain episodes from the original series. I also believe that since we really don’t have anything similar to this in the real world, I don’t believe one can just compare it to one sole political stand point. The closest we have is trying to help the people with mental or physical disabilities live better and easier lives. To me this would create an entire new movement, rather than being an existing political stand point, or a new political stand point.

[@Laticia1990]

Having Amon be a bender ruined the character for me. I had expected it to be Bumi, because I had heard online that he was a non-bender. Imagine being the son of the southern water tribe princess and the avatar, and everyone overlooks you for your youngest brother. That would have been enough reason to start the spark of resentment. But then we got Bumi in the show.

[@maddieatkinson1527]

as much as i love korra the misrepresentation of leftist ideologies in it never fails to piss me tf off

[@grmgt]

Fr though. I have to compartimentalize so much while watching repeating a mantra like "just ignore the terrible politics (and love triangles) and focus on Korra's journey (which is the highlight, peak on S03)"

[@gage6314]

Sadly I blame nickelodeon the kept messing with the show.

[@EvilHarmony]

We can also note that at the end, Social Democrat Korra joins forces with Fascist Tarloc against "communist" Amon. So not only fascism and communism are brother, but communism is the worst enemy of the two, the one that must be opposed at all cost, yay

[@wasserruebenvergilbungsvirus]

Also, Kuvria, the show's other explicit fascism allegory, gets by far the most sympathetic treatment of all four major antagonists. We never get a sympathetic POV for the Equalists or Red Lotus, but the fascist gets one of the main characters to join them and show how "not everything was bad"? Bruh.

[@seriphyn8935]

Thank god. I thought I was the only one in groaning at Korra's Reddit level, enlightened centrist understanding of left-wing politics; "we will make everyone equal...by force!".

[@Hawkatana]

@@SponzifyMee Found the billionaire simp.

[@tristanhunt4786]

This video has inspired me to write a Legend of Korra fanfic that fixes the politics. So now I'm watching a bunch of your other videos for "research". Anyway unironically this video does such a good job of dismantling the myths of communism, etc. All with fun pop-culture references. Your videos are wonderful.

[@DasMudPie]

Oooh! I'd be interested to read something like that :)

[@yourlocaldaubeny]

Avatar the last air bender:world war 1 The legend of Korra:world war 2

[@Ohflipsnap]

Avatar: World War III when?

[@lelouchthebaneofbritannia6890]

@@Ohflipsnap you just had to ask. Hi from 2020

[@yourlocaldaubeny]

@JohnnyTheWolf but in avatar aang years they had airships 😶

[@yourlocaldaubeny]

@JohnnyTheWolf yeah

[@yourlocaldaubeny]

Hm :()

[@hedgehogsdilemma2220]

Hey, I know that commenting on a year old video is kinda weird but I wanted to point out that at 8:41 you're saying that we don't know if non-benders are kept out of the city counsil, but wasn't Sokka a counselor in Korra's flashbacks? If so, non-benders are allowed to be elected counselors and it makes even less sense the way they wrote the Equalists. This video is AMAZING by the way, I loved every second of it!!!

[@thecabbageman1]

About the council thing we know that Sokka( a non bender) was the chairman before Tarlok. So yeah, the lack of non benders in it is probably happenstance(or even more likely writing convenience so that Bryke would have to do any morally grey conflicts within the council) rather than an actual demonstration of discrimination

[@Ben-xo1ue]

sokka was part of the council but he was a non bender.

[@jackgude3969]

New to the channel. You had me at "and this is skittles"

[@ospreysystem9526]

I think it’s funny how, in an effort to make me not radical, this season of Korra just made me more radical by presenting me with a way to think more critically about real communism vs Korra communism

[@nachosquid763]

So according to the show political extremism actually stems from an unresolved father complex. now where did I hear that before?

[@fuzzyapplepie6940]

I think a better way to make this communism allegory work is if Amon DID get the power to remove bending from the spirits, but he also gained the ability to transfer bending he took and give it to another. Good example would be from the first rally we see, he takes zolts firebending away and transfers it to his lieutenant who throws his electric sticks away and throws lighting. For the first few months Amon takes bending from the corrupt and gives to the nonbenders. Until slowly he starts taking from those who may not have deserved it and giving it to his equalists to bolster their power and keep a close watch on those who can vend. Anyone caught speaking out against him or his regime have their bending removed and given to an equalists. Thus bolstering their numbers even further.

[@JavierCandia1992]

If Korra existed, she would do crypto.

[@LightGlyphRasengan]

I found this through Xian Jay Zhao. No joke I love videos criticizing politics in my favorite shows. (I didnt know how to write this without sounding condescending, sorry)

[@bcl8260]

I have travelled through space and time from the eyeball zone to give you my eyes. Great video!

[@AkataTribune]

I love your videos.

[@wow-oq6jc]

I don’t think you can make an analogy between Amon’s belief and economic feasability. It’s the situation where the non-benders have been targeted more in history by benders, especially firebenders. The reason you can’t compare economic feasability or wealth redistribution to a situation like this is because Amon doesn’t care about the economic qualities the non-benders follow, he’s just gotten tired that they have been targeted by thieves, in the middle of every war etc. Agood video, but I don’t think an analogy of such is not possible

[@Totalitarianizer]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4KboJdnrs9qqas

[@PonkChonk]

as much as i am a huge fan of atla and LoK i couldn't help but see lazy criticism, bad analogy, strawmans, and horseshoes about politics in the show. I mean....they tried, i guess.