The Politics Of The Legend Of Korra - Book 2: Colonization

[@Joe1339]

Can we remember that Varrick admitted to building prisons? He also profits from a prison industry.

[@Alex-fv2qs]

Pretty much every other character remarks that Varrick is an asshole traitor who has done a lot of damage

[@ChunkyAppleCider]

@@Alex-fv2qs but also they all go to his wedding

[@undeadblizzard]

I guess but remember just because you right or not don't be a dick about it. Varrick is a puckish rogue and there is a double standard. If commies defend themselves against Imperialist Capitalist they are seen as aggressive and power hungry. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

@@ChunkyAppleCider should have turned it into a red wedding

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

I hate how they tried to make him a loveable character and even a protagonist in the later seasons. Speaks to you how much the boys are apparently okay with that

[@blackmoon2128]

Man, the fact that Varric ends up being one of "the good guys" on the series really shows where the creators stand.

[@cui8789]

Something tells me that if Varrick had framed Bolin or Asami the fandom would have treated it a lot more severely. But since it was Mako no one cared.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Oh fuck you're right. The perfect crime.

[@user-mh9dx7nz2r]

I always cared for Mako, and Varrick is a guilty pleasure because younger me, for some reason wanted to be like him.

[@Dell-ol6hb]

accurate, i still dont care tho

[@Tmanowns]

I actually like Mako, he just was left on the backburner because Da Bois don't know how to write a relationship, only a will-they-won't-they. I do enjoy Varrick, but as a villain. I think they just made him too funny and likable to actually have him face consequences. He could have been a really cool reoccurring villain. Like, that scene where Mako walks in on Asami signing away her company. He's menacing for just a moment. Just briefly showing his true colors, then he goes right back into his disarming persona, which should have been shown to be an elaborate façade to disarm financial rivals and lure other malicious profiteers to think he'll be easy to manipulate and get the better deal.

[@FloridatedH2O]

It really bothered me how much good will the show (and by extension, the fan base) gives Varrick. He does so much messed up stuff with the only justification being the enlargement of his wallet, and yet because he is funny he just get's a pass.

[@1DMapler18]

Calling the Wan backstory a "christianzation of the Avatar mythology" really put into words why it didn't sit right with me why they had to recontextualize it in the first place

[@lyrablack8621]

Damn. Yeah. Holy shit. I hated that subplot because it was a waste of time, it didn't tell us anything we couldn't have guessed, but no, you're right, it did have a purpose: to depict exactly what avatar mythology the boys were expanding upon in this half-baked, ignorant through lack of curiosity or care, series.

[@lonebattledroid4474]

I mean to be fair there are Eastern religions and mythologies that have a personification of good and evil but the problem is that in Avatar the mythology and spirits weren't black and white morality it was blue and orange morality

[@lyrablack8621]

@@lonebattledroid4474 No, the problem is that white _won._ The whole purpose is balance and they just completely disregarded that in favor of their own interpretations

[@varunbhat2077]

No, it didn't get Christianized. I am an Asian. I know it. The Beginnings part is so awesome.

[@TheMonkeystick]

@@varunbhat2077 Not all Asians and Asian faiths are the same. In Avatar's case, Buddhism (specifically, the declensions of Buddhism that became popular in China), Shintoism, Taoism, and Siberian Animism are the clear inspiration for spirituality (literally) in the show. There is a balance in all things, and it is this balance itself which is good. Things which are considered evil threaten this harmony, and anything outside of this equilibrium will naturally fall into chaos. The idea of a separate good and evil in eternal contest to each other is not prominent in most East Asian faiths. As for it being a Christianization... Other Asian faiths, such as Hinduism, other declensions of Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam and Judaism do have a more concrete view of Good and Evil as distinct forces, to differing extents. The Christianization comes in when the Avatar is treated as Good's, well, avatar in human form, a Christ-like figure. Even if it was intended as a nod to Hinduism or Zoroastrianism or another West Asian faith, it is done in a way that is still distinctly and familiarly christ-like to the show writers and their audience. And it still clashes dramatically with the general way they crafted the story so far (not all Asian faiths mesh together, some are quite opposing in how they frame the world. Asia is a big continent after all.) Either way, it's not great writing.

[@diabreadstick]

ATLA: The destruction of an entire forest sends a spirit into a rage that it takes out on townspeople, showing how the disruption of nature and balance harms innocents. LoK: An entire region is paved over with an industrial city shown to be using the same machinery that polluted the real world and the spirits are cool with this, I guess.

[@arnigeir1597]

@@oliverwallington4657 whoops I guess...

[@moonmannd7501]

@@oliverwallington4657 Yeah, in the comics. That's supplemental, fleshing out and filling in. If its not included as an element of the primary narrative being looked at then it can't be considered when analyzing said narrative. No disrespect

[@moonmannd7501]

@@SwordTune Canon side material is irrelevant to thematic consideration. Even putting aside my issues with fandom culture's obsessive reverence for the word 'canon' getting stamped on something, side material is fair game if you're making a lore assessment or looking at the universe as a timeline in the same way you might read the wikipedia page for a war. Which is valid. But if you're assessing the merits of a story then you can only consider the elements said story presents. This is storytelling theory not a lore video. If a critique of Korra S2 is basically "the second season gives lip service to the theme of spiritual balance but establishes the world in such a way that isn't consistent with that and here's a glaring example," then "actually here's an entirely separate thing under the same label that cleans up after that issue because it saw a story opportunity that the primary source didn't bother to consider" isn't a valid rebuttal. That's a good thing to note from a canonical perspective, but the complaint isn't assessing the lore it's assessing the show's storytelling and themes, so it isn't relevant because it's not actually in the show. 9/10 times side material explaining a gap in the original is conscious retcon janitorializing of a point they knowingly ignored or didn't properly consider so that they can get the brownie points for fixing an issue that by its continued omission in the source still exists. A work must stand on its own. Captain Phasma, for example, cannot have events of her comic or something taken into consideration for her character as presented in the films. Boba Fett doing a bunch of cool shit in books or whatever doesn't change that fact that his base portrayal only did 3 things of note. Side material cannot be used as a posthumous gotcha covering for poorly considered writing. Very few franchises that people use the term "mixed media" to explain away criticism are actually intended at a fundamental level to be consumed with every medium occupying equal weight, as opposed to the regular route of a being primarily a film/show/videogame that also has some other stuff too. Expanded Universe/Side content by it's very nature imo is supplementary material that can add appreciation to a universe but with the conceit that you can take it or leave it, and insisting it MUST be considered when looking at the original is oxymoronic to its entire purpose. As a good rule of thumb, if a non-adaptation has required reading from an entirely separate medium in order to make the story function, then I'm sorry to say that story is just fundamentally broken. Either its inaccurate and fans are misunderstanding the relationship between the two, or its entirely accurate, at which point the thing is so misguided and ineffective as to ignore the most basic rules of storytelling. People insisting otherwise are often doing so, consciously or otherwise, as a veneer to deflect relevant criticism of the source narrative's insufficient choices. TLDR no offense, but offering side material as a counter for potential narrative issues as presented in the main story is basically a non sequitur and misunderstands the nature of the complaint Also I hope this doesn't come across as me thinking you're stupid or something, I just have a lot of strong opinions about this stuff.

[@moonmannd7501]

@@SwordTune @SwordTune I want to briefly make 2 notes clear real quick. Firstly, my stupid comment was a legitimate attempt to ensure my response wasn't interpreted as malicious given my strong feelings on the sentiment I was (possibly inaccurately) attributing, though I easily understand how it could be seen as wiping my tracks and will take your advice into consideration in future. Truthfully my reply ended up turning into more of a rant than I had initially envisioned. Secondly, know that my block of text was only in reply to your first comment, and I had not read your more elaborate take at the time of writing, which I have only just now noticed even exists. Now to the point, I'm currently kind of in the middle of something, so if I later read the entirety of both your comments and feel I have a response to the claims that you were actually making interesting enough to write out then maybe I'll draft it up. If not, thank you for a respectful and well put reaction, and your intelligent argumentation.

[@ernestoacosta7918]

You don’t understand, because Manifest Destiny for the Benders is what Raava wants

[@RudeFoxALTON]

Absolutely loving these breakdowns of the Korra series. Something about the new series always struck me as off but I didn't have the political and ideological framework to really put it into words at the time. Especially that first season, even then I could grasp how much of a cop out it was having him be a bender and how much more interesting it would have been if the issue addressed had been treated as real. Keep it up!

[@DonLasagna]

i see this as well, i was always like, "is korra and the gang the bad guys? should we be friends with him?" but at the time I was fairly liberal but leaning toward socialism rather than the full blown socialist i am now.

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

Yes! Honestly, it even would have been so much more cool to have a non-bender villain that is a big threat in combat. I may just be a 15 year old and don't know much about political ideologies but I still knew that was a bad way to portray a communist haha

[@ricopena2053]

It would have been a good setup for season 2 if Amon had been possessed by a spirit. Maybe even one who helped Aang in the original show.

[@Void100-v3x]

Hmmm I personally didn't have that big of a problem with Amon being a bender but I do agree that they should have addressed the issues surrounding benders and nonbenders seriously.

[@normtrooper4392]

It's weird how, on the surface, Korra is a show about real problems but once you look at it, all of the paint falls off and it's some nonsense. But thanks for making another one; they are generally good

[@Redpy5]

Huh, I like what you were saying about the bending. I'd also point out that while people have mastered the innovative bending styles from old Team Avatar, no new forms of bending have been achieved in that time and the only characters I've seen in Korra who have new bending are the "anarchists" (who've had plenty of time to get in touch with their spirituality, if you want to read it that way).

[@KayAndSkittles]

Great point!

[@xtoadsannom6704]

I find that point a little bit disingenuous, I will admit. Metalbending was a once-in-a-millenia innovation that was apparently relatively accessible to a lot of people, not to mention very useful, so it spread quickly beyond Toph. As for the other kind of bending invented during the 100 years war, bloodbending, it was severely limited and not that useful outside of harming people. And the Red Lotus didn't have "new" bending. P'Li uses a refined version of a style first used in ATLA. Ghazan's lavabending isn't new, but so rare that any practitioner is pretty much considered to be a magic unicorn. And Ming-Hua's style is regular waterbending but adapted to her missing arms.

[@makaki6900]

XToad Sannom u forgot about flying zaheer

[@Dell-ol6hb]

@@makaki6900 but that's also not new really, just really rare again

[@rabidrabids5348]

@@Dell-ol6hb "Really rare" is a massive understatement. There was literally only one other Airbender with that ability (that we know of).

[@Maria-fz8km]

I remember seeing a suggestion in a Hello Future Me video about how Raava and Vaatu were handled, proposing that Wan should have become the avatar by absorbing both spirits instead of just one.

[@DarthNinja65]

Even Wan allying and absorbing just Vaatu would've been more interesting imo

[@darlingdannid]

i think it would've been great if raava had lied to wan in the name of "order/peace" (what she was supposed to be instead of goodness/light) by telling him that he only needed to fuse with her for "balance." korra could've discovered raava was lying and merged with vaatu as well. imagine that all the years of avatars trying and failing to restore balance, it was because without the balance of order + chaos they couldn't creatively problem solve, and thus kept trying the same uninspired solutions over and over. imagine if the tensions between the nations existed because of 10,000 years of built up resentment over stale, rigid, change-resistant ways of doing things. imagine if korra could've been the one to discover this lie and finally right the wrong by embracing vaatu as well. imagine what it could teach her, and the ways it could overlap with the narrative about colonialism and civil war. raava steering wan down the wrong path could've been compared to unalaq doing the same thing with korra. we could've had so much. but no, instead we got studio ghibli knockoff steampunk christianity

[@cyclic_infinity]

Context: 12:50 The "You're oppressing yourselves" and "Help, I'm being oppressed!" comments in S1 represent Martin Luther King, Jr.'s depiction of the "white moderate" absurdly well. Specifically, I'd apply one of my favorite aphorisms of his: "who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." The Boys, the writing implies, believe the aggrieved victims of oppression doth protest too much, and for sure too loudly. The "politics of envy" trope also came up, I noticed, which for sure reveals their insufficient empathy and lacking social imagination. All grievances of an essentialized underclass are inherently overblown, no systemic problems can exist by definition (each individual is responsible for themselves, duh), and defeating the tension-creating demagogue solves the problem forever. As it must be in Liberalism: oppression and inequality aren't the problem, tension is.

[@roberthebert2826]

A small criticism I'll levi, Lightning Bending was never really portrayed as anything really spiritual in the original, the only two people really using it being the most unstable and out of balance people in the world. To me it always was just the rich and powerful hoarding coveted knowledge away from the masses as a way to make the fire bender upper class look more divine and god like to the peasants they want to control. But with the end of the war and the rise of industrialization, the flow of information and education increased, leading to what was once only a prized jewel of the Fire Nation, to be accessible to any fire bender with enough talent.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Iroh used it as well but it was definitely portrayed as something incredibly difficult and dangerous, that would have taken the resources of an emperor to acquire. I think through those antagonists we see the chaotic aspect of the spiritual, the aspect that Vaatu SHOULD have represented rather than just Big Evil. I think the firelord was extremely in touch with that side of things, and the fact that being who he is doesn't bar him from that connection I think is a really important thing that taking a more Good vs Evil stance kind of negates. That's just my take on it tho!

[@makaki6900]

Kay And Skittles I think that you are confusing lighting bending with redirection of lighting I agree with original commentator about bending, The redirection of lighting is a more spiritual thing, Iroh invented it by taking inspiration from other cultures (especially water bending) It’s important that we only see 3 people redirecting lighting: iroh, Zuko and aang, so it is sth more difficult that just lighting bending

[@mahari893]

makaki Zuko wanted Iroh to shoot him with Lightning so I mean, Iroh DEFINITELY knows how to shoot lightning

[@al.5333]

@@makaki6900 I would like to remind you, that before teaching Zuko how to deflect lightning, Iroh actually tries to tell him to bend lighting, at which Zuko fails. This is one point at which the series contradicts itself, because Iroh explains that you have to be ware of your inner balance and then disturb it on purpose in order to create lightning (probably the reason why the Sun Warriors didnt seem to use lightning) and the show basically tells us Zuko cant bend lightning (at that point) because he lacks this inner balance. I also think that Ozai had his special, pride-and-discipline-based form of balance, but Azula straight up went insane. By the logic of lightning bending, she should not have been able to. Then again, Azula probably was the most talented firebender to exist in both ATLA and LOK, so she might just have neglected any spiritual aspect, just like benders in LOK supposedly do.

[@martingammill-beck5846]

@@KayAndSkittles Maybe i'm misremembering but it was never portrayed as dangerous to anyone but its victims, aang having been killed in one hit where normal bending requires several hits to take someone out of a fight completely. As for difficult, iroh, presumably, teaches zuko how to lightning bend in a day. Granted zuko fails but its directly stated that he cant do it due to a blockage in his chi.

[@grmgt]

Varrick was one of the hardest parts for me to "ignore" while viewing the show mostly for Korra's emotional journey. Like he is not only redeemed but "gets the girl" (Zhu Li) at the end eventhough he didn't actually do any meaningful transformation that warrants that level of reward WTH. PS: Been loving this series of videos. You are great!

[@amberlyveil8856]

Think how much better this season would be if Raava was tied to compassion rather than "good", and Vaatu to outrage rather than "evil"... Both are useful, both seem like opposites, neither can exist without the other, and both can be deadly in their extremes

[@ShirtlessIan]

I think they were referred to as order and chaos

[@Fafnd]

Agreed but that would require Vaatu to be nuanced instead of a moustache twirling villian.

[@scrustle]

Out of all the big shifts in the world that they drop between seasons, the one at the end of this one was the worst. It should have been a huge change to how humanity existed, but all it seemed to amount to was that there are some new Airbenders in Book 3 and 4.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

And some spirits floating about

[@DasMudPie]

And it wasn't clear why it needed to be done either

[@rileykim6068]

@@DasMudPie Yeah, I mean, they don't really acknowledge it, but they accidentally wrote the spirits as an invasive species. I mean, they're explicitly from another universe, and whenever they arrive in the avatar-verse their mere presence causes the planet to terraform around them. It's weird that we're supposed to like them.

[@DasMudPie]

​@@rileykim6068 I guess we're supposed to like (or rather fearfully respect) them because they're divine beings with supernatural powers? Except for some vague notion of spiritual enlightenment (whatever that means), the show doesn't provide a good reason in favor of allowing the spirits to roam freely in the material world by keeping the portals open (... unless you're a warmonger who'd love to get their hands on some sweet sweet spirit vines based WMD)

[@rileykim6068]

@@DasMudPie Yeah, the first series did it better with their nature being vague and mysterious, not that I really personally liked that, but it worked better than giving a hard explanation. When they're magic beings that are just part of how the world works, it's easier to accept their presence than aliens that literally warp the planet around them, while not even being willing to help the natives stop a fascist.

[@uncurled520]

Your series has me going back to this series and really opened my eyes to how often the creators wind up failing at their criticism of the ideologies they pretend they are against. The show could have used Amon's death as a metaphor for how socialism has been systematically targeted and undermined by outside forces like Tarrlok or Varrick's escape from consequences as a metaphor for capitalism's enabling of the rich. Instead Amon's death is shown as Tarrlok's moment of redemption/shows socialism and fascism as equally incompatible to a just society. Varrick is redeemed as the non-threatening capitalist whose escape from justice is totally fine because otherwise he couldn't later save the day. Hell even the criticism of Varrick's chauvinistic treatment of his much more competent assistant Zhu Li is undercut when that shitty treatment produces results Like it really seems the show unintentionally winds up reproducing the ideologies they are calling out. Probably the worst example is the way they tend to justify Korra's opinions as almost always right. They seem to confuse making her opinions understandable with making them moral. I totally understand how the daughter of the Southern Water chief who is cousin to Northern Water tribe nobility and who was raised in isolation around benders who taught her she was the most special of all benders who then finds out she was deprived of a kind of birthright spiritual knowledge would behave how she does over the series. But like, that doesn't mean her support for the unjust hierarchies she is used to is good. Sure Korra eventually becomes better over the course of the series, but it feels like that stems less from the creators directly challenging her beliefs as much as it just kinda incidentally happens. It definitely doesn't help that her eventual gf is a capitalist who inherited her wealth or her two best friends both become cops.

[@lonemotheo1964]

Does she though....... She's still the same person she was in the beginning

[@Xteenrebel]

See, it was never the uneven character development, awkward moments, ridiculous giant robots, or Korra's personality that bothered me about Korra's series. It was this shit.

[@callmeswivelhips8229]

You sound like you don't know what you're talking about

[@Xteenrebel]

@@callmeswivelhips8229 Why's that?

[@callmeswivelhips8229]

@@Xteenrebel Because your statement is so unbalanced. There's a tendency in this fandom to put ATLA on a pedestal and drag LoK in the dirt. And it's a problem because I personally find it really unhealthy. To me it's a red flag. I think the fact that LoK isn't as well polished or well focused/directed as ATLA triggers people because it instinctively makes them realize that ATLA isn't nearly as good as they believe it to be. There I said it; I commit sacrosanct. So sue me. LoK reveals what's bad about ATLA while ATLA reveals whats good about LoK. Together, they make the world more complete and whole. And push the depth of our understand of the creators. To completely reject LoK out of hand weakens this amazing world we all love so much. It's a bad idea to be so unbalanced about it.

[@Xteenrebel]

@@callmeswivelhips8229 That's a lot of words responding to a lot of things I never said.

[@callmeswivelhips8229]

@@Xteenrebel You sound upset. Your criticism of LoK is a part of a larger movement against the show like I already stated. I responded to you. But I also responded to the movement you are clearly participating in and evidently approve of.

[@crazykid5021]

10:01 christianity was also forced on the indigenous peoples of Siberia during their colonisation by the Russian tsardom and sebsequently Russian empire. So really you could have just drawn a circle around the entire worldmap.

[@moononthewindynight27]

1. People in Syberia are literally Russians. The Kozak people (not sure if I spelled it right when it comes to English) are those who are not Slavic, but an ancient enemy tribe even tho we're all white, and they don't live in Syberia. 2. Christianity was also forced onto Slavic people, which Russians are a part of. Our true religion is called "Rodnoverje" but was abandoned because of threat of the outsiders who would've killed everyone if we didn't accept Jesus. (There are still many pagan customs disguised as christian in our culture) 3. "Tsardom" literally means Empire, learn before you speak- it's not even that hard. >.>

[@crazykid5021]

@@moononthewindynight27 1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Siberia Many cossacks are actually slavic. They conquered Siberia for the Russian state. "Siberia was not uninhabited when Ermak and his men crossed the Urals. By the end of the seventeenth century, some 100,000 Russians and other 'foreigners' had settled in Siberia but just over twice that number of indigenous peoples already lived in these lands. It has been calculated there are over 500 different tribal groups in Siberia, who between them speak some 120 languages." (Janet M. Hartley, Siberia: A History of the People, 2014, p. 19.) 2. I never denied that. 3. It's just a word for a specific monarchical state. The word Tsar indeed derives from Caesar, which is usually translated to mean emperor. This isn't relevant to what I was saying.

[@mariebourgot4949]

@@crazykid5021 " Caesar, which is usually translated to mean emperor". Don't think it translate to "mean" in any way. Don't know where you got that from.

[@CyborusYT]

@@mariebourgot4949 I think they meant "usually translated to mean 'emperor'." not "usually translated to 'mean emperor'."

[@door.5976]

But you see, Varrick was a fan (and writer, I assume) favourite character. They couldn't just hold him accountable! You never kill your darlings, especially if your darlings are going to be comic relief characters for the next season!

[@shellersle128]

Ok but nepotism-bending is an ancient and sacred art form

[@danielhuang8419]

Wait, if Korra killed Vaatu but "balance" has to remain, doesn't that mean that Vaatu would emerge through Raava in the Avatar again?

[@DasMudPie]

And when that happens, the Avatar can truly claim to be the manifestation of balance in the world :p

[@varunbhat2077]

Yes.

[@nathandrake5544]

I know that a lot of fans hate how bending became more generic and seemingly easier in Korra, but it's actually quite logical world building. Similar to the development of martial arts in the real world bending advanced following globalization, which in Avatar happens due to the defeat of the fire nation and the founding of republic city. You can see the beginnings of this in ATLA when Iroh explains to Zuko how understanding water bending can help him learn to deflect lightning. Pro-bending and combat sports IRL further forced fighters to refine their techniques to be as efficient as possible.

[@princeugbenin8600]

But we are talking about the politics rather than the cool bending. Lol it is Shonen for American kids.

[@callmeswivelhips8229]

I absolutely agree here. Martial Arts in today's world has proved without a doubt that bending with its spiritual connection simply does not train a person to fight very well. The existence of pseudo-disciplines is emblematic of that. Those in Martial Arts that never spar cannot fight competently. End of story. And the political development of how Martial Arts have changed as they evolve with modern culture is really quite interesting.

[@Dragonwing16]

@@callmeswivelhips8229 i feel like so many people missed that in LOK

[@xCorvus7x]

Does the development of these colonies actually resemble globalisation, though? That world as a whole is pretty small and has history long before the Fire Lord Sozin set out to conquer it. One of the most prominent parts of that world and its history, the Avatar, is already a bridge between the nations arguably facilitating cultural exchange to some degree (and doing so for millennia). The Water tribes are already a people spanning the whole world, having settled at the poles and numerous places in-between. What really changed after Ozai's defeat that would suddenly produce such novelties? The graphic novels explore how the colonies are a melting pot that leads to new combinations of one nation's talents with another's, as if suddenly there were new incentives to live together and co-exist that hadn't been there before. Not all settlements actually persist over time; do such post-colonial institutions not need some outside support to flourish and develop as the Legend of Korra tells us they did? What if it's not a mere question of your blood which element you may bend but the land around you factored into it? The assumption that this collaboration simply sparked industrial developments not too different from ours defies the nature of that world as it ignores the spiritual side of everything. Bending an element is not just a tool but a way of life. Why did Sozin choose to conquer the world in the first place? Why was it the Fire Nation who attacked and why hadn't that happened before? (If it _had_ happened before, then there must have been strong conservative influences preventing the liberalisation that we're confronted with in the Legend of Korra.) It's as if that world was much younger than the authors continue to insist that it is. Really, the Legend of Korra is not a sequel to the Legend of Aang but a new story borrowing much from the world where the latter is set. This new story apparently was supposed to cover/express the authors' political ideas more extensively than the Legend of Aang, perhaps in an attempt by the authors to flesh out that world; therefore they needed a present state of the world that suited their own ideological position, so they made the world they had created before fit to that.

[@phillippatrick1295]

Villains who self identify as evil or dark are the lowest form of character writing

[@AbMaSync]

I'm not sure if this is the reason, but I think it has to do with their worldbuilding proccess. I seem to give more weight to the philosophy the villain is following (wether they understand it or not) that the character itself. This leads to simplifying the villain's character in order to fit the philosophy, rather than building on it. That is how we get lines like "We are not so diferents, you and I", "I WILL DESTROY YOOOOUUUUUU!", "I will become the dark [hero's title or equal]" or "[quote the writer thinks sounds cool but doesn't understands the context or meaning of]"

[@amerrackhunter3913]

I once wrote a character who was a mildly insane warlord; and he openly called himself evil and insane, acting it out in public. But as time went on, you see that he's been acting that way simply to keep the worse people away from attacking his territory. But now, he's stuck playing that character, and he knows there's no way out.

[@pontiffgoblin3200]

You're crazy. Heinze doofenshmirtz had great writing.

[@sandropazdg8106]

@@pontiffgoblin3200 It works in comedy because it is absurd.

[@DullEyes100]

or you can also be like blackbeard. a moral nihilist who seeks to change the world to suit that ideology with him on top. difference here is that while these ends that are materially evil, they also make sense as an ultimate goal for someone to have. it isn't just evil for evil's sake

[@ItsHaldun]

These are incredibly articulate breakdowns of both Korra's and real world ideologies. HOW AM I ONLY NOW DISCOVERING YOUR CHANNEL?!

[@davidsantos1299]

While I totally agree with your overall argument, I actually believe bending has become weaker in Legend of Korra. Nearly all bending we see otheris similar to what they do in probending, small jabs of water fire or earth. Not at all creative or impressive. When Azula struck Aang with lightning he died. Here if you get hit by lightning you just get stunned. Remember the finale of The Last Airbender or even when the gang forces their way into the earth kingdom palace. None of the characters here could do what Toph does in that scene. Even a fight between Lin and Suyin, Toph's daughters, consists of them throwing things at each other.

[@davidsantos1299]

Incidentally, in Book 3 the red lotus is probably the closest thing we get to the way bending was portrayed in the original series.

[@user_.b]

Bending knowledge is limited but shared more freely, or at least, thats how I understand it

[@martingammill-beck5846]

In the pro bending there is a rule that you cant use too much of any element. I can't remember what episode it was but the announcer alludes to it.

[@Bluecho4]

I would argue that "stronger" or "weaker" aren't good words to describe what's happening. It's a matter of skill and training, not any strength of bending, that has changed. More ancient, proprietary bending knowledge (such as lightning bending) has been spread to the masses. Meanwhile, the spread of knowledge and the increasing complexity of society has allowed bending to become more specialized, based on particular fields or disciplines. Pro-benders aren't automatically inferior at bending, they're just really good at the narrow, focused application of bending (that being what it useful for the sport). Whereas the job of creating lightning all day to support the municipal power grid will naturally attract those fire benders who have (or can develop) the skill needed to create lightning. In a complex society and economy, the concentrated number of benders naturally facilitates/encourages a variety of applications for the basic power of bending. Rather than bending being highly traditional, local, generalized, and proprietary.

[@lucafilo6317]

@@Bluecho4 Could that also be an allusion to consumerism? Like how in the early 20th century the arts got split into "popular" art and "elite" art, but the latter was mostly the quality stuff that was being made for centuries beforehand. Bending is martial arts, after all, but it's barely treated as such in TLoK, in comparison to ATLA.

[@thebaccathatchews]

On the down side, my enjoyment of Korra is lessened. Damn you, Capitalism! On the plus side, Skittles has an amazing speaking voice.

[@adeptdamage3669]

It was never any good to begin with. Even without comparing it to the original.

[@crazydragy4233]

Literally, I didn't even finish watching the show Because it kept getting more ridiculous with it's writting

[@RoyalFusilier]

It's easy for people to brush off season 1 somehow, "oh, it's not a communist allegory", but when you compared Amon with Varric, what they do, and how they're treated, holy fucking shit. Mind blown. It's a perspective the me of years back who watched the show simply never thought to put together.

[@brandonweatherstone2380]

This series of videos provides such a good explanation of why so many of the ideological undertones snuck into the Legend of Korra either don't make sense, or lead to utterly horrifying conclusions. I was stunned when I first watched the episode where Korra asks Zuko's grandson to literally recreate the Gulf of Tonkin incident in order to give her an excuse to fight Unalaq. It's such a shame too, because I think Korra, with her bold, confrontational personality, could have so easily been made into an anti-authoritarian figure in the Avatar mythos. While Aang helped take down a brutal empire, his personal philosophy of balance and 'peace', in a more generic sense of the word, makes him in my eyes closer to someone like Gandhi; kind, virtuous, and willing to confront the most overt forms of oppression, but still unable to challenge the basic social structure of the world. Korra could have been different. She could have been a revolutionary, a true champion of freedom and equality, questioning the underlying foundations of society and encouraging others to do so as well. Instead, she becomes a defender of 'order' and 'stability', or, more accurately, the status quo. Oh well, not much can be done about it now. Can't wait for your analysis of season 3 and Zaheer, a 'villain' I found so appealing that I actually wanted him to beat our 'hero'.

[@pontiffgoblin3200]

I didnt watch that far, so Idk the context in the show. What do you mean by she tries getting his grandson to recreate the gulf of Tonkin incident?

[@IshtarNike]

I immediately began to dislike her when she poured scorn on the equalists. Like I've seen this Karen shit before and I don't like it. "You're oppressing yourselves!" Fuck that shit.

[@seileen1234]

Totally agree

[@User-jp1sj]

The sad thing is that the other two female Avatars before Korra canonically hated injustice and fought against it. Aang and Roku fought against imperialism. She's the first one of the cycle to protect threats from the status quo in decades of this universes time

[@oremfrien]

@@pontiffgoblin3200 See 5:31 in this video-essay. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was an intentional act by the US Navy to interact with the North Vietnamese Navy and force the hand of the US government to declare war on North Vietnam. The similarities of this and how Zuko's grandson is considering forcing the hand of the United Republic government to declare war on the Water Tribe are so exactly the same that it is clearly allegorical.

[@cacaubmad]

THANK YOU! I really enjoyed Legend of Korra characters, but deeply disliked how they handled the plot during the seasons. I especially disliked how they treated the equalists and how they never actually addressed the problem, how it was all turned into personal drama and trauma. Whenever I brought it up, it was often dismissed as if the writers just weren't able to handle politics that deeply, which, honestly, only made me angrier - after all, if you can't do it properly, why do it at all? Honestly, most seasons always sent me the message "revolutionary ideas are dangerous, the status quo is safe".... I apologize for my bad english, as it is not my main language, but I hope you get what I mean! Really glad to find those videos!

[@shelbyinmon8654]

Almost all the villains had a point but took it too far I think

[@multslash]

Watching the legend of korra, I come to the conclusion that avatar is the warrior of the status quo.

[@hueyfreeman6262]

​@@shelbyinmon8654 wrong

[@Lionfishification]

16:54 Your point about how if bending was shown to be weaker, it would make a bigger impact is doubly annoying because Bryke had the building blocks for this as well. Pro-bending was presented as this completely new style of bending in which smaller, more optimized movements were preferred. If Mako and Bolin were then shown in a fight as being unable to break free of this training, or even unable to be a stronger bender, then it would show that this is how the best benders in the world are "weaker" than the ones of previous generations. Even the metalbending cops seem to rely heavily on using only their thin wires for attacks and no other skills or techniques. Bending isn't useful in Korra's world, it's main use is for entertainment or intimidation. But no, when Bryke planned out fight scenes, everything needed to be bigger and more complex than in AtLA just because.

[@kelldragon9528]

LOK views balance the same way the Jedi Order in the prequels view balance: anything to maintain the status quo, but nothing to change problems in the status quo.

[@Princess_Weekes]

Thank you for bringing up the colony stuff, it has upset me ever since it happened!

[@hannabelphaege3774]

Varick is such a scumbag but Korra is also constantly starting international incidents and handing out death threats. I hope that's the topic of a future video because the things she gets away with are pretty troubling. Lore: Republic City was a Fire Nation collony that was taken very early in the war. It was at relative peace for generations and is presented as an integrated society in one of the comics. Aang and Zuko found themselves opposed for a while and when nobody could decide who the territory belonged to Aang pulled a Kyoshi and broke it off from the landmass. Then it's a few more generations before Legend of Korra starts. Granted, that's not in the show but I can accept it.

[@HeronHero]

Oof. I think Christianity has the potential for revolutionary use irl, but watching the show literally rip the original cultures apart to make fantasy Christianity the Right Way is sort of horrifying. Like you said, it's unintentionally reliving colonialism again by associating non duality and bending as primitive.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Yeah I've got nothing against christianity itself but when it's applied in this specific way... not great.

[@TheLostArchangel666]

Truth be told, I'm not fond of the Abrahamic faiths myself. There's some good parts, sure - Jesus himself is an admirable character for the most part, for example. But the "Father", God, is in my eyes a petty tyrant at best. Demanding blind obedience and worship and threatening with eternal torture if you refuse to yield is just... Yeah.

[@nickname4943]

It’s not even Christianity! A really Christian story would be about a protagonist that is flawed/a sinner who manages to become better trough reason/God. Not to mention that Vaatu/Satan and Ravaa/God are depicted as fundamentally the same thing with opposing intentions. That’s Zoroastrianism, not Christianity

[@RestingJudge]

@Cian Abroad I'm late as all hell, but even Catholic philosophers of the late 19th century became uncomfortable with how capitalism exploits faith & people. Distributism became the ideal socioeconomic system for them, & even Popes (some now saints) started to declare that owners owed their laborers and had a Christian duty to provide livable wages, better working conditions, etc. Too often in the United States we polarize complex beliefs in politics, religion, & economics onto a dualistic two party system where one has to be good & the other evil.

[@parchedbowser]

@@KayAndSkittles as a Christian™ I understand the point you have. In history christianity was used as a tool for colonanisation, which was wrong. I like how you talk about how ALTA is much closer to the ideas of Taoism and Buddhism (which I have very little understanding of), with the good in the evil and the evil in the good, when you talk about how LoK changes it to a more christian version and presents the light as only good and the dark as only bad ignoring the original ideas of Taoism and Buddhism and then uses the changed views as balance. As a someone who believes in the christian God, I don't believe in the idea of balance of good in evil and bad in good, I believe there is a one true good and a one true evil. I understand that we as humans actually do follow this idea even if we do not believe in it.

[@DoratTheKiller]

I remember reading a blog that reviewed episodes from both ATLA and Korra and it said that the spirits (and spirit vines) now present in the human world simply made it look like the Mushroom Kingdom from Mario, instead of trying to explore new ideas about how this would alter the human world and the possible conflicts that might arise. The humans and spirits co-exist right away without problems

[@varunbhat2077]

Who said they exist peacefully right away? Have you even watched the show or read the comics? Stop spreading hate towards fantastic show.

[@teiull9388]

@@varunbhat2077 yeah while korra has issues, acting like republic city accepted spirits gracefully is just...wrong, korra is literally kicked out by republic city for allowing it to happen, and we see vines being violent agaist the city and citizens violent in regards with the vines

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

As someone who is part Native American, goes to pow wows and has close Native American family in the Flathead Tribe, I was always sickened at how the other nations colonized a place in the Earth Kingdom and it's seen as completely fine. It's also a sore spot to see all of the industrialization and destroying of nature to make machines and housing. I had thought they would be more aware of the problems this brings since they chose to represent the Inuit tribe as the Water Tribes in their show, but apparently they don't. They just did a mediocre job of representing NA in ATLA, but it's just straight up bad in LOK. The only thing they have that is truly NA is what? Warm clothes and some furs? That's how any culture would dress in a cold environment. At least in ATLA they had specifically Inuit tribe things like their weapons of the goggles that they used during the eclipse. Those goggles are Inuit snow goggles that they use when going out into the snow. It's clear how like most white Americans, they see the colonization of another region to be a good thing because that's what happened to America, but it comes at a cost for the people that originally lived there. It's just... seeing all that colonization and the destruction of nature and taking over of territory, and having it be seen as IDEAL, it makes me feel sick. It really does. I thought Americans were more aware of the dark history of how America came to be but apparently I was wrong. I wish Americans would realize that while america brought many good things like democracy and started many rights movements for people of color, women, and LGBTQ+(although they forget they played a big part in the reason there needs to be protests for these groups in the first place), the reason america exists in the first place is the genocide of an entire continent of people, 90% of Native Americans were killed in colonization. And even when the constitution was made, it said that all men are created equal, not including women, and even though they said all men are created equal, they still owned slaves and were incredibly racist. America in general had little regard for the environment, and colonizing, Christianity, and capitalism is glorified. There will be much better nations in the future, ones that aren't built on top of the bones of the people that once lives there, that isn't built off of slavery, that cares more about the environment, that isn't discriminatory. America is not perfect. America is not necessarily ideal for a perfect world. I wish people could see that. I really liked ATLA growing up as a kid but after watching LOK it almost ruined ATLA for me. I'm not really sure if I want more Avatar content in the future because of how bad they messed up here. I hope you guys found interest in reading a view on Legend of Korra from a part Salish perspective(Salish is just what the Flathead tribe preferred to be called usually)

[@zkkitty2436]

I almost completely agree with you. Except. America and Western idealogy broadly is responsible for taking away the rights of brown and black people, or queer folk, of women. These were things that directly resulted from colonization and enforcing colonizer values on the rest of the world. The west now postures as morally superior when colonizers literally wiped out culture and even records of diversity in the rest of the world. America is a hostile and oppressive state by design, not by accident. The "founders" goal was to build a country in which they could be the rich white men at the top instead of British aristocracy. No more, no less.

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

@zkkitty2436 Oh, you misunderstand me. I agree with you that the US isn't actually morally superior. Although, I wouldn't say of women. Women were plenty discriminated everywhere and as bad as it is in the US it's much worse in other places. What I meant in my comment wasn't that US was GOOD at rights, but it did bring democracy so people could actually protest all of the bad things, (a lot of which the US created), so we could make it better for these groups that are discriminated against. But I still stand by what I said that there will be much better civilizations in the future. The "All men are created equal" was really for white, cis gender, straight, wealthy, christian men. It is extremely oppressive. I am disappointed that I have to live in this time period and not 200 years in the future

[@DreamersOfReality]

@@mittenvonscrufflears7233 What democracy? I'm being completely honest, here. We only have the ability to elect candidates that were handpicked to represent the ruling class, and even then, the electoral college ensures another barrier between power and the people. Which it was LITERALLY designed to do. We the people have no power over our nation. None that matters. Especially in the workplace, where we exist in dictatorships. How can a nation be said to be democratic, when we spend most of our lives in thrall to someone else? I don't believe that the U.S brought democracy. It merely brought the illusion of it.

[@seanhartnett79]

Yes that is a true perspective. I come from a people who were colonized by the British, Ireland.

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

@seanhartnett79 I'm sorry, man. Are Scottish people discriminated there, too?

[@DNS9859]

I can't wait for Zaheer but what they did to P'Li I can never forgive.

[@anouar4664]

It had to be done so that zaheer could fly

[@bestgameplay831]

Zaheer had to learn how to let go from his earthly bounds

[@transcendkira]

@@bestgameplay831 And yet he was still obsessed with the avatar and her material effect on the world? He never truly let go of earthly bounds just because his lover died, that philosophy never truly played out.

[@bestgameplay831]

@@transcendkira it's not the same he had to let his love go just like aang to master the avatar state

[@jasonskeans3327]

She deserved it

[@kdandsheela]

The christianization of the spirit world lore was ultimately what made me frustratedly stop watching before season 2 even ended. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the stark contrast between Korra and its predecessor in how they delt with the motivations of the spirits. I'm just overall super tired of media making the bad guys manifestations of evil. It's the subversion of that troupe within Avator and other Asian/influenced media that keeps me interested. Another example I can think off the top of my head is the Miyazaki movie Naussica of the Wind. The forests are toxic to humans, the strange bug creatures destroy infrastructure and kill people. And yet, by the end of the movie you learn that they aren't evil, they're not doing these things because they inherently hate and want to destroy humanity, they do it out of their own interests. Anyways, I was super disappointed how dumbed down Korra was to the original and I kinda want my money back, even though I didn't spend any. Nickelodeon should basically pay me for the time wasted.

[@lowrider276]

I mean, the original series definitely had better and more nuanced writing, however Avatar very much played into the 'Evil Bad Guy' as well. That's literally what the fire lord was. In fairness, the entire fire nation was framed that way but I think it's too gracious to say that the original didn't play into that trope as well, it just did it better

[@rinrinsparkles1986]

@@lowrider276 I think he meant original first season of LOK

[@hueyfreeman6262]

​@@lowrider276 no he's talking about the spiritual stuff

[@xCorvus7x]

​@@lowrider276 I think the Legend of Aang gets away with that because the war that the Fire Nation declared is the original deviation from the state in which that world is supposed to have been (more or less) forever. We were basically watching something happen that should have happened a hundred years earlier. The Legend of Korra really missed a mark when all that background (why did the Fire Nation attack and why then) was not explored further.

[@xavier84623]

I like the term solarpunk. Ecopunk also fits that image pretty well i think.

[@antoniobraga4354]

A good ending to the Second Seasons would be korra absorbeing vatu as well after defeating unalak really bringing balance to the avatar

[@undeadblizzard]

Honestly just watch Demon Grocery Stores' Legend of Korra Abridged. In his story Raava and Vatu are just a married couple. Vatu even admitted he was just pulling things out of his ass. Unalag even tried to warn Korra he was evil and wanted Korra to stop him. He come off a nice guy who just made some bad decisions. I feel the Legend would work better if they made it a future satire or parody. They should have hired people who understood the philosophies. Season Third should have ended with someone lecturing Zaheer what Anarchy was.

[@tjsworld98]

I also love how korra basically lets unalaq colonize the southern water tribe and is against the freedom fighters.

[@RealSavfsimonandres]

Wholly agree with you. A big problem on the way we learn history in independentized nations is that we are taught the problems of imperialism but always treat the colonizers as an out-group when in reality their ideas were the pretty much the ones that founded the countries us post-colonialists live in and continue to structure our understandings of progress, culture and civilization.

[@scottgrey3337]

A gripe I had with Book 2 right from the beginning (and I had many): spirits being "calmed" by a quick dance. LoK claimed it was going to explore the nuance of losing touch with one's spirituality and past for a more materialist world, in the process forgetting why these roots existed. The Last Airbender established spirits as sentient but nonhuman beings, strange to us but with understandable motivations. TLA also had already created a pretty nuanced system for spirits when the Panda was furious over the destruction of a forest, only becoming pacified when Aang showed that he sympathised and that the forest would recover; a clear conflict with an understandable resolution. So in the wake of what's essentially a "crisis of faith" and humanity taking a soulless, destructive path in the spirits' eyes, rather than reaching an understanding, you just have to "spirit bend". Talk about an empty message.

[@cprxtv2051]

I tried to read the first Avatar comic "The Promise", which explains the origin of the United Republics, and it hurts to read how much it apologizes colonialism. At one point Zuko even says Yu Dao was underdeveloped before the Fire Nation conquered it, which is a big yikes.

[@chulol7935]

yeppp exactly the comics were an awful step backwards

[@racionador]

but them the people who lived there, had kids theres and those kids grow up there with both fire and earth parents should be forced to leave?

[@Fafnd]

@@racionador Or the Fire nation parents can give up their citizenship in the fire nation and become Earth Nation citizens. But those with privilege at the top of an artificial hierarchy rarely give up their power.

[@LongNguyen-tn6jw]

And don't forget "The Rift" where everything comes out to clear. They want to modernizing Avatar world so badly, that there's a lift-truck just pop-up out of fvcking nowhere.

[@missmymama1140]

@@racionador no but they wouldn't be united either. For those colonies to function in 100 plus years there would be a rigid caste system in place. So you looking at pure firebenders on top then non-firebending people with fire nation ancestry then mixed firebenders, you get the idea. And without a genocide or eugenics, the colonials and the mixed would never outnumber the natives. Upon independence all those things wouldn't just be forgotten, that's not how colonialism works. A great real life parallel for the United Republic would be something like South Africa. It got its independence from Britain in 1913 or something then went on to have a caste state for 80 years

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

I love that reclaiming nature picture the fist holding vines

[@jamie_mkv]

great video. so glad i can rexamine a series i used to love as a more mature person. i couldn't remember anything about varrick but i remembered that i liked him. somehow i think that's what many people feel about capitalism.

[@tryingtobebetter7235]

Varrick is hillarious. Unlike IRL capitalism.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@tryingtobebetter7235 Trump is funny, just not in the way he or his supporters think.

[@phiwokuhleqwabe2097]

So this is going to be a series? Yay. Can't wait for your take on part 3. It was the best season but there where legitimately dumb moments like when the script tried to pretend that 'Chaos is the natural order' is somehow philosophy.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Hell yeah, next video will be on Book 3. I've got THINGS TO SAY

[@FF-ch9nr]

Really disappointed with how they handled Varrick too. I liked him but they let him off so mind bogglingly easy despite his attempted atrocities just because he’s a charismatic tony stark type guy. This could’ve been easily fixed imo by making redemption arc for him. Maybe after escaping prison, in book 3 instead of immediately getting accepted into Zaofu, he goes through a low point wandering around the earth kingdom seeing people who aren’t well off or who were disenfranchised by elites or the power vacuum caused by Zaheer, and him helping people along the way while building a better conscience, eventually ending up working his way back to the top of R&D with Kuvira with hopes of helping the people of Ba Sing Se & greater earth kingdom. That way his development to someone who cares less about profiting from creating the vine spirit battery in book 4 feels a lot less sudden and more natural. It would at least give him something to do in book 3.

[@tristanneal9552]

I think this may have read too much into lightning bending. First of all, it’s natural for rare techniques to become common over time, especially when the oppressive systems that are keeping those techniques from the public fall, like at the end of ATLA. Second, we don’t actually know it’s that common, as each of the situations we see it in naturally select for those few talented benders. Pro-sports professionals and mafia leaders are naturally going to be more powerful benders, because their power is how they got to their position. And when when we see those factory workers, it’s more logical to conclude that the factories seek out talented lightning benders rather than concluding that every firebender in the city can lightning bend. And third, neither Ozai nor Azula were particularly connected to nature. Remember, these are the two who suggested burning an entire nation to the ground and who have been responsible for throwing the world out of balance. Instead, the power of lightning bending was shown to have more to do with clarity of mind.

[@aresking9207]

these videos are seriously just amazing. when i think “video essay”, this is like the god tier level of what i imagine. if i was a debate teacher, this would be in the above and beyond category. i realize that was just several sentences of singing praises but it’s because THESE ARE SO GOOD, DUDE

[@jakuth99]

I honestly think that the westernization of the mythos makes sense, even if it weakens the season, because the environment is becoming westernized. Like, even Season 4 has a monarch step down and abolish their kingdom. However, I think it could’ve been done better if it was seen as a chronological change from ATLA’s time period as opposed to a retcon where the beginning of the Avatar mythos is westernized in its morality.

[@KayAndSkittles]

I think you're right but I'd also criticise their inability to imagine development without the cultural domination of the west, it might make sense but I just think it's indicative of a mindset about what progress looks like.

[@2Fiddle4U]

@@KayAndSkittles If anything, you might add that what we take as "making sense" or "realistic" comes from those mindsets. Like the notion of Capitalist Realism, such a sense could only be taken as a given in a society suffused in capitalist logic, whereas any other form of society would assume anything but

[@KayAndSkittles]

Precisely!

[@hueyfreeman6262]

It doesn't make sense at all

[@tjmproductions6358]

My theory for why everybody could lightning bend is that the general populace had better access to education. In our world, teachers of music and other arts moved to cities and started universities during the industrial revolution. The same could be said for bending in this world.

[@allynracki6932]

You know, if they really wanted to have bending generate electricity they should've gone with waterbending/hydropower instead of lightningbending. It wouldn't take any special skill like lightningbending does, so pretty much any waterbender could do it and Republic City is right next to a bunch of water anyways. I guess they were just more concerned with making it *look* cool rather than making it make any sense at all.

[@DasMudPie]

I've always wondered why Ba Sing Se switched to electric monorail instead of keeping the old earthbending powered one (and also where their electricity even came from)

[@josheydubs]

Theoretically, an Earthbender skilled enough who could Lavabend could be able to work with geothermal heat from volcanoes as a niche skill.

[@gauthamprak]

This series you made is absolutely brilliant. The series does not understand communism, anarchism, colonization, industrialization, fascism, etc. But when you look through it with X-ray vision, the contours of something "else" gradually becomes clear- the architecture of Liberalism. This show defines the political ideology/mythology of Liberalism (the invisible ideology). This is how they see the world. It reveals itself like a photo negative.

[@timothymclean]

12:35: Reminds me of Star Wars. The Force, Force-users, etc, draw many aesthetic and rhetorical elements from Daoism and other Eastern philosophies, but the Light Side is good and the Dark Side evil. Fan theories aside, "bringing balance to the force" is intended to mean "stopping the Sith". Would be nice if LoK didn't stoop to the level of a pop culture giant often criticized/mocked for how little sense its metaphysics make (even before midichlorians), especially given the subtle yet interesting way its predecessor handled things. Ah well.

[@ctdaniels7049]

My favorite sassy joke of Star Wars is "Well, Anakin brought balance to the force. There was a handful of Sith and a ton of Jedi. Now there's only a handful of Jedi."

[@jjju3]

I haven't watched korra in a very very long time so when you brought verrek up I immediately went "oh I love him!" And as you started talking about the shit he did I immediately had to pause like "wait,,,, why do I love him?" And the answer was that they took a capitalist and a terrorist and made him a lovable comedic relief dumbass, he even gets a girl at the end! He helps korra after the second arc and you _route_ for him. Which is kinda. Weird . Idk

[@DiThi]

Awesome. We should make leftist anime.

[@HxH2011DRA]

Check Out Shonen Ronin

[@Kanelel]

Check out Code Geass.

[@nathandrake5544]

There's more leftist anime out there than you would think. Hell Hayao Miyazaki is an outspoken leftist in his country and has a character almost quote Das Kapital verbatim in The Wind Rises.

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@nathandrake5544 this

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@Kanelel How the hell is CG leftist?

[@tristanneal9552]

There are plenty of descriptions of good vs evil gods in almost every Eastern mythology. I’ll agree that they’re not consistent with ATLA’s previous approach to this, but I don’t think introducing good vs evil is a “westernization” when eastern religions we’re doing it long before. Also, Unalaaq’s goals are given credence by the rise of dark spirits, seen throughout the entire first half of the season. This is of course undercut by the introduction of Vaatu, but his environmentalist slant was original justified by “we haven’t honored the spirits and now they’re striking back”

[@inciaradible7144]

Did anyone else also hate how the spirit world is totally different in LoK than in AtLA? I know that's not the most important point here, but it really bugged me at how they felt the need to change all of it for the sole reason of pushing Kite Jesus onto us.

[@elysainempire4628]

The colonial Republic was explained in the comics. The fire nation and earth kingdoms almost went back to war over the oldest colonies. In the oldest colonies, earth and fire benders get along and were able to inavent many methods of forging and farming. Plus there was the issue of the children from earth and fire benders and where would they go. This is why Zuko almost went to war with the earth kingdom took keep it on not dismantle it. Anng and team avatar was able to help bring Zuko and the earth king to the negotiation table. Which Zuko takes the on a tour across the colony. Which lead to the agreement of the republic colonies and republic city.

[@PonkChonk]

Also, their views on ying-yang and Asian philsophy of duality in a form of western christianity's stiff good vs evil pov is very misleading and cringy.

[@EzioHanitore]

i just finished watching the show yesterday and i really liked it. I connected with it pretty hard, but it really was kind of frustrating that they were SO close to really diving in to interesting ideas like benders being oppressive but at the last minute they continue to uphold the status quo. Honestly i think one change that could have made the whole show better would be if they didnt have Aang be the one who built Republic City. That way Korra is less invested in upholding it and can actually examine its flaws

[@TheLostArchangel666]

We need a leftist to rewrite the Legend of Korra in fanfiction form.

[@TheLostArchangel666]

@Theo Lionheart why not?

[@ded4lyfe1]

@Theo Lionheart yes

[@DasMudPie]

Ba Sing Se based socialist revolution ftw!

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

I'm on it

[@TheLostArchangel666]

@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 Make sure to send a link once you've posted it?

[@hexx2211]

It's actually hard to believe that the boys who wrote Korra wrote The Last Airbender. They seem so disconnected in terms of worldbuilding, characters, and themes.

[@a.h.7734]

@Sam R Why is The Dragon Prince disconnected?

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

So, to sum this up. Legend Of Korra leans center right in it's politics and it's a show that anti-SJW's should get a lot out of if they were able to look past the use of feminism as a smokescreen

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

This is a series? I am so happy to see more of your content^^

[@thatboringone7851]

I was never able to put into words why I felt that The Legend of Korra was different in a very disappointing and underwhelming way. This explains some of it for me. The original series had narrative cohesion - themes that worked with each other well and didn't contradict (at least, not often), something that TLOK consistently lacked.

[@josheydubs]

The issue is you think the stpry in the legend of korra is supposed to be a heros journey like Aang. Their shows are thematically different. Aang's story was about a human learning to be the Avatar in a world that needed him. Korra's story was about the Avatar learning to be human in a world that didn't think they needed her or want her. Korra's journey had nothing to do with hed enemies and defeating them, but about Korra's journey of self-discovery and forging her own path and identity. Each Antagonist took something from Korra integral to her identity as the Avatar. Amon took her bending. Unalaq, her past lives. When Zaheer was done with Korra she was bound to a wheelchair and couldn't access the Avatar State. Aang's story was just, defeat the Fire Lord. Korra's was so different.

[@thatboringone7851]

@@josheydubs What? No, I can pretty safely say that wasn't my problem with the show. I think the angle of the avatar learning to be just a regular person is interesting, not that you bothered to ask first.

[@shellersle128]

Joshey Dubs So many people say that Korra’s story was about a world who didn’t need an Avatar but like.... that’s not true? They consistently needed the Avatar to defeat the big bad guy except for Zaheer. Bryke just had not idea what they were talking about so they reverted to trauma and PTSD to make Korra sympathetic. The awful political implications of the show are deconstructed in this series, so please stop with the “She’s just different from Aang.”

[@kongspeaks4778]

Holy shit I just remembered. In ATLA, the air nomads - the most spiritual nation - are described as having the highest % of benders in the population, while the Earth Kingdom - the most materialistic - has the least. The message is clear: bending requires spirituality, not just cool edgy body movements. Why the fuck did they brush this aside in LOK??

[@ThreeNinjaDucks]

I'm so glad I found ur channel hope u blow up soon my presents tends to have that effect on some youtubers

[@Crlarl]

"Please, please, kids. Stop fighting. Maybe Varrick's right about Republic City being a land of opportunity, and maybe Kay has a point about the machinery of capitalism being oiled with the blood of the workers."

[@nathandrake5544]

8:10 Tbf this is all addressed in the comics. I haven't read them though, so I don't know how well it's handled.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Specifically chose not to read the comics before making this series because I want to look at what the show itself is saying without any retcons they might make later. Might do a video in the future (after a break from Korra after book 4) about the comics.

[@wisdommanari6701]

All information should be conveyed in the primary medium.

[@alexsere3061]

16:30 holy fuck this is true. I told my friend that the story of book one would be 10 times better on many levels if korra lost her bending for at least 1 episode. He told me "what´s the point of that? I am watching avatar, why would i want less bending?"

[@trappedontheinternet]

Man and this isn't even mentioning how the Airbenders spirituality and culture in LOK took on distinctly Western European elements under Tenzin which diverge from its original influences from Buddhist monks as seen in ATLA. Depictions of the spirit world in LOK versus in ATLA would be interesting to compare too, but these I don't remember much.

[@1BlueYoshi]

2 things: 1) Varrick is definitely a scumbag, but to give him the tiniest bit of the benefit of the doubt, I don't think he wanted to start the North/South war JUST to make a profit. He is a Southern Water Tribe himself and probably genuinely wanted to get Republic City's help to the South in the conflict. Of course the ways he decided to do it were dumb and he definitely didn't NOT want to make a profit in the process, but still. 2) The part where you mentioned imagining a world where industrialization took place and humanity got the benefits without ruining nature are part of why I like the world of the Pokemon games so much. It's a modern, industrialized fantasy world where people live completely in harmony with nature. This was especially seen in the generation 3 games, where every city specifically had names that were half a natural phenomenon and half city-related, and some of the cities were seemlessly integrated into their natural environments (ex. a city entirely made of treehouses or floating on logs on top of a coral reef).

[@AnimeFTW10]

You're the first person I've seen ascribe colonialism and environmentalism to Book 2/Unalaq. Usually, it's fundamentalism and theocracy that people say Unalaq represents. You never brought either of those up. Do you not think Unalaq falls under those categories?

[@KayAndSkittles]

I'm not going to tell anyone their reading is right or wrong and I can see how Unalaq invites those sorts of comparisons, spirituality is such a core tenant of his character and of Book 2. I just don't think Book 2 really says anything of substance about religion itself, but rather the way it contextualises religion is where a lot of the meat is (that's where the religious colonisation comes in) so I didn't find religious fundamentalism and theocracy to be particularly informative lenses to read this season with, especially with the spirits and nature itself being so (obviously, in my opinion) intertwined. However someone else could very well make a really compelling analysis of Book 2 discussing theocracy, there's no law against it!

[@charlespaape2258]

The on spark of higher level bending. I think goes a lot with two things. Power creep that occurs. In stories. But it can also just be education. A lot of techniques could of been considered more complicated or rare not because they were but because the knowledge of them was kept so close to others. Also we see throughout Avatar the last Airbender. That educating yourself of the other elemental techniques can make your bending stronger. Even Katarra uses earth bender styles when fighting Hama when she stops the water head on. So it's also possible benders being around one another allowed for huge cultural fusion that resorted in better bending.

[@PirateQueen1720]

Man, there are such missed opportunities in this story - and this part could have worked so much better if they had stuck with the STANDARD fantasy trope that magical things are lost as the world becomes more "modern". Then re-establishing relationship with spirits/nature would actually DO something.

[@DasMudPie]

... or having spirits being more and more violent towards humanity as the exploitation of nature becomes more and more excessive, since they had already "modernized" bending at this point :/

[@twen2times]

I thought season 1 and 2 we're pretty similar when I watched but I was so glued to the action on screen that I didn't really pay attention to the message in it all. These videos are awesome Kay.

[@Horesmi]

A friendly reminder that Zuko created the Republic City at gunpoint in order to serve the trade interests of the fire nation.

[@DasMudPie]

And by the end of the series, after the likely dissolution of the Earth continent as an united political entity, the Fire Nation pretty much became the sole superpower of the Avatar world with the help of the URN, its satellite state in all but name So... balance, anyone?

[@Kanelel]

I wasn't expecting this video to touch on so much, good job! Now I'm lowkey wondering if there are any fix-fics out there that address this stuff.

[@KayAndSkittles]

Now that's an idea!

[@nocktukdaze8256]

The only good fix-it fic I found was "The Saga of Avatar Korra" I mean, it fixed the characters, for me at least, and improved the politics a bit by treating the Red Lotus and Equalists as fantasy cults rather than actual real world political ideologies. The Earth Empire was a lot better given that it was built up more and based on tbe situation in the author's country (she never said which, though). So I'm sure it improved on the politics from a fantastical aspect but failed on the real world aspect, I don't know. I'm no political analyst, though

[@AsiniusNaso]

15:15 I recognize that picture! That’s art for the Fifth Sacred Thing! How cool! Very pleased with this analysis btw. This is Lindsay Ellis tier!

[@KayAndSkittles]

It is! And that's high praise, thank you!!

[@NoverMaC]

5:17 military industrial complex go brrrrrrr 8:54 I attest that the Japanese occupation and the havoc it wrought is still fresh in the memories of my friends and family 10:52 Yin and Yang presented as good and evil is such a tired trope

[@umwha]

I have something to add about varrick. His redemption regarding his treatment of zhu li is like a cardboard portrait of feminism. There is no systemic problems, just a bigheaded chauvinist individual. The way the gender relation is solved is simply the female stops being shy and asserts herself. And then add in a pinch of heterosexuality and ta-da, we did a feminism.

[@umwha]

JohnnyTheWolf wait so zhu li is what like 30 year old with opal who was 16 - 19?

[@umwha]

@JohnnyTheWolf I still dont know. Opal has no personality, so I dont see how she fits with Zhu li anymore than anyone else. Also Opal is 16 in book 3, and Zhi Li is already working for Varrick, and for long enough to be accustomed to his antics in book 2. So thats a big age gap anyway

[@_ok6342]

@JohnnyTheWolf Opal is dating Bolin though... So Idk how that really makes any sense 🤷

[@spacepirate4623]

The legend of korra isn't about restoring balance , it all about beating the hell out of bad guy . Balance in my point of view is about not having things outweigh other , for example like security and freedom , these two are the most important fundamental things that must not be disturbed or outright eliminated from .

[@MadameTamma]

I would highly recommend checking out the web comic, 'Blind springs' Which is a story about a kingdom/theocracy where only a small ruling class could use magic granted to them by spirits that they honored. They were overthrown by lower classes who created a much more scientific based magic system. The main story takes place 300 years after the the revolution and explores some of the ideas brought up here. - How do the spirits react to loosing the people that they had a symbiotic relationship with and what problems does that cause. - How do other countries that still use similar systems to the old kingdom/theocracy interact with the new secular country. - How are the descendants of the former ruling class treated because hierarchies changed but did not disappear. - Not to mention, the more you learn about both systems the more the flaws in both are revealed, with corruption and using the people prevalent in both. All of that is addressed. It starts out trying to trick you into thinking it's just a cute princess fairy tale but then gets more nuanced as time goes on.

[@LiterallyGraphic]

oh wow. I never made it past season 1 but thanks for this great video ^^

[@theeco.system730]

For native Americans and Africans, the wedge between humanity and nature was the arrival of Europeans, industrialization just made it a lot worse. Farming is not exactly natural and Europeans proximity/relationship with farming created a lot of mass diseases. Indigenous hunting, foraging, tapping, etc. was and still is the closest and healthiest relationship humans have with the natural world.

[@crackle6875]

To me it’s more akin to creating man made electricity instead of harnessing nature’s lighting. It is also possible that, like metal bending, it’s a relatively new technique. Now, I do have some qualms about lighting bending being used for welding. 1. Some forms of welding utilize electricity to power the flame but the fire flame, not the ELECTRICITY, is touching the metal. In other words, why didn’t they weld with finger flames? Also, going to trade school for welding or beginning an apprenticeship for it at the age of 15 doesn’t detract from the fact that it usually takes years to become a consistently excellent welder. 2. It doesn’t look like they are using anything to prevent oxidation, even forge welders have to prevent oxidation! There are so many wonderful ideas of how bending could be used; we’ve even seen it power trains. In ATLA Aang and Katara use water bending to saw through metal so I assume it can be used as a surgical scalpel.

[@MaxArceus]

Very on point. I wish book 2 revealed how the Avatar has both Ravaa and Vatu in them, rather than just 'good'. And they'd represent not Light and Dark, Good and Evil, but something like Order and Chaos.

[@jazzmazz9214]

Its a bit sad when your intentionally politically written series has a weaker understanding and presentation of political concepts then One Piece.

[@jazzmazz9214]

@Sam R It explores the nature of freedom, racism, war, power, nepotism, governments, revolution eugenics shit to varying levels(those are the obvious ones, with a lot of other typical shonen shit included in there as well). It does so to varying levels and extents, with some arcs being an engaging if completely lacking in subtly commentary on political idea's. It is extremely sentimental though(its a shonen anime), and I don't believe it necessarily lands on its feet for certain issues, like racism(it does a good job of showcasing it and so forth, but I'm not completely sold on the in story solution personally).

[@rulfus7]

@Sam R in one of the fan favorite arcs they literally invade the headquarters of a secret government intelligence organization called CP0 *cough* CIA*cough*, trash the entire place and burn the flag of the tyrannical world government, sooo...yeah. There's also a cover story about a side character that is modeled after Che Guevara leading a worker's revolt

[@suides4810]

Angus McAnus wich side character

[@rulfus7]

@@suides4810 onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Gaburu

[@kostajovanovic3711]

This makes me wonder how someone more informed than me would explain the shortcomings and straights if Fullmetal Alchemist

[@aturchomicz821]

This is such an amazing series to watch along side the actual show, getting a proper conclusion about what was fundamentally wrong with the season in this nicely edited and high quality format is fucking perfect!

[@rohiogerv22]

It's just kind of funny because of all of the media that has done this better. Almost every mature Final Fantasy game has the concept of Magitek: the "bad guys" got so out of touch with nature that they couldn't use magic anymore. So they resort to brutalizing it and forcing it into machines that they can wield to use magic indirectly. And really, pretty much every Hayao Miyazaki movie does the balance between nature and industry way more honestly.

[@thisisaname3283]

Plot twist: Raava and Vaatu are actually metaphors for Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu

[@mormontsraven4072]

I do not know much about political ideology, but this series has made me want to study political ideology.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

11:06 well she tries 12:31 what? No? 19:20 that doesn’t even make any sense 19:29 yes how dare we make a choice?

[@yesid17]

where has this video been all my life since korra came out lol ive found it so hard to understand what i didn't like about korra but this analysis..... wow.... thank you ....

[@gabrielgarcia7554]

I really wish they like used inspiration of Vishnu and Shiva for the Rava and Vaatu, like those guys are just seen as neutral, despite one being the preserver and one being the destroyer. They are seen as both being necessary for life to exist. But in Korra, one is “the bad one” because he has destruction or something. But like, we need things to die for other things to grow in their place. It is completely necessary. Also, to draw more from Hinduism for the origin of the spirits, would make more sense since the avatar is literally a concept from Hinduism. It would also be cool to have a parallel with Krishna and Avatar Wan instead of Jesus (no offense homie, bless up 🙏) because that would make significantly more sense haha.

[@gabrielgarcia7554]

Sorry, I meant the origin of the fusion of the spirit with the avatar. Not the origin of spirits in general.

[@grmgt]

Your commentary about the Avatar Wan's episode even aligns with Hello Future Me's take on it so yeah... They really f'd up lol

[@jaketutu]

subscribed, i always wondered why korras show never set well with me thanks for explaining it comrade!

[@allypoum]

Oh goody been looking forward to this. Not that I have the foggiest clue about anything anime-connected but it somehow doesn't seem to matter. Excellent work.

[@Xweser01]

Damn, my dude, you really know what you're doing, you've gained a subscriber.