Re: Cultural elementsskemonoApril 26 2010, 21:51:20 UTC
Episode 1: The Avatar State pt 2
The Earth Kingdom fortress also appears to have Chinese architecture. Also, it has a huge wall around it, out of which springs three walls that travel across the landscape, over the mountains, with watch posts at regular intervals, like the Great Wall of China. In the center of the city is a large pagoda. There's some strange arch behind the group when Appa lands, and later again when Sokka tries to shock Aang into the Avatar state.
General Fong and his soldiers bow to the gaang when they land. I don't know if the Earth Kingdom uniforms are based on anything, but Fong has a topknot and a hairstick. The soldiers set off faux-fireworks. They're not real fireworks like the Fire Nation has, but they use their earthbending to propel them. Inside the pagoda, Fong gets a chair, while the gaang are sitting on some platform on the floor. Aang and Sokka are in half-lotus, Katara in seiza. The pagoda has several large holes in it for windows, but no glass in any of them (or paper, or anything else).
Before Azula does her lightning, she's lowering her hands to about midsection-level while exhaling. I think that's her moving into initial stance, as in a martial arts form. Lo and Li are sitting in seiza while they're watching her.
In their first attempt to trigger the Avatar State, they're in a Chinese pavilion. The man uses chopsticks to drop... something... into Aang's chi-enhancing tea (incidentally, the teacup doesn't have a handle). The man and Katara appear to be sitting in seiza, while Aang, Fong, and Sokka are in lotus. The table is very short to accommodate them sitting like that, like a chabudai. Later, when Sokka tries shocking Aang, we again see Katara in seiza and Aang in lotus.
Azula shows up at Zuko & Iroh's place, and we get to see more of it. There are two scroll paintings, it looks like Chinese paintings. One is between the two sections Iroh and Zuko were sleeping in; the other one by the door is a painting of plants--bamboo, I think. Which is common enough to get its own Wikipedia page. There's another very short table in the room, but also a larger table and a chair (gasp!), which Azula is in. There's no door, just open doorways and curtains. The doorway looks like an Asian style to me, I think, with the top piece extending horizontally past the rest of the frame. Same with the windows.
When Iroh is going to the ship, he appears to be wearing a hotoke dou or something again.
When they're fighting Aang, some of the Earth Kingdom guys are using pole arms of some kind, but I'm not entirely sure what. Maybe they're naginata? Or guan dao? They don't quite look like either one, really....
Before the ship's captain blows everything, Azula, Iroh and Zuko bow to one another. And the soldiers who ask if the gaang still wants an escort to Omashu bow to them, as well.
Azula unveils a wanted poster for Iroh and Zuko, written in Chinese, of course. In a fascinating tidbit, the Avatar wiki tells us that the poster writes Zuko's name with the hanzi for "ancestor robber", differently from how his name is written in other places.
The Earth Kingdom fortress also appears to have Chinese architecture. Also, it has a huge wall around it, out of which springs three walls that travel across the landscape, over the mountains, with watch posts at regular intervals, like the Great Wall of China. In the center of the city is a large pagoda. There's some strange arch behind the group when Appa lands, and later again when Sokka tries to shock Aang into the Avatar state.
General Fong and his soldiers bow to the gaang when they land. I don't know if the Earth Kingdom uniforms are based on anything, but Fong has a topknot and a hairstick. The soldiers set off faux-fireworks. They're not real fireworks like the Fire Nation has, but they use their earthbending to propel them. Inside the pagoda, Fong gets a chair, while the gaang are sitting on some platform on the floor. Aang and Sokka are in half-lotus, Katara in seiza. The pagoda has several large holes in it for windows, but no glass in any of them (or paper, or anything else).
Before Azula does her lightning, she's lowering her hands to about midsection-level while exhaling. I think that's her moving into initial stance, as in a martial arts form. Lo and Li are sitting in seiza while they're watching her.
In their first attempt to trigger the Avatar State, they're in a Chinese pavilion. The man uses chopsticks to drop... something... into Aang's chi-enhancing tea (incidentally, the teacup doesn't have a handle). The man and Katara appear to be sitting in seiza, while Aang, Fong, and Sokka are in lotus. The table is very short to accommodate them sitting like that, like a chabudai. Later, when Sokka tries shocking Aang, we again see Katara in seiza and Aang in lotus.
Azula shows up at Zuko & Iroh's place, and we get to see more of it. There are two scroll paintings, it looks like Chinese paintings. One is between the two sections Iroh and Zuko were sleeping in; the other one by the door is a painting of plants--bamboo, I think. Which is common enough to get its own Wikipedia page. There's another very short table in the room, but also a larger table and a chair (gasp!), which Azula is in. There's no door, just open doorways and curtains. The doorway looks like an Asian style to me, I think, with the top piece extending horizontally past the rest of the frame. Same with the windows.
When Iroh is going to the ship, he appears to be wearing a hotoke dou or something again.
When they're fighting Aang, some of the Earth Kingdom guys are using pole arms of some kind, but I'm not entirely sure what. Maybe they're naginata? Or guan dao? They don't quite look like either one, really....
Before the ship's captain blows everything, Azula, Iroh and Zuko bow to one another. And the soldiers who ask if the gaang still wants an escort to Omashu bow to them, as well.
Azula unveils a wanted poster for Iroh and Zuko, written in Chinese, of course. In a fascinating tidbit, the Avatar wiki tells us that the poster writes Zuko's name with the hanzi for "ancestor robber", differently from how his name is written in other places.
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