Aaaaavatar! I kept expecting it to get bad somewhere, because TV always disappoints me, but it was just SO GOOD the entire way through and that was really perplexing.
I wish I could help with fic! I really liked Avatar, but the only fic I've ever read for it was a very long Jet/Zuko AU thing which, while I enjoyed it, probably isn't going to scratch the itch of anyone wanting more Gaang antics or Aang/Katara. (Please do share links if you find stories you like, though!)
Re: female characters, I am just nodding at everything you're saying, about Katara's strengths and everything else. This show was a welcome reminder for me that to make a 'feminist' TV show, you don't even need to make the show overtly about feminist issues or sexism, you just need to include more than one major female character. It's such a no-brainer, and yet Avatar is still one of the only non-anime shows I can think of where the girls don't feel like tokens, which is pretty sad. (And I didn't even like all of them -- looking at you, beautiful plot device Yue -- but it almost didn't matter, because there were enough of them I did like that they made up for the difference
( ... )
I'll pass on the Jet/Zuko, but thanks. XD; Will compile links as reading warrants.
you just need to include more than one major female character.
When it comes to works aimed at kids, for sure! Both AtLA and LoK could stand to do better at Bechdel, but just by smashing the Smurfette Principle they're a big step ahead. It was exciting to have a large enough cast of girls in AtLA to have the luxury of choosing favorites.
Hahaha there's no "yet," I swear. It only occurred to me in a very abstract way--that the show had made them so familial that not even I in my depravity could go down that road. Well done, show. Disaster averted.
Speaking of prohibitive age differences, though, it only recently came to my attention that Pema is 16 years younger than Tenzin. 16! Just what did Lin try to lock her up for--truancy? Brb rolling, aaaah Tenzin I like you so much better now than ever before. XDD
Zuko and Aang's character arcs are pretty much the most satisfying in the series (and why I was so very let down by Korra -- the bar! it was set high!) and so for all that some of the finale fell victim to the overly convenient writing that completely sunk LoK (IMO) it hit all of the right notes as far as character progression and where they both ended up -- i.e. RESTORING THE BALANCE! FIXING THE PROBLEMS OF THEIR FOREBEARS! BEING RESPECTFUL OF THE SPIRITUAL BUT EMBRACING EARTHLINESS AS WELL! BUDDHISM FOR KIDS!
and then the creators fired their writers and LoK happened instead (proof that I am more resentful of a good show with a terrible second act than I am of a mediocre show with a kickass final act)
._.
In conclusion, remember that time Zuko's great grandfathers were gay? I sure do.
Man we're gonna have to agree to disagree because I continue to think LoK is a good show. The pacing and writing in AtLA is better on the whole, no question, but if I were judging LoK S1 against AtLA S1 only, that gap narrows substantially. Also, in my super objective scientific evaluation system, LoK gets double points for female protagonist, so even though it has more flaws, it breaks even on the scale of enjoyment.
RE: great-grandpas, since I'm not into hatesex I didn't pay much attention.
Hey, I'll agree the first half of LoK was an extremely good show! First four episodes were exactly what I signed on for! It's just...the second half dropped so many plot threads and themes in favor of really...poorly considered character focuses that it sort of soured me on the rest of it as a whole. I still think Korra herself is a really great and awesome female character. I just wish she'd been allowed to have development that hadn't hinged on really cheap character resolutions! I wanted her to Learn Things! I liked that she HAD to learn things! And also, I wish Mako didn't exist (which is sad because I liked him in the first few eps when he was kind of just a genderswapped Katara in attitude) -- I think it's really just a case of the creators REALLY not knowing how to pace a 13 ep series and. uh, well. falling in love with their own ships so hard they forgot to give US reasons ot love them, too
( ... )
This show is absolutely amazing! I still rewatch it from time to time. There is just SO MUCH that this show gets right, and SO MUCH that you really would not expect from a children's tv show.
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Re: female characters, I am just nodding at everything you're saying, about Katara's strengths and everything else. This show was a welcome reminder for me that to make a 'feminist' TV show, you don't even need to make the show overtly about feminist issues or sexism, you just need to include more than one major female character. It's such a no-brainer, and yet Avatar is still one of the only non-anime shows I can think of where the girls don't feel like tokens, which is pretty sad. (And I didn't even like all of them -- looking at you, beautiful plot device Yue -- but it almost didn't matter, because there were enough of them I did like that they made up for the difference ( ... )
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you just need to include more than one major female character.
When it comes to works aimed at kids, for sure! Both AtLA and LoK could stand to do better at Bechdel, but just by smashing the Smurfette Principle they're a big step ahead. It was exciting to have a large enough cast of girls in AtLA to have the luxury of choosing favorites.
Hahaha there's no "yet," I swear. It only occurred to me in a very abstract way--that the show had made them so familial that not even I in my depravity could go down that road. Well done, show. Disaster averted.
Speaking of prohibitive age differences, though, it only recently came to my attention that Pema is 16 years younger than Tenzin. 16! Just what did Lin try to lock her up for--truancy? Brb rolling, aaaah Tenzin I like you so much better now than ever before. XDD
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and then the creators fired their writers and LoK happened instead (proof that I am more resentful of a good show with a terrible second act than I am of a mediocre show with a kickass final act)
._.
In conclusion, remember that time Zuko's great grandfathers were gay? I sure do.
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RE: great-grandpas, since I'm not into hatesex I didn't pay much attention.
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