Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
Editor-in-Chief
Despite being a show directed towards children, Avatar: The Last Airbender has very serious topics, one of the main ones being war. I have only seen a few episodes of the show, but so far this show has shown the many aspects of war, sieging, POWs (Prisoners of War), and the complicated sides people take.
For those who do not know, Avatar: The Last Airbender is about the Avatar, the master of all elements (fire, earth, water, and air), returning after about a hundred years of war. This war is started and dominated by the Fire Nation, who destroyed the peace and harmony between all of the element clans in exchange for power. They have taken over towns, destroyed homes, and killed people for over a hundred years. It is up to Aang, the new Avatar, to learn all of the four elements to fight the Fire Nation and restore peace all over the world. He is accompanied by Katara and Sokka, who are determined to help him save the world.
An example of their brutality is how they seize towns throughout the show, those who show resistance are destroyed or threatened to submit, and others are turned into camps for Fire Nation troops. In episode six, the Earth town Aang and his friends travel to is controlled by the Fire Nation. One of the people in the town, Haru, tells them that when the Fire Nation arrived they took all of their earthbenders and imprisoned them far away from home. They took the earthbenders to prevent rebellion in the people and have used the town’s mine for its resources.
These POWs are forced to do work for the Fire Nation. The conditions are brutal and taxing on the earthbenders, who can no longer fight for themselves due to the element they used to fight being nowhere in sight. If you can not tell already, this war is brutal. Sure, some things are censored, but those with common sense and good ears can tell that the Fire Nation is not to be messed with in any way.
This war is very well-rounded in the sense that not every character we see has the same opinion or motives for their actions. Episode ten is where we see this best presented. Aang and the others run into a group of bandits, they become friends with the bandits after they help them with a fight against a Fire Nation troop. Katara and the bandit leader, Jet, share a moment together where they bond over their dead parents. Later on, in the episode Jet fulfills his plan to flood a village that the Fire Nation plans to take over. Both Katara and Jet extremely dislike the Fire Nation and want to fight against it, the only difference between them is that Jet is willing to risk lives. This difference is what sets many characters apart, some are ready to die and risk everything while others are not. War has these variations in opinions, there is no one story or one motive.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a really good show so far, especially with its detailed aspects of war. I love the storyline and the art that accompanies it.
Image Credit: Nickelodeon Network/ Photofest
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