Avatar Aang is the last of his people and the savior of the world
I recently got through Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series. I didn't see the movie but after it was universally panned, I was interested in seeing the source material. I kept reading comments from all around that the show was nothing short of perfect so I had to check it out. While I'm very late to the Avatar party, I'm glad I got around to watching it without letting my presumptions ruin it for me.
See, I'm 28 and I don't have kids or cable. So Avatar was not on my radar at all. The only time I heard about the show was when I was in a doctor's office and this little kid was being rowdy and he was talking about making a bomb out of a candle (it's a long story). His mother then threatened that she wouldn't let him watch Avatar anymore if he continues saying violent things like that. So I figured it was just another one of those animated fighting martial arts shows. Not exactly a draw for someone like me.
What I discovered almost immediately after giving the show a chance is that love is central to what the show is about. It's not about all the fighting or the amount of bending power a person can have but the compassion, peace, and love that we are all able to feel and achieve if we let ourselves. The series' main character, Aang, is the most powerful being in the Avatar world because he is the only one that can harness the power of all elements. But it is Aang that is the most peaceful, most centered, and most full of love.
Spoilers to follow
What the plot boils down to, if you haven't seen the show, is that a powerful war lord that has the ability to control fire wants to take over the world and oppress all people. Aang is the Avatar, a being that has been reincarnated over many life times and the only one that can control all four elements (fire, earth, air, water) and stop the Fire Lord.
The show is called The Last Airbender because Aang comes from a group of Air Nomads that can control air. They are like Tibetan monks and their philosophies and beliefs are deeply rooted in Buddhism. Aang is a vegetarian, he is often shown meditating, and his personality is peaceful and that of someone who has looked within himself and understands his role in the universe.
What makes Aang so fascinating is that he wants to be a problem solver and not a fighter. He fights when he has to protect people or if the situation is grave but never to the point of murder. He has an awareness and understanding of life that none of the other characters on the show possess. To Aang, life is sacred, even if that life may belong to a murderous no-good Fire Lord. I guess you could call him an idealist but Aang is ruled by his love for the world and his selflessness. Even though his Avatar quest is to master the elements and restore peace, his personal quest is to seek enlightenment and he never loses sight of that.
I think these attributes make Aang a great role model for kids and one of the best characters we've seen on TV for a long time. We live in a world where brute force prevails and we're so full of suffering and pain. We say love conquers all but many of us don't have the ability or even the desire to strive for selflessness. Our love is rarely unconditional and our deeds are done with expectations. Aang is none of those things and it's great to see a character that cries, that wants to talk instead of fight, and is open to his emotions. The show does not treat those traits as weak or feminine. Usually a character like that would be the nice guy who finishes last or the wussie everyone makes fun of. But he's our hero, the one we sympathize and cheer for.
Aang wiping away tears after his emotional journey to open his air chakra
I've lost count of how many times Aang cries on the program but I hope it shows boys that it's okay to cry and be in touch with their emotions. Feeling is not an act of weakness and it shouldn't be something to squash and distance yourself from. We need to be whole and balanced people and men are no exception to that. I recognize that men have to deal with a lot of harsh expectations from society regarding what it means to be a man. In some ways, I think that what we ask of boys and young men goes inherently against what it means to be human. We are not robots but the masculinity we teach boys is what Jackson Katz calls the "tough guise". Katz observes that the construction of a male identity is paired with violence and invulnerability. We see this masculinity in every action flick, in every male conquest, and I'd say that it's the Fire Lord who possesses these same characteristics in Avatar. He uses nothing but violence to gain power and his power makes him invulnerable. His ability to cut himself completely off from his emotions and his thirst for blood and power is what ultimately makes him a sociopath.
The Fire Lord attacking Aang during the Final Battle
Our hero Aang is a lover. A lover of all living things. A lover of himself and all that he is. And also a lover in the romantic sense of the word. In my last post I talked about Twilight and how Edward was the stalker abusive boyfriend. Aang is the opposite of that. He is the good boyfriend who will love you and truly be there for you without any expectations or strings attached. He loves Katara, the girl who first found him, and he is not embarrassed or shy to be utterly romantic. Heck, I even fell for Aang. He dances, he hugs, he bares his soul, he shares himself and we, the audience, love him for it. There are no cootie jokes and no one tries to make him feel bad for being so open with his emotions and his love. I think it's about time that the nice guy finishes first and that we think the nice guy is just as bad-ass as the rogue.
The series finale did a great job at keeping Aang's character and what he symbolizes intact. In the finale, Aang is fractured between who he is and his destiny as the Avatar. In order to stop the Fire Lord he needs to kill him but killing is not something Aang wants to do. After all, this guy is a peaceful monk. He seeks knowledge through meditation and he is able to reach the spirits of past Avatars. The advice they all offer is that Aang needs to sacrifice is own enlightenment and spiritual path in order to restore peace to the world.
I've read reviews where people thought the final conclusion was a deus ex machina or that it was thrown in because it was a kid's show. Major spoiler here....instead of killing the Fire Lord, Aang is given the power to take away his fire bending ability, thus taking out the danger but showing mercy to life. Without his power, the Fire Lord is just another regular guy. I don't think that this resolution was done because we can't show kids murder. It's completely in line with who Aang has been from the beginning. He was never meant to be a violent hero that wins by fighting but rather, one that solves problems with his brain and not his power. Ultimately, Aang beats the Fire Lord with what the Fire Lord never possessed: compassion and love.
While we'll keep seeing macho men in culture and media, I hope characters like Aang serve as a counter balance so that we can recognize the virtues of being selfless and full of love.
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