The Omnivorous Geek

Many thanks to dotfic for pointing me to this amazing music vid.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YrcHR_G8-Y

There are a lot of reasons to hate the live-action Last Airbender movie, not least of which being the switcheroo of brown heroes and pale villain to pale heroes and brown villain (that whole issue literally makes me sick). But I was warned about that part--I knew it was coming. Since hearing more details of what the movie changed from the series, there's another difference that actually makes me grit my teeth with rage, and that is the reduction of Katara.

No, I have not seen the movie, but I read plenty of reviews and analysis and talked to people who have seen it, both fans of the series and not. I know enough to make a judgment without wasting my time or money on a movie that ruined something I love. (And oooooh, I love this series so much. It's one of my favorite things in the world and they blew a golden opportunity and I am angry and disappointed and grief-stricken.) If you're going to tell me that I can't judge it without seeing it for myself, just...don't.

If you have ever trusted my advice or my judgment, believe me when I say that you should not watch that movie. Don't waste your time and resources. But you should definitely watch the series. I don't care who you are, I don't care if you think you're too old for cartoons or you don't like anime or fantasy or you're just not interested. Every time someone says they haven't watched the show for any of those reasons, something cute and fluffy dies. I am so serious about this. Stop killing cute and fluffy things and go watch this series. It is so unbelievably amazing, I can't even tell you.

( I'm gonna try though, starting with just how wonderful all of the female characters are. Spoilers below, especially for certain season 1 episodes. )

I'm very glad that Avatar: The Last Airbender exists. Not only because I love it and I enjoy watching and rewatching it, but I'm also glad that my little sisters have such a quality show in their lives. They love this show, they watch it over and over and over, and I enjoy watching it with them. I'm glad they have these examples of amazing women, women who are strong and capable, but also free to be themselves, sometimes weak and sad, sometimes making bad and wrong decisions, but finding the strength to stand up again and do the right thing. I'm glad for entertainment like this to show young girls that they can be anything they want to be.

And my geeky friends love it too. More than once, before sitting down to play RPG or other nerdy games, we've watched an episode (or more) of Avatar together. And these are mostly people in their mid to late twenties, geeks, yes, but hardly children, and we all agree that this show is one of the best we've ever seen.

I despise the very existence of the movie. Everything about it is just wrong. But I'm so very, very glad that the show exists.

Is there anything else I can say to convince you? You should watch this series. You really, really should.