Political YouTuber on "Avatar" show: "bending = wealth" ????

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*** MAJOR SPOILERS for both “AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER” and “LEGEND OF KORRA” ***

On a recent facebook discussion about “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” someone said she disliked the sequel series, “The Legend of Korra” because it was “too Centrist or Right leaning” compared to the original show. When I asked what she meant, she posted this video:



It criticizes the show's treatment of the Season 1 villain, Amon, interpreted here as a stand-in for Communism. I'm not interested in arguing over the real-world politics of Capitalism vs. Communism. What I want to discuss is how this critic interprets the show's symbolism and how he, in my view, twists it to suit his argument.

Much of that argument is built on the idea that the bending* in “Legend of Korra” represents wealth. He criticizes the depiction of Amon removing people's bending as making the value of their “wealth” disappear completely, rather than redistributing it. He also frames Avatar Korra as the “Jeff Bezos” of this world and claims she fears Amon because she “has the most to lose.”

(*Bending, for those not familiar, is the art of manipulating one of the four elements, or all four if you're the Avatar.)

But “Korra” is a sequel series. The original series established that bending is very important to each culture in this world. One of the earliest lines of dialog in the show mentions this. Part of the Fire Nation's oppression of the other nations is its attempt to control or kill all the other types of benders so that Firebending is the only kind left.

In the episode “Imprisoned,” Katara meets a young Earthbender named Haru who hides his abilities – mentioned to be an important part of who he is – out of fear of the Fire Nation.

It's also shown to be important to individual identity. Toph hides her Earthbending abilities from her parents because they believe she's helpless. When they discover Toph's true personality, they attempt to restrict her even more.

And it's also important to some characters spiritually, as our main character is literally a monk. (I personally don't have spiritual beliefs, but this show does take place in a world where spirits physically manifest.)

Another thing bending represents is power, since...well, you know, it's a superpower. A large portion of both series is spent dealing with the heroes learning to use their bending responsibly and what happens when they are careless with it, use it in anger, etc.

The climax of the original series has Aang use a newfound ability to remove the bending of Fire Lord Ozai, who has abused his power (as a merciful alternative to killing him.) At the same, Ozai is also taken out of political power, which he also abused.

The idea of removing someone's bending ability comes from the original hero – indeed, it's the culmination of his hero's journey – so that's not what the show is vilifying. It's the extremes Amon takes it to. Aang only did it twice across the two series. Amon wants to do it to all the benders, no matter how they use their abilities. In doing so, he's symbolically taking away part of their cultural, individual and spiritual identity – which totalitarian leaders of varying ideologies have been known to do. This is what Korra is afraid of, especially since her identity is so wrapped up in being the Avatar. Part of her arc over the entire series is to learn that, while bending is a part of who she is, it doesn't entirely define her.

All of this is alluded to by the critic, but then he basically goes, “Okay, bending is money now and I identify with this guy's ideology so you can't have it symbolize those other things.”

Well, if bending is money, what does the money in this universe symbolize? Especially since almost all of the wealthiest characters in both series are non-benders.

Amon doesn't seem to care about wealth one way or the other, but he does amass a large amount of power for himself in the name of empowering the people. Just as Korra defines herself as the Avatar, Amon defines himself almost entirely as a symbol of his cause, hiding not only his bending, but also his vulnerability. The critic complains that he's depicted as “a monster” for much of the season but the point, in the end, is that he's human.

So, what do you think? Is "Legend of Korra" "too Centrist or Right Leaning?" Is bending wealth? Does Amon even represent Communism? Does this guy's argument hold up to you?