SPDCA: Avatar - The Last Airbender

I woke up yesterday to it sleeting against my window. I resolved that I was going to try to take care of things around the house. I spent yesterday cleaning my bathroom and watching the last season of Avatar - The Last Airbender. And either by way of the fumes from the cleaning supplies or the show being great, I made the day of it, and ended up being very impressed, and very touched (and ended up being awake until 3am last night thinking about the show).

The show is, ultimately, about growing up. Which is a hard thing to remember as an adult, and a hard thing to deal with as a kid. As children, we're aware of the adult world in which we inhabit but we lack the experience or the practice to be able to deal with things adequately. We're thrown into an already adult world, expected to pick up the right things to do from context clues, and to hope that others will forgive us for our mistakes when we inevitably make them. We learn from our parents and our peers, but learn that they are all ultimately as flawed and as prone to misstep as we are.

The show captures this absolutely perfectly. And does so in an interesting, beautiful, consistent world. Reading on it afterwards, many of the themes and magical systems are based on the tenets of Hinduism and Taoism, but the religious undertones are never overt. The subjects covered in the show deal with many schools of thought, and are often given considerable deliberation on the part of the characters and the show at large. Questions about loyalty, non-violence. personal responsibility, guilt, and forgiveness are throughout, and are handled with multiple degrees of subtlety and personal depth.

The show has its protagonist, 12 year old Aang, the reincarnation of the "Avatar," a powerful magical figure meant to bring balance to a world in need of balancing. However, he only appears in the show long after he was "needed," having been in suspended animation for 100 years and awaking as a child in a world devastated by a war that he must find a way to resolve.

This sounds threatening, and scary, and it is, but the way the show slowly works in this overall arch is, well, from the eyes of a child. Aang, when first introduced, wants to play, and to forget his obligations, and to run away. It is only through his own journey of personal discovery and development of his friendships does he gain the power and the confidence to take on the world.

My niece watched this show, almost all the way through (and almost in one sitting), and absolutely loved it. Its messages are communicated on many levels, which while seemingly simplistic at first, shouldn't be mistaken for being simple. They are just conveyed in such a way that aren't laden with the obfuscation and context-heavy notions of the adult world. As such, this is a great children's show, as well as a great show for adults, or parents.

For those with children, or those about to have children, I can't stress enough that this is something you and your kids should watch. For those without, it is still a compelling show, bereft of the dirt and grime of a world obsessed with sex and drugs and the wreckage of souls.

I feel it is important. I hope you do, too.