Jet represents the first truly guerrilla fighter in the War. He is the leader of the Freedom Fighters, the cliched group of ragtag soldiers doing what they can to make a dent into the Fire Nation. Rebellion groups like them are common in many movie and television wars. But it is so unbelievable how the ATLA creators incorporate such a extremist group into a kids show. There is no doubt that Jet is an extremist, and to the Fire Nation, an unquestionable terrorist, though we do sympathize with him because of what the Fire Nation did to him and his family. He attacks the innocent and will let nothing stop him from ending the Fire Nation. His most telling moment was his order to wipe out an entire village, filled with Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom folk alike. While the guilt of the Fire Nation warriors can be questioned to death, there is little question about the innocence of the other villagers. Why is Jet so willing to dispose of the innocent to achieve his goal?
You can easily go to Jet's violent relations with the Fire Nation to explain his complete indifference towards their safety. The Fire Nation army destroyed his village and killed his family. The Fire Nation as a whole is an evil entity. But his actions go beyond just stopping the Fire Nation. He will stop them at any cost. An innocent person is nothing compared to the greater goal of the annihilation of the Fire Nation. He shows this by threatening an old man dressed in Fire Nation garb and by attempting to flood an entire Earth Kingdom colony filled with Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens alike. While his actions may seem extreme, there is no doubt that people have sacrificed innocent people in order to achieve bigger goals. Jet is merely trying to defeat the Fire Nation at any cost, and any life lost could get him closer to that goal.
It is impossible to determine whether Jet was doing the right thing. Should Sokka have stopped Jet from killing all of those people? At first glance, yes he should have. But sometimes in war, you have to match your opponent, eye-for-an-eye, life-for-a-life. This is how Jet operates. He is an unscrupulous guerrilla war leader. If you compare him to Sokka, another warrior who has lost a parent to the war, you could also see a sense of savagery in Jet compared to Sokka's civilized behavior. Jet has survived in the woods without a family, and only the Freedom Fighters to call his own. Sokka was protecting the tribe that he grew up with. The difference is not just in mindset. Jet is not protecting anything and is purely on the offensive. Sokka is a defensive minded person, more interested in protecting Katara, Aang and himself than destroying the Fire Nation. That is why an innocent person is not an obstacle to Sokka, but a person in need of protection.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
The Last Airbender Series: The Waterbending Scroll and Iroh's "Proverb"
"Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?" Uncle Iroh spits out this tremendous line, to which Zuko responds by bemoaning his uncle's use of trite and boring proverbs. Of course the interesting part of this is that this does not actually sound like a proverb. It may carry a sagacity because of Iroh's wise demeanor, but even if it was a proverb, what would it mean?
The backstory of this line is that the pirates and Zuko's crew are fighting each other because of a reneged agreement to trade the waterbending scroll that Katara stole for Aang. During the scuffle between the three groups, Katara, Sokka, and Aang were able to sneak away. In order to escape from the feud, Katara and Aang waterbend the pirate ship off the beach. As the pirate captain and Zuko are fighting, Iroh interrupts to deliver this line. The first implication of this line is that violence has some negative effect on your focus. But what are you focusing on i.e. what does the "ship" imply? An avid LOK fan would assume relationship, but let's think about this in ATLA terms. A ship is an important piece of property for a person. It actually may be a lifestyle in a way because of the technological importance of having a fast and able ship. But the obvious motion aspect of the ship likely makes the "ship" a metaphor for an event in life. It is something that you can see, but so much can affect you actually getting to the ship. The most telling part of this proverb is that this ship has "set sail". It passed by without you noticing, quite possibly one of the saddest and most indescribable feelings you could have. It describes this emotion that you have when you realize you missed out on something. So the proverb discusses the impact violence has on your way of life. If this were a proverb, it would be warning against the ill effects of violence, or more broadly malevolence toward another person, and how it actually detracts from your life and actually causes you to miss opportunities.
This proverb almost certainly has its real world counterparts. While it is difficult to put this in exact words, maybe an example would be a better demonstration. Consider Inigo Montoya's words at the end of The Princess Bride. He says that he had been in the revenge business for so long that he knows no other lifestyle. Having invested his entire life towards the demise of a single man, he missed out so many opportunities to do something else with his life. While it is a fulfilling experience, twenty years of his life are gone. So don't be so busy with the petty things that you miss out on a bigger opportunity. Don't let that ship sail because you were too busy fighting.
The backstory of this line is that the pirates and Zuko's crew are fighting each other because of a reneged agreement to trade the waterbending scroll that Katara stole for Aang. During the scuffle between the three groups, Katara, Sokka, and Aang were able to sneak away. In order to escape from the feud, Katara and Aang waterbend the pirate ship off the beach. As the pirate captain and Zuko are fighting, Iroh interrupts to deliver this line. The first implication of this line is that violence has some negative effect on your focus. But what are you focusing on i.e. what does the "ship" imply? An avid LOK fan would assume relationship, but let's think about this in ATLA terms. A ship is an important piece of property for a person. It actually may be a lifestyle in a way because of the technological importance of having a fast and able ship. But the obvious motion aspect of the ship likely makes the "ship" a metaphor for an event in life. It is something that you can see, but so much can affect you actually getting to the ship. The most telling part of this proverb is that this ship has "set sail". It passed by without you noticing, quite possibly one of the saddest and most indescribable feelings you could have. It describes this emotion that you have when you realize you missed out on something. So the proverb discusses the impact violence has on your way of life. If this were a proverb, it would be warning against the ill effects of violence, or more broadly malevolence toward another person, and how it actually detracts from your life and actually causes you to miss opportunities.
This proverb almost certainly has its real world counterparts. While it is difficult to put this in exact words, maybe an example would be a better demonstration. Consider Inigo Montoya's words at the end of The Princess Bride. He says that he had been in the revenge business for so long that he knows no other lifestyle. Having invested his entire life towards the demise of a single man, he missed out so many opportunities to do something else with his life. While it is a fulfilling experience, twenty years of his life are gone. So don't be so busy with the petty things that you miss out on a bigger opportunity. Don't let that ship sail because you were too busy fighting.
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Last Airbender Series: Avatar Roku and our Reaction to Magic
Penn and Teller have a hilarious demonstration of magic in their show which tell the audience seven basic principles of magic. Palm, ditch, steal, load, simulation, misdirection, switch. In this episode of Avatar the Last Airbender, the Gaang utilize many of these tricks. They simulate the opening of the blast door. Zuko misdirects Zhao and his firebending fleet. They load Momo into the room only to (ideally) switch him with Aang. The magical moment demonstrates the ubiquity of these magical abilities.
The Gaang certainly understands the quintessentials of magic. Zuko discovers the questionable motives of Zhao and allows him to follow Iroh's smokescreen as he backdoors the fleet in another ship. Katara uses Sokka's failed experiment to convince the sages that Aang had successfully entered the solstice room. But the outcomes of these "magical acts" also demonstrate two reactions many people have when they witness magic. One is a feeling of success in understanding a trick. When you know what to expect from a magic trick, you immediately are wary of anything that seems out of place. When you keep your eyes open, magic tricks become less mystifying, but maintain their entertainment quality. However, when you are completely duped, there is a feeling of shock. You know that you have been deceived, and the only correct reaction is to freeze up. You are taken aback for just a moment, much like the sages were.
Many people believe that knowing how a magic trick works ruins the trick. One of the biggest rules of a magician is to never reveal any of his tricks. But there is a satisfaction people get when they experience magic. Even if they know what happened, understanding how the trick works does not make the trick any less impressive. But the best is not knowing how it works. While you may be frustrated or shocked, you cannot help be take in a moment of awe, as you see the magician represent your duped feelings.
The Gaang certainly understands the quintessentials of magic. Zuko discovers the questionable motives of Zhao and allows him to follow Iroh's smokescreen as he backdoors the fleet in another ship. Katara uses Sokka's failed experiment to convince the sages that Aang had successfully entered the solstice room. But the outcomes of these "magical acts" also demonstrate two reactions many people have when they witness magic. One is a feeling of success in understanding a trick. When you know what to expect from a magic trick, you immediately are wary of anything that seems out of place. When you keep your eyes open, magic tricks become less mystifying, but maintain their entertainment quality. However, when you are completely duped, there is a feeling of shock. You know that you have been deceived, and the only correct reaction is to freeze up. You are taken aback for just a moment, much like the sages were.
Many people believe that knowing how a magic trick works ruins the trick. One of the biggest rules of a magician is to never reveal any of his tricks. But there is a satisfaction people get when they experience magic. Even if they know what happened, understanding how the trick works does not make the trick any less impressive. But the best is not knowing how it works. While you may be frustrated or shocked, you cannot help be take in a moment of awe, as you see the magician represent your duped feelings.
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