<cynic>Or maybe anyone can bend more than one element, it's just really really hard... Growing up, the avatar is under so much pressure to learn all the elements that they succeed -- with the added help of being assured they were born with the reincarnated talent to do so. The rotating reincarnations were a political agreement between the heads of the various schools, but time has given it the authority of mysticism. The current avatar maintains the myth in order to assure that his/her power goes unchallenged. Or maybe the avatar even believes they are the chosen one, with hallucinations and confirmation bias dispelling all doubt. All the avatar state goodness? Parlor tricks.</cynic>
Wow...listening to a bunch of Atheists try to rationalize the magic in a children's cartoon is hilarious. The Avatar is just magic, the only one able to do it, it's just magic. Bending is an inherent trait, although it can be taught through an array of people. The Swamp Waterbenders do bend by having waterbending in their blood (I imagine there is inbreeding there for blood purity, as sort of a reference to Rednecks), and I imagine the stronger the bender, the more likely their children are to be born benders. I dunno. I never really felt it needed a complex explanation. It's just magic.
Wow...listening to a bunch of Atheists try to rationalize the magic in a children's cartoon is hilarious. The Avatar is just magic, the only one able to do it, it's just magic. Bending is an inherent trait, although it can be taught through an array of people. The Swamp Waterbenders do bend by having waterbending in their blood (I imagine there is inbreeding there for blood purity, as sort of a reference to Rednecks), and I imagine the stronger the bender, the more likely their children are to be born benders. I dunno. I never really felt it needed a complex explanation. It's just magic.
Hey, I can play too! Hmm, let's see:
It's fiction, so we can say whatever the hell we want and don't have to come up with a working explanation. In fact, over-explaining and trying to make a plausible explanation for how magic/science works in fiction often leads to a breakdown in suspension of disbelief because you have made it too real. Better to leave the mechanics a mystery so that smart people can actually enjoy the show. We just say it works, and that is how it works!
Wow...listening to a bunch ofAtheistsNerdstry to rationalize the magic in a children's cartoon is hilarious.
I'm a nerd, and I feel no need to overrationalize the show's bending. It's because you are people who use logic and reason in the real world, and so you are inclined to do it in a fictional world as well.
It's because you are people who use logic and reason in the real world, and so you are inclined to do it in a fictional world as well.
Not all of us. Some of us are perfectly happy to accept fiction without trying to explain it. That's the same kind of statement as "all Christians are incapable of logical thought because they believe in something unproven."
Also, I'm pretty sure most of these guys are just having fun and not actually being serious.
I know they're having fun, and I was just pointing out that it's fun to see people apply the usual Atheistic logic to a fictional world.
I'm sorry, butwhat the fuckdoes this have anything to do with Atheism?
They were trying to take the simple "magic" of bending and explain how it is inherited, or learned, or how the Avatar state might not be entirely magic at all, just the result of forced pressure on the Avatar to learn all the elements that causes them to, plus the knowledge of the previous avatars. This just sounds like the usual "find a rational non-faith" explanation that an Atheist would use, rather than a simple faith-based "because it's magic." Whenever I add my two cents, it always backfires on me. Sorry if I caused any discomfort.
My only question about this is...what drives people mad about Steampunk? It's nothing against you guys personally, just people really seem to wet themselves whenever steampunk or ----punk* elements are brought into stories. I can see how it works greatly in Avatar, but still, what makes that term go off in people?
My only question about this is...what drives people mad about Steampunk? It's nothing against you guys personally, just people really seem to wet themselves whenever steampunk or ----punk* elements are brought into stories. I can see how it works greatly in Avatar, but still, what makes that term go off in people?
I think the attracttion of "Blade Runner effect" i.e. the mixture of old and new. Also, like Cyberpunk (in the 80s), Steampunk is new right now.
Steampunk has been around for a long time. It just didn't have a name. Lots of Miyazaki's movies follow that aesthetic. The reason geeks freak out about it boils down to the tinkering instinct: we like to fiddle with bits. Steampunk is the epitome of fiddling with bits.
Also the high association with Victorian clothing and style makes it hot.
As for the whole talk about a woman starring in an action cartoon... while Korra may not be the first, maybe she can be one of the first women to star in an action cartoon where the cartoon itself isn't constantly emphasizing "And she's a WOMAN too! How about that? A WOMAN kicking ass. Girl power! It's not a he, but a SHE. Crazy!" Maybe this could be a show where she's just another asskicker and not some dickless novelty.
So, I am pretty LTTP on this one, seeing as how I've heard this was good from here and other sources for a couple years now. Never doubted it, I just didn't put it high up on my priority list. Even when I started watching it (one episode at a time streaming to my iPod), I just thought it was really decent for a kid's show. But over time, it got a lot better, and it surprised me quite often with its handling of situations and characters. By the third season I had moved from the iPod to the TV and was doing several episodes at a time. Just couldn't stop! Finally finished it last night and I can safely say it is in my top 5 TV shows ever.
I read through the thread last night, so going to cover a few of the topics briefly:
Not going to comment on the movie, as I have no plans to see it. I'll just wait for the sequel series.
The ending was a little more deus ex machina than I like, but I wasn't dissatisfied at all with it. It still made for some good fighting sequences and character closure. It was appropriate for the kind of show it was. (But really you guys, Zuko and Katara? There were no indicators that that was ever going to happen. Not sure where that idea comes from.)
Favorite episode: The Boiling Rock, though Tales of Ba Sing Se is a close second.
Favorite characters (in order): 1) Iroh (this should be fairly obvious why, since most people here seem to agree) 2) Sokka (I personally think Sokka grew more in this show than any of the other main characters, plus I love characters who have to take the hard route yet still succeed. And there's also the fact that he has the best girlfriend. Props.) 3) Toph (also like many others here, she is up there, and I think she's overall a more amusing character than Sokka) 4) Suki (she is the best girlfriend in the show, and she proved the hell out of herself in the aforementioned Boiling Rock (dual) episode) 5) Momo (yeah, most people seem to go with Appa, and I agree that he is much more important to the show, but Momo just reminds me of my own cat so much it's kind of unfair)
I could go on, but I'm hungry. I'm excited to see what Legend of Korra brings to the table later this year.
Comments
The Avatar is just magic, the only one able to do it, it's just magic. Bending is an inherent trait, although it can be taught through an array of people. The Swamp Waterbenders do bend by having waterbending in their blood (I imagine there is inbreeding there for blood purity, as sort of a reference to Rednecks), and I imagine the stronger the bender, the more likely their children are to be born benders. I dunno. I never really felt it needed a complex explanation. It's just magic.
It's fiction, so we can say whatever the hell we want and don't have to come up with a working explanation. In fact, over-explaining and trying to make a plausible explanation for how magic/science works in fiction often leads to a breakdown in suspension of disbelief because you have made it too real. Better to leave the mechanics a mystery so that smart people can actually enjoy the show. We just say it works, and that is how it works!
Also, I'm pretty sure most of these guys are just having fun and not actually being serious.
Whenever I add my two cents, it always backfires on me. Sorry if I caused any discomfort.
As for the whole talk about a woman starring in an action cartoon... while Korra may not be the first, maybe she can be one of the first women to star in an action cartoon where the cartoon itself isn't constantly emphasizing "And she's a WOMAN too! How about that? A WOMAN kicking ass. Girl power! It's not a he, but a SHE. Crazy!" Maybe this could be a show where she's just another asskicker and not some dickless novelty.
So, I am pretty LTTP on this one, seeing as how I've heard this was good from here and other sources for a couple years now. Never doubted it, I just didn't put it high up on my priority list. Even when I started watching it (one episode at a time streaming to my iPod), I just thought it was really decent for a kid's show. But over time, it got a lot better, and it surprised me quite often with its handling of situations and characters. By the third season I had moved from the iPod to the TV and was doing several episodes at a time. Just couldn't stop! Finally finished it last night and I can safely say it is in my top 5 TV shows ever.
I read through the thread last night, so going to cover a few of the topics briefly:
Not going to comment on the movie, as I have no plans to see it. I'll just wait for the sequel series.
The ending was a little more deus ex machina than I like, but I wasn't dissatisfied at all with it. It still made for some good fighting sequences and character closure. It was appropriate for the kind of show it was. (But really you guys, Zuko and Katara? There were no indicators that that was ever going to happen. Not sure where that idea comes from.)
Favorite episode: The Boiling Rock, though Tales of Ba Sing Se is a close second.
Favorite characters (in order):
1) Iroh (this should be fairly obvious why, since most people here seem to agree)
2) Sokka (I personally think Sokka grew more in this show than any of the other main characters, plus I love characters who have to take the hard route yet still succeed. And there's also the fact that he has the best girlfriend. Props.)
3) Toph (also like many others here, she is up there, and I think she's overall a more amusing character than Sokka)
4) Suki (she is the best girlfriend in the show, and she proved the hell out of herself in the aforementioned Boiling Rock (dual) episode)
5) Momo (yeah, most people seem to go with Appa, and I agree that he is much more important to the show, but Momo just reminds me of my own cat so much it's kind of unfair)
I could go on, but I'm hungry. I'm excited to see what Legend of Korra brings to the table later this year.