“Avatar: The Last Airbender”: Parallel Characterization of Aang - Grant Astin
Picture from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SrVzHNIp3g
Recently, a beloved childhood series of many became available for the first time on a stream-all- the-way-through basis. All three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender were made available on Netflix for service subscribers. What struck me and many others about re-watching the show for nostalgic purposes was that it remains a show of high quality in its own right; I felt as if I would have watched it at 20 years of age even if I had never seen it at 8 years of age. In an exploration of the qualities of this animated series that make it worthy of such an assessment, many qualities shine through, the most notable of which is its methods of characterization.
In many children’s series, characterization is explicitly attributed through dialogue so that kids have an easier time understanding what is going on. As an example, if a character is afraid of fire for some reason from their childhood, a children’s movie will often have a character say “you’re afraid of fire because of what happened when you were a child, aren’t you? Even Avatar: The Last Airbender occasionally uses this fundamental level of characterization, a level that I personally cannot stand because it ruins the longevity of the content across different age groups. What is more impressive in this series is what I am going to label as parallel characterization. To demonstrate this, I am going to use one of the most dissatisfying events of the series.
In Aangs final battle, Sozen’s comet has given the fire benders incredible power and Aang must defeat the Fire Lord in a 1v1 combat scenario, a scenario that we rarely see from Aang in the series. He also is instructed to kill the Fire Lord, and we have never seen Aang truly vanquish an opponent. Therefore, all the blood lusts that watch the show are waiting for the true finale to watch Aang in his ultra-badass Avatar glory, pummeling the Fire Lord with all four elements until he ceases to exist. The series, however, writes the fight a different way. Aang takes the Fire Lord’s bending abilities away and puts him in jail. This is a frustrating ending for many, but I’m going to explain why it is a parallel action to Aang’s character to emphasize the beauty of the series’ characterization.
Parallel characterization is characterizing a character through actions and doing so consistently. This might not work for a character that is inherently inconsistent, but for a monastic character with a core set of unbreakable values, parallel characterization ought to be used. I think the series is interested in demonstrating a character that is unwavering regarding his values so that kids can learn. Standing up for what you believe is right or just is important, and I think the effort to demonstrate this to kids results in some adult-level characterization. In this way, all the character’s actions should fit the answer of “What would be the “Aang” thing to do?” This is where the dilemma of the Fire Lord defeat is clear. The audience is waiting for Aang to finally evolve into a stone-cold killer. The series is interested in emphasizing that Aang is not going to evolve past his core values. Aang is a child, not even a teenager, with a kind heart and a set of pacifistic, monastic tendencies. It is entirely reasonable that Aang would not kill the Fire Lord because of his youth and pacifist teachings.
Previously, Aang refused to clear his chakra to become the master of the Avatar state, potentially enabling him to destroy anything in his path. As a child and a creature of peace, Aang prioritizes his love interest over his duty to protect through destruction. In this way, Aang defeats the Fire Lord in the most “Aang” way possible: by fighting with love instead of destruction. He saves the Fire Lord instead of killing him, and through this vehicle of parallel characterization, a frustrating, “boring” end can be seen as satisfying due to the character at hand. If I want to watch a boss battle, I can watch Batman and Bane in The Dark Night Rises. Aang is simply not a character that one can expect to see that level of violence from, and the show’s devotion to previous characterization improves the quality of the series.
