Thread by @A_Silent_Child, So I'm excited about the @netflix original live action Avatar the Last [...]

So I& #39;m excited about the @netflix original live action Avatar the Last Airbender in planning. The 2010 live action movie was a disaster.

Though the Serious of Unfortunate Events movie was a disaster for very different reasons, Netflix did a fantastic job on that remake.

I have heard @netflix intends to use an all Asian cast for this remake which is fantastic news especially considering, again, what a horrifically low bar the first live action attempt set.

I have high hopes for this remake. Netflix has made some fantastic material.

However I am also VERY nervous because I haven& #39;t yet heard anything from @netflix about plans to cast a blind actress for Toph. I am afraid that ableism will prevent that - that people will assume incorrectly that a blind person couldn& #39;t act or that they would be a "problem"

If @netflix cares about the quality of this show - and I really hope they do because I& #39;m very excited for this show - they will cast a blind actress. Abled people simply cannot play disabled people as authenticity as disabled people can. Authentic representation matters SO MUCH.

Toph was wonderful disability representation in the original show. She was also my favourite character by a landslide. The fact that Toph had her own unique bending style she developed that was shaped by her disability is exciting and empowering.

I hope the @netflix live action can live up to this bar of empowered representation by giving her the respect of an authentic portrayal.

Also I& #39;m now regretting not filing this entire thread with Toph gifs.

Part of what makes Toph fantastic is that she& #39;s a fucking badass and she did not have to "overcome" her disability to get there. There& #39;s no miracle cure at the end of this one. She is proud of who she is. And there& #39;s no "but I& #39;m not REALLY blind, I& #39;m handicapable!" nonsense.

The fact that she& #39;s blind is not treated as shameful or a bad word or the elephant in the room that nobody talks about. She proudly declares it. She cracks jokes about it. She acknowledges it all the time without being written in a way that that acknowledgement comes with *upset*

Remember when Toph trolled everyone because she was bored.

Not only does Toph not express a desire to be cured, she actually believes her blindness makes her a better earth bender. Most benders rely on visual stimuli to inform their movements but she can& #39;t, which means she must feel through the earth. It strengthens her connection to it.

And she& #39;s right.

At twelve years old she invented an ENTIRELY NEW FORM OF BENDING.

Not just a new style of Earth bending. She& #39;d already done that.

A NEW TYPE OF BENDING.

But she& #39;s STILL not the feel-good "handicapable" trope!

We get to see her face inaccessibility because of her blindness.

We get to see her face microagressions.

We get to see her feel vulnerable or angry when she can& #39;t do something

She gets to be disabled by her disability.

Toph knows she& #39;s a badass not in spite of her blindness, but because of it. And because of every other little thing that makes her Toph.

I don& #39;t know, from my disabled point of view this is some fantastic representation.

I will say Toph walks wrong though. She strikes the ground heel first. If she is almost always barefoot (which she is) she would naturally put the ball of her foot down first.

I really hope that they cast a blind actress to bring such a fantastic blind character to life.

Oh also THE SAS.

Toph: Everyone into the hole!

Sokka: It& #39;s so dark down here! I can& #39;t see a thing!

Toph: *with heavy sarcasm* Oh no! What a nightmare!

Sokka: Sorry. https://youtu.be/V9215uJ10cE ">https://youtu.be/V9215uJ10...

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