I feel like there’s a tremendous amount of burden and expectation put on this show that we do not require from other cartoons, and considering the lead is brown woman, that bothers me as it seems to be a continuation of always demanding more from content featuring POC. https://twitter.com/autostraddle/status/1310595610546929664

I also don’t expect a show *created 15 years ago* to adhere to current political thought or reflect current political movements. I think there’s a tendency for younger people encountering old media to expect it to more closely align with new media, and that’s unfair.

That isn’t to say older shows are exempt from critique, but an understanding of the cultural context (such as other shows being produced during that time, other political conversations being had during that time, etc.), is essential to understanding this show.

This is a children’s show (emphasis on *children*) that addresses communism, theocracy, and fascism. Which is not to say it’s done perfectly. But I don’t know if that’s even an appropriate expectation for a *children’s* cartoon from 2005.

2012*

Republic City itself is a continuation of a storyline in the Avatar comics where benders in a certain city tried to establish a bending-supremacist society. Aang created a city where all 4 nations + benders/non-benders could live together and be equal contributors to society.

Though I don’t expect other people to know this unless they’re die-hard Avatar fans, that’s some of the context for the equalist movement (which I don’t think you need to have to understand the story).

I don’t want to get too deep into fandom (read the Kyoshi novels!!!) but here’s another thread about some of my discontent with applying an exclusively modern-day lens to past media/vocabulary. https://twitter.com/lingerie_addict/status/1310655722531753987