RE: Avatar (not that one) 2025
I have some concerns about the new Avatar/Korra series, so buckle up.
First off, the above image is a mockup created by the blog Avatar News and does not represent officially released materials. This is something the website notes in a parenthetical at the end of the article but, it is at the end of the article, and this image has been circulated as official promotional materials. It isn’t.
But it does provide a thematic lead in to my concerns with a series that will reportedly be a follow up to Korra’s series, and follow the Avatar directly succeeding her.
To not bury the lede, I have sincere concerns about Avatar Studio’s ability to tell a racially and politically sensitive story in the modern day and these concerns are born out of the stories they have told. I am concerned that in setting a story in the equivalent of our modern day as this series will reportedly be, that Avatar Studio’s will fail to reckon with their textual flirtation with fascism and authoritarianism in a responsible way.
Others such as @straynerdboy have mentioned how tactless The Legend of Korra was to include black american folk music (Jazz) in a setting bereft of black people, and that sort of casual, mindless appropriation carried forth into a contemporary setting is concerning to say the least.
Finally, and the reason I am ultimately writing this; I am concerned for how this series may deal with Korra’s legacy, for the misogyny that this may call forth, and for the ensuing more tangible misogyny this may stoke, this time levied against members of the fan communities.
For all of our sakes, I hope that these concerns are allayed and that the Studio is thoughtful, cautious, and critical in approaching whatever themes they choose to broach in these new series.
