#i guess i'm just like. it's already pretty damn uncommon for media to wrangle with nonviolence as a philosophy or ethical commitment

[theroyalsavage]

i'm only 20 mins into netflix's atla but oh BOY do i already have thoughts

showing the genocide of the air nomads on screen raises a really serious challenge that this scene doesn't attempt to wrangle with at all: the air nomads were committed to nonviolence. like the tibetan buddhist monks they were modeled on, the air nomads' teachings surround the sanctity of life. throughout the original show, aang's fighting style is primarily evasive, when he does end up having to fight rather than settling a conflict another way. the air nation's commitment to nonviolence is also an absolutely key part of aang's arc in the third season, as he desperately searches for a way to end the war without killing ozai

so, like..... hang on???? would a people whose central teachings involve nonviolence leap into Ready-For-TV-Combat as quickly as the air nomads do in this show?? would they try to flee?? shield themselves??? reason or negotiate with the invading army?? would the air nomads even TEACH combat-focused airbending? would the average non-avatar air nomad be able to go toe-to-toe with a fire nation soldier in a battle like this????? why was their first response to immediately leap into a fight???

when the genocide takes place off-screen and we only see the horrible fallout through aang's eyes, what actually happens is left to the imagination. with the netflix show, we're left with an action scene that makes the air nation feel so thin - they start to feel like props rather than a rich and unique culture. one of the things that made the og atla special was its worldbuilding and i'm just. truly left SOOOOOO baffled by this adaptation already