Korra Is Not Tan

braavosis: sokkcoli: quietprofanity: snoipahkat: P SURE...

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:09:36 -0400

sokkcoli:

quietprofanity:

snoipahkat:

P SURE TOPH’S DAD IS NICOLAS CAGE

Son of a bitch …

NO WERE NOT DOING HTIS

#We’re going to steal the Declaration of Ba Sing Se

Mary:

But Lao Bei Fong isn’t white, y’all…

"But ask yourself: Why is there that knee-jerk rejection of any effort to “overthink” pop culture?..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:30:31 -0400

“

But ask yourself: Why is there that knee-jerk rejection of any effort to “overthink” pop culture? Why would you ever be afraid that looking too hard at something will ruin it? If the government built a huge, mysterious device in the middle of your town and immediately surrounded it with a fence that said, “NOTHING TO SEE HERE!” I’m pretty damned sure you wouldn’t rest until you knew what the hell that was — the fact that they don’t want you to know means it can’t be good.

Well, when any idea in your brain defends itself with “Just relax! Don’t look too close!” you should immediately be just as suspicious. It usually means something ugly is hiding there.

”

- - David Wong

This quote is in an article about superhero movies, but it applies to so many things.

(via thecharles)

Tumblr Essay Assignment

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:41:14 -0400

marchoftigers:

Name one group of oppressed people who were able to end mass genocide and institutional and systemic oppression by being nice.

show your work

Bryke is a bit like Sokka-great ideas, but then they sit down and start painting out the picture in their head and everyone around them looks at it and sees a completely different message.

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:38:13 -0400

Mary:

Pretty much.

yuki119: I’M HAVING A SITUATION

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:04:31 -0400

yuki119:

I’M HAVING A SITUATION

pulpofiction: baelor: the world of avatar full size map...

Sun, 12 May 2013 08:11:26 -0400

pulpofiction:

baelor:

the world of avatar

full size map (3600x1844)

YO THAT IS A HUGE OCEAN I’M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT TBH

Mary:

Reblogging cause it’s AtLA related. And: there is no huge ocean. I played the video games-yes I’m obsessed shut up-and it turns out the AtLA world map is just stretched out flat like our world map is. There is no huge ocean.

...Eaux...: on korra and the removal of bending

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:32:13 -0400

...Eaux...: on korra and the removal of bending:

pulpofiction:

i’ve been meaning to make this post for a while but here we go, i might as well do it tonight

[tw: discussion of rape, assault, violation]

The scene where Korra gets her bending taken away makes me uncomfortable and disturbed on a very raw, visceral level and it’s because to me, personally, de-bending reads like an analogy to sexualized violence and assault due to the similarities in power dynamics. (I am, right now, disclaiming a YMMV on this interpretation.) I just saw a comment that said Korra “fails hilariously” in her plan and it made me more upset than the rest of what was said in that post for these reasons:

The removal of bending, in the way Amon does it, is a fundamentally violating act that leaves its victims - those we see - traumatized, hopeless, and depressed. Witness Tahno, Korra, and Lin’s metalbenders.

It is a forcible violation of both the physicality and the spirituality of the victim. Their bending, an intimate part of their selves, is removed from them via a physical means that involves restraining them against their will.

It is not an act of justice but an act of control and power, much like how sexualized violation and assault is an act of control and power, to exert dominance over the victim: Amon does it to make examples out of people, not to dole out justice; his victims are targeted and selected for politically motivated reasons (first a crime lord, then a cheating, bullying pro-bending team, and then a councilman and his family) and defeated in shows of strength and force.

Amon removes Korra’s bending explicitly to control her: there’s no way he was initially planning on removing her bending in an abandoned storage room, away from the public eye. That would completely undermine his narrative of taking power from successively more public figures, entrenching his power over the populace. Instead he does it because she is out of his control, out of line with his carefully tailored plans - she ruins his rally and reveals his secret, and whether it was effective or not it still damages Amon’s public image - and she needs to be “destroyed”. Amon does it to put Korra in her place.

In short: much like how acts of sexualized violence and rape are not about sex, but power and control, I read Amon’s removal of Korra’s bending as not about justice, but about overpowering her and controlling her. The power dynamics are uncomfortably similar, whether or not this was Bryke’s intention.

How is this hilarious?

Honestly, I’m sick of narratives where the women have to suffer like this; I’m tired of narratives that are violent against both the minds and bodies of women, and I don’t care for the lack of sympathy for Korra. She goes through a horrific, traumatizing experience that almost literally destroys her - her sense of self, her perception of who she is, her self-love - and I have nothing but sympathy and love for her, for all her faults and flaws.

Your mileage on this may, of course, vary, but I find it almost unforgivable that a proud, strong, enthusiastic young woman protagonist had to be forced through such a destructive and vile experience in the name of character development.

moniquill: dreamalittlebiggerblog: Hello everybody. My name is Allison and I’m the original poster...

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:38:05 -0400

moniquill:

dreamalittlebiggerblog:

Hello everybody. My name is Allison and I’m the original poster of this content. It’s taken me some time to figure out what it is that I want to say and I don’t want anyone to think that my silence up to this point has been from a lack of concern. It has not.

I am truly and very deeply sorry to anybody who was offended and/or hurt by this content. The intent on sharing this tutorial was not to cause any person of any race discomfort or offense. Quite simply, I did not understand the impact that such a post could have because I did not understand things like racial appropriation or color blind racism. To be honest I’d never heard these words before. But I followed along with the discussion yesterday, trying to learn from it… trying to understand by looking up the words and phrases I have been ignorant of my whole life.

I will not say that I understand completely. The fact of the matter is I am a white woman, and while dealing with my own issues, I cannot now nor will I ever understand what it is like to be a person of color. But the content is already out there, the damage already done. I can do nothing to take it back, so I hope that if nothing else, others like me will learn something from the discussion. My most sincere apologies to everyone.

I’m reposting this for my followers because it is a wonderful example of the appropriate way to react when called out on having done something racist:

Apologized for harm caused? Check!

Listened and tried to understand the problem? Check!

Expressed that such actions will not be taken again in the future? Check!

A+ good reaction!

What they say: Why can't we all be equals?

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:07:57 -0400

What they say: Why can't we all be equals?
What I hear: I don't want to listen to your problems and am perfectly happy ignoring that your minority are being left to drown in the current society

sokkcoli: happymascot: Hm. Haven’t fanarted in a while. So...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:30:17 -0400

sokkcoli:

happymascot:

Hm. Haven’t fanarted in a while. So here’s Suki with a pair of killer chopsticks. Because she was such a bamf in the Boiling Rock.

WOW

tamsalama: korranation: Book 1 on DVD & Blu-Ray is...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:11:55 -0400

tamsalama:

korranation:

Book 1 on DVD & Blu-Ray is available for pre-order! Check out the amazing exclusives:

Audio commentary from Mike & Bryan for all 12 episodes

8 animatics of M&B’s favorite scenes

A new Puppetbender original short, “The Making of a Legend: The Untold Story”

WE. CAN’T. WAIT.

Pre-order here. Full article here.

Sigh.

I honestly don’t know whether I should buy this or not.

On the one hand, really gorgeous animation, music, and concepts, and awesome characters and a good first few episodes.

On the other hand

crushingly painful disappointment.

Phemyscira: anavatarmadefullmetal: turdlewexler: edwardelricsexual: Reblogging...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:22:47 -0400

Phemyscira: anavatarmadefullmetal: turdlewexler: edwardelricsexual: Reblogging...:

anavatarmadefullmetal:

turdlewexler:

edwardelricsexual:

Reblogging because of the excellent analysis.

I fully agree with this, but let us not forget that while FMA is a manga/anime, A:TLA/LOK is an american cartoon, and the narrative and concepts of heroism, epic, and badassness are different in both genre, in my humble opinion

I would say that’s not true, and even if it was, the rest of A:TLA/LOK issupposed be drawing from Asian mythos narratives. The very point of the Avatar is a heroic narrative based on Asian philosophies. As a shonen manga/anime FMA pushes far past the expectations of the prototypical shonen and instead gives us a heroic tale that also includes love, romance, family, and strongly developed female characters. FMA is already not entirely of the shonen genre mold, and A:TLA/LOK is arguably supposed to be taking from the very same ideas and philosophies that much of FMA uses (especially Buddhism).

Plus if “American heroic narratives” involves “less developed female characters who fall in the spectrum between really masculine or really feminine” that uh, is a big problem! And shouldn’t be part of the narrative. And then we should ask ourselves why Japan accepts this, but why the US apparently would not?

I would say the big difference here is that Arakawa is a woman who wrote good characters, and Bryke are men who tried to write female characters who were good because they were just like the boys.

[you don’t have to reply but discussion is there. idk not attacking you just talking]

“Arakawa is a woman who wrote good characters, and Bryke are men who tried to write female characters who were good because they were just like the boys.”

Hey! I don't mean to be rude or anything... but um... Korra has dark skin right? So could someone with light skin cosplay as her? Or is that against the rules? Because if you say that they can't, then that means I would be unable to cosplay as a fair-skinned person.... And that a fat person can't cosplay as... well... anyone... :<

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:38:00 -0400

Mary:

Nah, it’s fine as long as you don’t use brownface. I’m personally not a fan of white people cosplaying as PoC considering just how many white characters are available compared to PoC characters, but that’s just my personal opinion.

bryankonietzko: Book 2 color correction with Eska and...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:43:32 -0400

bryankonietzko:

Book 2 color correction with Eska and Bolin.

Mary: At least she’s still brown and not whitewashed like some people were in the panel art…

tw: racism

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:36:01 -0400

tw: racism:

alostbird:

Can y’all please report this blog.

salemdylann: Okay, I have less than 100 followers, but this...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:33:28 -0400

salemdylann:

Okay, I have less than 100 followers, but this seriously needs to get out there!
Please reblog this and get this seen by more than 2 people…
I am so angry right now that I started crying. I honestly can’t believe what I was reading..
Not only are they completely racist to the point that it is disgusting, but they are also homophobic and apparently feel no remorse.
What’s worse is that they have over 1,000 followers
Please go on their Instagram and report them and get this shit removed!
Instagram.com/asiansareugly

cosplayingwhileblack: Character: Korra Series: The Legend Of...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:47:56 -0400

cosplayingwhileblack:

Character: Korra

Series: The Legend Of Korra

SUBMISSION

When will season. 2 come out?

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:58:10 -0400

Mary:

Hell if I know.

bbanditt: a year ago today Nickelodeon released the first episode of Korra early online /sobs in a...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:37:48 -0400

bbanditt:

a year ago today Nickelodeon released the first episode of Korra early online

/sobs in a corner/

Mary:

IT HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL *sobs in a corner*

australian-diaspora: Learn to take a joke! It’s just the...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:27:13 -0400

australian-diaspora:

Learn to take a joke!

It’s just the internet!