Casmin Bui Week 9: Always Being Second Place
Power. Defined by The Merriam Webster Dictionary as the ability to act or produce an effect, the idea of power has many connotations. Like how fuel can power engines, a leader may also have power over their people. Nowadays, power has received a negative connotation because it has been fed in what many consider “the wrong hands.”
Setting her quite… questionable actions aside, I think Azula was so beautifully written because of the amount of complexity in her character. You never really know what she will do next, but only that it will end up badly for you. Throughout the series, we see many different sides of Azula; her notorious evil personality, but also her vulnerable side.
Azula captures Ba Sing Se
In the context of both today and in the 2000s (when Avatar was released), we can find many parallels of Azula’s “evil” character to recent political leaders. Kidnapping children? Terrorizing foreign regions? Azula already did it. Her ignorance to human suffering serves as a symbol of what power and living in the absence of struggle is like, having lived as royalty her whole life, living the ultimate lavish lifestyle as one of the richest figures in the verse. Leaders have a similar theme today, where figures of high political authority from privileged households often have the opportunity of higher education and better connections. However, being raised in a wealthy household comes with its consequences. Even though Azula is most well known for her ability to evoke terror basically from any direction she looked, her weaker side shows how she came to be evil. The only way to impress her parents was quite literally to be as evil as them. As she grew up, the lack of care from her mother and father ultimately did cause her to suffer her downfall in a mental breakdown because she would always be second to Zuko, the male first-born and the ultimate heir to the throne. In a sense, I’m sure some of us can relate to her feelings (obviously to a tamer level) of feeling like they aren’t good enough, and can even turn to extreme decisions to earn someone’s approval.
Even though Avatar may just be a silly little kids show about love, war, and peace, there is so much more to these characters than what my 10-year-old brain thought. Azula was definitely evil though… I just can’t help but find comfort in her character because she was so relatable, especially to our world.
When I saw your title and how you connected it with the way Azula always falls second to Zuko, I couldn't help but be reminded of a moment when the father of a championship winning athlete this year said, "No one remembers who comes second." Funnily enough, the individual who came second this year is one of the most talented, well-known, and successful athletes in the sport of all time. Additionally, the comments were flooded with images of the iconic Olympic Turkey shooter who won silver in Paris, mocking the father. And let's all admit, we have no idea who came in first for that. Anyway, the whole point is that although you may end up second, there are people out there that recognize you and your talent (just like the way you admire Azula). There are definitely connections that could be made between Azula and "figures of high political authority," especially in the way that they definitely cannot relate to those of lower standing and power than them. Entertainment like Avatar: The Last Airbender and The hunger Games often display visible parallels between the hierarchies of society and the way that the government or those in higher power act.
ReplyDeleteHey Casmin. I love the inclusion of both the generic book definition of the word power along with the societal interpretation of the word, especially the inclusion of how a leader has power over their people which is seen again in your blog when you compare Azula to the political leaders of today.The inclusion of these definitions really helps set up both Azula and the political leaders as “the wrong hands” the power ends up falling into. Although I haven't seen all of Avatar, I thought the parallels between Azula and today’s political leaders were quite interesting. I had never thought that there were downsides of being privileged but, it makes sense that they would be ignorant to the suffering of society which can be shown through the poor wielding of power. Now I need to really watch Avatar: The Last Air Bender and see if there are any other ways the show highlights power. Anyways, I am so glad that we are in a cohort together and I can’t wait to read your next blog!
ReplyDeleteI literally jumped in my seat when I saw that you wrote this post about Avatar: The Last Airbender! It’s one of my favorite shows of all time, and it certainly holds a lot more literary merit than many people like to give it credit for. Azula, especially, is a very well written character—in fact, I’d argue she is the most interesting and compelling character in the series. There’s a lot to be said about the parallels between her character arc and the very real cultural patterns present in real families; for example, throughout Book 2 and most of Book 3, we are made to hate Azula. All we see is her continuous, unrelenting cruelty against the protagonists and her sheer lack of any sort of compassion or vulnerability. When we contrast this cold brutality with the shining morality of Aang and his friends, who repeatedly work to protect people from the Fire Nation and bring an end to the war, it becomes easy for our blood to start boiling whenever so much as her theme song starts playing. However, in Book 3, as we begin unpacking her character slowly, this perspective changes. We never excuse her actions, but as we discover more and more about her traumatic past and the domestic abuse she has suffered throughout her life, as well as the repressive culture she grew up in as a Fire Nation princess, we can’t help but feel pity for her. So, in the finale (and I won’t go into too much detail about this to avoid spoilers), when we see what she becomes, we can’t really feel vindicated or satisfied, although we might have if she had just remained the Big Bad Villain of the narrative. Because of this manipulation of the audience’s sympathies, from utter hatred to pity, Azula stands out to me as a unique and complex villain. The intricacy of her writing additionally proves that Avatar: The Last Airbender isn’t shallow entertainment for little children, but a commendable piece of literary merit that should be discussed and dissected more. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point about the parallels between power-hungry characters like Azula and modern politics. Do you think that there is also a connection between today’s political leaders and an obsession with being first like Azula? Examining the speeches Donald Trump loves to give about America being the best in the world, I would say that the answer is yes. Another aspect to consider is that Azula is driven by her “divine right to the throne;” many world leaders operate under the same delusion, absorbed in their own superiority and fueled by masses of blind supporters…
ReplyDeleteIn ATLA, the writers made Azula as a foil to Zuko–the one that chose a “path of evil” instead of joining the Avatar because of her ruthless ambition. Like you, I do understand the pain she feels at being less than perfect, striving to meet impossible standards. I am careful, however, not to let myself become as obsessive as her, as her life is proof that it is impossible to be happy when one is consumed by an incessant need to gain more power. Because of her insecurity, she cannot establish meaningful friendships or even be a good ruler in the first place.