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computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

TheModernAmerican posted:

Again, the biggest problem of Season 1 is that I sympathized with the Equalists. Could you imagine being some farmer that moved to the city for a job but can't get one because you aren't a bender?

You're supposed to think that their arguments have some merit even if their practices don't, that's why they dissolved the council at the end of S1.

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X_Toad
Apr 2, 2011

computer parts posted:

You're supposed to think that their arguments have some merit even if their practices don't, that's why they dissolved the council at the end of S1.
It would have been nice to hear some of those arguments in the series proper though. As it is, there is very little connection in the series proper between what the Equalists fought for and the change of politics in the RC.

hangedman1984
Jul 25, 2012

Decius posted:

It is hard to imagine the Equalists gaining anything like a big foothold because of the simple fact that everyone's kid can potentially be a bender. It's easy to instill hate for a group that you can easily separate from the general population, but it is harder to do so if there is a good chance that you know someone or are related to someone who belongs to the group you are supposed to hate (see gay rights). That's what bugged me with all the Mutant hate by the population in the Marvel books.

But it doesn't stop discrimination from still happening in the real world, as evidenced by your gays rights example. There's a reason there is a gay rights movement, and its not because everyone loved and accepted their gay kids immediately. Don't see it being that big of a stretch for an anti-bender movement from taking hold.

Darth Walrus
Feb 13, 2012

Baron Bifford posted:

I heard the Mongols executed nobles and other respected men by breaking their backs. Wouldn't that just turn them into a paraplegic?

They then left them out to die, I think.

Raenir Salazar
Nov 5, 2010

College Slice

hangedman1984 posted:

But it doesn't stop discrimination from still happening in the real world, as evidenced by your gays rights example. There's a reason there is a gay rights movement, and its not because everyone loved and accepted their gay kids immediately. Don't see it being that big of a stretch for an anti-bender movement from taking hold.

The difference is being gay doesn't immediately levitate you to the top; a bender kid kinda does.

deadicons
Sep 9, 2011

Raenir Salazar posted:

The difference is being gay doesn't immediately levitate you to the top; a bender kid kinda does.

Except for Mako. And Bolin. And Katara.

Xelkelvos
Dec 19, 2012

deadicons posted:

Except for Mako. And Bolin. And Katara.

Of the power available to benders throughout the series, generally it's either power in combat or political power. It's never been associated with wealth

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Yeah, I don't think we've ever actually seen a legitimately wealthy bender who wasn't also some sort of monarch or criminal. Having the ability to bend doesn't seem to be as worthwhile from a financial aspect as being really good at growing cabbages and really lovely at making airships.

ConfusedUs
Feb 24, 2004

Bees?
You want fucking bees?
Here you go!
ROLL INITIATIVE!!





ImpAtom posted:

Yeah, I don't think we've ever actually seen a legitimately wealthy bender who wasn't also some sort of monarch or criminal. Having the ability to bend doesn't seem to be as worthwhile from a financial aspect as being really good at growing cabbages and really lovely at making airships.

Long Feng was rich, but he might as well have been the monarch.

Political power typically has a quantity of wealth associated with it in most societies.

Empress Theonora
Feb 19, 2001

She was a sword glinting in the depths of night, a lance of light piercing the darkness. There would be no mistakes this time.
Toph was rich, but only because her parents (non-benders, IIRC) were rich, so. :v:

I'm guessing Tahno was rich? He certainly seemed to be in a higher echelon of pro-bending success than Mako and Bolin, anyway.

There's probably some other rich benders who aren't criminals, politicians, or royalty here and there just because there's been so many characters in the show in general, but it's pretty safe to say there's not much correlation between bending and wealth beyond the royal families that happen to be benders.

Rand Brittain
Mar 25, 2013

"Go on until you're stopped."
I also have to wonder how much of the population are technically "benders" but never actually learned how to use the bending arts.

Spergatory
Oct 28, 2012
It's a weird situation. We're shown with Wan and company that you don't really need all that much skill to sling fire around (probably why everyone's parents got killed by firebenders; much like a gun, it's lethal even in the hands of the unskilled). And airbenders can apparently kick up some pretty powerful winds with very little training (with cases like Daw even doing it accidentally and needing training in order to stop). But Katara struggled with waterbending before she found the scrolls and got tutored by Pakku. And I don't think we've ever seen an untrained earthbender. So it's kind of unclear how important the actual 'art' of bending is compared to just being born with the power.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

Spergatory posted:

It's a weird situation. We're shown with Wan and company that you don't really need all that much skill to sling fire around (probably why everyone's parents got killed by firebenders; much like a gun, it's lethal even in the hands of the unskilled). And airbenders can apparently kick up some pretty powerful winds with very little training (with cases like Daw even doing it accidentally and needing training in order to stop). But Katara struggled with waterbending before she found the scrolls and got tutored by Pakku. And I don't think we've ever seen an untrained earthbender. So it's kind of unclear how important the actual 'art' of bending is compared to just being born with the power.

It depends what you mean by "trained"; earth benders probably have a hereditary aspect to it so they can learn father to son but I doubt most of the earthbenders outside of Ba Sing Se ever received formal training for their abilities.

Fried Chicken
Jan 9, 2011

Don't fry me, I'm no chicken!

Spergatory posted:

And I don't think we've ever seen an untrained earthbender. So it's kind of unclear how important the actual 'art' of bending is compared to just being born with the power.
There was the one from season 1, who is trying to teach himself in the gulley and gets arrested so they end up on the platform in the middle of the ocean where George takei is the warden

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Spergatory posted:

It's a weird situation. We're shown with Wan and company that you don't really need all that much skill to sling fire around (probably why everyone's parents got killed by firebenders; much like a gun, it's lethal even in the hands of the unskilled). And airbenders can apparently kick up some pretty powerful winds with very little training (with cases like Daw even doing it accidentally and needing training in order to stop). But Katara struggled with waterbending before she found the scrolls and got tutored by Pakku. And I don't think we've ever seen an untrained earthbender. So it's kind of unclear how important the actual 'art' of bending is compared to just being born with the power.

We saw that Katara was able to kick up water just by being angry at Sokka. It seems like the ability to manipulate elemnets wildly is pretty easy, the ability to do it with useful control is hard.

Spergatory
Oct 28, 2012

Fried Chicken posted:

There was the one from season 1, who is trying to teach himself in the gulley and gets arrested so they end up on the platform in the middle of the ocean where George takei is the warden

Haru wasn't a pro but he clearly had the basic forms down, likely from being taught by his father before his imprisonment. I mean someone like Katara, who has no formal training at all at the start of the series and needed months of experimentation to get down even the basics.

ImpAtom posted:

We saw that Katara was able to kick up water just by being angry at Sokka. It seems like the ability to manipulate elemnets wildly is pretty easy, the ability to do it with useful control is hard.

True. Katara's flailbending pretty much kickstarted the whole series. Sokka's sexism saved the world!

In that case, it'd actually be in everyone's best interest to make sure all benders get trained, because uncontrolled bending would be insanely dangerous, especially in a city setting. Imagine some untrained pissed-off earthbender kid doing to a building what Katara did to that iceberg in the first episode.

Empress Theonora
Feb 19, 2001

She was a sword glinting in the depths of night, a lance of light piercing the darkness. There would be no mistakes this time.
I really liked that scene with the airbending farmer since he was an example of somebody who could bend but just wanted to live a life that had nothing to do with that.

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

http://rufiozuko.tumblr.com/post/94475287487/oh-my-god-i-just-found-out-my-dear-old-friend

:smith:

Killer robot
Sep 6, 2010

I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it!
Pillbug

ImpAtom posted:

Yeah, I don't think we've ever actually seen a legitimately wealthy bender who wasn't also some sort of monarch or criminal. Having the ability to bend doesn't seem to be as worthwhile from a financial aspect as being really good at growing cabbages and really lovely at making airships.

At the end of the day bending is either physical labor or outright fighting, and typically takes long training as well. Both are things you can make a reliable living at and can be exceedingly useful with, but pretty unlikely on their own to make you all that wealthy. Outside of crime or military conquest, being a sports star sounds like about the only route, and Pro Bending at least doesn't seem to pay all that well unless you're really on top.

Jorghnassen
Oct 1, 2007
Glouton des fjords

Dante Basco's words on the passing of Robin Williams

But, to keep to the thread topic, here's an interview with Janet Varney and David Faustino posted today.

Potsticker
Jan 14, 2006



Peter Pan was taken down.

TheBalor
Jun 18, 2001

Killer robot posted:

At the end of the day bending is either physical labor or outright fighting, and typically takes long training as well. Both are things you can make a reliable living at and can be exceedingly useful with, but pretty unlikely on their own to make you all that wealthy. Outside of crime or military conquest, being a sports star sounds like about the only route, and Pro Bending at least doesn't seem to pay all that well unless you're really on top.

I think Bolin and Mako were kind of in a uniquely lovely situation. The owner was clearly exploiting them, but it's not like he had barracks where he forced all of his debt-enslaved pro benders to live. Probably he saw they had talent, advanced them the considerable sums of cash needed to buy equipment, then charged them ruinous interest.

SpiderHyphenMan
Apr 1, 2010

by Fluffdaddy
Zelda Williams played a guard this season of Korra.
I learned that today from Bryan's memorial post to Robin Williams.

Wildeyes
Nov 3, 2011

Tezzor posted:

AVClub can't stop bitching about Rollins' performance but I think it is perfect.

Yeah, I really don't get where that guy's coming from (and most of AV Club's commenters don't seem to either).

Some of the dialogue written for him could use some work (as has been discussed), but I've overall been impressed with his delivery.

Just saw the last two episodes. I don't think I've ever been as excited to see where things are going, between LOK and ATLA, as I am now.

And to all those people saying Zaheer and company will get defeated by this season's end, you shut your filthy mouths. I can't get enough of these guys, and I might just want to see an Azula-in-ATLA-season-2-style bad guy victory to close this out before the story resumes in season 4. And if they could throw in a short focusing entirely on them and their interactions with one another behind the scenes, that would make my whole year.

King of Foolians
Mar 16, 2006
Long live the King!

quote:

It depends what you mean by "trained"; earth benders probably have a hereditary aspect to it so they can learn father to son but I doubt most of the earthbenders outside of Ba Sing Se ever received formal training for their abilities.

Actually we saw in the first series in Toph's hometown there were Earthbending Dojos that you can join to learn/refine earthbending.

The hereditary aspects of bending intrigues me. Genetics obviously plan some part but we've seen benders give birth to non-benders, a set of identical twins where one can bend and one can't, and other weird situations. I wonder if it could have been possible for one of Tenzin's kids to be a waterbender since his mother was.

To me it would make more sense for everyone in the world to be able to bend but most can only do it a very little bit, and only by a lot of training (or being a prodigy, as so many are in this series) could you really pull off bending. But that would have completly negated the Equalist storyline so...

thexerox123
Aug 17, 2007

King of Foolians posted:

a set of identical twins where one can bend and one can't

Who was this? I can't recall this example.

Xelkelvos
Dec 19, 2012

thexerox123 posted:

Who was this? I can't recall this example.

It's the The Fortune Teller episodeof AtLA

Level Slide
Jan 4, 2011



Texasbending

SpiderHyphenMan posted:

Zelda Williams played a guard this season of Korra.
I learned that today from Bryan's memorial post to Robin Williams.

Was it that one Zaofu guard who had a (comparative) bunch of speaking lines when the Red Lotus attacked? I actually thought she was the mole before Aiwei was sussed out.

Ravane
Oct 23, 2010

by LadyAmbien

Level Slide posted:



Texasbending

They bend bullets with freedom.

Arist
Feb 13, 2012

who, me?


:911:

DrSunshine
Mar 23, 2009

Did I just say that out loud~~?!!!

Level Slide posted:



Texasbending

The Politically-Loaded Maps thread is that way. :)

Jackard
Oct 28, 2007

We Have A Bow And We Wish To Use It
Florida should also be Water Tribe

Potsticker
Jan 14, 2006


Level Slide posted:



Texasbending

This would be better if the regions actually mapped politically with the labelled Avatar nations. That being said, the brown region is the only correctly labelled one.

hiddenriverninja
May 10, 2013

life is locomotion
keep moving
trust that you'll find your way

Potsticker posted:

This would be better if the regions actually mapped politically with the labelled Avatar nations. That being said, the brown region is the only correctly labelled one.

The Free [United] Republic: There is always more and it is always worse

Babygravy
Jun 12, 2014

I am the gravy
Shouldn't the earth kingdom be more centrally located and bigger?

MLKQUOTEMACHINE
Oct 22, 2012

Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill

Babygravy posted:

Shouldn't the earth kingdom be more centrally located and bigger?

Perhaps, but west coast = earthquakes & desert so its earth kingdom in my headcannon now.

hiddenriverninja
May 10, 2013

life is locomotion
keep moving
trust that you'll find your way

Also, Hawaii should probably be either Water or Fire.

Mecca-Benghazi
Mar 31, 2012


Alaska should be Water Tribe because there are actual Inuit people there. Make Hawaii the spirit world. :colbert:

Jackard
Oct 28, 2007

We Have A Bow And We Wish To Use It

Mecca-Benghazi posted:

Alaska should be Water Tribe because there are actual Inuit people there. Make Hawaii the spirit world. :colbert:
If America is the four nations then Canada is spirit world

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Babygravy
Jun 12, 2014

I am the gravy
Air nation above the Rockies?

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