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attackfishI don't usually like writing meta in the middle of a season, because I'm an insecure person who hates it when the show publicly destroys my theories, but here goes...
So there are a whole bunch of interesting things here to talk about, like the fact that they pretty much ripped Tonraq and Unalaq's backstory straight out of Thor, or I really hate Varrick, or that I think I'm in the minority here in that I like this idea of Aang as an imperfect father, who didn't always respond perfectly to his children's varying talents and cultural identities, and has kids that sometimes feel a little resentment because of it, but who was a good man, and with Katara raised a loving family, full of wonderful, flawed people. Or the fact that we have as of yet met two Northern Water Tribe chiefs and their children, but never met or heard referenced a single chief's wife (except possibly a little bit in flashback when Yue's hair turned white). Or that the writers really seem to have a thing about pairs of siblings, (all of whom are pairs of brothers, exept one brother sister pair) were the elder is more straightforward, and the younger is more manipulative, Iroh and Ozai, Zuko and Azula, Noatak and Tarlok, and now Tonraq and Unalaq. Interestingly, in Korra, the siblings who fit this pattern have all been Water Tribe, but the Water sibs from Airbender didn't fit this pattern. Or there's the fact that I really really want to know who the barbarians that Unalaq paid to attack the North were. Are they ethnically Water? Earth? Fire?, Heck, are they Air? Are they none of the above? What would that mean? What's their history as a people? Have they always been in the North, or did they come there recently? World building wonks like me want to know!
No, though, what I'm going to talk about is Eska, and a little bit about Desna, but mostly Eska.
In Avatar: the Last Airbender, the writers did a truly superb job of portraying an abusive girl, in Azula, and showed that neither masculinity, nor adulthood were required for such a person to be a threat, or to cause damage to their victims. I've talked a little before here about just how affirming it was to see a person much like my abuser and first stalker portrayed as a serious, terrifying villain, and how seeing her minions' rejection of her being portrayed as heroic helped me come to terms with my own guilt for "running away."
This is part of why Eska feels like a massive step back for the show to me. Superficially, I think Eska is supposed to remind us of Mai. They both have a similar "goth" sensibility, and both are cool and outwardly unemotional. This is further highlighted when Eska calls Bolin her feeble turtle-duck after Airbender symbolically associated Mai's boyfriend with the same animal. However, Mai's emotionless facade is explained in universe as a psychological defense, whereas, at least for now, it only serves to add to Eska and Desna's creepiness. And there's the fact that Mai isn't an abusive control freak, like Eska, Desna and Azula.
The narrative treats Eska's abuse of Bolin, her attempts to isolate and control him, the way she persistently overrules his objections, or twists his displays of emotions, as a joke. Whereas Azula was treated utterly seriously, and I doubt that a male character doing what she does to say Korra or Asami would be treated in any way but seriously, Eska is funny.The fact that she almost succeeds in dragging Bolin all the way across the world, far from his friends and family is funny.
I'm not laughing.
The humor picked up another distasteful element with the portrayel of Eska as a "crazy (ex) girlfriend." There's a lot of really well written stuff out there about how "crazy" is thrown at women in relationships for daring have emotions and needs that don't jive perfectly with their boyfriend/spouse's desires. Eska's threat being downgraded to that, and used to reinforce that stereotype is just gross.
Then there's the way Eska and Desna's androgyny is used to enhance their creepiness. This is an old, old trope, it's lazy, and like the "evil cripple" trope which associates disability with creepiness, reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with being nonbinary in one's gender presentation. There is in fact a piece of me that given Bolin's apparent attraction to both Eska and Desna mourns for the bisexual, gender binary smashing poly relationship that could have been if Eska and Desna weren't both incredibly abusive, and Nickelodeon were somehow convinced it wasn't inappropriate for kids.
The one thing even I laughed at though, was that betrothal necklace. It looked like something Eska picked up at Hot Topic.
So there are a whole bunch of interesting things here to talk about, like the fact that they pretty much ripped Tonraq and Unalaq's backstory straight out of Thor, or I really hate Varrick, or that I think I'm in the minority here in that I like this idea of Aang as an imperfect father, who didn't always respond perfectly to his children's varying talents and cultural identities, and has kids that sometimes feel a little resentment because of it, but who was a good man, and with Katara raised a loving family, full of wonderful, flawed people. Or the fact that we have as of yet met two Northern Water Tribe chiefs and their children, but never met or heard referenced a single chief's wife (except possibly a little bit in flashback when Yue's hair turned white). Or that the writers really seem to have a thing about pairs of siblings, (all of whom are pairs of brothers, exept one brother sister pair) were the elder is more straightforward, and the younger is more manipulative, Iroh and Ozai, Zuko and Azula, Noatak and Tarlok, and now Tonraq and Unalaq. Interestingly, in Korra, the siblings who fit this pattern have all been Water Tribe, but the Water sibs from Airbender didn't fit this pattern. Or there's the fact that I really really want to know who the barbarians that Unalaq paid to attack the North were. Are they ethnically Water? Earth? Fire?, Heck, are they Air? Are they none of the above? What would that mean? What's their history as a people? Have they always been in the North, or did they come there recently? World building wonks like me want to know!
No, though, what I'm going to talk about is Eska, and a little bit about Desna, but mostly Eska.
In Avatar: the Last Airbender, the writers did a truly superb job of portraying an abusive girl, in Azula, and showed that neither masculinity, nor adulthood were required for such a person to be a threat, or to cause damage to their victims. I've talked a little before here about just how affirming it was to see a person much like my abuser and first stalker portrayed as a serious, terrifying villain, and how seeing her minions' rejection of her being portrayed as heroic helped me come to terms with my own guilt for "running away."
This is part of why Eska feels like a massive step back for the show to me. Superficially, I think Eska is supposed to remind us of Mai. They both have a similar "goth" sensibility, and both are cool and outwardly unemotional. This is further highlighted when Eska calls Bolin her feeble turtle-duck after Airbender symbolically associated Mai's boyfriend with the same animal. However, Mai's emotionless facade is explained in universe as a psychological defense, whereas, at least for now, it only serves to add to Eska and Desna's creepiness. And there's the fact that Mai isn't an abusive control freak, like Eska, Desna and Azula.
The narrative treats Eska's abuse of Bolin, her attempts to isolate and control him, the way she persistently overrules his objections, or twists his displays of emotions, as a joke. Whereas Azula was treated utterly seriously, and I doubt that a male character doing what she does to say Korra or Asami would be treated in any way but seriously, Eska is funny.The fact that she almost succeeds in dragging Bolin all the way across the world, far from his friends and family is funny.
I'm not laughing.
The humor picked up another distasteful element with the portrayel of Eska as a "crazy (ex) girlfriend." There's a lot of really well written stuff out there about how "crazy" is thrown at women in relationships for daring have emotions and needs that don't jive perfectly with their boyfriend/spouse's desires. Eska's threat being downgraded to that, and used to reinforce that stereotype is just gross.
Then there's the way Eska and Desna's androgyny is used to enhance their creepiness. This is an old, old trope, it's lazy, and like the "evil cripple" trope which associates disability with creepiness, reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with being nonbinary in one's gender presentation. There is in fact a piece of me that given Bolin's apparent attraction to both Eska and Desna mourns for the bisexual, gender binary smashing poly relationship that could have been if Eska and Desna weren't both incredibly abusive, and Nickelodeon were somehow convinced it wasn't inappropriate for kids.
The one thing even I laughed at though, was that betrothal necklace. It looked like something Eska picked up at Hot Topic.
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no subject
Date: 2013-09-28 01:10 pm (UTC)Eska and Bolin funny This. It was portrayed as funny, and everybody seems to go along with that, and I'm just like, no, please no, she's abusive, somebody other than Bolin notice this.
I do feel like the show is heading in the right direction since the season premier and I'm especially enjoying the focus on family, which was a great part of AtLA. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.
Yes, very much this. Eska is/was a blot for me on a season I am otherwise enjoying much more than the previous one.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-28 05:28 pm (UTC)Back to Bolin/Eska: I just worry because, in general, guys in abusive relationships are usually laughed at rather than taken seriously in media.
It might be that now they know they have a couple more seasons to play with, they're going to develop the characters better. That would be a real improvement from last season.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-28 05:38 pm (UTC)Oh the bloodsucking leach comment. On one hand, I was like, Mako, no, and on the other, I was going, well at least advising brutal honesty is better than his stringing girls along? Progress?
I just worry because, in general, guys in abusive relationships are usually laughed at rather than taken seriously in media.
Every time. And worse when the man is being abused by a woman, because women being a threat is seen as inherently amusing. It's a major step backward after Azula.
Here's hoping. I do like a lot of what they're doing.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-28 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-28 07:04 pm (UTC)There seem to be two camps, the Mako can do no wrong camp, and the Mako must die camp, and for me, I want to see him get called out on his jerky behavior, and maybe learn something from it, and have the show maybe explore a little bit how his and bolin's childhoods molded them to be as they are now, but I also wish fandom would look at his behavior and remember he's a teenager with minimal dating experience, and we all do stupid, selfish, cowardly things at that age, and hurt people, and get hurt ourselves, and then learn better. I want him called out, sure, but I don't want him vilified for it. Girls shouldn't be vilified for it either, and vilifying boys for it won't help matters. I think you and I are caught in an uncomfortable middle there.