Summary
With the live-action adaptation ofAvatar: The Last Airbendergetting closer to release every day, the cast and crew have started revealing more information about the series, and fans have been tuned in, whether they’re excited about Netflix’s adaptation or wary of the changes it might make. There have been quite a few interviews recently that have revealed information that a lot of fans are already quite critical of.
One of the newest pieces of information that was revealed was around the subject of Sokka, and the changes that are being made to his character in the adaptation. A lot of fans don’t like the direction that the Netflix series seems to be taking with him, not only becauseit’s a change from the original animated series, but because it really undercuts a lot of his character development and seems to miss a major point from the original show.
How Is Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Changing Sokka?
The cast of Netflix’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderrecently revealed that one part of Sokka’s personality would be majorly changed for the adaptation, namely, his attitude towards women.In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actors Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley, who play Katara and Sokka respectively, discussed this, with Kiawentiio mentioning the changes to Sokka’s character:
I feel like we also took out the element of how sexist [Sokka] was. I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.
In the beginning of the original animated series, Sokka is quite sexist, and doesn’t believe that women are as capable of fighting as men. This is a big character flaw of his that is challenged throughout the series, by his own sister Katara and also specificallywhen he meets Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors in the Earth Kingdom. He grows as a person and becomes more accepting as the story goes on, but he starts as a bit of a misogynist.
Why Is This a Problem?
While Sokka’s behavior atthe beginning ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderis problematic, that’s the entire point. His words and actions are not condoned, and his belief that men are better at things is constantly being proven wrong by the female characters around him. He has to learn to let go of those ideals he was raised with and see women as equals, which gives him an interesting character arc to experience over the course of the show. In fact, this arc also serves the female characters because it highlights how strong and capable they are in response to Sokka’s sexism.
Taking this fundamental character arc away from him just means that he has nowhere to grow as a character, unless they give him a different flaw to work through. In general, there seems to be this trend in media, specifically remakes, of smoothing characters out by not showing them having problematic beliefs, as society no longer condones those ideas. The problem with that is that it misunderstands the point of these arcs in the first place. Sokka isn’t made to be sexist because the people who make the show are sexist; in fact, it’s quite the opposite, because they constantly point out the ways in which he is wrong.
It’s Okay For Main Characters To Have Flaws
A lot of media now wants to make their main characters a little too perfect. While it’s good to have protagonists that the audience can relate to and root for, that doesn’t mean that they should be wiped of any flaws. Flaws are what make characters feel human and fleshed out, and it gives them room to grow and get better and better as the story goes on. If a character starts the story with perfect beliefs and actions, they have nowhere to go and their arc immediately stagnates.
If Netflix were to include Sokka’s sexism, it wouldn’t mean that they are condoning misogyny, because Sokka was never supposed to be perceived as being correct in his beliefs. There are times he’s actually made to look like a fool for believing that men are better fighters before getting immediately defeated in a fight by a female character. There’s a major arcin the Northern Water Tribewhere Katara has to fight against the sexism of their society, and the entire point of that part of the story is that their beliefs are wrong.
While it’s obviously a noble goal to want to portray equality and diversity on screen, that doesn’t mean that Netflix should totally ridAvatar: The Last Airbenderof any of its conflict or character flaws. It’s boring to watch a story where the characters don’t grow, andas more information about the Netflix adaptation ofATLAcomes out, it becomes more and more obvious that they don’t fully understand the source material that they’re adapting from. Sokka is a beloved character because of his flaws and the way he works through them, not in spite of them.
