- TV Show
- PG
- By Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko
- Reviewed by Anonymous
Racial Representation: 5
LGBTQ+ Representation: 2
Disability Representation: 5
Body Size Representation: 5
Gender Representation: 5
Socioeconomic Representation: 2
Mental Health Representation: 3
Religious Representation: 5
Own Voice: No, both creators are white
“Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” One of the most critically acclaimed animated TV series of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender was at the time one of the only pieces of Western animated media to not only have East Asian representation with a mainly East Asian cast but also to have Indigenous Peoples representation as well. In fact, the very world of Avatar is entirely inspired by East Asian culture with each different nation (Air Nomads, Water Tribes, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom) all taken inspiration from either people of East Asian descent or Indigenous descent. The Air Nomads are based on Tibetan culture as well as Buddhist religion. The Water Tribes are based on Inuit culture, the Fire Nation is based mainly off of Japanese culture, and the Earth Kingdom is based off of Chinese culture. Each characters from these nations are not stereotypes of East Asian people or of Indigenous People but fleshed out full-developed multi-dimensional characters. There are so many more aspects of this show about representation that this review does not do it justice. For those who are curious, I implore you to please not just watch the original show, but its sequel show as well: The Legend of Korra as well as its comics & books. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed by this amazing show.
Sources:
Diversify the Media Narrative 
