Showing posts tagged korra

The Cult of Amon - The Taiping Rebellion

This is not as out of nowhere as it may seem. Please read this first:

The Taiping Rebellion (1850 to 1864, present day Nanjing) was led by Hong Xiuquan, who claimed (through visions) that he was the younger brother of Jesus. He founded the 太平天囯 Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which led to the (failed) Taiping Rebelling against the Qing government, and cost 20 million civilians their lives.

Now, while I still think that the Equalist movement is paralleling the Communist Revolution, especially with the oppression of the non-benders and their demands of equality, there are points to be made for the Equalists and Amon, to be a mash up of both i.e. the Communist Revolution AND The Taiping Rebellion.

Noteworthy things:

  • There is the character 平 is used by both, by Hong Xiuguan and Amon.

  • Then there is the way the Equalists get addressed at the rally: As ‘Brothers and Sisters’. This is not a Communist greeting, that would be 'Comrade’. “Brothers and Sisters’ does, on the other hand, do have a religious ring to it. Amon also, so far, has not called for a redistribution of wealth.

  • Amon calls the rally 'Revelation’. And while that fits the episode i.e. him revealing his (potential) Energybending powers, it also has a very Christian Revivalist ring to it.

  • Amon claims to be in touch with the Spirit World i.e. he claims the spirits taught him energybending. The Avatar is the religious aka spiritual leader of their world, meaning that Amon’s claim does have, once again, a religious ring to it.

Speculation after this point:

Amon claims to be a non-bender. What if he is not? He has already claimed to have gotten Energybending from the spirits, what if he, in one big final revelation, claimed to be the new spiritual leader by declaring that the spirits gave him (potentially supercharged) bending, so that he can be their new savior? Is he going to rename Republic City into the 'Amon Spiritual Kingdom’?

Is it wrong that I now kinda want Amon to declare himself the Avatar XD

Big thanks to stickmarionette, whose ask made this post possible :D And to cadesama for her input.

LOK continues to parallel Chinese history i.e. we have now reached the beginning of the Chinese Civil War.

In episode eight we see a curfew being put in place for non-benders, as well as any association with Equalists being made into a punishable offense. Further, normal citizens are being rounded up under the excuse of them being potential Equalists.

Tarrlok’s actions split the City Council (plus Avatar) into two groups, those pro and those against the strict handling of the Equalist situation.

As I have pointed out before: The Equalists parallel the Communists, while the Task Force parallels the Kuomintang. Click me!

Now this is what happened in real life (it parallels rather well):

The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party).

Following the incident, conservative KMT elements carried out a full-scale purge of Communists in all areas under their control, and even more violent suppressions occurred in cities such as Guangzhou and Changsha.

The purge led to an open split between KMT left and right wings, with Chiang Kai-shek establishing himself as the leader of the right wing at Nanjing in opposition to the original left-wing KMT government in Wuhan.

Will we get to see a full-scale civil war? Is the EK Russia in this scenario?

More:

The Taiping Rebellion - Religious elements in the Equalists

Be the leaf, Amon

Amon Poster - Real World References

The Meaning Behind Amon’s Name

Amon’s Mask - Analyzed through Beijing Opera Symbolism

Republic City, Yu Dao, Imperialism, the Boxer Rebellion and Hong Kong

What time period is ATLA set in

Implications of The Founding of Republic City i.e. The Promise Part One

Let’s play Rorschach

Who else noticed that the way the crowd was standing kinda looked deliberate?

1. Things I can see: A communist star :D

2. Vaguely Korean writing

Anyone out there reading this blog who can speak Korean? Does it say anything?


Apparently it is not. Sadness. I was hoping for a dorky/funny note from the animators XD

Cheongsam - Qi Pao Both, Katara and Toph, as well as Asami are wearing qi paos. The difference in style can be explained by the different time periods i.e. what Asami wears is the height of fashion in the 1920, whereas Katara’s and Toph’s are of a... View high resolution

Cheongsam - Qi Pao

Both, Katara and Toph, as well as Asami are wearing qi paos. The difference in style can be explained by the different time periods i.e. what Asami wears is the height of fashion in the 1920, whereas Katara’s and Toph’s are of a more traditional style. Both styles are appropriate for the situation they’re worn in i.e. a royal party or, in Asami’s case, her being the fashionable daughter of a rich industrialist visiting a fancy restaurant.

The cheongsam is known in Mandarin as the Qi Pao. The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam that we know today was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and was made fashionable by socialites and upperclass women. The qipao is the traditional dress of the Manchu, not the Han Chinese, but became common during the Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty). Traditional Han dress is the hanfu.

Image source: One, two

More about the qi pao: Click me! or Me!

… guys, don’t take that personally, but you might want to hit the gym again …

Lying liars and the lies they tell Something interesting I just noticed: Sato is wearing a jacket with flames in the design. For someone who hates firebenders as much as he proclaims in episode seven, why would you wear a flames motif? Even if he was... View high resolution

Lying liars and the lies they tell

Something interesting I just noticed: Sato is wearing a jacket with flames in the design.

For someone who hates firebenders as much as he proclaims in episode seven, why would you wear a flames motif?

Even if he was of FN heritage, which, as far as I remember, we have no proof for or against, would you not choose something not … related to the guys who killed your wife?

Edited to add:

I totally missed that part in the game.

In the episode he says: “Please call me Hiroshi, so I understand you’re dirt poor. Young man that is nothing to be ashamed of, I too came from humble beginnings, why when I was your age I was a mere shoe-shiner, and all I had to my name was an idea: The Satomobile….”

That brings up another interesting question though: If he is from an old family, why was he destitute and needed a secret investor to help him? The Promise and the game both state that the wealth was unequally distributed towards FN citizens back then.

Am now starting to wonder if the whole story he tells Mako is a load of BS to get Mako to like and trust him…?

Also, if this is a big fat lie, why does Asami not react to it?

Lao Gan Lan 老甘藍 aka ‘Venerable Broccoli/Brussels Sprouts’ (depending on the regional dialect). Gan Lan could also mean 橄榄 - ’Olive’, but since we are dealing with the cabbage merchant’s legacy, that is rather unlikely.

Since I’ve seen this mistranslated once too often:

Lao is NOT part of the name, it is an honorific. Toph’s father’s first name is not Lao. Neither is it this dude’s first name. (Or family name for that matter, if we do it the Chinese way)

Lao in this context means “Venerable; sir; master”

Lao is prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerable (person).

Example of usage: Laozi 老子 aka  Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Laosi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China

With all Pawns Firmly in Place … Amon is very good at manipulating people. No matter if you think Asami is good or evil, I am convinced that she is exactly where Amon wants her to be, if she realizes this or not. What do you think Amon wants from Air... View high resolution

With all Pawns Firmly in Place …

Amon is very good at manipulating people. No matter if you think Asami is good or evil, I am convinced that she is exactly where Amon wants her to be, if she realizes this or not.

What do you think Amon wants from Air Temple Island?

Aang’s notes/diaries on Energybending

Aang’s notes/diaries on Yakone

Some kind of artifact

Revenge

Access to the spirit world

Manipulating them from within to aid his plans (as he did with the Metalbenders during Pro Bending)

So, ideas?

I am smelling foreshadowing. Take a look at the car racing scene and Korra’s and Asami’s reaction/ actions. I am kinda squinting at the non-reaction we get from Asami as the other driver nearly crashes (due to her btw). It seems at odds with her...

I am smelling foreshadowing.

Take a look at the car racing scene and Korra’s and Asami’s reaction/ actions. I am kinda squinting at the non-reaction we get from Asami as the other driver nearly crashes (due to her btw). It seems at odds with her acting oh so nice.