A:TLA Annotations

Shyamalan and Racism: The Water Tribes

Let’s compare the movie water tribes. Shyamalan has kept mainly to canon when it comes to the backstory i.e. the Southern Water Tribe is diminished in numbers and due to their lack of benders lives in igloos rather than waterbend structures. The Northern Water Tribe has a walled city with elaborate houses and grand public places. The Northern Water Tribe is also the first time we see distinctly Chinese architecture. So far, so good.

Now what isdifferentwrong? Take a close look at the extras in both places. In the Southern Water Tribe all extra but for one woman with red hair are First Nation. In the Northern Water Tribe all extras are White.

Why cast different race actors for the water tribes? Why make the one devastated by war First Nation and the prosperous one White?

Shyamalan’s idea on what diversity is supposed to be becomes really obvious if you take into account what he did to Aunt Wu’s village.

Apparently the only groups worthy of being shown prosperous and civilized are Indians and White people.

Part One:  Masterpost and Gibberish in the opening scene

Part Two: Kyoshi Island and Earthbenders

Part Three: Cut scene of unimaginable racist WTF

Part Four: ATLA is not King Arthur

Part Five: Fire Nation apologist: Movie vs. animated Agni Kai 

Part Six: The Fire Nation is not Rome, nor is it India.

Part Seven: The WTF that is Aunt Wu’s village

Part Eight: Northern Water Tribe vs Southern Water Tribe

Part Nine:
Shyamalan’s Dalai Lama - Avatar - Fire Nation Dilemma: The Savior

Part Ten: Family Portrait

Part Eleven: Have some more gibberish

Part Twelve: Victim Blaming

截水神功練習第一式 translates as “Waterbending, Exercise One" 

水單鞭 translates as "single water whip”

Sokka is holding gunpowder

During the Tang Dynasty, around 850 A.D., an enterprising alchemist (whose name has been lost to history) mixed 75 parts saltpeter with 15 parts charcoal and 10 parts sulfur. This mixture had no discernable life-lengthening properties, but it did explode with a flash and a bang when exposed to an open flame.

Many western history books over the years have stated that the Chinese used this discovery only for fireworks, but that is not true. Song Dynasty military forces as early as 904 A.D. used gunpowder devices against their primary enemy, the Mongols. These weapons included “flying fire” (fei huo), an arrow with a burning tube of gunpowder attached to the shaft. Flying fire arrows were miniature rockets, which propelled themselves into enemy ranks and inspired terror among both men and horses. It must have seemed like fearsome magic to the first warriors who were confronted with the power of gunpowder.

Source: One, two

EDIT: Since someone asked:

That is what the 飞 火  looked like. Source: One

火药发明以后，很快被用于军事斗争之中。从目前的史料来看，最早使用火药武器是唐天祐元年(公元904年)。当时，地方割据势力在互相攻伐中，曾使用“飞火”攻城。“飞火”就是在箭杆上绑一个火药团，点燃引信后射出去。