Airbender has become one of the most anticipated series of this year. Based on the animated show from Nickelodeon, the series follows the quest of Aang, the latest Avatar, who is tasked with learning to bend all four elements to prevent the Fire Nation from taking over the world.
The animated show was a worldwide phenomenon and has a global fanbase. Unfaithfulness to the source material is something that the fanbase did not tolerate as the last live-action adaptation of the series, The Last Airbender, was panned and trolled. While the Netflix adaptation has been lauded for its apparent faithfulness, actress Kiawentiio revealed that they made Sokka less sexist in the show, which might concern fans.
Sokka In Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Will Be Less Sexist
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender will follow a similar premise to the animated show, which sees Aang, played by Gordon Cormier, travel across the world to learn various bending skills. Aang was in self-imposed suspended animation for a hundred years after running away from his responsibilities as an Avatar before being found by Katara and Sokka.
Aang’s destiny was to prevent another genocide by the Fire Nation, who wiped out the Air Nomads, the tribe that Aang belonged to, and stop the Hundred Years War. The show was announced in 2018 and was filmed in 2021. After the trailer was released, fans were extremely happy about the casting, with many comparing them to the animated versions.
While the casing and voices were appreciated to be close to the original material, the makers revealed that the show would not follow the same structure as the animated series. There were also reportedly some changes to the characterizations of characters such as Sokka and Prince Zuko. Actress Kiawentiio, who played Katara, told Entertainment Weekly,
“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.”
Actor Ian Ousley, who played the character in live-action, agreed with the characterization of Sokka. While he did bring out the funny side of the character, something which M Night Shyamalan’s 2010 The Last Airbender conveniently left out, he mentioned that some aspects of the character were changed because it would suit a live-action adaptation.
“I wanted to make sure that Sokka is funny…There are things that were redirected just because it might play a little differently [in live-action]…There’s more weight with realism in every way.”
The actors also revealed that Katara and Sokka’s family in the Water Tribe and the death of their parents would linger for them more apparently than in the animated show.
Was Sokka Sexist In Avatar: The Last Airbender?
In the show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sokka, and Katara were part of the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka was left to be in charge of the tribe as all men of the tribe, including his father, went to fight in the Hundred Years War. Sokka was tasked with protecting the tribe as he was the oldest male, but he wished to join his father in the war as a warrior.
Since Sokka was the sole ‘protector’ of the tribe, there were instances of him being sexist and misogynistic in his ideology. He spoke about women not being good warriors and that fighting in wars was more of a responsibility for the men. However, he changed his stances as the seasons progressed and his development was chalked up to character growth.
Hence, fans of the show were concerned about removing that aspect of Sokka as it was part of his character arc in the original series. The lore of the show also indicated how the Northern Water Tribes did not have women in the military, but the Southern Tribes did.
That was also apart of his character growth was unlearning that behaviour and realizing that it doesn't matter what gender you are to be a good warrior (cause he was training for war)
— Felicia 🎮 (@nerdyaunty92) January 29, 2024
It'll be interesting if they address his heritage in this press tour or if they keep quiet
Understandable, but it was also part of his character growth
— Dragon (@Draggon2217) January 29, 2024
I get it, but those moments led to Sokka's development too and happened pretty early on. I think they could have left this in from the animated show and been perfectly fine.
— Dullahan (@DullahanPitch) January 29, 2024
While the nature of the misogynistic comments that Sokka made in the animated show might be too extreme for the present scenario, it was a character trait that defined his arc. Removing it entirely could make fans wonder about what would be Sokka’s journey in the Netflix series. But, at least he would be funny (unlike in The Last Airbender).
Avatar: The Last Airbender streams on Netflix from February 22.
