Zaheer: Why kill the Avatar? - video essay [Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra]

Instinct is a lie told by a fearful body that hopes to be wrong. What is that supposed to mean? It means that when you base your expectations only on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality. When Mike and Bryan set out to write The Legend of Korra, they did so with the clear intention of creating their antagonists with some kind of justification or larger idea that would make us, the audience, stop and ask: Are they the good guys? While The Last Airbender's final villain was Fire Lord Ozai, a tyrannical megalomaniac with few to no redeeming qualities, Legend of Korra's antagonists offer much more for the viewer to consider.

One of the clearest examples of this was the third season's antagonist, Zaheer. When we finally learn that the Red Lotus' true intention is to

kill

Korra and end the Avatar cycle, Zaheer boldly proclaims that this group of brothers and sisters in anarchy are witnessing the beginning of an era of true freedom. It is here that Zaheer describes himself as an anarchist to define the term extremely broadly. Anarchism is a philosophy that strongly emphasizes individual freedom and is highly skeptical about the justification of authority. Especially those with political power. Anarchists often doubt whether we should have a state or a government.

In keeping with these anarchist beliefs, he explains to Korra that true freedom can only be achieved when oppressive governments are overthrown. But this claim is a bit strange, if Zaheer's anarchist beliefs were only concerned with citing "oppressive governments", then that leaves us with a perplexing question: Why

kill

the Avatar? After all, the

avatar

is not a dictatorial tyrant who oppresses people, right? Well, to answer this question we need to understand two tenets of Zaheer's anarchist philosophy. The Red Lotus dreams of a world without what I will call in this

essay

Institutions of Authority. It is easy to understand why Zaheer would oppose monarchies.

Today there are many people who oppose them on principle. They are inherently unaccountable to their citizens and are historically prone to abuses of power that restrict the freedoms of their people. Zaheer rightly says: "You think that freedom is something you can give or receive on a whim," but for your people, freedom is as essential as "air." But Zaheer does not only oppose oppressive regimes like that of the Earth Queen. He is equally opposed to having a Fire Lord or a Chief of the Water Tribe. Both are institutions of authority that are not accountable to their citizens.

The fact that Fire Lord Zuko or Chief Tonraq are. benevolent does not care for the Red Lotus Zaheer reminds Korra that, "It was not long ago that almost all Airbenders were wiped out" "Thanks to the Fire Lord's desire to dominate the world. You see, Zaheer is well aware of the." potential of these institutions to restrict the freedoms of others in the future. And it is that potential that justifies their elimination in his mind. First and foremost, the first principle of Zaheer's philosophy is this: if a person is under constant potential threat. of losing their freedom, they are not truly free.

But this explanation still doesn't offer an answer as to why the Red Lotus wants to end the Avatar cycle. The

avatar

by nature is not a form of hereditary power like that of a monarch and each avatar is different. So where is Zaheer's problem? ? After watching season 3 once again, I realized that Zaheer is concerned with alleviating a much more subtle type of oppression than, say, Amon or Kuvira. Where those who are oppressed may not even realize they are oppressed. In fact, they may voluntarily reinforce the institutions of authority that oppress them and their loved ones. This is never clearer than with Yin, Mako, and Bolin's grandmother.

Despite living impoverished in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se and being disadvantaged by the Earth Queen's excessive extravagance and dictatorial rule, she scolds those who dare. She criticizes her majesty. Don't talk like that about her majesty. Long may she reign. This respect and reverence for the Queen of Earth is so deeply instilled in her that when her house burns down, the only thing she takes with her is her photo of the Queen of Earth. Now remember what Zaheer wants. A world: where a man's only loyalty is to himself and the ones he loves. This is Zaheer's core belief.

A person can never be free in a society and culture that teaches them that they owe their loyalty to institutions of authority without ever questioning them. why they deserve his loyalty. This teaches them that they must obey, revere or respect the authority of institutions like the Earth Queen. How can they be free when (A) they are forced to follow laws made by others and (B) the only reason they accept this is because they were indoctrinated into cultures that make them believe it is okay? This makes them believe that they owe loyalty to this institution and must respect its authority.

When Zaheer tells the Queen of Earth before killing her that: "I don't believe in Queens." He is making it clear that the only reason these institutions have political and social authority is because people are indoctrinated into believing they should have it. The same type of reverence can be seen regarding Fire Lord when Bolin shouts, "Oh my god, it's Lord Zuko, I can't believe it... ahh!" Even Korra can't escape his prejudice when he admits: Don't you think the world would be better off if leaders like them were eliminated? No, I mean, I don't really agree with what they've done.

But eliminating world leaders is not the answer. And Bumi half-says: Well, technically the Queen of Earth has the right to recruit her citizens. Now, while it is an informal comment that reflects how deeply embedded these institutions of authority are in society at some level, each of them believes that these institutions are justified. When in reality their power is completely baseless, these people are not naturally better leaders Bolin, Bumi, Korra, and everyone else have just grown up in a culture that reinforces these institutions by teaching people that they owe them loyalty. This is the second principle of Zaheer's philosophy: a person is not free if his culture indoctrinates him into believing in institutions of authority that must have authority over them.

It is in line with this second principle that Zaheer sees the avatar as the ultimate institution of authority that he needs to be eliminated. In Korra's time, the avatar has approval ratings in Republic City. He holds politician-like press conferences that Korra automatically has access to. to the Republic Council and other world leaders and is often treated as if he is above the law simply by virtue of being born, Avatar Zaheer also points out the Avatar's expanded political power. We are what the White Lotus was meant to be, but after the Hundred Years War, the White Lotus lost its true purpose.

Its members came out of hiding and openly served the avatar. They became nothing more than glorified bodyguards. The White Lotus was, at least in part, intended to make the avatar accountable to someone where no nation could. But the avatar is now ahead. The head of an international organization with the ability to interfere with individuals on a global scale and culture teaches people to think that they deserve this power. Zaheer wishes for a world where a man's loyalty is only to himself and those he loves But this same toxic culture of reverence and loyalty that surrounds monarchs can also be seen when it comes to the Avatar.

The Sages were a group in the Fire Nation. In the past, sages were loyal only to the Avatar. Being a kind of priesthood, their loyalty to the avatar is akin to a pseudo-religious following. They even bow before him. Suyin Beifong's son, Wing, even comments that it is an honor to duel with the avatar. I can't believe he's training. the avatar! Likewise, in Aang's travels, he was often revered and granted special privileges simply because he was the avatar. In the final episode of the season, Tenzin says that "the world is becoming more and more dangerous, we need the Avatar now more than ever." And this feeling is repeated in numerous characters throughout the series.

He creates this sense of authority in the avatar to balance the world that both Korra and everyone around her accepts. This was never clearer than in the Where Kyoshi online comic series. tells us about the peasant uprising in Ba Sing Se When she admonished the Earth King for defying the Avatar, Kyoshi expected the Earth King to obey her and Zaheer sees this type of entitlement as a problem, the most important thing is that the Red Lotus gave realized a long time ago that: You made the world this way, we just live in it. Of any institution of authority, it is undeniable that the world has been shaped most by the consequences of the avatars' actions.

Who should be protected and who should be punished has often been determined by them and them alone, just as even democratic states like Republic City dictate where people can go. and living with borders and regulations Zaheer points out that it was wrong for the Avatar to determine whether or not people were allowed to enter the spirit world. The idea of ​​having nations and governments is as foolish as keeping the human and spiritual realms separate. So let's go back to our original question: Why kill the avatar? Fundamentally, the avatar has become no different from the Fire Lord, the head of the Water Tribe, the President of Republic City, or the Queen of Earth.

The Avatar has become an institution of irresponsible authority with almost unlimited power. Zaheer even says it in season four. But my powers have limits. You're wrong. That poison should have killed you, but you are able to fight it. You believe your power has limits. I say it is unlimited. Whether the potential danger of a tyrannical Fire Lord is enough to justify removing him. So in Zaheer's philosophy, the potential danger of a tyrannical Avatar is tenfold. Korra meets the criteria. First of all, people are forced to comply. The Avatar's Moral Standards: A person you did not choose to have authority.

And secondly, his culture indoctrinates them to revere the Avatar and believe that they should have this authority over them. With these two principles, Zaheer aims to free people from an oppression they don't even realize they are under. The Avatar The Red Lotus sees beyond the mysticism surrounding the Avatar and just because Korra can bend the four elements doesn't mean she can. no special benefits should be granted. authority She is simply someone who was born with access to a nuclear arsenal Of course, the obvious rebuttal to this is that the Avatar does not conform to Zaheer's first principle that they are not under the constant potential threat of the loss of their freedom and that the avatar has no real potential to become tyrannical.

But this argument doesn't have much merit. While each avatar has tried to do good in their world, their subjective perception of what good means has varied greatly. Avatar Kyoshi established the Dai Li as a means to protect the Earth. The cultural heritage of the Kingdom But no matter how noble his intentions were, it was far from a good decision. They soon became corrupt and began to oppress the citizens of the Earth Kingdom. Roku's decision not to kill Fire Lord Sozin led to the deaths of possibly millions of people. Beyond this, Korra herself is clearly subject to her own prejudices.

She is temperamental, impulsive, impatient, and prone to angry outbursts in a way Aang never was. Kyoshi expressed that she was perfectly willing to kill whenever she deemed it necessary. But she assured them that she would have done whatever it took to stop chin. The truth is that there is no reason for anyone to believe that the Avatar will never interfere with the freedoms of others. With or without purpose Avatars are neither automatically wise nor good leaders. Zaheer's philosophy is based on the idea that no one knows what is best. for someone other than themselves. For this reason: Idiot President.

And monarchs can never really make decisions that benefit their citizens. If elected officials can't, then the Avatar surely can't. They don't know what is best for each citizen of the world. Isn't just his moral judgment fallible? But historically this is often incorrect and we have seen it have detrimental consequences. So what can we understand Zaheer to believe? I believe this statement best encompasses everything that the Red Lotus represents Where a man's only loyalty is to himself and those he loves. A man cannot be free when, first, he is under the potential threat of losing his freedoms, and second, he is indoctrinated. by his culture to believe that institutions of authority should have authority over them.

The Avatar has become an institution of Authority itself that people have been raised to believe they owe loyalty to when the reality is that Korra is simply someone else with fallible judgment, her own prejudices, and essentially a nuclear arsenal. to eliminate whoshe choose. People around the world give her undeserved authority because they think that she is somehow naturally wiser or better than her because she is Avatar Zaheer. Anarchist philosophy looks at this culture and simply asks, How is this right? Hello subfuries, I really hope you enjoyed, more or less, my first

video

essay

. And if you did, let me know in the comments what you want me to do more of.

That would be a great help. I have like 13 pages. from notes And I really put a lot of time and effort into writing the script and making this

video

. I had a whole topic I wanted to talk about called the problem of tacit consent. But I think I clearly ran out of time. My question for you. Today it is: The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? Let me know in the comments below. And I would love for you to join other subfuries who follow me on my second channel, tothefuture. There's a link to that in the comments below.

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