Are the Equalists the bad guys on 'The Legend of Korra'? Or is Republic City a bender's world, and everyone else is just living in it?

There was no new Korra this weekend because of Memorial Day (terrible, I know), but that shouldn’t stop us from having fun, should it? So this week, I’ve roped in fellow CliqueClack writer, Korra fan, and general excellent human being Katie to discuss the politics of bending, anti-bending sentiment, and to examine if Amon is really as bad as he appears.

Julia: So here’s something to debate — is Amon’s message necessarily bad?

I mean, to put it into real-world terms, being born a bender, in Republic City, is a massive privilege. The city is governed entirely by benders. Every seat of power is held by a bender. The supreme ruler of everything is that way because they can bend all four elements. Bending is fetishized and revered (think pro bending). Gangs of benders roam the streets keeping law and order based on their own whims.

And yet a good portion of the city are non-benders, and where does that leave them? What voice do they have? Sure, they can go the route of Hiroshi Sato, but even he isn’t safe from benders coming in and killing the ones he loves. The owner of Cabbage Corp (presumably also not a bender) is found suspicious and framed despite his wealth and prestige, because all it takes is a plant and the fact that he’s not a bender. And I’m sure making money is easier if you’re a bender than it is if you’re not.

Katie: For me, radicals in The Legend of Korra are so hard to get my head around because what they’re fighting doesn’t really have any direct parallel to our history.

Julia: See, that’s where I disagree — I think it’s very similar to what was happening historically in the beginning of the twentieth century because that’s the time, real-world speaking, where people started to question the ideas of privilege and wealth, and I think it’s interesting that much like the radicals then, the radicals in Republic City were often extreme and/or violent.

Katie: The beginning of unions come to mind, in particular.

Julia: Exactly! And looking back, we sympathize with those radicals despite their methods because they were right, that the power structure at the time was damaging except those born to the privileged elite, and that the makeup of the world was generally just unfair. It’s kind of like Amon is a Magneto without his Professor X.

Katie: But there are benders throughout the class system in Republic City as there are non-benders in each of the classes. Bending isn’t like being wealthy because you’re either born with it or you’re not — there’s no way to move up, unlike in business. And it’s not like being a certain race there’s nothing superhuman about any race on earth. While certain sects could have more power, it’s not part of their physical being. It’s just hard to compare to anything in our world’s history because we really haven’t had superpowered beings woven into our societies like this.

Julia: I don’t know, through most of history, rich, white, Christian, heterosexual men ruled the world. And they created all these myths about being the superior race. They even made up eugenics, which is like a fake pseudo-science saying how much more awesome and less barbaric they were. That was their justification for conquering people and taking over, that they were the master race. I mean, that sounds Hitler-y (Godwin’s Law! Sorry), but Hitler came from centuries upon centuries of rhetoric that said basically what he said, it just didn’t translate to real-world action the way he did.

But before I get too sidetracked by Nazis, we still have my original question: Is Korra (and therefore the audience) on the wrong side of this debate? Certainly she’s right to protest Amon’s methods, but is she wrong in protesting his message as well?

Katie: Well, here’s the thing — can we nail down Amon’s actual message, preferably in one sentence? Because if it’s “Non-benders need to be treated as equals with benders,” then sure, Korra and really the show’s audience can certainly get behind that, even if there might not be a clear-cut solution. But if the message is “Non-benders need to be treated as equals, and the only way to do that is to destroy bending,” then I don’t blame Korra at all for taking exception to that. Because bending is as integral to a bender’s life as breathing. You mentioned Magneto, but all I can think of is the Cure storyline. Sure, the people demanding mutants get the cure were the people in power, but it’s still destroying a part of a person in the name of equality. And when many of those mutants have done nothing wrong, is it really so righteous to scorch their gifts from the world?

When it comes down to it, Amon is taking an idea that most people agree with “we should all be treated equally” and making his own methods the only possible solution in the minds of his followers. If I can say one thing about parallels to our world, destruction and violence under the message of peace has certainly been seen in our own history. And when it comes to as complex an issue as elemental powers and the class system, just a blanket statement of “Destroy bending” doesn’t work for me.

Julia: True, I don’t think anyone would argue his methods are deplorable, but these are the same creators who brought us Zuko, so I doubt Amon is as black and white as he appears. Plus, I think a lot of Korra’s journey involves learning how to be softer and more compassionate instead of just a fighter. I mean, isn’t that what her being blocked with airbending and accessing her spiritual side is all about? Korra tries to bulldoze her way into every situation, including getting with the guy she likes. And maybe that works in fighting, but a huge part of being the Avatar is also empathizing and helping people work out solutions to their problems. So I feel like maybe by deliberately having Amon be an extreme incarnation of a real problem will force her to grow in that aspect, the way facing the Fire Lord forced Aang to grow into someone who could fight.

Either way, it’s certainly an interesting thing to consider, and I have to give serious kudos to the writers for putting something so nuanced into a “kid’s” show.

Photo Credit: Nickelodeon