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The Legend of Korra
2012 · TV series · 23 min episodes · 4 seasons
Created by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino
AnimationActionAdventureScience FictionFantasy
Avatar Korra, a headstrong, rebellious, feisty young woman who continually challenges and breaks with tradition, is on her quest to become a fully realized Avatar. In this story, the Avatar struggles to find balance within herself.
2 positive1 neutralfrom 3 commenters
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5 comments on Hacker News
Some are for sure, but a lot of those shows hold up well for all ages. I don't put much faith in marketers to decide which shows are for what demographics. Better to see what lands for yourself. It helps when you're watching and discussing the shows with your kids too.
Some of them, Adventure time being a great example, can appeal to very young kids but they'll find new meaning in those episodes as they get older.
I think shows like Infinity Train, Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Steven Universe, and Samurai Jack will be better after a kid is old enough that Cocomelon wouldn't hold any appeal, but even at that age Sarah & Duck, Hilda, MLP, Craig of the Creek, etc could still be good. Just about anything that holds their attention and isn't Cocomelon is a huge win. If you'll enjoy it, all the better.
I'm not sure there's ever been more options for good shows that a parent can watch and genuinely enjoy with their kids. Try Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Hilda, Sarah & Duck, Adventure Time, Miraculous, The Dragon Prince, MLP Friendship is Magic, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Samurai Jack, Gravity Falls, Ducktales (the new one, but the old one isn't bad either), Cleopatra in Space, Amphibia, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Owl House, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, LEGO Elves, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Over the Garden Wall, Infinity Train, and the Disney Fairies movies.
I'd also recommend getting your hands on the cartoons you enjoyed as a kid. Odds are good your kids will like them for the same reasons you did, although you may find that they don't all hold up for you.
There's the opposite phenomenon where, for instance, Legend of Korra was ordered as a miniseries then extended to a full show, resulting in some trouble in season 2's production.
Futurama might be the best at handling cancellations now, lol.
I'll be calling it that from here on, so thanks for that, but I admit I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Studio Mir rarely disappoints in terms of quality (although I still think The Legend of Korra was their best work), but I really wasn't expecting the rest of the show to be worth watching.
Where do I begin? Great and terrible article. Riddled with victim mentality (bad), but desire to improve story telling of movies with a very narrow focus (somewhat good).
Here's an example of victim mentality, but not from the author's perspective. - why are the villains in movies often English or German. Discrimination! - why don't we have Australian heroes in movies? Australian actors are forced to change their accents and nationalities... It's disgusting... It's xenophobic!
Now take those examples with a grain of salt. I don't have a victim mentality that insists on x% of movie heroes being Australian ... It's superficial and mandates others on what they must think.
I remember a gay author who was told to add more straight characters - the one story of his that I heard kept on referring to a straight dog.. When I asked my gay friend about the importance of a "straight" dog, he explained the back story of the mandate... The dark side to political correctness.
Here's where I partially agree with the author. Black Widow and the other "Rambo in slacks" were pathetic characters by Joss Whedon - some of the worst I've ever seen. Arrogant, rude, completely self-absorbed and able to take down 20 "baddies" at the same time with their bare hands. Remember Stallone as Rambo? Well, Joss Whedon thinks that adding slacks makes Rambo a better character... Yeah, right. But rather than see "sexism" and "insistence of 50% female leads", I see "crap writing", "area for improvement" and "lost opportunity". Let the writers decide what gender a character is... But highlight opportunities for thinking out of the box (go Aussie heroes ;)
Having said all of that, I'm a huge fan of Legend of Korra. Korra is a believable heroine who retains her femininity and humility: brilliant writing. Lin Bei Fong: a tough as nails woman that shows compassion and vulnerability. Many writers and directors could learn a think or two from Di Martino and Koneitzko (the Korra writers).
One of my other heroes is JK Rowling. In her Potterverse, she chose to have a balance of 50% male/female characters that were fairly well balanced. It worked very well and did not detract from the story. If anything, it added credibility. It was important (at least to me) that the characters made sense, more than what their gender was.
In summary, the referenced article is a thinly veilled feminist (sexist) piece that dictates too much and is too narrowly focused (aka feminism). I agree that female characters are usually poorly written and I love when I see female characters written well.
Then again, I'd also love to see corporate bankers held accountable, NSA snooping to be reigned in and sexism (from feminists or otherwise) being denounced ... I have my doubts that any of these wishes will come true.