THE CONSTRUCTION OF GLOBAL CULTUREIN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
A. THE CONSTRUCTION OF GLOBAL CULTUREIN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
Avatar: the Last Airbender is an animation series created by two American animators. However, it differs from common American animation since it is rich with influences of Asian culture. The influence, for instance, can be found in its drawing: the animation series has more characteristics of anime or Japanese animation. Hidayat and Zpalanzani (n.d) argues that American animators usually draw their human characters as animal or unatural to be perceived as human. They also argue that American animations usually have contrast color and thick
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drawing. Characters of Disneys or superheroes meet the chriteria of American animation style as proposed by Hidayat and Zpalanzani.
However, such characteristics are not presented in the Avatar series. The anomators of the series decided to deviate the common drawing of the American animation and imbue Japanese animation style in their work. Therefore, the characterization, the drawing, and the coloring of Avatar: the Last Airbender is similar to anime. Unlike typical American animation series, the Avatar series has soft drawing, natural color and human character.
It has been stated earlier that the Avatar: the Last Airbender is very rich with influences of Asian culture. They can be seen in the construction of the characters, the setting and the plot. For example, Asian culture nuance can be seen in the representations of architecture, fashion, and decoration.
The adaptation of Asian culture into an American animation, therefore, suggests that Avatar: the Last Airbenderis created as American response to the raising of Asia power. As explained in the previous chapter, the world is now experiencing a new form of globalization,called "Global-as-Asian" (Tay, n.d.). With the new form, Asian culture may become the new global culture to replace the long time domination of American culture. This phenomenon may suggest that American society feel anxious that their global domination will soon be taken over by Asian power.
The creation of Avatar: the Last Airbendercan be said as a response of how Americans try to deal with their anxiety of the rising Asian power. Its creators have chosen a bold move to modify the style of American animation by
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imbuing it with values of Asian culture. They maybe do so to maintain their profit and domination in the market.
The creators bring Asian culture into the animation series and construct it with their point of view. They try to combine American and Asian culture in the Avatar: the Last Airbender through the elements of the series, such as the setting, plot and characters. The combination presented by the creators can be regarded as
a global culture since there is a compromise between American culture and another culture (Barber, 1998, p. 29). The American culture influence is integrated with Asian culture and brought into the animation series as a new global culture.
1. The Construction of Global Culture in the Setting of Place of Avatar: the Last Airbender
The global culture construction in Avatar: the Last Airbendercan be seen clearly in the construction of the nations in the world of Avatar.There are three nations which are constructed with combination of American and Asian culture influence. They are the Air Nomads, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation.
The first nation is the Air Nomads. The Air Nomads, the nation where Aang comes from, is the nation of airbenders.The Air Nomads society consists of groups of monks who have strong spiritual belief. They live nomadically and conduct a lot of journey around the world. The Air Nomads are led by the senior monks of the air temples.
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The Air Nomads is constructed with Asian influence, especially Tibetan influences. The influence can be clearly seen on the construction of the setting of place. There are a lot of Air Nomad buildings that have similarity with Tibetan architecture, as seen in the figure 1. The building of the Air temples, like the Tibetan monastery,is usually very large and has several tall and large towers. Both of them are also located on a highland. Thus, the Air Nomad, just like the Tibetan,is isolated.This clearly shows that the Air Nomad is created based on Tibetan culture.
The other nation in the world of Avatar is the Earth Kingdom. It is the largest and the most populous nation in the Avatar world. It is a monarchy nation, led by the Earth King. If one sees the Earth Kingdom, he will easily spot the influence of Asian culture in it. He may easily deduce that the series‟ creators are inspired by Chinese culture when making the Earth Kingdom. Chinese culture influences can be seen clearly from the setting of the nation that shows many building inspired by Chinese architecture.
Figure 1. The comparison of Air Temple and Tibetan monastery
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The most notable similarity of China and the Earth Kingdom can probably
be found in their acrhitectures. As can be seen in the figure 2, there are two pictures of the Earth Nation building. The first picture is the wall of Earth Nation capital, Ba Sing Se, similar to the Chinese‟s Great Wall. Just like the Great Wall, the“Ba Sing Se Wall” is built surrounding the city to protect it from any attacks. The other picture from the series is the Earth Kingdom palace which is clearly
inspired by Chinese‟s Forbidden City. The palace where the Earth King lives has some similar structureswith Chinese‟s Forbidden City, such as the roof and the
wall. Thus far, it can be argued that all settings of place in Avatar: the Last Airbender are constructed to situate main characters in the series under the nuance of Asian culture.
The other nation playing dominant role in the world of Avatar is the Fire Nation, the nation of firebenders. It is the strongest nation in the world of Avatar.It has powerful army and sophisticated technology.In the story, it tells that the Fire Nation attacks the other nation and tries to dominate the world of Avatar.
Figure 2. The buildings in the Earth Kingdom inspired by Chinese architecture
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In some ways, the construction of the Fire Nation has similarity to United States character and stereotypes.Therefore, it can be argued that the Fire Nation is constructed to represent America in the animation series.
The Fire nation is portrayed as a wealthy industrial nation in the story. The nation industry is advanced in shaping metal and manufacturing weapons. It makes the Fire Nation have more advanced technology than the other nations in the world of Avatar, especially in weaponry and military.
The series narrate the Fire Nation as a country which has a largearmy and developed military technology, just like the United States.Therefore, Fire
Nation‟s construction can be regarded as the representation of the United States since the later is widely regarded as the wo rld‟s sole military
superpower(cnn.com). The storyalso tells that the Fire nation has an ambition to dominate the world of Avatar using their advanced army and military power.
Another American culture influence in the construction of the Fire Nation can be seen in the setting of place. Some buildings and architectures in Fire Nation resemble buildings in the United States, as exemplified in the figure 4 below.
Figure 3. The Fire nation„s battleship and tank
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The figure shows Boiling Rock, a prison in the Fire Nation, which is located on an island in the middle of a lake. The Boiling Rock is surrounded by water to prevent detainees from escaping. It is a high level security prison located in the nation to detain the nation‟s most dangerous criminals. The Boiling Rock‟s building, however, happens to share many similarities with the Alcatraz Prison.
Alcatraz, surrounded by San Francisco Bay, imprisons America‟s most dangerous criminals. Alcatraz itself is nicknamed the Rock. Therefore, it can be
suggested that the series‟ creators might have been influenced by their perceived cultural experience when creating the Boiling Rock prison. Therefore, it can be
suggested that Fire Nation represents the United States, which signify Western culture in the series.
The setting of place in the Avatar: the Last Airbendershows that there are two culture influences used in the construction.It can be seen that the setting of world of Avatar is constructed with Asian and American culture influence. The Asian culture influence is represented by the construction of the Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. While the American culture influence is represented by the construction of the Fire Nation. The combination of culture that is used in the construction of the setting of place shows a clear global culture construction.
Figure 4. The Boiling Rock prison inspired from Alcatraz prison
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2. The Construction of Global Culture in theMainCharacters of Avatar: the Last Airbender
The global culture construction inAvatar: the Last Airbendercan be seen clearly in the construction of the main characters. Actually, there are several main characters in the animation series where each represents each nation narrated in the world of Avatar. However, this discussion only focuses on three main characters who are considered to have an important role in the animation series. The three characters are chosen as the focus of the analysis because the construction of global culture can be seen clearly on them.
Three main characters analyzed in this discussion are Aang from the Air Nomads, Toph from the Earth Kingdom and Zuko from the Fire Nation.Thethreecharactersare constructed under the influence of global culture because they do not specifically represent American or Asian culture. The creators construct them to be American and Asian at the same time. Each character is constructed with different characteristics and complexity. A charactercan have Asian appearance but with American characteristics and behaviors, or vice versa.
The character analysis tries to show how global culture is constructed in the animation series through its main characters. In brief, the construction of the main characters of Avatar: the Last Airbendercan be simplified into two types of construction. The first type is the character that is constructed with Asian appearance,but American in characteristics. It can be found in the construction of Aang and Toph. The second type is the character who is constructed in American
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appearancebut characterbut Asian in characteristics. This type of construction can
be found in the construction of Zuko. Aang and TophBei Fong are two main characters in the animation serieswho are constructed to have Asian appearance and American characters and behaviors.Both of the characters are created with the combination of Asian and American culture influence. Moreover, the Asian culture influence can be seen clearly from their appearance.
Aang is the Avatar from the Air Nomads. The Air Nomads, the nation where Aang comes from, is the nation of airbenders. In the story, the nation is banished by the invasion of the Fire Nation. Aang is the only Air Nomad survivor, so that he is the last airbender in the world of Avatar.
Asian culture can be easily spotted on the look of Aang and Toph. Aang, a child at the age of 12 years old, is created with the Tibetan influences. For example, the figure 5shows Aang ‟s bald head, akin to its real Tibetan monk characteristic. His wardrobe, loose robes dominated by orange and brown, also resembles those of Tibetan monks. By their similar appearance and the costume, it can be argued that Aang is constructed as a monk with Tibetan influences. The same appearance can also be seen in other Air Nomads citizens.
Figure 5. The appearance of Aang, the Avatar, compared to a Tibetan monk
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Then, Asian appearance is also spotted by Toph, a boyish girl.Toph always wears a costume which looks like a traditional Korean boy clothes.As can be seen in the comparison of the first and thesecond frame in figure 6, Tophwears a trouser and vest, similar to traditional boy‟s Korean clothes. Her costume shows her masculinity to show her boyish side. However, in episode The Blind Bandit, Toph is spotted with traditional Korean dress called Hanbok.
Besides their appearance, the characterization and the drawing of Aang and Toph are similar to Japanese animation or anime. Most characters inAvatar: the Last Airbender have soft drawing and natural color. It is different from typical American animation which usually has contrast color and unnatural human figure. Characters in Avatar: the Last Airbender are constructed more alike to human. Aang has more proporsional body construction if, for example, compared to Arnold, another character created by Nicklodeon.
Figure 6.Toph‟s costumes compare to Korean traditional clothes
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As can be seen in the figure 7, Aang has a proposional head and face construction, similar to a human. Meanwhile, Arnold is more caricatural. His body and his head are not proporsional and unnatural as human. By the comparison, it can be said that Arnold is heavily constructed with American animation influence, while Aang is contructed with some Japanese animation influences.
Aang is also different from another American animation characters, such as Spongebob Squarepant, Mickey Mouse, and the Simpsons. Those characters are created with american animation influence. They have similar characteristic with Arnold character. However, there is also some American animation characters , especially Disneys‟ characters, that do not own this American animation characteristics. It can be seen in the characters such as Snow White, Cinderella, or Rapunzel which are considered as pretty characters since they are constructed based on human body proportion. They havedifferent constructionfrom most American animation because they are not originaly created by Americans. Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel are adaptation of European folktales (Artz, 2002, p. 6). Therefore they are not considered as the American animation.
Figure 7. A comparison between Aang and Arnold
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The other Asian culture influence in Aang and Toph character is alsoshown in their bending ability.Bending is an ability to manipulate elements and it is used for daily activities or fighting. Aang as an Air Nomad has an ability to do airbending. He can control air and use it for duel or help him in his daily activity such as flying or jumping. While Toph has earthbending ability, enabling her to control rock and soil and form it into something she wants.
Both of earthbending and airbending are inspired by Chinese Kung Fu. Most of the bending movements even indeed employ some Kung Fu style. In the Literature Review, it has been discussed that Ba Gua and Hung Gar are part of Kung Fu style. Both are fighting steps coming from different divisions of Kung Fu style.Airbending is created based on Ba Gua fighting step which comes from the nothern style, while earthbending is based on Hung Gar style which comes from the southern style.
However, even thoughAsianculture influence dominantly affects the appearance of Aang and Toph, both of them are constructed to act and behave like Americans. In Aang, American culture influence is seen from his hobby, like surfing. In the series, Aangoften shows some tricky movements with his ability to manipulate air with his glider.Aang‟s glider is a tool made of wood and shaped like a big Asian fan. Aang uses it for helping him to fly and fight. Aang uses his glider and airbending ability for surfing in some episodes of the series.
Surfing is an extremely popular American sport in the world. Surfing was developed in the United States in 1950s – 1960s and is still popular in American culture. Initiated by the Hawaiian people, now surfing is transformed into
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American ‟s sport depicted in various works of popular culture. Americans do not deem surfing merely as a “sport” but also as a way of life. Through surfing, Americans create their own language, etiquette, fashion and music. Eventually, surfing has created a whole culture of itself which is called as surf culture.
Surfing culture originates in Hawaii and was a spiritual way of life for thousands of people including Hawaiian Royalty (Crawford, n.d.). Surfing is a way of life for these seafaring people and forms an important part of their society. Afterwards, the annexation of Hawaii to the United States brought a new cultural ethos of surfing to the American visitors which emerged American spirit of masculinity and rugged adventure. The Americans make surfing as the manifestation of their desire in taming the nature(Corne, 2009, p. 433).In surfing, the surfer can control the power of the ocean by riding on the crest of a wave. Surfing is also assumed as a man‟s world since it is dominated by man. The domination of man in surfing is also proved by the fact that most of the Californian surfers are middle class white males who are fit and healthy (Flint, 1999, p. 2).
Aang is described to own this “surfing lifestyle.” As shown in the first picture in figure 8,Aang “airsurfs” with his glider. Aang stands on his glider and
Figure 8.Aang can do some tricky movements with his glider similar to surfing
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does some movements like surfing in the sky, he also looks smiling and enjoying the surfing. Then, the next frame, taken from episode The Awakening, shows Aangwindsurfs when he crosses the ocean. In this scene, Aang uses a piece of wood and his glider as the surfboard. This is almost like the real life version of windsurfing. It can be seen in the two scenes that Aang is doing some actions that are similar to the real world surfing. But why the creators choose surfing as the American influence in Aang characterization?
From the semiotic point of view, at the denotative level, the scene signifies
a boy in monk appearance is surfing using a tool shaped like a big Asian fan as the surfboard. However, it is not just a boy who surfs. At the connotative level, the scene signifies a combination of American spirit and Asian influence in Aang character.Surfing is an extreme water sport that needs strong body and agility. Surfing also represents the American spirit in taming the nature. So, by employing surfing scene, the creators want Aang to be seen as a nimble and active character who representsAmerican spirit.
The scene wants to contrast Aang as an Asian monk, who is usually calm and passive, with Aang as “your nextdoor American boy.” With this construction,
audiences both in Asia and America, can still correlate themselves with Aangcharacter. Thus, it can be said that Aang is constructed as a monk with Asian appearance but he behaves and possesses American active character and spirit.
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Another construction of American culture influence in Aang‟s character is shown in the kissing scene in episodes Sozin’s Comet and The Day of Black Sun. Frames in the figure 9 scenesshow kissing scenes of Aang and Katara. The scene here shows a passionate lip-to-lip kissing.The scene becomes crucial to analyze because as stated earlier, Aang is influenced with Asian culture. His representation itself resembles those of Tibetan monks, who in reality are forbidden to engage in love. But then, the series‟ creators break the Tibetan monks‟ tradition by narrating Aang to kiss his girlfriend Katara.
Kissing scenes often appear in many American movies and animation series. The scenes become the romantic part of the series to show love, greeting, respect and friendship. Kissing is common in any culture of the world but expressed in various customs and traditions. In American culture, a lip-to-lip kiss is considered as a sexual or romantic kiss, which is carried out by lovebirds to express their love. Americans find it common to display such a kiss in public. Meanwhile, kissing on one of the cheeks is usually done between friends and family. For American culture, this kiss is also commonly used as a salutation. Hence, kissing is a common custom in American culture that can be found in everyday life.
Figure 9.Aang is kissing Katara
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Aang and Katara‟s kissing scene, if seen literally, shows a kissing of a monk and a girl. Aang, a monk, is kissing Katara, the girl he loves. In American culture, such a scene is undisputed because the scene only expresses a lovebird that is displaying their affection. However, the scene becomes disputable because the actor of the scene is a supposedly Asian boy, who also happens to be a monk.
In Asian culture, it is improper for a monk and even an underage to kiss a girl ‟s lip passionately. Such a kiss is still taboo for kids raised in Asian culture. Therefore, Aang and Katara‟s kissing scenes then connotatively signify that the former tries to distance himself from Asian culture. He is like stating that he is also influenced by American culture. It is another scene that shows Aang as American boy who behaves like a typical American.
American culture influence can also be seen in the behavior of Toph, a boyish girl.She often acts and wants to be treated like a boy. She is known as the strongest among the main charactersof the animation series. The series narrates that Toph joins a male-dominated professional earthbending wrestling competition.
In the animation series, it is told that Toph is the champion of Earth Rumble competition. She is known as the Blind Bandit and comes up to the arena
Figure 10.Toph in Earth Rumble competition
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as a boy. In the episode of “Blind Bandit”, the American influence can be seen in Toph ‟s behavior when she joins the competition. She is constructed to act like a real professional wrestler. It can be seen in the first picture of figure 10that Tophlifts up and shows off her champion belt to the audience when she enters the arena.This gesture is often shown by the professional wrestling athletes when they enter the ring.The gestures are acted to show that they are the champion and the strongest, as a proof of their superiority and masculinity. While, the second picture in figure 10 is a cut from a scene when Tophwins an Earth Rumble match.It is a gesture that is shown by professional wrestling athletes when they win the match. As can be seen in the second picture, Toph raises her hand and yells to express her feeling after winning the match. Toph is seen so masculine when she does this gesture. She looks strong in this scene eventhough her body is small, especially by the employing of low camera angle. By portraying Toph as a champion of earthbending competition and employing some masculine gestures into her character, the creators have successfullyconstructedAmerican masculinity in Toph character.
An other Toph‟s behavior showing an American value can be seen in the episode of “The Chase”.Toph is shown very independent and individualin this episode. It is told that Toph has just joined in Aang ‟sand his friend‟s journey.There is a scene when the group takes a break after the long journey.They have to set up a camp, make a fire, and collect some food to eat.They help each other and have their own duty to do. However, Toph does not help the group preparing the shelter, she prefersto prepare anything for herself.
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Toph thinks that she can fulfill all her needs by herself without anyone‟s help.Katara, a member of Aang‟s group, does not like Toph‟s attitude and asks
her to help them. Katara : So, Toph, usually when setting up camp we try to divide up the work.
Toph : Hey, don't worry about me, I'm good to go. Katara : Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, uh, some of us might fetch
water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent. Even Momo does his fair share.
Toph : Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look. My tent's all set up.
Katara asks Toph to help setting up their shelter because it is a duty for each member of the group. As Toph has joined the group, Katara considers that she must help the others doing their task. In the contrary, Toph shows an ignorant attitude and prefers being independent.
Toph‟s behavior in this scene can be seen as a representation of American individualism. Americans are considered as an individualist society and they
respect individual privacy. Everybody has his/her own business and does not want the others involved in their business and vice versa. They will try to fulfill all the need independently as they can. Americans prefer being independent rather than being communal. Americans may do and join any groups, but they resist being thought of as representatives of the group(Kohls, n.d.). They can enter a group and easily leave it. It also happens to Toph in the story; her individualism bring her into a conflict with the group. Then, the conflict makes Toph leave the group not long after she joins them. Though, it is only temporary in the story, she comes back to the group in the other episode.In the scene, Tophis portrayedas an individual and independent character. Tophhas joined the group
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but she still stands as an individual that can fulfill her needs by herself without the help from the group. Therefore, she considers that the group‟s problem is not
her problem.It can be seen that Toph shows American individualism in her behavior.
American culture influenced behaviors that have been shown through the episodes obviously strengthen the characterization of Aang and Toph. Aangis constructed as superhero and Tophis constructed as a boyish girl.Aang as Avatar is constructed as the superhero in the animation series. He has some special abilitiesand a duty to save the world from danger. Fingeroth defines superheroas persons having heroic characteristics (i.e. surpassing their own fears and limitations) who have fantastic powers, advanced technology or “who are just plain brave/crazy/lucky” (Fingeroth, 2004, p. 16), thereforeAang character can be
regardedas superhero. The superhero construction in Aang character tends to be American superhero character eventhoughAanghas an appearance as an Asian monk. Moreover, Aang has some similar characteristics compared to American superhero such as Iron Man and the Flash.
Aang has some special abilities that are not possessed by the others in the world of Avatar. Aang as the Avatar is the only person who has an ability to master the four bending; airbending, earthbending, waterbending and firebending. Some of the bending abilities are similar to the abilities of famous American superhero, Superman. Firebending that can burn anything is similar to
Superman‟s heat vision. Waterbendingand airbending somehow look like Superman‟s super breath. Waterbending and Superman‟s super breath can cool
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and freeze an object, while airbending which can blow anything with huge power is the same as Superman super breath. Aang and Superman also have speed ability. They can run like the wind.
The comparison between Aang‟s abilities and Superman‟s shows that the existing of American superhero concept in Aang character. However, there is a
point that makes Aang different from the former American superheroes which is fully constructed to represent America. Aang is constructed to respond to the changing values of American society.The construction and concept of superhero change frequently since superhero must represent the values of the society producing him (Fingeroth, 2004, p. 17).Aang is constructed as a response to the emergence of global culture which now tends to be global-as-Asian (Tay, n.d.). Thus, Aang is differently constructed from another American superhero, the character must be constructed according to the trend of global culture to be accepted by the market and the society.Aang is constructed by combining Asian
Figure 11.Aang abilities compared to Superman‟s
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culture influence in his appearance and American culture influence in his characterization.Aang appearance as a monk is enough to show the influenceof Asian culture, while the influenceof American culture is shown in his behavior and the construction as superhero.Therefore, even Aang has Asian look, he behaves just like an American.
The similar construction also can be found in characterization of Toph.Toph is constructed to be a girl who has Asian appearance but her behavior shows astrong American cultureinfluence. The American culture influence shows in the construction of Toph as a sassy and independent girl.The construction of shows an American culture influence, which is the influence of girl power movement.
Girl power movement is a cultural phenomenon which arises in United States in 1990s until today.The girl power movement gives a great influence toward girls and women in U.S. It positions girls as smart, sassy, assertive, and independent (Bettis& Roe, 2008, p. 3). It changes the society archetype of women. It is no longer passive, submissive, tender, and weak to be an ideal woman. Women can be anything they want, they can be independent women, heroines, even gaining power to achieve success.
The girl power movement influences the television and movies industry. It changes the old archetype of girl in the movies and television shows that always become a passive victim into an empowered girl (Bettis& Roe, 2008, p. 3). Therefore, girl can be sassy, tough and independent in nowadays movies and TV show (Costi, n.d.). They are few American animation and movie characters
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who have similar character with Toph. This kind of characterscan be seen in movies and TV show such as Buttercup in thePowerpuff Girls(1998) and KatnissEverdeen in Hunger Games (2012). They are heroine characters who are agile and able to fight.
Thus, it can be said that Toph character construction is influenced with girl power movement.However, the construction of Toph has uniqueness and difference that can not be found in the characters mentioned before. The uniqueness is shown in the construction of Toph as a sassy and independent girl in Asian appearance and Asian traditional costume.Eventough, the Asian culture
influence is only employed in Toph‟sappearance, it can present a character that combines Asian and American influence.
Both Toph and Aangare constructed by the creators with the same formula, Asian influence in appearance and American influence inbehavior. The creators do not construct characters that fully show American character.It can be seen that there is a construction changing in the American animation character. Formerly, the character used to be regarded as global culture and it always shows
a full American character. It means that the character is constructed to have both American appearance and behavior. As American culture was popular around the
Figure 12.Toph,Buttercup, and KatnissEverdeen
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world and regarded as a global culture, the animation product showing American character was accepted and popularized around the world. However, it changes nowadays because the global culture trend begins to change into global-as-Asian since the raising of Asian power. The animation character is not only constructed by American culture influence but it is also influenced by Asian culture, as can
be seen in Toph and Aang character. They are constructed in Asian appearance but they still possess some American characters. It means that the creators still preserve American culture influence, eventhough they constructthe character with Asian culture influence.
After discussing the construction of the characters of the animation series whohave Asian appearance and American character, the discussion now analyzes another character, Zuko, who has different construction from the two aforementioned characters. Zuko is constructed to have American appearance but Asian characters
Zuko is the Fire Nation Prince, a member of the Fire Nation royal family. As a prince of the Fire Nation, he is then expected to exhibit Western values as
he will inherit the throne of his father.
Zuko character is constructed and inspired by the so-calledPrince Charming, an American cartoon character that usually appears in a fairy tale, mainly in many
Figure 13.Zuko compared with Disney‟s prince charming character
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Disney animations. He is always paired with the main female character of fairy tale. Prince Charming is usually portrayed to have handsome face and charming personality, similar to his name. This construction can be found in Zuko character. Ignoring the scar on his face, Zuko is constructed as a prince who also has handsome face.Therefore, it can be suggested that the creators try to put Zuko in equal status as Prince Charming.
Zuko‟s American, or Western culture, influence can also be seen in his costume (see figure 14). The frame shows Zuko donning a Fire Nation ‟s metal-
made armor suit. The suitserves to protect the user‟s torso from shoulder to stomach. It also equipped with a helmet to protect the head. Zuko‟s armor, surprisingly, is similar to an armor suit of a Roman soldier, used to protect their body in a battle. With such similarity, then it can be concluded that Zuko‟s costume is influenced by western culture influence, especially the Roman culture. Eventhough it cannot be directly regarded as an American culture, but it can represent Western culture that is the root of American culture.
Thus far, the discussion has shown that prince Zuko is constructed mainly under the influence American, or Western values. As a prince – a role model for
Figure 14. The comparison of Fire Nation‟s armor suit and Roman armor suit
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his people – Zuko is also expected to cultivate his nation‟s values. But, the creators of Avatar: the Last Airbender, once again, play along with this character. They abandon the concept of Zuko as Prince Charming and instead, instill Asian values in him.
Episode The AvatarState, for example, depicts a scene which is constructed with Asian culture influence. In this scene, (see figure 15), Zukocuts his hair after being banished from the Fire Nation palace.If the scene is seen through the semiotic point of view, there is two levels of meaning that can be asserted. At the denotative level, the scene signifies a teenage prince that cut his long hair. However, it is more than a boy who cut his hair if it is seen at the connotative level. There is an Asian culture values which the scene tries to promote.
In ancient Japan, long hair is a symbol of honor and self-regard for a man, especially for the Japanese swordsman, the Samurais (Gumilang, n.d). In Edo period, men will tie their long hair upon their heads. Even, a samurai will not cut his hair without any important reason. A Samurai only cuts his hair when he loses in a battle or fails in performing his duty. A Samurai loses his warrior title when
he cuts his long hair and then becomes an ordinary citizen.
Figure 15. The scene where Zuko cut his hair
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This also happens to Zuko in the story. He cuts his hair after being banished from his palace. Then, he decides to be an ordinary citizen by cutting his long hair knot, as hair knot is a symbol and an identity for Royal family member of the Fire Nation. This behavior constructed in this scene clearly represents an Asian culture. But, without proper understanding of Asian culture, one will fail to spot it as one. This scene also shows that Zuko behaves and thinks like an Asian.
Another Asian culture influence can be found in the story when Zukotries to re-master his firebending skill.Firebending is an ability practiced by the people of the Fire Nation. It is an ability to produce and control the fire power.
In the earlier story, Zukoacquires his firebending power using his anger. But then, he somehow loses his firebending skill and needs to re-master it. He then travels with Avatar Aang to a temple where pacifist fire benders live. There,
he meets a couple of dragon that is regarded as the master of firebending. The dragons teach Zuko and Aang that one must not rely on anger and physical energy if he wants to master firebending because they are the source of negative energy. The dragons say that the prince and the Avatar must instead draw the power of the sun, source of positive energy, to be able to bend fire.
The narration, if looked deeper, conceals the wisdom of Asian culture. Western culture does not have philosophical understanding teaching them that sun is the source of positive power. But, in Asia, in Japan specifically, sun is the source of positive energy. Japanese even worship sun because they regard it as the source of life.
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Another Asian influence also can be seen in Zuko‟s way of thinking. He prefers to createfirebendingusing positive energy coming from his mental power rather than the physical negative energy. It is very philosophical and “so Asian” since most Asian martial arts emphasize on mental power besides the physical power.
From the analysis, it can be seen that Zuko is constructed as an American outside but Asian inside. His character is full of contradictory, just like Aang and Toph.Aang, Toph and Zuko are constructed by combining American and Asian culture, therefore making it difficult to refer whether they are “Asian” or “American”. Their characters are too complex to be simplified under a certain
label. Eventough Asian culture influence more dominates the ir character‟s constructions,Americanculture influence is also still preserved by the creator. This complex characterization, therefore, makes Aang, Toph and Zuko appear in the animation series as a new global culture construction.
3. The Construction of Global Culture in the Narration of Avatar: the Last Airbender
The construction of global culture is also found in the narration of the animation series. There are several part of the animation series‟ narration that is constructed with the combination of Asian and American culture. For example,it can be seen in the episode of “The Blind Bandit” and“Tales of Ba Sing Se”
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In the episode of “The Blind Bandit”, there is a plot that tells a competition held in the Earth Kingdom.The competition is called as The Earth Rumble. The Earth Rumble competition is a professional earth bending wrestling competition in the Earth Kingdom. It is a competition to look for the strongest and most powerful earth bender in the kingdom. To do so, participants must win all matches by defeating all of opponents. The winner will be regarded as the Earthbending Champion and win the Earth Rumble belt.
Basically, Earth Rumble competition is constructed with American and Asian culture influence. It combines Japanese sumo and American pro-wrestling. The Japanese influence can be seen in the construction of the Earth rumble arena and the rule of the match. The arena is similar to sumo arena as can be seen in the figure 16. It has rectangular shape and the surface of the arena is higher than the ground. The Japanese influence also can be found in the Earth Rumble‟s rule of the match. The participant must knock the opponent out of the ring to win the match. It is similar to the rule of sumo which requires the participants to knock the other out of the arena to win the match.
Beside the Japanese culture influence, the Earth rumble is also created based on the American professional wrestling competition which is called World Wresting Entertainment or WWE. American professional wrestling is a
Figure 16. The comparison of the Earth Rumble and sumo arena
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competition that combines sport and entertainment. Professional wrestling is very popular in United States. Even, it is aired regularly every weekend on national television. For Americans, professional wrestling is a show that represents their desire of masculinity (Ford, n.d.). The competition is full with men‟s attributes.
Most of the competition participants appear with muscular body and topless costume to show their muscles. Professional wrestlers are also very popular and adored by their fans. The professional wrestling venue is always full with the fanatic fans. This shows that professional wrestling is a popular sport in the United States. However, professional wrestling is not considered as a real sport (Kreit, 1998, p. 16). It tends to be seen as a show for entertaining purpose since it emphasizes on the entertainment element rather than the sport element.
The American pro-wrestling influence can be seen in the appearance of the competition participant. The participants of Earth Rumble come up in extravagant appearance similar to the pro-wrestler in WWE. They create their own unique names, costumes, and fighting skills in order to gain self confidence and fans. For example, the Gecko, he appears with a mask covering his face. It is similar to the appearance of a WWE participant named Rey Misterio. As can be seen in the figure 17, the Gecko is wearing a green mask and costume to have extravagant appearance.
Figure 17. The Gecko and Rey Mysterio
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The Earth Rumble as part of Avatar: the Last Airbender plot does not miss from the global culture construction. The combination of Japanese sumo and American pro-wrestling presents an interesting construction in the plot of Avatar: the Last Airbender. The Earth Rumble construction indirectly shows a similarity between American and Asian culture. It shows that both of cultures own a sport match which is used as entertainment. Therefore, the combination of sumo and pro-wrestling can be regarded as a proper choice by the creators of the series.
The e pisode of “Tales of Ba Sing Se” also shows a combination of Asian and American culture. This episode tells that Toph and her friend, Katara, go for spa day. They arrange “girl‟s day out” activity and go to the Fancy Lady Day Spa, a spa resort in Earth Kingdom capital.Here the Asian culture influence has shown clearly by the appearance of the spa resort building. As can be seen in the figure 18, the building of the spa appears in Asian architecture. Even, the nameplate of the spa resort is written in Chinese letters. Moreover, the spa workers who appear in Chinese traditional costume strengthen the Asian culture nuance.
The story continues with Toph and Katara‟s activity in their “girl‟s day out”. They are treated as in the normal spa treatment that can be found in the real world, such as pedicure, mud bath, and do some make over in their make up.
Figure 18. The Asian culture influence in the Fancy Lady Day Spa
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This plot is included a “girl‟s day out” habit which is usually practiced by American girl. They go to the salon or spa to get beauty treatment. “Girls‟ day out” actually is an activity practiced by American girls when they feel the need to break from the everyday routine and experience something different. This activity is usually filled by shopping, watching movie, visiting spa, and many more.
This is a unique construction in the story of Avatar: the Last Airbender. It constructs the “girls‟ day out” activity in the Toph‟s character which is constructed in Asian appearance. The combination of the “girls‟ day out‟ activity in the spa resort which has Asian culture nuance presents a global culture construction in this plot. The “girls‟ day out” activity represents the American culture influence, while the appearance of the spa resort shows the Asian culture influence.