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So today I am at home studying for the far-too-quickly approaching
AP exams while simultaneously attempting to babysit my niece and nephew. I
wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for a glorious invention called
television. I set my two little angels up in front of a 50 inch screen and they
haven't said anything for about two hours.
Anyway, this isn't as much about me trying
to study or my babysitting methods as much as it is about how my AP literature
class has opened my eyes and made me analyze everything, including real life situations (but that is a story for another day). Today, my two precious
gifts from above were watching Avatar: The Last Airbender (because I have
trained them to only watch quality TV shows). I looked up at the television
screen and noticed that they are watching the episode where Iroh is in jail and
Zuko is visiting him. At first I didn't really pay any attention to the
episode; I had already finished the entire series years ago and I had seen this
episode three or four times before, so it seemed like there couldn't possibly
be anything to it that I hadn't noticed before. Definitely not the case.
This time, the juxtaposition between the
two characters in the scene finally hit me. Iroh, who is in jail, is bathed in
the light from the window in his cell, while Zuko, who is not in jail, is
bathed in darkness. Anyone who has ever watched the show would be able to tell
that this is significant and is an important characterization. Iroh is Zuko's
uncle, but also appears to be a mentor to him. He has a depth of worldly and
spiritual knowledge. Zuko, on the other hand, is constantly at war with
himself. His inner turmoil stems from the fact that he was banished by his
father until he is able to capture the avatar. He struggles between the desire
to lead a peaceful and happy life free of fear and shame and the desire to
reclaim his honor and finally be accepted by his father. The light imagery in
the scene is a visual manifestation of the two differing states of the
characters, showing one as being enlightened and the other as being left in the dark.
Furthermore, despite the fact that Iroh is
the one in prison, the angle at which the characters are shown frequently shows
Zuko behind bars (as seen in the picture above). Iroh is physically in prison,
but his mind and soul are free. Zuko, on the other hand, is physically free,
but his duty to his father, his shame, and his fear cause him to feel trapped.
The forces acting upon him make him feel as restrained as he would if he were
actually in prison.
I could go into a lot more detail about the show and all the
symbolism that I’ve found in it since I actually started paying attention to
the details; however, considering however, considering how many seasons there
are and how prepared I am for my AP exams, it would probably be a better idea
to get back to studying. I just wanted to share an interesting revelation I had
today and show how AP literature has permanently ruined children’s entertainment
for me.
