Mini ATLA rant
Jan. 17th, 2007 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timepiececlockOn the character of Sokka, in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The fanon geniusization of Sokka bugs the hell out of me. Sokka's not a genius. If he were that smart he wouldn't do half the stupid things he does. He's smart, he's clever, and he's resourceful--- but he's not a genius. He's not frellin' Shikamaru or Kakashi from Naruto. He's just a bright kid. He'd be probably a grade above his peers IRL... or maybe he wouldn't and he'd just get high standardized test scores and be in GATE or something.
I don't just get annoyed because it stretches canon way past the point of supported evidence, but it bugs me because it denies Sokka his role as the Normal Guy, the Everyman. Sokka's always trying to prove that as a warrior and a tribesman he is the equal of the people with superpowers surrounding him. But by turning him into Super Boy Genius, you're just giving him his own superpower. He's not the normal one anymore; he's just the exception that proves the rule (if you don't have bending and/or super brain genius, you're inferior.) And that bugs me. Sokka (and Suki and Mai and Ty Lee) represent the characters who become powerful through work and talent and education, not through innate super-ability (in ATLA, innate super-ability=bending). To say he's great because he's a genius just cheapens that. [/end rant]
It's like every BTVS fanfic I read that gave Xander a superpower to make him "fit in". It's missing the entire point of his character purpose in the group dynamic, which is that you don't need a superpower to be of value.
The fanon geniusization of Sokka bugs the hell out of me. Sokka's not a genius. If he were that smart he wouldn't do half the stupid things he does. He's smart, he's clever, and he's resourceful--- but he's not a genius. He's not frellin' Shikamaru or Kakashi from Naruto. He's just a bright kid. He'd be probably a grade above his peers IRL... or maybe he wouldn't and he'd just get high standardized test scores and be in GATE or something.
I don't just get annoyed because it stretches canon way past the point of supported evidence, but it bugs me because it denies Sokka his role as the Normal Guy, the Everyman. Sokka's always trying to prove that as a warrior and a tribesman he is the equal of the people with superpowers surrounding him. But by turning him into Super Boy Genius, you're just giving him his own superpower. He's not the normal one anymore; he's just the exception that proves the rule (if you don't have bending and/or super brain genius, you're inferior.) And that bugs me. Sokka (and Suki and Mai and Ty Lee) represent the characters who become powerful through work and talent and education, not through innate super-ability (in ATLA, innate super-ability=bending). To say he's great because he's a genius just cheapens that. [/end rant]
It's like every BTVS fanfic I read that gave Xander a superpower to make him "fit in". It's missing the entire point of his character purpose in the group dynamic, which is that you don't need a superpower to be of value.
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Date: 2007-01-17 10:37 pm (UTC)- I've seen genius Sokka more than comic idiot Sokka, in fanon. But that might be because I read mostly ZUtara fanfic and Sokka's very popular with Zutara fans. Although they do tend to do the overprotective brother thing; that gets tired after a while.
- I like Sokka as comic relief and sidekick, because he's a fun character to write taht way. If he gets kicked in the head it's probabliy because he did something stupid to put himself in a position to get kicked in the head, and now he has to escape while complaining loudly about life and why the gods hate him so. He's a bit like Rincewind the Wizard that way. In the show that's done quite often without compromising his other aspects (lover, warrior, sibling, friend), and if his character is well-written in fanfic then it works to have both the silly stuff and the serious stuff. Without something bad happening to Sokka, the adventure just isn't complete.
- the Sokka-boy-genius stuff also bugs me because we've seen that Katara is equally intelligent (Avatar Day, Seige of the North, Waterbending Scroll, the season 2 finale where she's a friggin war advisor), but people don't talk about how strategic she is, despite the fact that she's the de facto leader of the group. She doesn't appear to have the interest in mechanical/scientific things that Sokka does, but she's an unusually quick learner (like Azula, a Master at 14), and she's done her fair share of planning over the two seasons. People don't really talk about that though.
So from that end I'm always searching for fic that gives Sokka his due, not as a genius, but at least as a potential strategist, rough around the edges, but learning. I mean, he's got a talent, he just doesn't have the training.
I like fanfics like that-- especially when it's stuff like engineering or science, which he's expressed an even stronger interest in than strategy (or in more frequent scenes, anyway.) It's fanfics that treat him like an already-confirmed secret genius and/or the only one in the group with good strategic ideas that bugs me.
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Date: 2007-01-18 02:35 am (UTC)If he gets kicked in the head it's probabliy because he did something stupid to put himself in a position to get kicked in the head, and now he has to escape while complaining loudly about life and why the gods hate him so.
It's The Fortuneteller all over again. But then again, that's the joy of Sokka.
but people don't talk about how strategic she is
I know! I was SO happy in the finale when she was the one kicking so much butt with the generals and such.
They're totally setting her up to be Fire Lady. I mean, she's a powerful warrior in her own right, a talented leader, but also very empathetic. She was born to be a queen. I love her so much.