Netflix’s Avatar Series Is Toning Down Sokka’s Sexism
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In case you missed it, somehow, Netflix is making a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, and while the first trailer for Avatar was pretty great, there’s definitely some cause for concern with the series. That’s been made all the more obvious these past few days, after it was suggested that Sokka’s sexism in the series would be toned down compared to its source material.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actors Ian Ousley and Kiawentiio – who portray Sokka and Katara, respectively – spoke to the need to maintain the look and feel of their characters, in particular Sokka, with Ousley saying that he “wanted to make sure that Sokka is funny.” Something that Kiawentiio said, though, has caused a bit of a stir online.
“I feel like we also took out the element of how sexist [Sokka] was,” Kiawentiio said, “I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.”
It’s definitely true that Sokka, as a character, has some pretty sexist views at the start of the series, but as many have pointed out on social media since this interview was published, that sexism is an important part of Sokka’s character growth. Over the course of the series, Sokka unlearns these behaviors, kicked off by a scene where he begs the Kyoshi Warriors, a group of girls remarkably adept at fighting, to teach him how to fight, after initially underestimating them due to their gender.
It’s a powerful scene that starts a long arc of growth for the character, but its impact would be dulled a bit if not for Sokka’s history of sexism.
“Avatar is a remarkably anti-misogynist work, and Sokka’s character development of unlearning his sexist attitudes is a core part of the show’s narrative and world building,” Twitter user Hunter wrote in response, “This change undermines other women in the series too, who rebel against a pointedly sexist world.”
Writer Tim Hickson expressed similar sentiments on Twitter, saying he was “very skeptical of this change.”
“Sokka’s growth comes from him [understanding] he’s wrong about women,” Hickson tweeted, “About the Kyoshi Warriors, about his sister, about gender roles in his Tribe, which feeds into Katara’s conflict in the Northern Water Tribe. What will they have in its place?”
Netflix’s adaptation of the classic series was initially set to be headed up by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, co-creators of the original series. Unfortunately, after about a year of early production, the two departed citing creative differences.
“Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good,” DiMartino wrote on Instagram following his departure, “It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make.”
Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is set to premiere its first season on February 22, 2024.
Related: When Is Avatar: The Last Airbender Streaming On Netflix?
