In western culture, there are some people who to try to associate themselves with asian cultures/religions in order to make it seem like they are a 'wise' or 'insightful' person. The concepts that they make reference to are often simplified or misrepresented: this is especially common when money is in the equation. In the Avatar universe, ideas from religions are frequently used, however, but nothing itself is referred to as 'religious'. As a result, in the case of each Avatar series, you are not prescribed a 'cookie-cutter' version of Buddhism or Hinduism, because they are not labeling it as such- they are simply borrowing some of the key concepts and using them in their story.

 

 

 

"Mike and I were really interested in other epic "Legends & Lore" properties, like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but we knew that we wanted to take a different approach to that type of genre. Our love for Japanese Anime, Hong Kong action & Kung Fu cinema, yoga, and Eastern philosophies led us to the initial inspiration for Avatar." 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the quote above, co-creator Bryan Konietzko lists 'Eastern philosophies' as one of the primary sources of inspiration for Avatar. I personally believe that they did not really have much of an agenda in terms of how they wanted their show to influence people. As is the case with many artists, I think that they simply created what they wanted to create and shared the ideas that they wanted to share.

 

As far as an outsider can tell, both Mike and Bryan have done their due dilligence in terms of representing different aspects of culture as accurately as possible. For example, all of the writing show in the Avatar universe is written in chinese characters. During The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, an artist with a phD in calligraphy was a member of the show's main crew [2]. This suggests that they were serious about providing an accurate representation of chinese culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the creators of Avatar do seem genuinely interested in eastern cultures, The Last Airbender can be viewed as guilty in terms of following one of the biggest asian stereotypes- the oriental monk. In Jane Iwamura’s book, Virtual Orientalism, she explains this concept as a "..male Asian figure depicted variously as embodying transformative wisdom" [3]. This is a relatively simplistic characterization, but it does describe Avatar Aang's character. However, in in the examples of this stereotype that I have seen, the oriental monk serves a supporting character whose sole purpose is to provide knowledge in order to help the main character in some way. In The Last Airbender, Aang is the protagonist and as a result of this, he receives a great deal of character development. He is wise, but he is much more than a cliché plot device. Based on this, I believe that while stereotypical, the depth in Aang's character serves as an excellent example that monks can have several attributes, apart from simply being wise.

 

One of the other main concepts regarding orientalism itself is that it tends to "..enhanc(e) American cultural and political dominance over Asian societies and religiosity. [3]" In both Avatar series, each race or group of people all appear to be of eastern descent. Therefore, it would not make sense to believe that The Last Airbender is intended to promote American culture and pose Asian culture as inferior.

 

According to a 2001 study on corporate advertising, orange-robed monks were said to be included in a large number of ads created by American companies [4]. The clip below shows a commercial in which monks are meditating, participating in martial arts and then all drink a Pepsi. It is clear that symbols of eastern religions seem to be favorable to consumers, which can certainly be attributed to the success of the each Avatar series, and the fact that Nickelodeon 'green-lit' The Last Airbender in the first place.