The starring roles of the show (Aang, Katara, and Sokka) were coded as being of East Asian (Aang) and Inuit (Katara, and Sokka) descent, but were played by actors of European descent in the film.
Katara, born and raised in the Southern Water Tribe by her grandmother, Kanna, alongside her older brother Sokka, and is the daughter of Chief Hakoda and Kya. During her childhood, Katara was the last native of the South Pole still living there who was capable of waterbending.
The ethnicities associated with the four main characters are: Aang: Asian - East Asian or South Asian. Katara: Native American - Indigenous North American. Sokka: Native American - Indigenous North American.
“uhh, friendly reminder that katara is an inuit character, indigenous to northern canada, alaska, greenland etc. so casting an asian would be a form of erasure, and indigenous actors are underrepresented as it is,” one user tweeted. “The water tribes are inspired by Inuit culture and geography location.
Zuko is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and a skilled firebender, meaning he has the ability to create and control fire. He is the eldest child of Fire Lord Ozai and the older brother of Princess Azula.
In-universe, Katara is ethnically Water Tribe. The closest real world equivalent to the Water Tribe is the North American Indigenous Peoples known as the Inuit. She doesn't exist in real life. She's a fictional character in a cartoon series.
But according to the creators, Mai is the one who ends up marrying Zuko, and the name Izumi means fountain, which goes back to the fountain incident when Zuko and Mai were kids.
The races in the Avatar universe are not quite the same as they are in our world. Korra is from the Southern Water Tribe, who were based largely on the Inuit.
The starring roles of the show (Aang, Katara, and Sokka) were coded as being of East Asian (Aang) and Inuit (Katara, and Sokka) descent, but were played by actors of European descent in the film.
Get to know Gordon Cormier, the Filipino-Canadian actor who plays Aang in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Filipinos are now talking about Gordon Cormier, the Filipino-Canadian actor who plays Aang in the Netflix live adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Water Tribes are tribes at the north and south poles who are loosely based on the Inuit people. The Earth Kingdom is a large and diverse nation reminiscent of ancient China that is highly decentralized. The Fire nation is based on Imperial Japan, and they have been at war with the other nations for a century.
In the series, these characters have a dark complexion. In the film, however, these characters are also portrayed by white actors, Nichola Peltz as Katara and Jackson Rathbone as Katara's elder brother, Sokka. The defining traits of these characters are that they are helpful, intelligent, resourceful, and brave.
Although director M. Night Shyamalan cast many Indian and Asian actors in the movie, the filmmaker cast Caucasians to portray the Southern Water Tribe. Shyamalan did this even though the Water Tribe was obviously inspired by Indigenous and Alaskan Native Cultures.
In 174 AG Wu and Korra managed to transform the Earth Kingdom into the Earth Federation and Wu abdicated. Four years later, Korra married Asami and two years later created the Global Assembly.
Mai is deeply concerned about Zuko's internal conflict regarding his father and the war, and though she tries to make him feel more comfortable, she ultimately breaks up with him after he kept secrets rom her.
She gave birth to two children, Chen and Mitsuki. Her husband soon died of old age, and Azula became a single mother. Azula was much prouder and closer to Mitsuki, whose Firebending was to a much greater level than Chen's was. Azula would always compare Mitsuki to herself, while Chen would be compared to Zuko.
The characters were both visually designed and coded as Asian and Inuit. For the early aughts, this kind of representation was far from common, but even more progressively, these weren't stereotypical portrayals either.
Avatar is presented in a style that combines anime with American cartoons and relies on the imagery of primarily Chinese culture, with various other influences from different East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, North Asian, and Native American cultures.
Toph Beifong was originally designed as a muscular, jock-type guy who was meant to be a foil for Sokka and his "nerdiness", as described by series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino in the featurette "The Women of Avatar".
Aang took an immediate liking to Katara, starting with an instant crush, which gradually developed into stronger and purer feelings of love for the young waterbender as they journeyed together.
How Did Katara Learn Bloodbending? Katara learns how to bloodbend from Hama, a Southern Water Tribe waterbender who was captured by the Fire Nation. She appears as Team Avatar surrounds a campfire, telling ghost stories.
While Aang has a pretty obvious crush on Katara early on, Katara's first really noticeable crush is on Jet, the leader of the Freedom Fighters. Jet seems cool and alluring, and Katara is quickly drawn in by his bad-boy charm.
