- [Narrator] "Avatar: The Last Airbender"
may take place in a fantasy world,
but it draws on elements of real-world cultures.
So today, we're diving into the real-life inspirations
for the world of Avatar!
Up first, the inspirations behind Airbending
and the Air Nomads.
- [Iroh] Air is the element of freedom, the Air Nomads
detached themselves from worldly concerns,
and found peace and freedom.
- [Narrator] Airbending is based on a style of martial arts
called bagua, or baguazhang.
It uses constant spiral movements and circle-walking.
In combat, a bagua practitioner
can get behind their opponent and keep moving,
so that they can't turn to face them,
just like Aang does to Zuko.
In creating the Western Air Temple,
designers reference roof styles from Bhutanese monasteries,
just flipped upside down.
- [Toph] It's amazing.
- [Narrator] The Eastern Air Temple took some inspiration
from a different region altogether.
It's designers were influenced
by the ruins of Ankor Wat, in Cambodia.
Aang's asymmetrical outfit,
which he wore in book three was inspired
by Shaolin monks' clothing,
and the beaded necklace that he wears
after defeating the Fire Lord
might have been based on prayer beads,
called mala, used in Hindu and Buddhist
religious traditions.
Even Appa's armor for the invasion
has real-life influences.
(Appa roars)
The armor design references Chinese and Tibetan horse armor,
as well as Thai Elephant armor.
Hey, when you're designing for a ten-ton bison,
it makes total sense to reference elephant armor!
(wind howls)
- Whoa, hey, I'm trying to build Appa some armor here,
so he doesn't have to go into the invasion naked.
He's you're bison.
- [Narrator] Following the flow of the Avatar Cycle,
let's move on to the Water Tribes.
- [Iroh] The people of the Water Tribe are capable
of adapting to many things, they have a deep
sense of community and love
that holds them together through anything.
- [Narrator] The Northern and Southern Water Tribes
were strongly influenced by indigenous cultures
and societies.
Up at the North Pole, the Northern Water Tribe's
city includes references to Inuit
and other indigenous architecture,
and even folds in influences from India.
In particular, the Northern Water Tribe
buildings use whale bones for structural support.
This could be a reference to Thule architecture.
The Thule culture were predecessors to modern
Inuit groups and they used whale bones
in building their winter houses.
Like Inuit architecture, the architecture
of the Water Tribes incorporates snow and ice.
Unlike in the real world, though, waterbenders
in the Northern Water Tribe could use their bending
to build fantastical structures with just ice.
And here's another similarity:
Traditionally, most Inuit tribes didn't live in igloos
year-round, just in the winter.
During the summer, they'd live in tents called Tupiq,
made from wood and animal skins.
And we can see here, that the Southern Water Tribe
village is made up of a mix of snow structures and tents,
and once Team Avatar travels to warmer areas in their world,
they set up tents made from animal skins and wood.
- Sorry, do you need to talk to Sokka too?
- No, not me.
(gentle music)
- [Zuko] Well hello!
- [Narrator] Now let's talk Water Tribe clothes:
Water Tribe clothing is inspired by traditional
Inuit clothing, both Sokka and Katara
have parkas made from animal skins with fur trim,
which are inspired by traditional Inuit parkas,
made from caribou and seal hides.
Seal hides are also used for making mittens and boots,
because they're naturally,
(Sokka gasps)
water resistant.
- Why is it that every time you play with magic water,
I get soaked?
- [Narrator] Now let's talk about Sokka's weapons:
His club is carved from a polar bear bone,
but its shape is very similar to ball-headed clubs
like this one that were used by the indigenous peoples
in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions
before the 19th century.
And then there's the boomerang.
- I'm always right back at ya,
like my boomerang!
- [Narrator] The returning boomerang that Sokka uses
is likely based on the boomerangs
used by Aboriginal peoples in Australia.
- Boomerang, you do always come back.
- [Narrator] While a lot of the water tribes'
clothing, tools, and architecture are inspired
by indigenous cultures,
waterbending is based on the Chinese martial art of Tai chi.
The soft, flowing movements of Tai chi
were a great match for the element of water.
Also, the concept of yin and yang,
and their constant flux, are deeply entwined with Tai chi,
which might have influenced waterbending's origins
in the opposing push and pull of the moon and ocean.
- Tui and La, your moon and ocean,
have always circled each other in an eternal dance,
they balance each other, push and pull,
life and death, good and evil, yin and yang.
- Next up, the largest of the four nations,
the Earth Kingdom.
- [Iroh] The people of the Earth Kingdom
are diverse and strong.
- [Narrator] First, we'll dive into the Earth Kingdom
capital, Ba Sing Se.
The huge outer wall around Ba Sing Se was inspired
by the Great Wall of China.
And the living quarters for soldiers that are built
into the Great Wall inspired these Earth Kingdom barracks,
that are built onto the side of Ba Sing Se's wall.
Beijing's Forbidden City inspired
the Earth King's palace grounds.
And the palaces of Beijing directly influenced
the scale and grandeur of the Earth King's throne room.
The huge throne room is also meant to sharply contrast
with the Earth King himself,
who is, "just a normal guy with a normal bear."
- You mean platypus bear?
- No, it just says bear.
- Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear.
- Or his armadillo bear.
- Gopher bear?
- Just bear.
- [Narrator] The citizens of the Upper Ring wear clothes
similar to styles from China's Qing Dynasty.
The clothes that Toph's parents dress her in
are based on styles from the Tang Dynasty.
In other areas in the Earth Kingdom,
styles are influenced by different cultures.
The Kyoshi Warriors, for example, wear Japanese
inspired clothes, and their fans are likely inspired
by Japanese war fans, or tessen.
- Think of the fan as an extension of your arm.
- [Narrator] Song and her mother wear clothes similar
to Korean hanbok.
Meanwhile, Jet's gang wears clothing
from all over the four nations,
even though they're all from the Earth Kingdom.
Earthbending, which unites the diverse Earth Kingdom,
is based on Hung Gar Kung Fu, a southern style of Kung Fu.
Hung Gar is known for its strong stances,
strong stepping, and lateral transitions.
- (groaning) For the Earth Kingdom, attack!
- [Narrator] Since she's the greatest
Earthbender in the world,
Toph got her own unique style of earthbending,
which is based on Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu.
There's actually a legend that this style of Kung Fu
was started by a blind woman,
so it's a perfect inspiration for Toph.
- I see with earthbending, it's kind of like
seeing with my feet.
I feel the vibrations in the earth.
- [Narrator] Finally, let's dive into the Fire Nation:
(intense music)
The Fire Nation's landscape is inspired
by the volcanic landscapes of Iceland.
And Gullfoss in Iceland inspired the Shu Jing waterfall
in Sokka's Master.
(metallic ringing)
- You added a rainbow.
- Is that okay?
- [Narrator] But while its landscape is based on Iceland,
the Fire Nation's buildings are heavily influenced
by Asian architecture.
The first Fire Nation building that we get to see
in Avatar is the Fire Sage's Temple in Book One.
This temple is based on the Yellow Crane Tower
in Wuhan, China.
The background artists felt
that "the curling, flame-like rooftop corners"
on the Yellow Crane Tower were a perfect fit
for the Fire Nation architecture.
But ironically, the flames on the Yellow Crane Tower
are actually fish.
The tower sits on the Yangtze River,
and has an aquatic motif.
But Avatar's background designers
changed the fish into flames,
and they became a lasting motif
in Fire Nation architecture.
The Fire Lord's throne room draws
on Chinese architecture too, but it also was inspired
by the Great Hypostyle Hall in Karnak, Egypt,
as well other Egyptian architecture.
Many different areas of the world inspired
different parts of the Fire Nation.
Master Piandao's castle was designed
with Tibetan influences in mind.
While the swords in Sokka's Master
were based on Chinese references,
specifically, a collection of swords owned
by martial arts consultant Sifu Kisu.
The design and animation teams tried to preserve
as much detail as possible in bringing the collection
into the world of Avatar.
- Ooh, that's what Sokka's talking about.
- [Narrator] The design of the town in The Painted Lady
was influenced by fishing villages in Halong Bay, Vietnam.
Ember Island is inspired by Thailand.
Originally, the Sun Warriors' buildings
were meant to reference the Ziggurats
of ancient Mesopotamia.
Through the design process and collaboration,
the vision for the Sun Warrior's civilization transformed,
so that the final design ended up being heavily
influenced by Mayan ruins.
- Okay, we learned something about architecture,
hopefully we'll learn something about firebending too.
- [Narrator] When it came to Firebending,
animators looked to Northern Shaolin Kung Fu,
a dynamic style of martial arts,
with strong arm and leg movements,
kicking and leaping techniques,
wide stances, and whirling circular blocks.
- I have mastered the elements a thousand times
in a thousand lifetimes.
Now I must do it once again.
You will teach me, Avatar, firebending.
- [Narrator] Those are just some of the many influences
that went into creating the world of Avatar.
And while inspirations came from all over the world,
from Iceland to Venice, Italy, British Columbia, Canada
and the Panama Canal, Avatar celebrates
the Asian and Indigenous cultures
that strongly influenced its fantastical world.
- Understanding others, the other elements,
and the other nations, will help you become whole.
- [Narrator] What's your favorite part
of the world of Avatar?
Let us know in the comments,
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