Lunar Month > Avatar: The Last Airbender > Influence
Cultural references:
Avatar is notable for borrowing extensively from Asian art and mythology to create its fictional universe. The show's character designs are heavily influenced by anime; the show, however, is not considered an "anime" because of its origination in the United States. Explicitly stated influences include Chinese art and history, Japanese anime, Hinduism(Indian), Taoism(Chinese), Buddhism(Indian), and Yoga(Indian). The production staff employs a cultural consultant, Edwin Zane, to review scripts.
Avatar:
The term "Avatar" comes from the Sanskrit word Avatara, which means "descent." In Hindu mythology, gods manifest themselves into Avatars to restore balance on earth, usually after a period of great evil. The Chinese characters that appear at the top of the show's title card mean "the divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."
When Aang was a child, he unknowingly revealed that he was the Avatar; he chose four toys out of thousands, each of which were toys that previous Avatars had selected. In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a similar test for reincarnations of a Tulku Lama. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel, "a number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things which were theirs in their previous life." The show's official site states "the successor is expected to show signs of continuity with the previous Avatar, such as being born within a week of the death."
Elements:
Avatar draws on the four classical elements common to most ancient philosophies (rather than the five classical Chinese elements) for its bending arts: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Although each has its own variation, most ancient philosophies incorporate these four elements in some way: examples include the classical Hindu, Buddhist, Greek and Japanese elemental traditions.
In the show’s opening, each element is accompanied by 2 Chinese characters: an ancient Chinese seal script character on the left, and a modern Chinese character on the right:
* Water is associated with a character which means "benevolent" or "adaptive."
* Earth is associated with a character which means "strong."
* Fire is associated with a character which means "intense" or "ferocious."
* Air is associated with a character which means "peaceful" or "harmonious".
Western culture:
Films series such as Star Wars, as well book series such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, were a heavy influence when it came to developing the story of Avatar; the creators wanted to tell their own epic Legend & Lore story.
Asian culture:
Calligraphy:
Traditional East Asian calligraphy styles are used for nearly all the writing in the show. For each instance of calligraphy, an appropriate style is used, ranging from seal script (more archaic) to clerical script. The show employs calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee as a consultant and translator.
Fighting styles:
The fighting choreography of the show draws from martial arts; the fighting styles and weaponry are based on Chinese martial arts, with each bending art corresponding to a certain real-world style. The creators use Tai Chi for waterbending, Hung Gar for earthbending, Northern Shaolin for firebending, and Bagua for airbending. The only exception to this is Toph, who employs a Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis style. The show employs Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a martial arts consultant.
Each fighting style was chosen to represent the element it projected:
* Tai Chi focus' on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization.
* Hung Gar was chosen for its firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes to represent the solid nature of earth.
* Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis has distinguishing movements and unique footwork that are employed by Toph Bei Fong to complement her blindness, giving her an anomalous style of Earthbending.
* Northern Shaolin Kung Fu uses strong arm and leg movements.
* Bagua uses erratic, circular movements. In Bagua, Centrifugal force plays a vital role in generating power, and the nearly constant circular movement creates angles between the fighters. This makes it easier for the practitioner to defend and attack.
