Leaves From The Vine

5/20/19 7/8
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated TV Show

that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to
2008. The story revolves around the journey of a
young boy named Aang.
He’s the avatar, a master of all four elements.
A Map of the Four Nations The Elements
In this fictional universe, there are four separate nations:

the air nomads, water tribe, earth kingdom, and fire nation.
a character from ATLA Uncle Iroh’s voice actor
- the uncle of Prince Zuko - Famous for other roles like Aku from
- a retired war general of the Fire Nation Samurai Jack and Akiro the Wizard in
Conan the Barbarian
The Fire Nation is an extremely militaristic society in comparison to the
other three. One of its past monarchs, the fire lord, started a 100 year
war set on conquering the entire world.
Though they had succeeded in
overpowering parts of the other nations,
the people didn’t stand for it.
A resistance gradually formed and

freedom fighters from each of the
four elements fought back against
the Fire Lord’s tyranny.
The song was featured in the episode “Tales of Ba Sing Se” that aired
on TV in September, 2006. Throughout the course of the episode,
multiple perspectives are featured.
Initially, the Avatar and his
group of friends are shown
enjoying the city & taking a
break from the routine
violence/fighting that they
typically encounter.
Towards the end of the

episode, the POV switches to
Iroh, who also appears to be
relishing the peace and quiet
of Ba Sing Se.
Iroh’s son, Lu Ten, died
during a siege in Ba Sing Se.
Lu Ten, like many others,

lost his life in the war.
In honor of Lu Ten, Iroh sang

“Leaves from the Vine” near
the city’s outer walls.
“Tales of Ba Sing Se” was Mako Iwamatsu’s last episode. After his untimely death,
the show’s staff honored him at the end of Iroh's tale.
- leaves: the soldiers
- vine: the soldiers’ home/family
- falling: leaving home, gradually losing touch, and/or dying in battle
- shells: the men going off to war are fragile & (maybe even)
insignificant in comparison to the cause they fight for
- foam: each one is “drifting” in a sea of war
- the parent acknowledges their child’s role, but still sees them as a kid
- rather than saying that the soldier boy “comes” or “is coming” home,
it says come, implying that the parent wishes for their child’s return
- even if the soldier doesn’t come back, they will be remembered

by their parent as a “brave soldier boy”
- the soldier boy “comes marching home” in memory
Looking past the obvious fictional elements in Avatar (bending, spirit realms, animal hybrids, etc),
there are many revolutionary themes that protrude.
Revolution Across Time and Culture:
● Love
○ for one’s people (Aang, an Airbender)
○ for one’s child (Iroh, a Firebender)
● Loss
○ of life (throughout all four nations)
○ of innocence (children that grew up during the war,
Team Avatar forced to assume dangerous roles)
● Opposing forces
○ The Oppressors (Fire Nation Leaders & Military)
○ The Oppressed (people w/o positions of power in
the other three nations; the resistance)
● Imperialistic Attitudes
○ Fire Nation threatening balance and order
○ Driven by the desire for power and influence
Avatar exemplified how order and chaos go hand in hand.
The Fire Nation attempted to instill order, and as a result, a resistance formed to fight back. As the two forces opposed one
another, chaos occurred throughout all four nations. Themes of love and loss are comparable to a Tale of Two Cities.
Revolutions like the resistance continue to occur. Throughout history, there have been
many groups and individuals with similar motives (particularly oppressive ones). Despite
their similar motives, the circumstances may not exactly replicate one another.
Civilizations develop and evolve across time and across cultures, as do their ways of
handling oppression and revolution.
sources
- https://genius.com/Avatar-the-last-airbender-leaves-from-the-
vine-little-soldier-boy-annotated
- https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/avatar/images/d/d6/Lu_T
en.png/revision/latest?cb=20140504182009
- https://www.fontspace.com/rick-mueller/parchment-mf
- https://www.google.com/search?surl=1&rlz=1CAPQVW_enUS
813&biw=1366&bih=768&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=okToXIL3M4ye_
QaYgZHQAw&q=tree+branch+png&oq=tree+branch+png&gs_l
=img.3..0l5j0i7i30l5.6806.9412..9697...0.0..0.179.1349.16j2......
0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i10j0i67.ek6Y41r2iI4&safe=active&ssui
=on#imgdii=LkXYfxI6kpl3mM:&imgrc=2R53GQNRKUSFEM:
- https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/herculanum/
- http://www.freepngclipart.com/download/flower/54743-plant
s-flower-wreath-watercolor-painting-hand-painted.png
- https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErmZRsCIUsE&feature=y
outu.be
- https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Iroh

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5/20/19 7/8

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated TV Show

In this fictional universe, there are four separate nations:

A resistance gradually formed and

Towards the end of the

Lu Ten, like many others,

In honor of Lu Ten, Iroh sang

- even if the soldier doesn’t come back, they will be remembered

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