The Legend of Korra finale has come and gone, and it was an emotional ride for many. And while there’s been an outpouring of support for the ending of the show, there’s a thing I keep seeing around the internet that’s pissing me off, and I have a word or two I’d like to say about it.
It’s a lot of words, actually.
Immediate spoilers for the finale of the series below.
So… I keep seeing the term “fan service” thrown around a lot in regard to how the show ended. (That being how Korra and Asami ended up together, they are a couple, they love each other, the end.) And I feel like it’s time to start addressing the fact that calling it “fan service” and complaining about it is just another way to be casually homophobic.
Fan service, true fan service, can certainly be damaging to a creative property. If a creator spends all their time worrying about what fans want and catering only to that, obviously, they’re not going to have much of a story on their hands. It’s one of the reasons why fanfiction often centers on more domestic situations for characters—there’s nothing wrong with showing domesticity or having characters enact it, but action is required to make good drama and push a plot forward. Stories need “stuff” to happen in them, as much as we would all love to attend the party where all our favorite characters are sitting around drinking hot cocoa and having movie marathons.
But lately, whenever there is a suggestion or canonical move to show that a character originally “presented” (I’ll get to those quotation marks later) as straight is on the queer spectrum—“Fan service!” everyone shouts. “Get your fan service here!” And they’ll use all sorts of excuses, especially if it happens the way it did on Korra, because Korra and Asami didn’t get together until the very end of the show; the idea being that it was only tacked on at there to appease rowdy fans who could not leave well-enough alone.
Let’s make the most obvious thing clear: we still don’t live in a world where most creators can get away with putting queer characters in properties aimed at children, particularly when they are distributed by major companies (like Nickelodeon in this case). This not something they can be faulted for, most of the time. When show creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino (known as “Bryke” to fans) started Legend of Korra, it wasn’t as though they had Korra’s love life planned out to the end. They did not forsee that the character’s sexuality would evolve this way, but had they wanted to make that shift more pronounced, Nickelodeon likely would have censored the attempt. (And frankly, they shouldn’t need to make it more pronounced—Korra’s sexuality is only a small part of her journey and the show at large.) You can take a big stand on these things, but that usually just results in your creative property getting wrestled from you. They chose to go this route anyway, and it was a wonderful way to say goodbye to the show.
But some people are calling it “fan service” because plenty of LoK fans were pushing for the Korrasami pairing, and the creators knew it. Other shows get blasted for this as well (even with hetero pairings), though not to the same extent. Every show has its ship wars, pairings that fans are pulling for. Sometimes those ships are lucky enough to become canon. But if Emma Swan and Regina Mills from Once Upon A Time decided they were done with men and would rather parent Henry together? Fan service! Because when creators consider the idea of non-heteronormative pairings, they’re only doing it because crazies on the internet told them they had to, right?
My biggest beef with this is simple: when creators are straight people themselves (and many of them are), they are less likely to consider non-straight pairings in their shows. Not because they’re jerks, but because it’s simply not what they’re accustomed to, and not something mainstream media has adopted well enough. Fans bringing the idea of queer pairings to the table can actually make for better fiction in this case—it can cause writers to go in directions they might have never conceived before. And knowing that the fans are behind them in this instance is important; when the backlash happens (because there still is backlash, always) they have plenty of voices at their back, defending the decision.
There are even those who are using the term in a way that they think is flattering, i.e. “This was fan service in the best possible way!” And that’s basically a backhanded compliment, no matter how well-meaning it is. What that says is “I don’t actually see any canonical reason why these characters should be together. I think that the creators did this to make you happy—oh, but I support it!” Which is not actually supportive in the slightest. And more to the point, isn’t it possible that the reason they don’t find the pairing “realisitic” within the conext of the show is because they are so unaccustomed to LGBT+ relationships in their fiction, and thus cannot suss out evidence of one right under their noses? Because there are plenty of people who did see this relationship coming. The subtext was there—and before you go knocking subtext over text, let me remind you that subtext was often the only possible way to have non-heterosexual relationships in fiction for centuries. So it has to count, because for so many years it was literally the only thing that did count.
More importantly, this move is also being called “fan service” because in the minds of these dissenting fans, these characters were straight. Both Korra and Asami dated men (and formed an awkward love triangle at the start of the show due to their mutual crush on Mako), so that means that having them “suddenly” like women is inauthentic. Which is a perfect example of heterosexuality being the invisible default. Korra and Asami becoming lesbians or deciding that they’re bisexual is fan-pleasing move because you are straight until proven otherwise. In actuality, none of these characters has ever discussed their sexuality in enough detail for that to be irrefutable fact—but because they haven’t, they must be straight.
It’s not fan service. It’s characters developing like real people. Some are Born This Way, and that’s an important dialogue to have because so many people will not respect queer identities unless they think all queer people are born knowing that there is something “different” about them. But you know what? Some of us don’t know. Some of us try things out, and learn and change. Some of us date boys and then girls. Some of us go back and forth. Finding it “unrealistic” is erasing the existence of so many people.
So stop calling it fan service. Instead, please just say what you mean: “I don’t like this couple on my show.” You don’t have to like the pairing. Maybe it’s because homosexual couples make you uncomfortable, maybe it isn’t. But you’re not automatically right just because it wasn’t the ship you were pulling for, and it’s not automatically “fan service” because the creators took desires of fans into consideration.
In the meantime, I’ll be over here, enjoying this expertly made fan animation:
Emmet Asher-Perrin is incredibly happy that Korrasami is real now, as you might have noticed. You can bug her on Twitter and Tumblr. Read more of her work here and elsewhere.
Great piece! Love this show so much, beautiful ending in every way (not just the final scene).
There’s way more wrong with this article than I’m willing to take time to engage with, primarily radiating out from an assertion that in no way reflects the reality of anything I’ve seen in fandom, where the term “fanservice” almost universally refers to parading female characters in service of a male gaze.
But this is the one I can’t let sit: “There’s nothing wrong with showing domesticity or having characters enact it, but action is required to make good drama and push a plot forward. Stories need “stuff” to happen in them, as much as we would all love to attend the party where all our favorite characters are sitting around drinking hot cocoa and having movie marathons.”
Have you informed John Updike and John Cheever and Philip Roth of this? There are vast swathes of the most respected stories in the literary world that are nothing but people making their way through their domestic lives, and dealing with the seemingly-tiny details of their day-to-day existence.
Idk why there’s even a comments section because there is nothing left to add. *drops the mic on your behalf*
Wait. In what way did they “end up together”? I was waiting for it (after having read the weekly episode posting here), and got … nothing definitive (which in itself would be quite clever, if it was intentional).
The closest thing I saw was holding hands before going into the portal which … I could be Korra saying “don’t worry, I’ve been there before and I got your back if anything happens” to Asami as anything else.
Agreed. I wish the article had spent less time on “fan service” (a term that’s new to me) and more time (or another whole article) on the SHEER OVERALL AWESOMENESS of the episode–Mako doing lightning-bending that Azula would have trouble matching, Korra deflecting the blast from the spirit weapon in Avatar State, the opening of a new Spirit Portal, Kuvira finally being shown as a vulnerable human, even the maturation of Prince/King/figurehead Wu.
I admit that I didn’t see the Korra/Asami pairing coming, but it fits perfectly. A:TLA ended with the long-foreshadowed pairing of Aang and Katara, who were much younger than the characters in Team Korra. The one false note I had was the wedding of Verrick and Zhu Li–I had my fill of Verrick the first season, even if he did evolve over the course of the series. Bolin presiding with “Mr. Pabu,” however, was utter perfection.
I don’t think LoK was as perfect a narrative arc as A:TLA, but MAN did it cover a lot of critical, relevant ground.
Brian_E, this post here has a thorough explanation:
Final Bows (Or: Korrasami is Canon, Because Staging)
I don’t like how they sidelined Asami until Korra needed a love interest. The stuff with her dad was interesting, but it took up a minuscule amount of time. Hell, the Earth King has gotten more screentime than she, supposedly one of the main characters, did this season. In season 2, her only real plotline (the stealing of her ships) only served to throw her back to Mako rather than establishing any individual development. How many Asami-centric episodes has this series even had? I can only really think of the one with the airship.
The ending was a beautiful piece of LGBT representation, and it was definitely built up to throughout the last two seasons. I just think it’s unfortunate that Asami, a strong, rounded, and smart woman, only seemed to matter to this show when it needed her to be someone’s girlfriend. Eh, at least Korra didn’t end up with Mako. That would have been sad.
Anke,
Thanks. I don’t have time to read the entire thing, but a quick glance at it matched the places where I kindof went “umm, maybe?” (specifically the hand-holding and the scene where they were facing one another).
I still think it’s extra clever that it’s ambiguous though (at least I found it). The shippers can have their cake, but there’s still deniability by the (producers? writers?) if need be.
@5
Remember this isn’t Mordecai Knode’s Korrawatch post, this is just a separate article.
I wouldn’t say that it was ‘fully’ fan-service. Personally, I would say that it was a necessary pandering towards the LGBT community, used as a final desperate attempt to mask the many faults (mostly the lack of characterization/competant writing) that this series had over the course of its run. In no possible way was the rushed implied relationship ever appropriately set up and it took away from the audience finding out more about Kuvira’s tragic backstory, Kuvira or Baatar Jr’s ultimate fate, and the effects another spirit portal would have on the concept of balance.
I’ve often found the notion of ‘romantic shipping’ in a children’s show to be a ‘spin-the-bottle’ type of fan-service solely for the adult audience that, ultimately, takes away from what children love about the series (the adventure at hand). The main reason why the show was pulled off the air was because it couldn’t make up its mind whether it wanted to be a show aimed for kids or for adults. Sadly, It became a show that was too complicated for kids, but not complex enough for adults.
@Brian_E:
If Asami had been swapped out for a man, and had the exact same relationship with Korra (he says he’ll be there for her whenever she wants to talk “or anything”; he’s the only one she writes to during her absence; she blushes when he compliments her hair; their conversation ends the series; he says he couldn’t bear to lose her; she invites him and only him to go away with her; they clasp hands and gaze into each other’s eyes), it would have read as an unambiguously romantic relationship. The only thing missing is the kiss, which Nickelodeon probably wouldn’t have let happen. But the writers’ intention seems quite clear to me.
It’s not fan service. It’s THE PLOT. Suck it, haters.
@8: It is unambiguous.
All THIS Emily.
When they had the scene of Korra standing along, looking at the portal I KNEW someone was about to walk up, and I was saying over and over “please be Asami, please be Asami”, because then it was a perfect recreation of that final moment in ATLA, which was the best I hoped for.
But instead, it was even better!
@6, Anke, Thanks for posting that!
Good post. I wish they’d gone a little further in setting it up, but I recognize they probably couldn’t (even if they weren’t outright told, the fear that they MIGHT be is going to affect them).
And when you think about it, the Avatar is someboy who’s lived multiple lives as male and female, with multiple loves of each gender, and has memories of all of them (even if Korra doesn’t quite have live access to them directly, she presumably still has the memories of the memories)… I’m hard-pressed to think of any character in ANY show who is more likely to be bisexual by nature (not that you NEED an excuse).
The other code-word-for-bigotry I’ve been hearing a lot is “political”, like it’s somehow being “political” to have a gay character… they don’t have a problem with gayness per se, someone might claim, but they want politics, of ANY stripe, out of their kids cartoons (apparently they were snoozing through the explicit political messages over the years in the series).
Except… gay people exist. In society. And they do all the same sorts of cartoon-showable things straight people do. If a show were just reflecting life, they’d be there, maybe not at the forefront of every show, but in some, yes. To not include them, THAT is going out of your way, THAT is the political act, a political statement that’s saying “this is not acceptable for kids,” and, whether you agree with that or not (I don’t), it’s the political statement virtually every show out there is making, so when you jump on the one show that’s NOT making it… yeah, introducing politics isn’t your issue, you’re just a bigot, IMHO.
I was willing to accept the ambiguity of the finale of either having a bisexual couple or a pair of close friends running off into the sunset, as both options made me happy, but after reading a lot of testimonies of people feeling ecstatic at having representation in something they love, as opposed to the BS rationalization of bigotry of those criticizing it…
…I’m now manning the guns of the SS Korrasami. :)
I disagree with the line “because Korra and Asami didn’t get together until the very end of the show.” I think they were implicitly together well before then. Think about the end of Book 3 and the flashbacks in “Korra Alone.” Asami was the one who tended to the paralyzed Korra after her poisoning. As the richest woman in Republic City, she could’ve easily hired a fleet of nurses, but she tended to Korra personally for weeks or months on end — dressing her, undressing her, bathing her, just generally being very intimate. Of course, that alone isn’t necessarily romantic/sexual, but given the obvious attraction between the two (signs of which were apparent at least as early as the Book 3 premiere), I don’t believe for a minute that they went all that time in conditions of such intimacy without acting on that attraction. I think they’ve already been lovers since at least the final scenes of Book 3.
And is this pandering? No, of course not, any more than it’s pandering to make the heroine female or dark-skinned. It’s just telling a story about people who don’t fall into the white-hetero-male “default.” That’s been the mission statement of this franchise from the get-go; why should it be remotely surprising that a franchise built around Asian characters and culture and featuring a ton of really powerful, non-stereotyped heroines would also be inclusive with sexuality?
Plus, it’s a pretty natural evolution of the story, I feel. Korra and Asami liked each other even back in Book 1, when they were romantic rivals over Mako. The usual expectation for female characters in such a rivalry is that they’d hate each other, but Korra and Asami quickly got over any initial hostility and were close from then on. Neither of their involvements with Mako worked out, and nothing ever really happened between either of them and Bolin; the most reliable chemistry both young women had was with each other.
I’d love to see a canonical comic that tells the Korrasami narrative that was going on behind the scenes, and that openly addresses how their relationship formed and evolved, and how they define their sexuality. I agree with #15 that it makes sense for the Avatar to have a fluid sexuality, not only because there have been Avatars of both sexes, but because the Avatar is the nexus of balance between countervailing forces and entities. But maybe Asami is more inclined to lesbianism and didn’t realize it until she broke with Mako. Or maybe she generally likes the opposite sex but found Korra a compelling exception (like Ianto with Jack in Torchwood). Or maybe she’s totally bi, or anywhere in between those possibilities. What does Avatarverse society feel about alternative sexualities? Is there a stigma that caused Korra and Asami to keep quiet about their relationship? Maybe that’s why they felt it necessary to go on a private “vacation” in the Spirit World. Or maybe alternative sexualities are no big deal, they weren’t really hiding anything, and it’s just that we weren’t shown the moments when they were more openly affectionate. These are all issues I’d love to hear Bryke address at some point, or see addressed in a story.
Excellent article.
Well I’m glad the series ended on a high note!
I personally never noticed a romantic relationship between Korra and Asami, but after reading about the theory on Tor I was really wondering if it was true. It is certainly hinted at that with the ending, but if I’d never heard of the theory, would I have thought they were now bisexual?
Does it even matter in the grand scheme? The creators created an interesting world with the hints of even more adventures to be had… I will miss The Avatar.
@Emily Asher-Perrin
I was initially concerned with your title of the article, and now all I have to say after reading it is…
HEAR HEAR!!!
That’s it. :-)
@19: If Korra and Asami’s relationship weren’t supposed to matter, the creators wouldn’t have made sure that it was the very last thing we were shown, the thing that would be foremost in our minds when the series ended.
Of course it matters. Inclusion matters. That’s been the whole driving principle behind this franchise from day one — to tell stories that weren’t about the “default” type of person you usually see in Western TV, that went beyond the familiar, cliched characters and stories and myths and embraced less-explored ones.
It’s not really fanservice or pandering. Book 1 was Makorra (and the creators thought that was all). Book 1 EVERYONE came together. Book 2 was about the characters finding their own identities independent of the group. Book 2 had Korra and Mako break up. Book 3 started with some much needed companionship between Korra and Asami. Book 3 definitely ended on a strong bond between Korra and Asami. Others may interpret the ending as they wish but I saw it as a start to the romantic relationship process. Both of these ladies went through traumatic experiences. Both seemed to have the realization that they wanted to be together. It may take days, weeks or even hours for these two to realize they are in love romantically, but the ending was about them realizing their need for one another. It’s an ending that really is about the start of something new.
The thing that always strikes me when people complain about Korra and Asami, which they have been doing since at least the first episode of Book 3, is that the world of Avatar has never said anything about what is considered normal sexuality.
For all we know, gay is considered as normal as straight, to the point they don’t even have a seperate word for it. That was never talked about, so thrusting our views of normal on the show about element bending people doesn’t really work in the first place.
I hope Korra and Asami, my two favorite characters in many years to be on television, have a wonderful, happy life together.
And now it’s confirmed beyond the shadow of a doubt:
http://michaeldantedimartino.tumblr.com/post/105916326500/korrasami-confirmed-now-that-korra-and-asamis
http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace
Al-X I was just going to mention that. Bryan even mentions that they purposely mimicked Varrick and Zhu Li’s nuptial pose
Nice to see Word-of-God confirmation. So much for the folks insisting it was just platonic handholding and eye-gazing and running off to be alone together.
Although I guess I was wrong about K & A already being lovers by the start of Book 4. Bummer.
Totally excited that Korrasami is canon and confirmed (as I assumed they would post about once they gave time for us all to watch it). They definitely put the work into foreshadowing it in the story, which me and my hubs definitely noticed (and obviously a lot of other people!). It was still ambigious for me in how far they would push it, and I’m glad they took it to the limit of what Nick would allow. I’m glad they fought for it. It’s important, and I’m glad they knew that themselves.
Anybody else hoping we’ll get to see some of the vacay in comic form like ATLA? I bet in Bryan and Mike’s minds it would be a straight Miyazaki adventure. That would be awesome.
@24
Thanks for posting that! Ever since I saw the finale (which I may have stayed up late Thursday night to watch) I was curious to see what the decisions behind the production process were.
I mean, I dig Korrasami (especially since both of them are too good for Mako), but the fact that this was a deliberate, not-at-the-last-minute-thing is exactly what I was hoping for.
As Asami might be the only main character I really still like with my whole heart at this point, I’m ecstatic to see her find happiness with… NOT those two very poorly behaved brothers when it comes to romance. Asami *deserves* the Avatar. And Korra… has stopped throwing desks at people. And they always made more sense as companions of any sort, even though I was not expecting the creators to go in this direction. They actually like each other and get along. I apologize to those who love Mako and Bolin, but in every pairing I saw those two in, it seemed that there just just a bunch of kissing trying to cover up the fact that the romantic partners involved did not actually like and respect each other that deeply. At least not one-on-one.
All I wish for myself is that there had been more Asami in at least some proximity with, if not actually fighting beside, Korra throughout the season (as well as a myriad other pacing things, but never mind). But there were budget cuts and other factors, so it could not be helped. And the fact that she was Korra’s caretaker at the end of Book 3 works well, for me, for having had canonical (tho’ sadly offscreen) bonding. It was very lovely.
(I had no idea Asami was that TALL! Tall girl solidarity! ^__^ I think she grew.)
(And I also think Regina and Emma *should* hook up and co-parent. Their other options are being written very scattershot, but they have things in common I could see being the foundation of an intelligent relationship in *addition* to their hotness. They can work on magic, Henry can call them both “Mom” without awkwardness, and they wouldn’t have to literally fridge someone else’s inconvenient wife to work it out.)
Mako’s lighting was pretty effing cool, whoever mentioned that above. (#5?)
#2 — Cheever and his ilk are writing an entirely different genre and mode. This is fantasy with a touch of steampunky SF. People sitting in rooms being domestic with teacups would work very poorly as a fantasy plot in a visual medium: It would interfere with the necessary mobility needed for either world domination or saving world from said domination, and you’d need to be almostly completely immersed in a character’s head for that Cheeveresque mode, which on TV would mean voiceovers. Lots and lots of voiceovers. You don’t reeeeally want that, do ya? :) There was a little too much exposition for purposes of plot-point elision in this Book as it was.
Take this with a grain of salt, as there’s a lot of Nick-hate in some of the sites I frequent, but I read in one of the Adventure Time blogs that Nick’s S&P actually forbids outright depictions of same-sex couples? Can anyone confirm, or is this just some out-of-hand Nick-hate?
In any regards, I’m sooooo with this article. Kinda amusing to see all the “No they’re just good friends” wailing and gnashing, but disappointing too.
If I wrote about characters with sexuality other than mine, I would probably make it subtle and understated. Because I would probably get it wrong otherwise.
And I thought fanservice was boobs (usually just cleavage).
Anyone complaining about this part of the finale are like those who shout “Deus ex Machina!” at every plot twist, and likely deserve less attention.
Love ya, Emily, and don’t let it get you too mad.
So basically anyone who thinks the way the story ended is implausible or poorly foreshadowed is a homophobe. Got it.
@32: Not necessarily a homophobe, but predisposed to assume heteronormativity. To me, to a lot of people, the foreshadowing of Korrasami was very strong from the third-season premiere onward. Practically every scene they had together had some little hint in their body language or the ambiguous things they said (“If you want to talk or… anything“). A lot of people just assume that romance only exists between a man and a woman, so they don’t notice romantic cues between two characters of the same sex, even when the behaviors are exactly the same otherwise. It’s not bigotry, just a blind spot due to inexperience with sexual diversity.
And as Konietzko said, it’s a blind spot that can be overcome if one broadens one’s horizons and gains experience interacting with people of various sexualities. It wasn’t that many years ago that I was blind to same-sex subtext in fiction; it took me forever to catch on to Xena/Gabrielle, for instance, even though I had nothing against same-sex pairings. But these days, I’ve become more attuned to the signs, and it helps that I’m aware of the conversations going on among the inclusive fan community, which helps me get a broader perspective.
“And I feel like it’s time to start addressing the fact that calling it “fan service” and complaining about it is just another way to be casually homophobic.”<-If and when SQ becomes canon be prepare for#THISFUCKINGTHIS,Swen. “Korra and Asami didn’t get together until the very end of the show”<-Another thing I expect for the SQ ENDgame,litterally. >:-(
“They did not forsee that the character’s sexuality would evolve this way”#Unintentional,anyone?
“But some people are calling it “fan service” because plenty of LoK fans were pushing for the Korrasami pairing, and the creators knew it.”If the creators know it it’s fanservice,if the creators don’t know it…well,still fanservice,I guess,because 2 hot babes together is also a straight male fantasy,am I right?(Of course I am:it’s one of MY fantasies! )On the other hand if you kill Neal off and then CS happens,that’s not fanservice at all,that’s just how the story was suppose to go since the beginning,right?<___<#
“My biggest beef with this is simple: when creators are straight people themselves (and many of them are), they are less likely to consider non-straight pairings in their shows. Not because they’re jerks, but because it’s simply not what they’re accustomed to, and not something mainstream media has adopted well enough. Fans bringing the idea of queer pairings to the table can actually make for better fiction in this case—it can cause writers to go in directions they might have never conceived before.”<-THIS FUCKING THIS again! “they are so unaccustomed to LGBT+ relationships in their fiction, and thus cannot suss out evidence of one right under their noses? Because there are plenty of people who DID see this relationship coming. The subtext was there—and before you go knocking subtext over text, let me remind you that subtext was often the only possible way to have non-heterosexual relationships in fiction for centuries. So it has to count, because for so many years it was literally the ONLY thing that DID count.”AMEN! “More importantly, this move is also being called “fan service” because in the minds of these dissenting fans, these characters were STRAIGHT. Both Korra and Asami dated men (and formed an awkward love triangle at the start of the show due to their mutual crush on Mako), so that means that having them “suddenly” like women is inauthentic. Which is a perfect example of heterosexuality being the invisible default. Korra and Asami becoming lesbians or deciding that they’re bisexual is fan-pleasing move because you are straight until proven otherwise. In actuality, none of these characters has ever discussed their sexuality in enough detail for that to be irrefutable fact—but because they haven’t, they MUST be straight.”Reason #11,everyone!!! “IT’S NOT FANSERVICE.IT’S CHARACTER DEVELOPING LIKE REAL PEOPLE.”!!!!!!!!!!<-IN YOUR FACE!!!!!>O<
@33 Personally I find the tone of your comment rather condescending. You make a lot of assumptions about people who didn’t see this relationship coming, and blame them rather than what’s truely at fault. No matter the intentions of the creators, or why the Korra/Asami relationship was hampered (budgtry limits causing material to be cut, or studio interferance), the fact of the matter is a great deal of people didn’t see this coming, and so ultimately the show failed to communicte the message properly.
I love gay relationships appearing on screen, and there is a great need for more non-stereotypical representation of those of us who are not hetrosexual, but this show is a poor example.
My reccomendation would be to stop blaming the people whe didn’t see this relationship developing and pour more scrutiny into the show, and into the decisions which made the relationshipmuch less visible than it should have been. Shout down the executives who made the decision to water down the message.
(This is coming from a gay man, btw, so don’t try and push hetronormativity on me.)
@33: allow me to copypaste the abstract of this paper, written in the second paragraph.
“And I feel like it’s time to start addressing the fact that calling it
“fan service” and complaining about it is just another way to be
casually homophobic.”
So that’s it. For the record: I think it was fanservice.. I also think it was a beautiful, moving final shot. But definitively fanservice, and I’ll defend that to. So, homophobe. Okay. Good to know. You never cease to learn, apparently.
@37: I’m not “blaming” anyone. Blame is a mean-spirited and unproductive exercise. I’m rejecting the notion that anyone needs to be “blamed” or accused of homophobia. I’m just saying, based on my own past experience, that it’s possible to overlook the evidence of an attraction between two people of the same sex if you’re not accustomed to considering that as a possibility. Nobody is born attuned to other people’s perspectives, but it’s something we can learn through experience and interaction.
In my experience, the clear majority of critics and commenters did see Korrasami coming a mile away, at least in the portions of the Internet that I frequent. I didn’t initially see the hint of attraction between them in the Book 3 premiere, but once I read a comment or two mentioning it, I was able to recognize it on rewatching the episode, and thus I was alert to the signs that were seeded throughout the rest of the back half of the series. I don’t “blame” myself for not noticing it; I simply recognize that I wasn’t in the right mindset to notice it, until someone clued me in. So no, you absolutely do not have to be a homophobe to miss the signs. There’s no need to interpret this discussion as an accusation of anyone.
This is another lesson we can take from Korra’s relationship with a woman in the finale — the woman in this case being Kuvira. Korra could’ve blamed and condemned Kuvira for the harm she did, but instead she tried to understand and find common ground, to broaden her own perspective and help Kuvira broaden hers. No blame involved. Blame is an excuse for perpetuating conflict.
@38: Did you read Konietzko’s essay? There are fans of every possible relationship in the show, so it would’ve been just as much “fanservice” if Korra had ended up with Mako or Bolin or Tahno or Iroh the Younger. So it’s a double standard to say that the only relationship outcome that would qualify as fanservice is the lesbian one. The reason they chose that relationship wasn’t because it was the only “ship” the fans would be pleased by; it was because, out of all the possible “ships” that would’ve pleased some segment of the fanbase, Korrasami was the one that emerged most organically from the characters themselves.
@37, The fact that you are gay doesn’t mean you are immune to the blinders our heteronormative culture puts on us. Just like plenty of women can be sexist, and plenty of POC can perpetuate racism, gay people are just as susceptible to not considering homosexuality in characters unless it’s tied up with a big fat queer bow.
Again, to repeat Emily’s point, if this relationship had been established using the same exact beats, but with characters of the opposite sex, we would not be having this discussion. The subtext was there, and the subtext counts JUST as much as text, especially when dealing with queer representation.
but this show is a poor example.
Even the creators agree that this was NOT a slam dunk for representation. They were constrained in what they could establish onscreen. However, the fact that it was NOT a slam dunk, doesn’t mean it still didn’t put points on the board.
@39: I read it. I’m a regular follower of his blog. I don’t know your relationship with Korra fandom; as for me, I’ve invested some of my time these past three years involved with them, following the trends, reading their opinions, checking the fanart, etc. Korrasami was -and is, you only have to check the reactions to the finale- the most popular pairing, by a huge margin. If Konietzko is trying to convince me the Tahnorra fans have the same weight in the fandom as those favoring Korrasami, my only reaction can be a resounding laughter. (More or less the same reaction to the assertion that the finale and their relationship came out organically, sorry for that. And the pun.)
The problem with both Miss Asher-Perrin and your argumentation (I think) is that it works under the assumption that the only reason to define this narrative decision as fanservice is the homosexual nature of the relationship, an asumption that is reached in quite a circular way, IfYouKnow…etc. (The finale represents two women starting a relationship. Because they are against the finale, they are homophobic, Why are they homophobic? Because they are against the finale, that is two women starting a relationship, and so, and so), something that speaks louder about your own prejudices than mine. Personally, I have qualms about the execution of the thing, but none about Zhu Li Doing It.
@41: Couldn’t it be that it’s the most popular ship because it’s the one that fit the characters best? And that the writers’ own seeding of the relationship from the start of Book 3 onward reinforced the fans’ interest in it? Correlation does not prove causation, at least not in the direction you’re assuming.
And again, I’m not calling anyone homophobic. Don’t blame me for what other people are saying. I’m saying exactly what I mean. And what I’m saying is simply that I don’t think it’s valid to call it fanservice. Fanservice is something exploitative and gratuitous done to pander to an audience. I don’t see anything exploitative in such a subtly developed relationship, and I don’t think it’s gratuitous or artificial because it makes a lot of sense for the characters, given how well they’ve clicked since that first Satomobile race. I just don’t see any reason to dismiss it with a derogatory label like “fanservice.”
I haven’t watched Avatar or Korra. They’re on my list for someday. I’ve followed these conversations with some interest though. I’m familiar with the term ‘fan service’ originally as gratuitous sexiness. Panty shots and stuff. I don’t know that I ever interpreted this as meaning that there was a two-way conversation between creators and fans. Rather, it was a joke by fans that creators were teasing them.
I think it does a disservice to creators and fans alike to talk about stuff like this in terms of ‘fan service’ though. If the relationship exists, this is not teasing or titillating the fans–it is literally part of the work, and should be treated as such. And it seems crazy to me to suggest that if a story tension resolves itself in a way that fans enjoy, that means that it is ‘fan service’ as opposed to just storytelling.
Comment #43 unpublished by moderator. Please feel free to rephrase and repost your opinion in a less offensive tone.
(Note: the perfectly acceptable responses to the comment were deleted too, to avoid confusion. Thanks everyone for keeping it pleasant and civil.)
@42: As a lifelong fan of animation, and ex-otaku, let me answer your question: No. Fandoms ship ANYTHING. They would ship Korra with a rock if they could… wait, why am I using the conditional? I am sure somebody has. As I said, I’ve followed this for a long time. Korrasami has been a thing since Asami appeared. Don’t know if you remember Book One, but their personal interaction in that one was… limited, to say the least. No matter! Two pretty, resourceful, awesome ladies like these? It’s the shipper’s natural prey. And the thing got only even more heated in Season 2 when Asami was practically demoted to romantic complement of the show (Other thing that could be argued for: the way to mishandle a character with so much potential as Asami. I’m baffled as how now, aparently, to reduce a character to being just The Girl is totes radical and progressive, at least if the The Other is a girl as well). Let me assure you, after Season 2 I read more than once that after all that shit that happens to Asami in Season 2, she and Korra should totally say “fuck it”, forget boys and start as a couple. (And, lo and behold…)
Personally I think that lauding a show for paying loving attention to its fanbase and stating horrified a creative decision from this same show totally can’t be fanservice (Fanservice, by the way, doesn’t refer exclusively to gratitous titillation. The Veronica Mars movie was 99% fanservice. Toph’s appearance in this last season was fanservice- quite coincidentally, I found her appearances some of the funnier parts of a generaly speaking quite meh season. And so on) doesn’t reflect well on the “Not Fanservice” side, but that’s just me. I could elaborate furthermore about why I think this is fanservice, but in short, the main reason is that it is somewhat suspicious that after two seasons in which the romantic pieces of the series were brutally panned, two characters that previous to that had VERY limited interaction (some instances of which were straight antagonical, no less!) but who were a very popular pair among the fans of the series suddenly decide to start a “very good friendship” with enough innuendo to give Barry White lessons, ending with a full-fledged relationship. Granted, there was true chemistry. And the last three minutes of the series were positively beautiful. But still. It was fanservice. No shame on that. It was still an awesome ending.
Also, sorry for conflating both Miss Asher-Perrin and your words. You are right, that’s not what you said; since I posted my first comment to answer the OP’s -quite uncivil, I’d dare to say; at least I don’t know other term to define an argumentation that starts insulting everyone who doesn’t agree with the writer- original words, I assumed that you agreed with the quote I extracted from the text. My apologies.
two characters that previous to that had VERY limited interaction
(some instances of which were straight antagonical, no less!)
IMO, you can’t have been watching the show if you thought there was ever ANY antagonism between Korra and Asami. While there were plenty of problems with the way the “love triangle” was written, the fact that neither Korra nor Asami held one another responsible for Mako’s actions was the best thing about it.
And they had “limited” interaction because there are limited minutes they can spend with these characters. EVERY interaction between Korra and Asami, from the start, established a friendly rapport between the two, once Korra learned she was incorrect in her assumptions about Asami.
As I’ve stated multiple times, there was more concrete groundwork established for this reciprocal relationship, than the entirety of ATLA spent on building up Kataang.
As the linked wikipedia page suggests, ‘fan service’ usually means either intentional teasing or titillation, or dropping references that the casual viewer would not understand. Outside that context, I don’t really understand what ‘fan service’ is supposed to mean. I mean, is creating a show that fans like ‘fan service’? Isn’t creating a show that attracts and keeps viewers… kind of a major goal of a television show? Does ‘fan service’ mean just ‘making a show people like’?
In the context, when people accuse the Korra creators of “fan service”, what they’re saying is that they believe they wrote the Korra/Asami relationship specifically because fans wanted it. The idea is that they’re saying that it did not fit in the story, but was thrown in simply to appease fans. I don’t agree with that, however. As others have said, the characters had excellent chemistry over the entire series, and romantic tension has been brewing between the two for some time.
@49 If those characters have antagonistic goals, they are antagonists. In Season 1, Korra and Asami have antagonistic goals, so they are antagonists. They may be friendly antagonists, but that doesn’t make them less antagonists.
And no, it is not because of any time limitation. Think, for example,of season 2. What was the personal interaction between them in the entire season? None. None at all. And, true, Asami and Korra were friendly after Asami dispelled the “daddy’s little girl” image she had. What happened next? Well… Korra accused her father of being complicit with a well-known terrorist organization. And then she turned out to be right, making Asami lose everything. And then Korra stole her boyfriend. And then Asami spent months trying to avoid her company’s bankruptcy. I’m pretty sure we can agree there wasn’t much interaction in this time. And then Asami sort of stole Korra’s boyfriend. And then Korra stole him. Again. Also, some stuff about the end of world in which she barely participated (Not important). And then, two weeeks later, Asami: “You know what? We should totally be besties.”
All I say, if you think that’s a “natural” and “organically developed” plot… We obviously have very different ideas of what a natural development of a plot is.
Also, funny that you mention Kataang, because there was quite a lot of criticism back in the day regarding exactly that. And, you know what? They are right. It is very obvious from the beginning that Aang is completely in love with Katara, but Katara’s love comes quite of the blue.
@atlas:
As a current (but not hardcore) otaku and also exposed to the Avatarverse fandom, I have to say is… it’s all PoV, because the sections I was exposed too, Makorra was a given, and the interactions between the Makorra fans were always from a triumphalist position, as in… it was an unspoken given that Mako and Korra ending up together was the “endgame”.
I’m seeing a lof of the triumphalist fans using the “badly written” rationale, feeling thoroughly disappointed and let down by the relationships’ actual endgame, after three days of active denial and… uhm… straightsplaining? Then the creaters call them out on this, and they are angry, instead of taking a long hard look at themselves and simply asking “why did I miss it?”
I think the backlash is that nobody likes being called a homophobe, but that’s not the case… the “hetero-lenses” is just a reference to a cultural bias, not a personal flaw.
Personally, I’d have been happy with either result: a deep friendship or an actual relationship. The clues were there all along, and even before the finale I was very glad to see the two ladies getting past the silly love triangle and forging a REALLY close relationship.
Also, I don’t see what’s NOT natural or organic about two smart and strong women being mature enough to step past an adolescent romantic trist. And yes, Book 1 and 2 didn’t have enough Asami… but Book 3 more than compensated, and every interaction between Korra and Asami served the narrative purpose of building up their relationship.
Life works like that. The friend of a friend might end up becoming your best friend months or years in the future.
@50: I think the problem with the word “fanservice” is that it’s undergoing the same kind of memetic drift as the term “Mary Sue,” in that some people see it as having a narrow, derogatory meaning, while others apply it so broadly to just about anything that it becomes all but meaningless. I mean, really, while good writers generally write for themselves first and foremost, we all want our fans to like the things we write, so the case could be made that everything in a show is about serving the fans on some level. I don’t see that as a useful way of defining the term. I think it’s better used to refer to things that are gratuitous and pandering, particularly if they’re done at the expense of story or character logic.
Just in general, sticking labels on things does more to obscure understanding than to increase it. Instead of dwelling on what label to append to the event, isn’t it more useful just to talk about the event itself?
@52: We’re talking about teenagers trying to navigate their way through their early romances and figure out what they really want from life. Nothing about that is going to be linear or simple. Book 1 established that Korra and Asami liked and respected each other even when they were at odds over Mako or Hiroshi. They argued, but it didn’t end their friendship. And in Book 2, they both independently realized that they didn’t belong with Mako. Why wouldn’t that shared experience bring them together? They’d both made the same mistake with the same man, they were mutually over Mako at the same time, so it makes a lot of sense that they’d bond over that, in a sort of “Who needs guys?” kind of way. It’s hardly the first work of fiction where a man’s two ex-girlfriends or ex-wives end up bonding over their shared disappointments and embarrassing stories and whatnot, usually to the dread of the man in question. So yes, their closer friendship did emerge organically from their relationships with Mako, just in the convoluted and slightly perverse way that sometimes happens when human emotions are involved.
And no, Korra and Asami didn’t spend that much time together in Book 2, but neither did most of the core characters. The whole season was about them drifting apart and losing their way somewhat in the process.
OH GOD YES.
*bitterness*
*but we won’t go there now*
(why on earth can’t I sign the hell in)
@56 – Please email webmaster@tor.com if you have problems signing in.
@53: Quick search in Google. “Korrasami”: 982.000 hits. “Makorra”: 416.000. Done in my parents’ computer, not to mess with Google’s algorythm and all.
@55: As I said, if you think it is a natural, organic, etc. development, fine for you! Let’s agree to disagree, as Boris the Animal would put it. I still think that the development is a little bit too convenient, considering all we know about the series’ production and the public and critic reception of certain (re: romantic) plot developments. But that’s just me.
@ALL of you and Tor’s usual suspects: Since where I’m from we’re about to sit in our tables for the Christmas’ Eve dinner, I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a geeky New Year! Enjoy the food and the family, and keep being awesome!
@58: “Convenient?” They were lucky to be able to include it at all. This is a franchise that has broken boundaries of representation from the start, and it took courage to push against the presumed taboos of animation and even hint at a lesbian relationship, let alone make it as overt as they did. It’s a decision that carries great meaning to a lot of people for reasons that have nothing to do with anything as frivolous as “shipping” or “fanservice.” I think TLoK will be remembered as one of the most important, game-changing television shows of the decade, in no small part because of Korrasami. The reason that relationship is so popular is because there’s a longing for something that animation just wasn’t providing, and this is the one franchise that had the courage to provide it.
It’s been interesting watching the fandom explode over the confirmation at the Korrasami finale (I do believe one of the tumblr blogs I follow got discontinued after it, because the user is a very avid Makorra shipper). The amount of vitriol was much greater than what was found after Aang’s finale, which was especially striking considering that Korrasami is now more popular than Makorra, but that Zutara was always far more popular than Kataang.
It rather liked it that they actually came out and confirmed it now. I’ve always felt that Avatar was one of the first shows to actually get “serious” about diversity, both with gender and race (the hero of the first series being compared to an East Asian monk, the heroine of the second being a girl whose culture was Inuit-based). But I never thought they would push it as far as queer representation – I thought Nick would shut that thing down completely!
Personally, considering the response to the Korrasami finale, I really doubt that they were pandering to the fans, though. Korrasami is very popular now, but it really wasn’t before. I remember when most of the fandom was divided either between Makorra or Masami, and the only people shipping Korrasami were the ones who were tired of the fighting, and wanted some peace already. It only gained momentum during season 3, where they were clearly amping up the subtext in preparation for the finale, and peaked in season 4. Citing google results for Korrasami and Makorra now (Dec 2o14) is a moot point, since there is zero evidence to state that Korrasami was as popular two seasons ago as it is now. And Bryke made their decision to make it canon after season 2, not even after season 3 after Korrasami became very popular.
I think a lot of the surprise at the ending came about because, ‘queerbaiting’ (the act of playing up a gay relationship just for the views, but having the characters end up in heterosexual relationships or single at the end) is very common in shows; look at the immensely popular Sherlock for an example. Korrasami was certainly built up over the last two seasons, but I think many people assumed that it would just not happen on a Nickelodeon show, and that it just had to be another example of queerbaiting. Not to mention that overt mentions of their feelings for each other would be seen as taboo by Nick. You could see the core for a healthy relationship to nucleate around, though. And I’m happy that the creators have spoken out so soon to clear up any misunderstanding.
What @60 Nessa said. A Google search today is utterly contaminated as a statistical sample and proves nothing other than the support and traction Korrasami has gained since the finale.
And yeah… I’ve seen the fandom explode, and a couple of the Makorra bloggers I followed going into hiatus or just outright closing. They feel hurt by the “hetero-lenses” comment, but truth hurts… I saw those same bloggers milking every show of affection in Book 3-4 between Mako and Korra as proof of the Makorra endgame, and sidelining the evidence for Korrasami as “just friends”… which was the VERY definition of cultural and subjective bias.
But the sheer amount of joy, happyness, fulfillment and other fuzzy feelings from Korrasami fans, and even non-fans who just found out a cartoon just validated their lifestyle… that was really heart-warming, and the fanart pouring out is downright beautiful.
@60: Another thing to keep in mind is that it takes a long, long time to produce animation. They were storyboarding Book 4 before Book 2 even premiered, and recording dialogue for it while Book 2 was airing. So if Korrasami didn’t begin to become popular until after Book 3 premiered, that proves that the finale was not influenced by fan preferences, because the finale was already long since written by that point.
@60, 61, 62: Well, I had a rebuttal written but it got lost in teh interwebs. Thank you, Tor’s two-positives-needed comment system. :P Anyway, since the conversation is starting to get stale, and personally I don’t like to repeat or clarify my points over and over again, I think it’s time to agree to disagree. And now that I won’t have this argument to keep my mind busy, it’s time to face the fact that tomorrow will be the first friday in our lives without Korra. Just the thought makes me sad. :'(
@33: “Not necessarily a homophobe, but predisposed to assume heteronormativity.”
From the original article: “And I feel like it’s time to start addressing the fact that calling it “fan service” and complaining about it is just another way to be casually homophobic.”
If you think it’s a bad idea to accuse people who didn’t like the ending for any of a number of miscellaneous reasons of being homophobes, great! Please take it up with Ms. Asher-Perrin, since she’s the one who did that.
Ending went for me as
(Post Party) – Haha Korrasami
(Hug to Vacation) :O…………….wait a minute
(right before portal) ooooo WOW! ……. wait what?
Twitter Explodes – O man Korrasami is real? That’s cool but I’m not sure
Creators Confirm w/ Asking to review – I SHOULDN”T HAVE TO RE-VIEW. They shoould’ve made the hints stronger!
That’s my 2 cents. And I agree that Avatar will flourish better w/o Nick. There’s too much fighting and death, and love) I feel a TV-14 would do it much better justice for the future.
@64 Your comment reveals that you think being accused of being homophobic is worse than actually being homophobic.
That’s messed up. It’s placing the hurt feelings of a privileged groupaabove the actual harm done to a marginalized one.
For those confused by “fan service”, LoK is an anime-like property. Fan service is what companies, creators, and fans in Japan call things they insert into anime or manga to attract fans who might not otherwise watch. For some, it’s putting in cute or sexy views of characters, both male and female. For fujoshi, it’s slightly flirtatious behavior between otherwise straight male characters. They’re proven ways to get viewers and increase a show’s popularity. And it’s part of why anime fans love anime. It’s celebrated, at least in fandoms I’m part of. So fan service in general isn’t a negative unless that’s how your mind works.
But it is a negative here. Canonical relationships are not fan service. They’re not winking at the fans. They’re character development and story, and those calling it fan service are doing so in an attempt to dismiss what’s real because they’re uncomfortable with it. So yes, in this case I agree that it’s homophobic.
@67: But that’s the thing: the main reason I have spoused to defend this as a whole is fanservice is that this development has been full of “wink, wink” material-since day one. Asami and Korra’s relationship went from barely acknowledging each other to straight “I always wanted a girlfriend to talk to. (wink, wink) Yeah, it’s soooooo good to have somebody to talk with… or anything (nudge, nudge)”. I am baffled by the reaction this finale has had on the internet on both sides, but the thing that surprises me the most is all those people acting oh-so-surprised. Really, people- they’ve been teasing this for 2 seasons! My reaction to the first reports of “KORRASAMI CONFIRMED” was “Oh, so they finally decided to do it.” And suddenly everyone is losing their minds over it all over the web, for this or that reason. I am reading right now the IGN post-mortem and- holy shit, the most reiterated words everywhere are “TV history!” And I’m thinking that maybe we watched different finales.
And no- Fanservice is not a four letter word. I don’t understand the negative reaction to its use- for starters, personally I feel this last season has been, in general, somewhat meh, and it has been the fanservice what has given me the most enjoyable moments (Varrick’s wedding, the finale, and of course, Toph motherf****** Beifong). Somebody has to explain what’s so bad about pleasing the core fans of a franchise- specially after all the raving reviews this show’s last episode has.
@68: I think shellywb nicely explained why it’s missing the point here to call it fanservice. Fanservice is something that’s only there to pander to fans and serves no necessary function within the story itself (unless it’s something like, say, a harem anime where the sexual content is the primary reason the story even exists). It’s not something that comes from the core of the characters themselves. So calling a relationship fanservice is denying its validity, and it’s clear enough why that would be seen as dismissive when applied to a same-sex relationship.
And again, you’re simply wrong to assume that things like Korrasami, Varrick/Zhu Li, or the like were done in response to fan reactions, because — let me remind you once more — Book 4 was being written before Book 2 even aired. The entire final 3/4 of TLoK were written by creators who knew nothing about the fan reaction to anything other than Book 1. And you yourself acknowledge that there was no hint of Korrasami in Book 1 — and Varrick and Zhu Li didn’t even exist yet. So it’s impossible that the writers could’ve been influenced by fan reaction. They were working much too far in advance of fan knowledge for that to be a factor. They weren’t serving what the fans wanted, they were serving what they wanted. Leaving aside any debates over heteronormativity, calling it fanservice is misinformed purely on the basis of timing. It’s forgetting what an enormously long time it takes to produce animation of this quality.
@69: I said i wasn’t going to continue the argument, but this, I will salvage from the comment I lost: your dates are wrong. Book 3 was mid-production and Book 4 was being storyboarded after Book 2 was aired. I am well aware of how time-consuming animation is- but, as I’ve said before I’ve been following this series very closely these last three years.
And you may convince me that the Korrasami ending is not fanservice- good luck trying that with the Varrick/ Zhu Li’s wedding. Varrick goes literally in one episode from oblivious, condescending doofus to anxious, self-conscious lovebird proposing to Slo-Mo Zhu Li. As I said, I don’t mind, and I found that one of the most enjoyable parts of the season, but I hope that you don’t share the sentiment expressed in other comments regarding the Kataang romance in A:TLA and have the nerve to tell me this was some kind of “natural, organic” development.
@70: Now you’re getting insulting, so I’m done.
Moderator here. Let’s keep the discussion civil and pleasant going forward.
@71: I’m really sorry if I’ve said something that made you feel that way. I’ve re-read my comment, and I don’t know what you find insulting about it; however, if you explain what part you find offensive to me, I ‘ll gladly apologize for it and I’ll try not to repeat the mistake in future conversations. It’s the least I can do, since the comments don’t have and “edit” function.
@66 Well, since you decided to jump in on the topic, Aeryl, perhaps we can hear your opinion. Is it okay to slime people who thought the ending was pandering to fans as a homophobe, as the author of the original article did, or not?
@74: I’m with Aeryl. It’s hypocritical to pretend that the hurt feelings of the privileged are more worth defending than the everyday oppression endured by the non-privileged. If someone suggests you’re motivated by prejudice, the wrong thing to do is to bristle and yelp about it. The decent and honest thing to do is to stop, take a good long look at yourself, and sincerely ask yourself if maybe there’s a valid reason why your words give that impression, even if you don’t mean them to. After all, we all have prejudices, and the only way to overcome them is through diligent self-examination.
One of the problems with society today is that we’re pathologically afraid of criticism. We see it as an attack that nobody has the right to inflict on us. But listening to criticism is an important part of self-improvement. We can’t see ourselves clearly without considering how other people see our words and actions. Because our words and actions affect others, and it’s hypocritical to complain about how others’ words affect us without being willing to give fair and honest consideration to the reverse.