Narrative

Show Opening

The Narrative method utilizes form of Storytelling. It tells us of a setting or a place and shares of the people that live in this place. It helps us paint a picture of this world and some of the events that are going on within it. These worlds and events could be complete fantasy or more realistic to our own world. Within each of these worlds we have to find out if these events that are going on are relatable to us and something that we can identify with. In the world of Avatar we have four nations that are living together in this world and each one has their own form of mysticism and magic with their respective bending ability. Each bending ability reflects the culture and attributes of each Nation.

Explanation of the nations for context

Each Nation occupies different portions of the world and while they do interact with one another they are still their own separate Nations. This is where the Avatar comes in. The avatar is able to use the different vending styles of each Nation and their connection to the spirit world makes them the bridge between the Nations as well as the spirit world. The opening scene tells us how all the nations used to coexist in harmony until one nation decided to move on the other nations and that created an imbalance and disharmony. Through The Narrative of the opening scene we can speculate that the Avatar is meant to prevent such actions and maintain that Harmony but the Avatar disappeared so the Fire Nation was able to continue their advances on the other nations unchecked.

While this world is a fantasy world there are still elements that we can relate to because there is still war in this world just as there is in ours. We are able to connect to those realities and those events even though we do not have the ability to bend elements. Invasions from other nations is not something that we don’t know anything about. It doesn’t seem like there have been many instances where there hasn’t been one nation advancing upon another even if it was not our own. This allows us to have the ability to identify and relate to what is going on in this narrative that we have in the opening scene.

The purpose of the narrative in the opening scene is to give context of the events that led up to the current state of the world we are about to go into. We are given a brief timeline of harmony to invasion. We are then told who is seen as responsible for addressing the invasion and returning things to harmony. These series of events give us the context necessary to understand the current events that are going on in this world. This allows us to better understand the story that we have not seen in the episodes to come.

4 responses to “Narrative”

  1. Hi Daniel! I hope I can articulate my love and understanding for A:TLA one day as much as you’re able to! There are some inconsistencies in your capitalization of the Avatar, so I’d just Ctrl+F and fix those when you have some free time. 🙂 I am also wondering what narrative concepts you are connecting the show’s opening to. Is it Narrative Coherence, Fidelity, Myth, Story Elements? I think a thesis that includes which narrative concept you are connecting to this scene of A:TLA to will make your post more cohesive. Wonderful inclusion of visual elements and being to the point!

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  2. This is a solid start on this post. You have connected to narrative well, and you supply enough detail for your readers to follow your points even if they haven’t seen the show. Your videos are supporting your points well, too. This was easy to read, and you have a clear structure overall. Good work!

    I think you’re connecting to narrative fidelity here, yes? You haven’t named it yet. So, when you revise this (not now — for the final post assignment), you’ll want to add that. The citation and quotes you need are in the class worksheet on this method, for Fisher.

    I would also encourage you to think about what makes the series have such fidelity. It’s more than just familiarity with invasions. Why does this show resonate so powerfully for folks? What makes it feel “real” for people? There’s your pay-dirt claim.

    Solid start. Keep up the good work!

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  3. From TY:

    Hey Daniel! I think you’ve done a good job at breaking down narrative in the introduction of the show and what we can pull from. I think it would be helpful to talk more about what narrative is and the significance it has to a story/show. You talk about it briefly in your concluding paragraph already but it more add clarity moving it earlier in your post. Because Avatar is fictional, it might make more sense to lean towards “Narrative Coherence”. You’ve already hinted at this in your second to last paragraph but don’t talk much about it. The video elements were a nice touch that added context to your post.

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  4. Hi! I think your use of narrative method is well structured and provides a lot of insight. You broke down the elements of storytelling within the opening scene which also reveals the purpose. I think you can strengthen this post with specific examples from the opening scene (maybe a screenshot) to give visuals to your points and to make it more engaging.

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