This episode sees Team Avatar finally arrive to Ba Sing Se to deliver news that could help defeat the Fire Nation, but does it pass the Bechdel Test?
Are there women in the episode:
- Katara
- Toph
- Joo Dee
Do the women talk to each other:
- Joo Dee is talking to Katara and Toph
- Katara and Toph are talking to each other
Do they talk about something other than men:
- Joo Dee is giving a tour of the city, Ba Sing Se, to Katara and Toph
- Katara and Toph are talking about how they can talk to the Earth King of Ba Sing Se
This episode does pass the Bechdel Test and it involves a new character named Joo Dee talking to Katara and Toph as they are being given a tour of Ba Sing Se. Plus when Katara and Toph talk to each other about trying to find a way to get into a party for the Earth Kingdom’s pet bear. But a big theme throughout this episode was the Dai Le making sure that the culture of Ba Sing Se as well as the peace is kept and that no one within the walls is supposed to know about the war. This is cultural imperialism because there is a group called the Dai Le that are in charged of protecting the culture of Ba Sing Se. So this group is a dominating factor that is making sure that their culture is being forced onto everyone in the city so that their way of life isn’t lost. Plus the Dai Le will take people away if they are disrupting the peace and culture of the city to brainwash them to thinking that there is nothing going on outside of the city and that Ba Sing Se is a utopia that you should be happy to be apart of. The Dai Le is trying to control everyone in the city so that their culture isn’t forgotten so they are dominating over the weaker “nation,” which in this case are the citizens of Ba Sing Se, so everything can be as the Dai Le thinks it should be.
Shared by: Gabriel Olsen
Image Credit: Multiversity Comics