Zutara discourse is so funny to me because. ATLA has other hundreds of problems and outdated ideas that are brushed off in canon. From the neolib politics to the shangri-la steryotype with the air nomades and the casual misogyny in katara's arc, but somehow the not canon not real very much a concept ship is what gets people so heated up. Idk man is too mean to say that those people should get a life??
Confronting the actual problems the show has would conflict with the extremely rose-tinted view many fans have of the original show. So, focusing their energy on a non-canon ship (that, by nature, tends to be linked to criticism of the show,) is more comforting and lets them enjoy the nostalgia guilt-free.
These days, people are very defensive of stories that connect them to a happier, more uncritical time, and when you factor in the way that people intertwine their identities with these types of nostalgic media, you get a recipe for vitriol. The politics of ATLA are worthy of critique, and to avoid this uncomfortable truth, people become overly generous in their interpretations of the show’s politics and themes, and treating the white writers as if they were the second coming of Edward Said. I don’t want to stifle textual analysis, but at a certain point, fans need to accept that ATLA has not aged perfectly and that people are allowed to point that out.
There’s also the precedent of misogyny set by Bryke, and the inclination of fans towards uncritically accepting everything the creators say to maintain their idealized vision of their beloved childhood cartoon.

















