Words by Shayni Solanki
Television may still lack adequate blind representation, but how did a Nickelodeon cartoon manage to do it so well back in 2005?
With its debut on Netflix, there’s been a whole new generation of kids tuning into Avatar: The Last Airbender. Those who were there for its initial run are also rediscovering it. Revaluing Avatar now, 18 years after it was first broadcast, it’s immediately apparent how well Nickelodeon did in representing blind people and raising awareness.
Coming in at 7th place on IMDb’s Top TV Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender sits higher than coveted shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. Its success is thanks to its storylines and delicate character development. Another huge factor though, is the superb blind representation found in the character of Toph. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Daredevil, we had Toph Beifong.
Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko fought tooth and nail to create a powerful blind character, additionally having to fight the studio to make her a girl. The creators say they took influence from a rare kung fu style apparently originating from a blind warrior.
We see Toph use an in-universe technique called ‘seismic sense’, which creates a heightened sense of awareness. Because she can’t see, Toph channels her energy into quite literally feeling the earth. She is able to detect even the slightest of movements through sound, smell, and touch. Her blindness fuels her creativity, pushing her to think outside of the box.
The best thing about Toph is that her disability is empowering. Confident, blunt, and insanely strong, Toph is never helpless. An aspect blind viewers have praised is Avatar’s allowing Toph to rely on her blindness rather than avoid it.
An article from The Guardian discusses how children’s television often ignores disabled characters, pretending they don’t exist. There are so few children’s television series that highlight disability as a positive thing, and this is only ever marginally better in adult television. Let’s just hope that Netflix’s new Avatar adaptations do Toph justice, not just for fans of the show but for blind people who see themselves reflected in Toph.
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