Sloan Stowe
Sloan Stowe
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The Nuance of Avatar's 'The Puppetmaster'
Practice critical thinking and get your facts from a source you can trust by subscribing through my link ground.news/sloanstowe to get 40% off unlimited access with the Vantage Subscription or get started with the Pro-Plan for less than $1/month.
In this video essay, I analyze Avatar: the Last Airbender's 'The Puppetmaster', in terms of character, subtext, intertextuality, themes, and narrative structure.
Follow me on Instagram: sloanstowe
Check out my Patreon: www.patreon.com/sloanstowe
Art by: joyblivion
Chapters:
00:00-02:04 atla intro + spoilers
02:05-02:48 writers room
02:49-03:50 appearance vs reality
03:51-04:44 Puppetmaster recap
04:45-07:37 deliberate oversights
07:38-09:31 witch allusions
09:32-10:45 ground news sponsor
10:46-12:33 witch allusions pt 2
12:34-14:16 hansel and gretel
14:17-17:38 subtext and implications
17:39-19:39 jumpscare structure
19:40-22:45 emotional core
22:46-23:07 acting spotlight
23:08-24:39 jet parallels
24:40-27:19 katara + hama
27:20-29:29 hama’s significance
29:30-31:44 katara’s arc
Sources:
Big thank you to www.sneezypeasy.tumblr.com (Didn’t end up using their script clippings, but through them, I learned the episode was originally titled “The Dark Side of the Moon”!
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/
www.tamuc.edu/tamuc-history-professor-busts-myths-about-the-salem-witch-trials/
www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/eight-witchcraft-myths/
Grimm, Jacob, et al. Grimm's Fairy Tales. New York, Sterling Pub. Co, 2009.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/25/black-women-history-burned-at-stake/
www.history.com/news/were-witches-burned-at-the-stake-during-the-salem-witch-trials
www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201912/8-truths-about-intuition
www.apa.org/monitor/mar05/misfires
www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/intuition
www.apa.org/monitor/mar05/misfires
www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201912/8-truths-about-intuition
www.bcg.com/publications/2014/strategy-hansel-gretel-lessons-managing-crisis.aspx
www.tehrantimes.com/news/76598/Traditional-Tales-of-Brothers-Grimm-Are-Big-in-Japan#:~:text=KASSEL%20Grimm's%20Fairy%20Tales%20are,also%20adorn%20adult%20bedside%20tables.
www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/marchapril/feature/how-the-grimm-brothers-saved-the-fairy-tale
muse.jhu.edu/pub/27/edited_volume/chapter/1184284
researchportal.scu.edu.au/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Australian-elite-leaders-and-intuition/991012820835502368?institution=61SCU_INST#file-0
www.kidsacademy.mobi/printables/hansel-gretel/
www.englishwsheets.com/hansel-gretel-1.html
www.inquiringmindoftheenglishteacherkind.com/shop/p/hansel-and-gretel-by-the-brothers-grimm-bundle
screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-scariest-episodes/
www.cbr.com/dark-avatar-the-last-airbender-episodes/
www.cbr.com/avatar-top-scariest-moments-ranked/
Переглядів: 165 962

Відео

Morality and BoJack Horseman
Переглядів 799 тис.3 місяці тому
In this video essay, I explore ethics in BoJack Horseman and the intentions of the people behind it. Help me pick my thumbnails on Instagram: sloanstowe Chapters: 00:00-01:42 preface 01:43-03:23 hollywood morality 03:24-06:44 princess carolyn's ethics 06:45-12:34 pc selfish vs. selfless 12:35-15:13 good and bad 15:14-16:42 what is too far? 16:43-18:48 the writers' mistake 18:49-22...
The Genius of Easy A
Переглядів 461 тис.5 місяців тому
A video essay analyzing the teen comedy, Easy A (2010), specifically its characters, dialogue, tropes, and themes. Chapters: 00:00-01:17 intro and spoilers 01:18-03:40 background 03:41-05:45 movie vs script 05:46-09:44 "unrealistic" dialogue 09:45-12:42 subverting the 4th wall 12:43-16:15 olive penderghast 16:16-19:38 rhiannon 19:39-21:21 mean girl trope 21:22-23:08 role reversal 23:09-24:41 ch...
Did Pretty Little Liars Groom Us?
Переглядів 897 тис.7 місяців тому
For more information, please go to www.rainn.org/. In this video, I analyze the TV series, Pretty Little Liars, and its problematic relationships between the main protagonists and their love interests, including a teacher-student relationship. Chapters: 00:00-02:36 intro 02:37-04:11 disclaimers 04:12-06:44 conception 06:45-08:55 ezra aria intro 08:56-9:47 underage relationships 9:48-17:25 wren ...
A Retrospective Look at The Mentalist
Переглядів 491 тис.8 місяців тому
A video essay on the television show, The Mentalist (2008-2013). Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:26 - Procedurals 03:34 - What Sets The Mentalist Apart 05:27 - The CBI Team 09:25 - Patrick Jane 14:36 - Contradictions 16:08 - Character Consistency 17:54 - Choosing Good 19:15 - Red John 24:00 - Strawberries and Cream 28:17 - Bait and Switch 29:59 - Fan Theories 32:55 - Intention Matters 35:02 -...

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @adoresessy101
    @adoresessy101 4 години тому

    I honestly feel SO bad for Hama. I absolutely hated the ending of the episode when that one guy said "you're going to be locked up forever." For her to be SENT BACK to the very fire nation prisons from which she escaped? I thought this was egregiously tragic and no matter how much she was painted as a villainess for what she did, I genuinely think so many people failed her. Katara at least had the rest of her family and friends to ground her, Hama lost her friends, family, her home and culture, literally EVERYTHING. My heart aches when I think about her ending.

  • @maoaster
    @maoaster 6 годин тому

    2:58 Suckerpunch is great tho 😞

  • @hachehache
    @hachehache 10 годин тому

    Really good work!

  • @danielwarner3675
    @danielwarner3675 16 годин тому

    i loooooved this show, and i was so disappointed by the "reveal" of red john just being some rando. sad

  • @jacklyndanielle
    @jacklyndanielle День тому

    my first relationship was when i was 15 and he was 20. i always thought it was okay because i was the one who pursued him, and i did think being mature for my age was a compliment and i wanted people to view me as older than i was. because of my trauma i couldn’t relate to the kids my age. i watched every episode of PLL i wonder if that had an effect. That, and disney movies for sure. Glad i know how to actually find a good man now, not “prince charming” Bit it took a lot of undoing that brainwashing and it makes me very upset because i was in harmful situations with many men as a result. i’ve even almost been taken into someone’s basement after what i thought was an innocent movie date.

  • @Iwasonceanonionwithnolayers
    @Iwasonceanonionwithnolayers День тому

    The writers did an excellent job of keeping track of all their threads and showing the effects of the characters' actions and influence on each other. Katara would have become Hama if she'd never met Aang. It's only through his example that she could see the way through the anger. Hama and Jet didn't have that example, so followed the path their anger laid out for them. I love TLAB so much. It explores such tragedy without ever becoming depressing or undercutting its own message.

  • @Iwasonceanonionwithnolayers
    @Iwasonceanonionwithnolayers День тому

    63k subs in 8 months is bonkers. Congrats!

  • @oiiister
    @oiiister День тому

    your writing is amazing!

  • @idkhtcmsitt
    @idkhtcmsitt 2 дні тому

    I tried to watch the show again recently because I loved it when I was 15, specially Aria and Ezra they were my favorite couple, and I couldn't watch it because it was so cringy and uncomfortable to see the teacher student relationship

  • @idkhtcmsitt
    @idkhtcmsitt 2 дні тому

    I think that since this shows are vased on books, there's a reslly blurry line between what's acceptable to like in fiction when you are reading and in real life

  • @idkhtcmsitt
    @idkhtcmsitt 2 дні тому

    Even Ian (the actor who plays Ezra) thinks it was weird, he says so in his book and calls Ezra a pedophile. I read his bok btw

  • @idkhtcmsitt
    @idkhtcmsitt 2 дні тому

    The way I thought the Ezra and Aria storyline was the lost romantic thing ever 💀

  • @idkhtcmsitt
    @idkhtcmsitt 2 дні тому

    Re-taking it if you got Emily 💀😂

  • @MsPrettyVermin
    @MsPrettyVermin 2 дні тому

    I loved The Mentalist. I enjoyed the fact that Red John was in the first episode and reveal in 6, but it was mostly innocous of guest stars, but that being said think Bruce played it to perfection as he was the charisma in expected to see in Red John

  • @maniac4131
    @maniac4131 2 дні тому

    99% of convicted witches were women, don't disregard that very sexist fact by saying "people" instead

    • @marvo9306
      @marvo9306 2 дні тому

      It doesn't hurt to be inclusive!

    • @maniac4131
      @maniac4131 2 дні тому

      @@marvo9306 it hurts women :)

  • @nengelen
    @nengelen 2 дні тому

    Great video 👌

  • @riptidemonzarc3103
    @riptidemonzarc3103 2 дні тому

    This analysis does great justice to a show I've watched three times and remain quite fond of. I think I've seen this video at least twice, now. Thank you. (One of those rewatches of the series was the German dub, and I was quite curious how they would handle the infamous belladonna bunny rabbit scene. I can't be sure, but I believe they picked Dutch. It was still hilarious.)

  • @coreyself2983
    @coreyself2983 2 дні тому

    The human perspective of the old woman is very common! Revenge. The only difference is that she has powers

  • @jjody
    @jjody 2 дні тому

    Great video length keep it up💪😤✨

  • @Mike-qc1os
    @Mike-qc1os 2 дні тому

    Holy shit, i did the same!! I quit watch after the second eipsode of season 4. It undercut such an amazing finalr that i couldnt keep going.

  • @marywright7111
    @marywright7111 3 дні тому

    When I was choosing my gender fluid masculine name I chose Jane because he is a true embodiment of the kind of man I want to be. I loved every moment of this video and I subscribed. I initially felt the disappointments you felt with the show but after the Black Lives Matter protests being able to watch a show that old deconstruct the system and its common corruption consistently throughout the show but especially in the last 2 seasons. Does breathe life into the show in a way I can truly appreciate as an adult. I mean Jane hated cops consistently and very rarely made exceptions to that. He didn’t trust them and in large part treated them like the commonly power hungry, incompetent, uneducated, impatient and irrational people they are. And I love that the show was constantly shoving in our faces that cops really are like that. While I didn’t like having to get to know new characters so late into the season either, their choice in actors and writing did pan out if you invested your emotional connection to the actors job playing them, truly they made you feel like you were getting to know them at a natural pace that felt authentic to real life. Personally those are the only opinions I have on the show where I disagreed with you evenly slightly. This video is a work of art. And this character and show greatly shaped and impacted my life because I was looking for role model men that I could relate to (his darkness, trauma and loosing someone close to you through murder and wanting revenge on the people who have abused you and not trusting the system that’s failed you) but also for a child that didn’t know what gender fluidity was and had a dad who abused me in every way in my life. And a father figure who I trusted respected admired and lived with, who was the very first man and frankly only man to ever protect me from my dad, convinced me not to run away, taught me things about carpentry and life, date our neighbor and friend, date our family friend. And then betrayed all of that trust and killed that family friend of ours. And it wasn’t even his first attempt, he had an m.o. and two other women that we knew of that he had plotted to do the same to but failed. There were signs that even I noticed as a child but never truly processed until I was an adult. Jane’s story was so important to me because I didn’t have a father figure to look up to to know what kind of man I wanted to be and as a result I in large part rejected my masculinity for the majority of my life because I both feared and hated men. I wanted nothing to do with them especially be associated with them. He showed me complexity of thought. Duality of thought. Balance. And how one persons version of achieving peace doesn’t have to look like the Christian and systemic beliefs we were taught our whole lives in order to be a good person. He was genuinely kind in moments that were important and impactful. He was careful with his choice in words and even more selective with his actions. He didn’t allow people he didn’t respect to affect him in any way and if they did there was usually a deeper reason for it which is true to real life especially for those of us who have ptsd and get triggered. His choices day to day to indulge his inner child with ice cream and playfulness humor and love only ever made me think more highly of him and frankly found him more attractive because it was so innocent and pure. It felt genuine. Obviously I wanted to have his skillset it was so cool. But I was always more intrigued to watch the way he treated women as equals and how you only notice it when you would notice it in real life which was if you were deliberately paying attention or it was actually necessary for him to take a stance on something to show solidarity and protect the women in the show not just his team. Jane was frequently kind to women. Not all but most and when he didn’t like them he didn’t like them because of their own character and he made sure we knew that. Truly delivered in his performance and it felt so natural I have little doubt much acting went into that decision. Jane’s character helped me to have hope that not all men are bad at a time in my life when almost every man in my life I was disgusted, disappointed, hurt, or betrayed by. Jane’s story of true freedom joy and happiness that he finds with Lisbon a women who has as you said taken on a more “masculine” traditionally role also gave way to the beginning of my acknowledgment of my own gender biases and how I was realizing like them I didn’t fit the mold. I wanted to be firm and steadfast like Lisbon but soft and kind like Jane. It confused me and made me look deep within myself at a young age. Not to mention for people that have actually lost people in this manner often only want forgiveness if or when the hatred just becomes too much of a burden and at least for me revenge is more realistic to our desires. It feels more authentic and life like because of this. Truly a phenomenal show and I would highly recommend anyone who hasn’t watched it to do so or if you actually read my entire comment and the entire video rewatch it with an additional perspective.

  • @SummerSongASMR
    @SummerSongASMR 3 дні тому

    Hi! Just to let you know, the Deaf community doesn’t really like the phrase “fall on deaf ears.” Love love love your work!

  • @homeschoolhomelife
    @homeschoolhomelife 3 дні тому

    I was 13 when this show aired. I was very careful not to watch it around my mom because I knew she would not let me watch it due to Aria and Ezra. As a mom myself, now i totally understand.

  • @beardedmotu2007
    @beardedmotu2007 3 дні тому

    💡Matching tattoos… 😊

  • @nedwardblack
    @nedwardblack 3 дні тому

    IDK if anyone has mentioned this but fun fact! Burt V Royal wrote a play based on the Peanuts characters but they're all teens and it's a much darker take on the stories. HIGHLY recommend giving it a read! It's called Dog Sees God. HEAVY TRIGGER WARNING though (suicide, mental health, homophobia, and discussion of animals dying)

  • @RickJaeger
    @RickJaeger 3 дні тому

    Wdym? Princess Carolyn never dated a child. I think you made some kind of mistake out of confusion or something, cus you showed Vincent Adultman, who is definitely an important employed grownup who works in Business.

  • @oliviatocali
    @oliviatocali 3 дні тому

    Regarding changing Ezra's backstory in Season 4. There was something briefly shown in a random episode of Season 1. He started to ask Aria some specific questions that seemed out of place. But after that scene, nothing came of it again until Season 4. So perhaps they were playing with having him either having some history or involvement with what was going on, but then I suppose they turned to other characters first.

  • @oliviatocali
    @oliviatocali 3 дні тому

    Regarding Ezra's age, in Season 3, it is stated that his "son" is 7 years old...and that he would have got his girlfriend pregnant at 18. Aria was a senior starting in Season 3. Anyway, that means he had to have been around 25 in Season 3. Season 1/2 he would have been around 24. Not to mention, I noticed in Season 3 that he had a Masters degree, and if he followed the traditional timing for school, the age makes sense.

  • @droserabinata
    @droserabinata 3 дні тому

    An excellent video! I am likewise obsessed with this episode. I sometimes wonder if things would have been different if Hama only imprisoned fire nation soldiers.

  • @MegCazalet
    @MegCazalet 4 дні тому

    52:14 “The school decides not to press charges”? THATS NOT HOW THAT WORKS! 52:16

  • @MegCazalet
    @MegCazalet 4 дні тому

    HE EVEN KNEW ALL ALONG?! ::Vomits bile because nothings left::

  • @MegCazalet
    @MegCazalet 4 дні тому

    I can’t wait to watch the rest of your videos. Your perspicacious insight into mass media is compelling even when I didn’t watch the show you’re talking about. I love it. Like Lola Sebastian.

  • @MegCazalet
    @MegCazalet 4 дні тому

    32:55 And conventionally attractive people can still be predators, we have to make that clear too.

  • @MegCazalet
    @MegCazalet 4 дні тому

    I never watched this show, and was an adult by the time it was on, but my younger cousin was and still is a huge fan. I have been close with him since he was born when I was 16. I watched a few later season episodes with him when his girlfriend broke his heart and some of the newer show with him with him as a grownup himself, with my husband and his serious girlfriend. (The newer one was crazy for me because the flashback characters/moms were my same age.) I’ve heard so much about this PLL grooming stuff, so when this popped up on my feed, I chose to watch it out of curiosity. Watching it thinking of its effect on my cousin as a young man has been very troubling and thought provoking. Not worried about him at all, but so glad and proud of his generation for now NOTICING in retrospect and TALKING about this themselves. The adults making teen media will hopefully do better and better as these realizations and discussions happen. Teen dramas have a bad track record. I’m also so glad I can look back on my beloved close relation with my theater teacher, who my mom wanted to “wait for me”, as the true mentor and friend he was. I’m so sorry to those who look back on something they cherished and are now horrified and feel that relationship so horribly, harmfully undermined.

  • @tguthrie6
    @tguthrie6 4 дні тому

    Both Jet and Hama's stories are very tragic. I felt so sorry for them during their backstories and I feel like there is still good in them deep down. They both posses the same great qualities as Katara and Sokka and could have turned out just as heroic as them. That's what makes their story so tragic for me.

  • @SanamGoli
    @SanamGoli 4 дні тому

    I used to watch the mentalist with my grandma when she visited canada from iran. She didnt known any english so i would translate for her. She also very much thought Baker was the most attractive man ever 😂 she passed away three years ago. Watched this video and was such a blast of warm nostalgia. Great video

  • @gaybitgaming4444
    @gaybitgaming4444 4 дні тому

    First off I want people to stop calling this a war it's a genocide it is ethnic cleansing of the world. Second Hana was not an abuser she is emotionally damaged from knowing she couldn't save her brothers n sisters this is a kids show there not gonna show the real horror of war so spent the last 50 years haunted by the memories

  • @ameerabdullah5840
    @ameerabdullah5840 4 дні тому

    upto killing the Red john, writing is excellent, after that..... It was a total BS.

  • @danielmadden925
    @danielmadden925 4 дні тому

    Bojack is a character makes me totally sick… He’s extremely difficult to watch

  • @AdrianKatrin
    @AdrianKatrin 4 дні тому

    some people hate the parents but I think they're absolute icons

  • @AdrianKatrin
    @AdrianKatrin 4 дні тому

    I've seen this movie so many times, its an all time fave, and I have never had ANY IDEA that Rhiannon was in love with her. Also, glad to here some love for Todd

  • @user-kg1ym8hy6s
    @user-kg1ym8hy6s 5 днів тому

    You don't need to write longer scripts! I enjoyed watching this video all the way through, the script was actually really good, I like how you worded everything, and I'm glad it wasn't too short

  • @gayraffe
    @gayraffe 5 днів тому

    you should do a video on life is strange! atleast the first two games! i'd love to see your take on it

  • @retrohero2155
    @retrohero2155 5 днів тому

    i began bojack horseman right after a heartbreaking breakup. i heard it was sad and i wanted to wallow in it. little did i realize how influential it would become to me. it changed my life. i never did anything remotely close to what bojack did, but i still realized that i can work on myself… if not for her, then for myself. i kept a notes page of quotes that i look back on every now and then

  • @buttsmackasmr6296
    @buttsmackasmr6296 5 днів тому

    When he said "I can help" and started massaging her. I immediately thought it was a p*rno

  • @nuxxy_
    @nuxxy_ 5 днів тому

    oh god that use of the word white 😂 i just cant watch the rest of this video bc thats how they used it OMG. back in my day there were no white peepo now all the lefties act like the agree with the nazis that there is a "white" thing without even deconstructing it OH ITS SO FUCKING ANOYING

  • @nuxxy_
    @nuxxy_ 5 днів тому

    😂 spinn off show blue jane

  • @nuxxy_
    @nuxxy_ 5 днів тому

    that was a weird line ..... the "THEIR WHITE" umh what? i thought that actor was australian which a hell of a lot less white than than every non white peepo in every other country combined

  • @TheSoulHarvester
    @TheSoulHarvester 6 днів тому

    Showrunners like Moffat have a real problem with being outsmarted by their audience; an inevitability, no one is more clever than millions of nerds obsessing over your creation. But during the 2010s, this was a serious issue for dudes trying to write mysteries. At least The Mentalist tried to have a clear outcome for their mystery, unlike something like Lost which had no plan from the start.

  • @ekvang2030
    @ekvang2030 6 днів тому

    When you said that we get a bad feeling or intuition that something is off because we’ve experienced a similar event that didn’t go well before, we see this exact definition play out with Sokka. It was because of the gang’s experience in BSS and with Jet that gave Sokka the feeling that something wasn’t right with Hama.