Kuvira: balance & motivations

... and the future of a Destruct sequel for those that are interested

remember when years ago i wrote a small essay on kuvira’s motivations?? i should’ve published it before the comics came out -_- 

Kuvira was raised in a self-sufficient utopia and wished to extend the security she felt there to other places. Her fatal flaw was that she did not actually feel secure and was not dealing with the trauma she’d experienced as a child when she was cast aside by her parents. She was so wrapped up in obtaining loyalty and power to satisfy what she’d needed as a child that she perverted her goals of preventing the nation as a whole being treated the way she had been. This was because she was never going to be satisfied as long as she didn’t address the real motivation behind her actions, and she became so consumed by her need for power that she was willing to destroy everything and everyone in her path.

The best way we can see this is by holding Suyin as a character foil to her. Most characters in this show can be held as a sort of foil to each other, and they sometimes even talk about it openly as a way to empathize with each other based on similarities. Kuvira and Suyin both sought to create societies they thought would benefit them and their citizens, but Suyin is a wiser and more balanced person. Suyin’s goal was to create a society independent of monarchy where primarily metalbenders, but also people in general, could nourish their gifts. Suyin, unlike Kuvira, did not wish to extend her power passed her own life and those who chose to live with her and actively chose to take part in her society without coercion or threat.

Kuvira viewed Suyin’s abstinence in refusing to become what was basically a new Earth Queen as cowardice. In reality, it was partly Suyin wanting to conserve her way of life (a ‘me-and-mine’ attitude which Kuvira shares) but largely her wisdom in knowing where the road would end if she chose that path. If Suyin was the type of person who would have tried to take control of the conflict and enforce her ideals on an entire nation she would’ve ended up just like Kuvira had. Kuvira began her journey with as good intentions as Suyin, but her intentions converted to excuses with her first taste of the power/support she’d needed as a child.

Kuvira, like all the other villains in TLOK, serves as an example that even pure/harmless ideals can be corrupted under imbalance (in Kuvira’s case: fascism, and fanaticism and hypocrisy in other cases). A metalbending city under a balanced individual turns into a nation where all but metalbenders are used as slave labour, where dissenters are not banished if they threaten security but rather imprisoned (re-education, work camps), where security turns from protecting a way of life from a tyrant (the Earth Queen) to building walls and mobilizing an entire country to protect another one.

When Korra stops Kuvira, she demonstrates to Kuvira that the world is in good hands and that’s a reason why Kuvira surrenders. But Kuvira starts slipping before that when she tries to stop her spirit weapon’s power, to control it, and finds herself unable to. In that moment, she realizes how truly out of control and out of balance she is, as well as possibly why she’d felt the need to exert that power over others, why she was willing to torture and murder others over loyalty. It’s suggested that she thinks about her motivations in the moments afterwards because that’s when she yells at Korra about her family. But I think something’s important about this, and her apology to Suyin later. Something that people in a society who are groomed to romanticize and empathize with oppressive figures might miss.

It doesn’t actually matter. Trauma is valid, but weaponizing trauma is not, and that’s what Kuvira does. She uses her pain as her excuse for her actions, to tell herself that she’s committing atrocities in order to build a strong nation that would never feel the way she’d felt, when in actuality she was only building a strong nation in order to protect herself, inflicting the exact same pain and worse on the citizen’s she’d dehumanized. And at the end of Book 4, despite her surrender, Kuvira is not suddenly in balance or capable of a redemption arc. In fact, there’s no evidence she’s even interested in redemption the way a person who’s committed war crimes should want redemption.

Coming back to Suyin, how does Kuvira apologize the one time she apologizes? She doesn’t apologize for the people she’s killed, the people she’s forced to work as slaves, the people she’s threatened and tortured. The only family among the hundreds that she’s torn apart that she deigns to apologize to is Suyin’s. Kuvira is still not balanced, at the end of the day she is still limited to herself and the people she deems relevant to her - the Beifongs who took her in (whether you interpret that as adoption or just letting her into Zaofu). Suyin on the other hand, while not a perfect person has lived a long life and is someone much more balanced and at peace with herself, does not accept Kuvira’s feelings. Rather, she grounds Kuvira to the larger apology Kuvira has to make, to all the people Kuvira’s wronged, that Kuvira will pay for all she’s done including crimes Kuvira shows no evidence she’s interested in atoning for. Suyin sees the bigger picture, but Kuvira is still limited by herself and by her experiences and her ideals (as were the other villains).

I find it very easy to rationalize character motivations because it’s one way I cope with atrocities and irrationalities, I attempt to understand why a human would make a choice and I choose not to. But the key is, as it will always be, choice. We can always choose. So I find it difficult to ‘choose’ to expend energy on writing on understanding a fascist beyond my need to understand fascists as a mechanism of my predicting their behaviour and humanizing them so that they are not a supernatural monster lurking in the shadows  my bed but something that can bleed like me. The point is, at the end of Book 4, Kuvira is still a mass murderer. If Korra wasn’t strong enough to stop her, Kuvira literally would have kept going enslaving and murdering people seeking more and more power until she killed herself (literally. Korra saving Kuvira from herself was Kuvira’s turning point). And Kuvira’s still a fascist.

Kuvira is a fascist despite our interest or investment in her character. Most importantly, she’s demonstrated no interest in changing her views, or any remorse for the harm she’s inflicted on anyone not directly related to her. We can’t give a redemption arch to someone who doesn’t want one and keep their characterization intact. We cannot ‘save’ fascists, and I think entertaining thoughts of redemption for fascists in this current world we live in, and fuck it ALL worlds that have ever been or will be, is dangerous. Humanizing an unrepentant fascist and attempting to ‘bring her back to the light’ is something I view as an inherently abusive and futile exercise. So I find it difficult that I will be able to write Kuvira/Opal fic until either Kuvira has undergone cannon growth or until fascism has been eradicated. whichever comes first. At any rate I hope whoever reads this essay will consider reading Kuvira a little more in depth, whether or not they like her character.

Edit: my views have changed somewhat w.r.t. someday writing a Destruct sequel, because prior to the comics I felt like people were too willing to forgive Kuvira. Little did I know that the person most willing to forgive her and swipe her crimes under the rug was one of the several LOK writers (the only way I can justify what happened is by reminding myself that DiMartino only wrote 3 of the Book 4 episodes, only one of which really had anything to do with Kuvira). As such, I feel more comfortable cracking my knuckles and writing her ‘redemption arc’ the right way - aka holding her accountable. And Opal is honestly the best character to do this. Anyway :) I feel pretty invigorated about someday writing a Destruct sequel, because for awhile there I was really not into it because of the above reasons. Ironically, it’s the state of the comics that pushed me there. Probably what I’ll do is retcon the last chapter/epilogue of Destruct, change some of Kuvira’s background (aka probably not go with my headcanon but also not make Kuvira a literal adoptive sibling to her future fiance (or Opal lmao)), and continue onwards with the plot itself (though I’m still not going to reinstate the monarchy @ michael dante dimartino what were you thinking man??????? Oh NOW we’re going to be realistic about political upheaval?? in the world with brainwashing tinfoil hats?? just say you’re voting Biden and go).

Some Clarifications

Over the past year or so on tumblr, I’ve had a few people get rather upset with me about some of my posts. Personally, I’d like to give most of those people the benefit of the doubt, and think that most of the contention comes from misunderstanding. So, with this post, I’ll explain my views on some various topics for others to see. If you think I’m missing something, r you’re curious about it, let me know.

1: Gun Control “America has a Gun Problem!” It’s a statement I hear a lot, and while I certainly agree that it’s carries some truth, the statements that usually follow it often seem idiotic to me. I’m Pro-2A, and Pro-Gun Control, which is something it doesn’t seem most people think can happen. I believe the 2nd amendment is there for the protection of not just ourselves, but our rights. It’s how the founding fathers intended it, and it’s the only way the people can break away from a government that may become corrupt. I also recognize the need to address the mass shooting that seem to happen every other week. 

While most proposed regulations (and I’m not going to explain the “Confiscate all Firearms” ideas, You know it’s impossible, I know it’s impossible, the Government knows it’s impossible.) call for even tighter background checks, and banning of certain rifles, I think a slightly different approach should be taken. Instead of simply making background checks for firearms more intense, change the subjects that are considered. Take a higher focus on mental disorder, family status and history, and medical records. 

Currently the Background checks are based primarily on immigration status, and criminal history, and though they do evaluate mental disorders, the bar is set very high, meaning that fewer than 32,000 have been denied, despite over 4 times that many being denied for having a single drug possession offence. Another flaw in the system is the method in which the database is maintained. New regulations need to be put in place to make certain that people who should be barred from firearm purchase don’t slip through the cracks due to unclear documentations, slow processing times, and incomplete data. 

As for people who can by guns, I think the way it is (In most states, at least.) is fine. If you qualify for a license, you should be allowed to purchase any gun that license qualifies you for. Also, get rid of the tax on suppressors. That’s just bullshit.

2: Abortion I think I can say how a feel about this quite plainly. Overall, I’m Pro-Choice, but I’ll break it down by trimester.

1st: Abort away. You don’t want it, feel free to get rid of it.

2nd: Give it some thought. I’d say keep it, unless a situation arises wherein you cant be capable of raising the child, or a medical complication would occur if you were to continue. Still, If you don’t feel you’re ready, go ahead.

3rd: Only if you have to. Unless there is a medical reason, or an unexpected change in your lifestyle (Father dips, you unexpectedly are broke, stuff like that) makes you incapable of raising the child. I know this one is similar to the 2nd, but the main change is how serious the reasons need to be. (2 drawing that line at “I’d rather not” and 3 at “I can’t”)

3: Race and Sex Oh boy, this is where I gamble with pissing people off. I’d like toe preface this by saying that I am, as per the dictionary definition of the word, not a Racist or Sexist. I do not believe that any one race or gender has any innate superiority or inferiority compared to another. I’m gonna be more general with this, but if you want to know more, let me know.

I also don’t believe that people of European Heritage or Men need to pay reparations, or “atone for their past” by any other means. I don’t think that Minorities or Women need affirmative action programs to succeed. Both of these undermine the integrity of their success. It’s like the government saying “It’s okay, we know that you’re not good enough for the job, so here’s a boost.” Most will counter this by saying it’s to combat racist and sexist employers, and if it were still the ‘60s or ‘70s, I’d agree, but at this point, most employers simply don’t care, so long as you do your job. And if someone would rather hire a less-competent employee, that’s their own problem. You can almost certainly find some other employer with any intelligence.

As for sexism particularly, while I don’t exactly believe that either sex has it’s “place” in society, I absolutely recognize that each sex has common inclination that differ from each other, and that both sexes have both psychological and physiological differences. Men are, on average, objectively stronger than women. Women are, of average, considerably better caregivers than men. There are also certainly women who are much stronger than many men, and there are certainly men who are better caregivers than many women. 

4: LGBT To start, I have 2 lesbian moms. I was born to my Mom and Dad, and when I was 5, they divorced and my brother and l mostly lived with our Mom and Step-Mom. I also have plenty of LGBT friends, both for sexuality and gender. I know some gays, asexual, transsexuals, and even a non-binary individual. At least, I believe that person said that  were non-binary at one time. I’ve never actually had a conversation with the individual about it though, as it really doesn’t matter. And the last part of that sentence really covers how I feel about it. 

I think there’s 2 genders, and people are somewhere between those, whether it be in complete opposition to their sex, or they lie somewhere in-between. I do not, however, think each measure of the spectrum is a whole new gender. It’s simply spot on the spectrum. Similarly, I think there are 2 ends of the sexuality spectrum, and people are either somewhere on there, or aren’t on their at all (Ace Folks). And as for people who incorporate their sexuality into their gender to create some new gender, I think that whole notion is absurd. Gender and Sexuality are their own things, trying to fuse the two only makes things confusing.

5: The concept of “Dangerous Ideas” Have you ever read Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf (1925)? Neither have I, but I’d like to. Have you ever read Joseph Brian III’s The Sword Over the Mantle (1960)? I have read that one, and it’s a fantastic account of what how someone who was a descendent of Confederate Troops of the US Civil War viewed some of the nations history. It was Sympathetic, but never bitter. 

It’s exactly the kind of book that should be read in high school. It’s not a very long story, It’s interesting and engaging, and it provides an understanding of how people with a family history that lies with the south may feel about the war, and how objects such as the Confederate Battle Flag, or statues of some of their most famed leaders are important to them. Most of these people are not racist, nor does J. Brian III think that America would have been better had the south won the war, but none of the ideas in this novel are dangerous.

I believe any idea, no matter how extreme or absurd it may be, deserves to not only be heard, but understood. A lot of people nowadays only look at what people think, and not why they think it. Yes, there are certainly ideas which are absolutely terrible. The Holocaust, for example is immeasurably vile. Mein Kampf, however, is not in and of itself, dangerous. Understanding the way Adolf saw the world, and how he came to his conclusions, and why he handled Germany the way he did, can be used as a means of learning. It can show us which ways of thinking may lead to harmful results. 

That’s all for now. I originally had more topics to talk about, but since I’ve started writing, I’ve forgotten them. I’ll add to this post as I come up with ideas, or if you suggest any for me to cover, or add detail to.