Welcome to Republic City: Korra and the Protestors
On a surface level, this scene is hilarious- the guy on the podium is a bit too overzealous, and the people in the crowd are dressed in some of the most ridiculous/awesome ensembles the show has has had thus far (see that guy to the far right? Yeah, that’s a monocle he’s wearing). And is it just me, or was that guy in yellow also on the boat, checking off items as other workers carried them to the dock? Well played Bryke, well played.
However, on a deeper level… I think this scene is very telling. First of all, it lets us know that it isn’t just a crazy group of radicals who support the equalists; there are plenty of ordinary people who think he’s got some good ideas- and quite frankly, I don’t blame them. If I lived in that world and couldn’t bend, I’m sure I’d harbor at least some resentment for those who could, even if I tried not to. Of course, I’m not saying I’d go and join the equalists or anything… but it’s not that big of a stretch of the imagination to see where people would feel the need to do so.
And then we’ve got Korra over there, who has spent her entire life with no concept of what the real world is like. Pretty much all she’s ever known is bending- so while her reaction seems a bit extreme at first, it’s really not surprising at all that she reacted the way she did- after all, bending is all she’s ever known, and she’s lived her whole life being told how great and important it was… so why shouldn’t she feel hurt hearing people criticize benders?
I love this scene so much, there’s really so much going on here.