Dancing Through the Elements: An Anthropological Inquiry into Avatar: The Last Airbender and Its Movement Systems

Abstract

This thesis examines the existing anthropology of dance and the manners in which it connects directly to the movement systems and cultural underpinnings present within the children’s animated television show, Avatar: The Last Airbender. This work, through its analysis of the show, examines the interplay between national and ethnic identities, the suppression of art via corporeal limitations, applications of colonialism, and exploration of gender identities, all within the existing framework of dance studies.