Tumblr crosspost (27 June 2020)

I was just talking on Twitter about renunciation narratives and how much I dislike them, and … okay, there’s a lot I love about ATLA (and LOK tyvm), but perhaps the thing I personally enjoy most about Avatar as a whole is that it’s more interested in interrogating abilities and duties around them than structuring scenarios where rejecting one’s potential is all but obligatory. 

Both culminate in the integration of very human character and needs. There’s Aang’s preservation of individual and cultural integrity and autonomy against forces that would extinguish them on either side; there’s Korra taking compassion on the darkness and vulnerability in herself which has haunted her in the form of visions and ultimately in Kuvira—combined, in both cases, with the necessary and rightful exercise of ability. 

Aang doesn’t give up the full extent of his abilities, but rather the reverse, finding an exercise of them in line with his ethos, and in consequence reaches a zenith of public acclaim. Korra doesn’t find peace through giving up her abilities (it’s a marker that Something Is Very Wrong when she’s unable to use them properly); her ultimate peace and resolve is expressed through her use of them. 

That’s just Aang and Korra, but it’s pretty pervasive through the shows that you don’t have to choose between having—and using—special abilities and adhering to personal imperatives. And like … in media that goes for You Must Choose, typically that choice appears because the story is structured in such a way as to demand it rather than emerging organically from characters (I’m thinking of examples in certain books but trying not to use them, lol). Personally, I hate it! So I’m really glad Avatar and, increasingly, other things are out there going … no, actually, you don’t have to stifle/reject your abilities to stay true to yourself.

Tumblr crosspost (27 June 2020)

An anon on Tumblr said:

Read your post on renunciation narratives/stories that discuss people with 'special powers' and wondered what you thought about how Fullmetal Alchemist handled that issue?

[The post in question is here.]

I said:

I’ve never seen it!

Tumblr crosspost (27 June 2020)

irresistible-revolution on Tumblr replied to this post:

yes! This is such a great summation. I love that instead of ability these narratives both challenge us to question power; not whether we have abilities but what we use them in service of. It’s a meta theme thru both shows and one that’s very rare (and partly why the fandom for atla has…particular opinions about stuff lol)

I responded:

Thanks! Yeah, I think part of the reason that Avatar fandom is uhhh what it is comes from its divergence from familiar narratives of either uncritical power fantasy or obligatory renunciation.

Tumblr crosspost (27 June 2020)

I reblogged my earlier post from 2 July 2015:



Lucrezia in 1x02, “The Assassin” + Saint Catherine in Pinturicchio’s The Disputation of Saint Catherine, often believed to be modeled by a young Lucrezia Borgia.

Cesare in 2x03, “The Beautiful Deception + Cesare in profile, Caesar Borgia Valentino (~1500-1510).

2020 addition:

elperian got me thinking about them again, and ... *sigh*

(Am I listening to my Borgia playlist right now? I might be.)

Tumblr crosspost (28 June 2020)

I reblogged a post from Dec 2016 in which I said:

I’m seriously considering using my paper on The Borgias as my writing sample for one of the PhD programs.

It is genuinely the best thing I’ve ever written, and this program specifically suggests using a sample with “a significant research component.” And, uh, LOL.

My 2020 addition:

I was going through my Borgias tag for Reasons and … lol, it’s three and a half years later, but that is the paper that got me into my PhD program and I’m currently studying for my exam in 16th century lit.

[ETA 20 July 2023: I was actually just talking on Tumblr about how I owe more of my academic career to Neil Jordan than Austen, lol.]

Tumblr crosspost (28 June 2020)

A moodboard for Showtime’s The Borgias, our beloved problematic fave, for elperian!

Tumblr crosspost (29 June 2020)

An anon on Tumblr asked:

Do you mind elaborating on what you mean by "renunciation narrative"? I ask because I think I'm inclined to agree with you about disliking them based on what you've said, but I'm not sure I've really had a term for it before

I replied:

I’d never heard a term for it, either, so I sort of fumbled around for something beyond “that thing that keeps annoying me.” 

I think of renunciation narratives as narratives that require a character to give up their personal abilities, powers, or potential for Reasons. 

The actual reasons given can vary; a lot of the time, they do it to preserve their humanity. Sometimes this is because using the ability is damaging in some way (for me, this is the least objectionable form). Another common form is when the author structures things so that a character can use their abilities and/or retain their potential or they can stay human, but not both (I find this intensely irritating and forced). But the essential feature is that they must wholly give up some personal ability/power/potential.

I don’t think it’s inherently bad in all cases, to be clear (though I do think it’s difficult to execute well). I just dislike it.

Yay!

I don't know when it happened, but for years, I couldn't copy-paste Tumblr posts into the Rich Text editor without screwing up the formatting horribly, so I'd do it all in HTML. But that problem seems completely gone now and everything looks fine, so it must have gotten fixed at some point. Awesome!