Theology in Avatar: The Last Airbender

The beloved Uncle Iroh once told Prince Zuko, “It’s time to start asking the big questions.” This statement is as true for us as viewers of Avatar: The Last Airbender as it is for the banished prince. This collection invites fans of one of the most popular animated shows in America to contemplate how the Avatar Universe prompts big questions about meaning. Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series, The Legend of Korra, combine philosophical thoughts from both Eastern and Western perspectives, and this collection of twelve essays helps readers to recognize and consider those influences more deeply, from ideas as grand as the soul’s relationship to the universe to the role tea can have in making a Zen master. This volume both praises and interrogates the profound meditations Avatar: The Last Airbender has offered its fans, considering the way the show can be understood from perspectives such as Buddhism, Taoism, the Hero’s Journey, the theory of the elements, and much more.

Anthony G. Cirilla is an associate professor of English at College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri and associate editor of Carmina Philosophiae: The Journal of the International Boethius Society and writes essays on medieval, Romantic, and fantasy literature.
Michael A. Riggins is a PhD student in English literature at Baylor University. His work focuses on the reception of Christian spiritual practices in Seventeenth Century devotional poetry and is the book and arts editor of Ad Fontes: A Journal of Protestant Letters.

Edited by Anthony G. Cirilla and Michael A. Riggins
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8917-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5517-8
Imprint: McFarland