Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Will Make Toph More “Feminine”
"I’m Not Looking for Anyone’s Approval. I Know Who I Am."
The Direct has information about how the Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation will handle the character of Toph. Specifically, they spoke with Miya Cech, who is set to portray Toph in Book 2: Earth and Book 3: Fire. This interview took place on the red carpet for Cech’s new sci-fi horror film, Marshmallow. The Direct asked Cech how her version of Toph would be different than the animated series, and she has this to say:
“My version of Toph is going to be a little older and slightly more feminine. I feel like I wanted to work into a very humanizing space for her because, you know, she was a cartoon.”
Cech went on to discuss meeting Michaela Jill Murphy (AKA Jessie Flower) who voiced Toph in the original Avatar:
“I have met Michaela who plays the voice of Toph, and I feel like we have both a very similar take in terms of process.”
It’s early to judge for sure, and I know as fans we tend to be averse to changes like this. But I can’t help it; I don’t think coming out of the gate discussing changes to the main cast’s personalities is wise. I didn’t like the changes to Sokka, Aang, or Katara, so I’m skeptical of this revelation. I guess I don’t care about Toph being older, although I also don’t see why it matters enough to change it. What would that add to her character? The youth of the main characters highlighted the danger they were in, and I hope Toph isn’t too much older. It would be weird if she was significantly older than Aang and would change their dynamic.
But we all know the part about femininity will be the hot-button topic with this. We don’t know precisely how Toph will be made more feminine, or by how much, so it may end up not being a big deal at all. But Katara, Suki, Ty Lee, and even Azula were already pretty feminine. Most of these characters wear makeup and feminine clothing. Regardless, I don’t know why the only tomboy character in the central and side cast needs to be changed like this. This gives me flashbacks of Haru being a small child instead of a teenager in the M. Night Shyamalan movie. What are these changes intended to accomplish? There were explorations of Toph’s femininity in Book 2: Earth Episode 14, “City of Walls and Secrets,” as well as Book 2: Earth, Episode 15, “Tales of Ba Sing Se,” specifically in The Tale of Toph and Katara. In “City of Walls and Secrets,” Toph and Katara disguise themselves as Earth Kingdom nobles to get into a party and meet the Earth King. This is actually an oft-overlooked moment of depth for Toph, the only one of Aang’s friends with the knowledge of Earth Kingdom customs, garb, and etiquette to pull off such a stunt. She may not be a frilly girly girl on the daily, but she can and will use her pampered upbringing to her benefit.
“The Tale of Toph and Katara” is an even better example, although a briefer one in an episode full of character-focused vignettes. Toph and Katara have a “girls’ day” and visit a spa, getting massages and makeovers. All goes well until some uppity noble girls make fun of Toph’s makeup. Still, Katara ultimately comforts her, telling her she is really pretty. This is a good moment of vulnerability for Toph as well. She says she doesn’t care what the other girls say, but it obviously bothers her; she cries briefly. Like removing Sokka’s character arc to avoid “sexism,” turning Katara into a faultless badass, and skipping over Aang’s fears and anxieties about his enormous responsibilities, I don’t see this going over well. It’s unnecessary, and at least from the little we know, I don’t feel it will be a good change. Tomboy characters are often overdone, and creators shy away from more feminine, traditional archetypes, but Avatar didn’t have this problem. I also feel weird about Cech saying this was done to “humanize” Toph as tomboys already are humans, and Toph had feelings and insecurities in the show already.
But what do you think? Am I reading into it too much? Let us know in the comments!
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