And We Keep Moving Forward: One of my inspirational heroes: Mako

So this November (hopefully), there will be a miniseries called Avatar: The Legend of Korra, and is there anyone in the world as excited about this as I am?

They recently released an exclusive cast list, and it wasn't so much the big names on the cast that caught my eye. It was the name of one character......"Mako."

For those of you who don't know because you don't pay attention to these things like I do, Mako is also the name of a very prominent late Japanese American actor/voice actor. He played Uncle Iroh, aka my favorite character from the original Avatar: The Last Airbender until his death on July 21, 2006 at the age of 72.

Mako lives on!

Upon his death, the creators of Avatar: TLA dedicated the episode "The Tales of Ba Sing Se: The Tale of Iroh" to him, and that episode never fails to make me cry. Mako is an inspiration to all Asian Americans everywhere with the walls he broke down in American cinema, to become such a prominent presence, so much so that he was honored in memorium at the 79th Academy Awards.

So the subtle dedication of a character to Mako might be the sweetest act I've seen in a while. It balances out the awful casting of Seychelle Gabriel, which is Shyamalan Live Action stain on an upcoming work with otherwise goodlooking prospects....

Quotes:

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards or very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
Walt Disney

"No, life isn't worth living. It's to be a taken...and beaten, and wrestled, and formed in your image. That's where the meaning lies--in what you can twist life into. For those who just endure life, yeah, it is a very nasty joke. But for those who form it with their will, the joke is on those who get in the way."
Ares, from Xena: Warrior Princess

"Cyclops, you ask my honorable name? Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you. My name is Nobody: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nobody."
The Odyssey by Homer

1 comment:

UnknownSeptember 16, 2013 at 11:15 PM
So Interesting. Do love Korra quite a bit, and am so excited to have the new season going. She helps me think about my own path as a fighter. Did not realize that about Mako. I wonder if the naming of the female hero in the very under rated Pacific Rim "Mako" was also an homage.