Avatar: The Last Airbender Meme Goes Viral Thanks to a Director's Cheeky Commentary

If we had to take a guess, we'd say there are well over a million memes on the Internet, but one [...]

By Megan Peters

If we had to take a guess, we'd say there are well over a million memes on the Internet, but one from Avatar: The Last Airbender is going viral thanks to one of the show's directors. The whole thing began when a certain image of Sokka began making its way around social media. It didn't take long for the Avatar meme to roll up to speed, but it exploded within the fandom after Giancarlo Volpe shared the post.

The exchange happened on Twitter after Volpe spotted the wholesome meme. The director, who works in development at Nickelodeon, helped bring episodes of Avatar to life years ago. Volpe might have moved on to shows like The Dragon Prince and Star vs the Forces of Evil. But he has a soft spot in his heart for Avatar even when it brings up some long-passed stressers.

After all, the meme of Sokka features the the boy holding a sign up with text. In the show originally, the sign was meant for Toph which was unfortunate as the heroine is blind. In this edit, Sokka is reminding netizens that their self-worth doesn't depend on how productive they are. "It's okay to just exist sometimes," it reads.

While Volpe says he loves the message, he has a hard time pushing through the meme since he directed the episode this still comes from. "I love this message but I'm torn because I also remember busting my a-s directing this episode," he shared.

Continuing, Volpe went on to share what the most stressful parts of the episode were to direct. "The hardest part by far was the sword fight at the end, but my board artist Michael Chang really owned that sequence and made it awesome! I had fun boarding the part where Sokka tried all the different weapons at the shop."

Clearly, there are tasks we have to face in life which make us go beyond our limits to accomplish, but that sort of hustle isn't something Sokka would live by. There are times you need to relax lest you burn out, and those moments are just as important as the ones you spend working. Aang's Gang knew how to balance saving the world with having some fun, and Sokka

Which side of the conversation do you fall on with this meme? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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