Guru Pathik: That’s right. Even the separation of the four elements is an illusion.If you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one. Four parts of the same whole. Even metal is just a part of Earth, that has been purified and refined.
I know it’s probably hard for you to see me this way. But the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn’t me. I love fighting. I love being an earthbender. And I’m really, really good at it.
Toph’s blindness was one of the most excellently handled aspects of AtLA because it wasn’t treated like a disability. So often in shows (and especially children’s animation) disabled characters are limited to apperances in “very special episodes” where the main characters have to learn a lesson that these people are capable “in spite of” their handicaps, like that episode of Kim Possible wherein Kim constantly stumbles over herself around Felix. This approach is often just as insulting as making them the butt of jokes, because it’s patronizing and it limits the amount of roles disabled characters are allowed to have.
Avatar challenged that stereotype with Teo, and then sent a giant middle finger its way by introducing Toph. She’s turned what would otherwise be a disability into an advantage, and she’s not afraid to crack jokes about it. She functions well enough that the other characters often forget that she is blind, but at the same time it’s an integral part of her bending and allows her to be the greatest earthbender ever. It sends a powerful message that having a physical disability does not make you less of a person, and often affords you a unique perspective that the so-called “normal” people never get to experience.
One of the many reasons I love this show.
ATLA: Challenging all your preconceived notions since 2005
toph is amazing and i like how she doesn’t care about her blindness
toph is the greatest character
Let’s not forget mental disabilities/disorders, as well, folks!
Lao: My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny, and helpless, and fragile. She cannnot help you.
Toph: Yes, I can.
toph - proving people wrong since 2005
Toph metalbending — requested by kiwiseathumans
