‘All these little bits of wisdom’ – how watching Avatar: The Last Airbender changed musician and producer Olivia Dawn Mok’s life
- When Olivia Dawn Mok watched the first episode of the animated series, during the Covid pandemic, she wasn’t impressed, but her friends told her to persevere
- She was soon hooked, first by the music, then the storyline, based on Asian folklore, which taught her about identity and authenticity
Animated fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-08) takes place in a world where some people can control one or more of the four elements through telekinesis. Featuring many elements drawn from Asian folklore and traditions, it was widely praised for its thematic and philosophical sophistication. Violinist, composer and music producer Olivia Dawn Mok, aka Xiaolin, explains how it changed her life.
I discovered it during Covid. I’d already known about it for a while. What piqued my interest was a bunch of friends saying that it was a really great show. I had no gigs and was looking for things to consume.
When I watched the first episode, I wasn’t into it yet. I got halfway through and thought, “This is like a kids’ show.” But my friends were like, “You’ve got to keep going; once you’re past the first episode, you’ll understand.”
What got me to carry on was the music. I thought it was interesting. It’s tribal, and I love tribal music, especially anything that has a bunch of taiko drums and pan flutes.
It had some anime characteristics, and it was kind of minimalist. There’s a lot of silence; when there’s dialogue, there’s not music constantly playing underneath it. The show uses music smartly; every character has a theme. I did this exercise, and after a while, if I kept my eyes closed, I could still get what was happening.
I liked how there’s a division into four nations based on the four elements. I like to study Taoist philosophy and I take a secret guilty pleasure in astrology. I thought the distinctions between the nations and the qualities associated with each one were very much astrology based. To see an entire nation built on that and elaborating on their lifestyles was really interesting.
