Is the Technological Advances in The Legend of Korra Really That Unbelievable?

[Winter]

One of the most notable critisums of The Legend of Korra is that technology in the world of Avatar advanced to quickly in the 70 year time jump to which I have to ask, did we watch the same show? The Last Airbender tech was rather advanced as it had elevators, zeppelin, submarines, tanks and, you know this-



This thing makes some of the tech WE have look outdated. AND THIS THING RUNS ON STEAM!!! Is it really that much of a leap to go from THAT along with all the other tech of TLA to what we get in Korra? Keep in mind that the Fire Nation would likely have shared it's technological advances with the other nations after the war and with the aid of Earth and Waterbending along with Toph's newly learned Metalbending it's really not that unbelievable that we can go from GIANT F#(K1NG DRILL to planes, trains and satomobiles. Hell, the most outlandish tech in Korra are the mech suits and Kuvira's Pacific Rim Mech and, again, a giant drill exists in this universe which, again, was powered by Steam.

I honestly don't get why everyone thinks that the tech in TLOK breaks the world building when TLA had tech that wasn't that far from what could come next. And again, keep in mind that people in this world have the power to bend the elements so it would make sense that they would be able to advance in a couple of decades.

Seriously, after the Drill I'm surprised Korra didn't have space ships.

[Madner Kami]

Precisely because a significant part of the population is able to manipulate the elements aka being magicians, tech-advances are questionable. Technologies are developed to fix gaps in our natural abilities and if you can fly, you don't need an airplane.

Having said that, I don't feel that there are any too outrageous tech-leaps. At worst, Republic City felt a bit too densely populated for a world that was generally rather empty.

[Winter]

Precisely because a significant part of the population is able to manipulate the elements aka being magicians, tech-advances are questionable. Technologies are developed to fix gaps in our natural abilities and if you can fly, you don't need an airplane.

Ah, but keep in mind that those who can manipulate the elements make up only part of the world's population and from what we saw in TLA there were more Non-Benders then there were benders (likely a result of the Fire Nation imprisoning or killing any other benders). So, with that in mind it makes sense that the non-benders would start working on ways to either even the playing field or try to make up for the loses of the Benders lost in the 100 year war.

Also, in regards to this point "Technologies are developed to fix gaps in our natural abilities and if you can fly, you don't need an airplane." only applies to the Airbenders (most of whom were dead minus Aang) the Skybisons (almost mostly dead by the start of the series) and a VERY Few Firebenders (and even then their ability of flight was limited). And keep in mind the Episode The Northern Air Temple showed non-benders creating their own gliders and air ships so it makes sense that someone would make planes at some point.

[ProfessorDetective]

Precisely because a significant part of the population is able to manipulate the elements aka being magicians, tech-advances are questionable. Technologies are developed to fix gaps in our natural abilities and if you can fly, you don't need an airplane.

Having said that, I don't feel that there are any too outrageous tech-leaps. At worst, Republic City felt a bit too densely populated for a world that was generally rather empty.

I've always been a magitech/postmodern magick lover at heart (Eberron, Megami Tensei, GURPS Technomancer), so the world-building here is my exact cup of tea... Shame the actual plot couldn't keep me for more than a season...

Also, perhaps a post-war population boom can explain the city's foot traffic?

[Nealithi]

I am not sure it is too fast. As noted TLA there is technology out there that is not very refined. With the mixes I would compare it to Earth 1850's. Legend of Korra is 1920's for a seventy year gap. Cars on the street, Bi planes, more refined industry.

[hammerofglass]

It's realistic rate of change compared to our world, but in theirs it's more technological change in seventy years than in the ten thousand before that. You could have dropped somebody from Wan's turtle city into a random town in TLA and they would have understood how everything works; drop someone from that town into Republic City and they would have no idea.

[stryke]

What hammerofglass says is spot on.

Then again when we're talking criticisms that could be made of Korra I don't think the technological progress would even make my top 20 in terms of importance and relevence. Say that as someone who generally thinks there was a lot of good to be found in that show, often even involving Korra herself, but man did that show have so, so many problems. Both self inflicted and inflicted upon it from on high.

[Frustration]

That should be "ARE the technological advances".

[Madner Kami]

Bi planes

Playing the Grammar-Nutzi and not even picking up on this chance? Tsk tsk tsk.

[Frustration]

Technology advanced relatively quickly for the past two hundred years in our world, but the foundations for that advancement were set long before the period of actual rapid change.

I think people find the Korra world implausible because, even with the Fire Nation quasi-industrializing its war effort, the foundations of a 1850s-1920s-like period of change aren't visible. Clearly the Fire Nation's technology was a massive danger, but it could either be accepted or rejected by the other nations, and accepting would require learning about and duplicating it. Japan and China both accepted Western technological know-how, but they hadn't defeated the West before doing so.