Hei Bai is a spirit who usually takes the form of a panda, but we see in his more monstrous, angry form when we meet him in “The Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World” [ATLA, 1.7]. We see in Hei Bai a spirit who frequently crosses between the Spirit World and physical world, which requires him to become and unbecome physical and to move in and out of his spirit form. He stands at the threshold of becoming monstrous – as in “The Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World” [ATLA, 1.7] – and becoming protector, as in “The Siege of the North, Part 2” where he guides Aang to the gateway out of the Spirit World [ATLA, 1.20]. And as Aang’s guide in this moment, Hei Bai facilitates Aang’s re-becoming of his whole self, spirit and body.
Hei Bai as a monster [ATLA, 1.7]
This thesis (Cohen, 52) suggests that monsters at the threshold of becoming provide a moment of re-evaluation, and Hei Bai asks that of us constantly. Is he friend or foe, or can he be both? Is he docile panda, guide to Aang as he leaves the Spirit World? Is he kidnapping beast who drags Sokka and Aang unwillingly into it? Is there truly a line between the Spirit World and the mortal realm, or must we be prepared to move in and out of both, becoming and unbecoming various parts of ourselves?
Works Cited
Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).” The Monster Theory Reader, edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis; London, 2020, pp. 37–56.
DiMartino, Michael Dante and Bryan Konietzko, creators. Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon Animation Studio, 2005-2008.
DiMartino, Michael Dante and Bryan Konietzko, creators. The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon Animation Studio, 2012-2014.
Mulan. Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Disney, 1998.
Shrek 2. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. DreamWorks Animation, 2004.