iroh – My Geek Wisdom

“Many things that seems threatening in the dark become welcoming when we shine light on them.”

From: The Legend of Korra

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: Iroh

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from The Legend of Korra. The sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, this Nickelodeon takes place some time after the events of the original series as a new Avatar, a water tribe girl named Korra, inherits the title.

The quote comes from the episode “A New Spiritual Age,” which was the 10th episode of the 2nd season. Korra is trapped in the Spirit Realm and is overwhelmed by her new surroundings. She is rescued by the spirit of Iroh (now voiced by Greg Baldwin) and the aged mentor helps Korra in finding a way to find her friend. He directs her to bring a bird she accidentally injured to her home atop a scary looking mountain. When Korra tells him she’s afraid, Iroh points to the bird and reminds her how she was afraid of it, too. This is when he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Things that are unknown and unfamiliar to us can be scary and off-putting. It will remain that way until we actually put the time to understand them. We have to remain open or else we will always be prejudiced to these things just because we don’t understand what they are.

“It’s time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: Who are you, and what do you want?”

From: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: General Iroh

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote is another submission from DJ Miller, who has helped us with a quote from King of the Hill, Forrest Gump and Arthur. This time, the quote comes from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The quote comes from the episode “Lake Laogai.” Zuko, disguised as the Blue Spirit, has managed to track down Aang’s flying bison, Appa, who was captured. As he reaches Appa, Zuko’s Uncle Iroh finds him and begins subsequently scolding him for not planning ahead, particularly mentioning the time when they were at the North Pole, in which he would have died had the Avatar’s friends not come along. He pleads with Zuko to look inside himself for once and find his own destiny, not the one forced on him by his father. That’s when he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Destiny is something you choose for yourself and not from someone else. It’s important to know what you want inside. The best way to do so is to look inside yourself.

“Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.”

From: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: General Iroh

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a cartoon series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The story follows the adventures of AAng, the titular “last airbender,” to learn how to control, or “bend,” the four primal elements of air, water, earth and fire in order to become the Avatar.

The quote comes from the episode “Bitter Work.” General Iroh (voiced by Makoto “Mako” Iwamatsu), the uncle of Prince Zuko, who comes from the Fire Nation. Iroh decides to teach his nephew the art of lightning bending. Zuko is unable to learn it and gets frustrated. Iroh explains that his shame at himself is causing the anger that is stopping him from creating lightning. Zuko rebutts that he is actually still very proud. This is when Iroh delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Being too proud of oneself leads to overconfidence and can lead you to make disastrous errors. But being too prideful can also lead to not learning from those mistakes. Learn to own up to your mistakes and remember that you’re not perfect.