Ijeoma Njaka
educator | artist | writer | speaker
How might we shape our real world with the help of a fictional one?
We are living in a dissonant time. In moments of dissonance—where things stop making sense, someone realizes they don’t know something, and can’t figure out how to think through it—are moments for learning and shaping our perceptions in the future. And usually, as an educator, I’m pretty comfortable working in this space.
Usually. Given the constant worry, disruption, grief, and loss, it’s clear that living through a collective global pandemic and an adjacent racial cognizance is dissonant at the very least. Many of the ways in which we understood our lives before no longer hold up. We know we no longer see the world in the way we did before.
But I believe in this dissonant moment, we can still shape our future by (re)imagining our world with the help of a fictional one.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, an acclaimed animated series which originally aired on Nickelodeon (now on Netflix in the USA) is touted for its rich, deep worldbuilding. Yet, I believe that A:TLA works most powerfully as a piece of art. When we look at art closely, artwork can help us see our world anew—and change it.
I’m launching The Redirect It Project (TRIP), a free email course made to take A:TLA up on its offer to help us redirect our world.
What to Expect
TRIP is a free 5-week course delivered to your inbox twice a week. Each email will include:
A brief overview of some ideas related to how art helps us shape our world
Let’s Master the Elements: A section where I’ll list the episodes to watch (about 5, and each episode is 22 minutes) with suggestions about things to think about as we watch.
Level Up: Resources and articles linking to real world examples of the ideas we’re watching for.
For the Young Airbenders: If you’re watching with kids, this section will have ideas for questions or activities to do with the young ones. (Of course, you can do them even if you’re not watching with kids!)
All you need to participate is a way to watch the show (like on Netflix) and to sign up with your email address!
I think there’s so much to learn alongside this show—and so much in the world that we can redirect. I’d love for you to sign up and watch the show with me!
Have questions? You can find TRIP on Twitter or email redirect.it.project@gmail.com.