The Avatar franchise has led to many memes over the years, with a particular uptick coming from the success of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s recent arrival on Netflix. But there’s one particularly creepy moment from the series that stands out as darkly perfect for modern times: the line “There is no war in Ba Sing Se.”
The 70zll0v” title=”origin”>Origin of ‘There Is No War in Ba Sing Se’
The phrase originates in “City of Walls and Secrets,” the 14th episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, which focused mainly on Team Avatar arriving at Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom’s massive capital. They are partly there to warn the Earth King of the coming solar eclipse that could help the heroes turn the tide of the Hundred Year War with the Fire Nation. However, it turns out the Earth King has no knowledge of the war coming anywhere near Ba Sing Se, despite the recent attempt to breach the city with a massive drill.
Long Feng, leader of the secret police known as the Dai Li, has been a part of a longtime conspiracy to hide the realities of the war from the ruling class, allowing them to live carefree lives away from the conflict while Long Feng governs from the shadows. Those who can’t be convinced through normal circumstances are instead captured by the Dai Li and taken deep underground to their base, where they use a hypnotizing light — and the mantra “There is no war in Ba Sing Se” — to brainwash them. That includes the smiling, interchangeable officials known only known as Joo Dee, as well as Team Avatar’s sort of-ally, Jet.
Why ‘There Is No War in Ba Sing Se’ Became a Popular Meme
According to KnowYourMeme, “There is no war in Ba Sing Se” was first repurposed online in 2015 before becoming a frequently used meme on Tumblr. The phrase can be used to point out when an authority figure is forcing the observer to try and believe their version of the truth – even if it’s obvious and easy to prove that it’s a lie, such as with a massive drill in the walls of your city. It’s a highly applicable meme given how most if not all political parties all around the world are responsible for double standards or massaging the truth at some point or another. In the age of “fake news,” the idea of lying authority figures has become more and more prevalent in American culture. In 2020, failed government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the accuracy of the meme. In particular, the Chinese government and former U.S. President Donald Trump were heavily criticized for downplaying the threat of the virus.
A prominent real-world example of what kind of real-world figure the meme refers to can be found with Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, otherwise known in the West as Baghdad Bob. Al-Sahhaf was the Information Minister for the Iraqi government during the reign of President Saddam Hussein and was essentially the spokesman for Saddam’s government. Al-Sahhaf became particularly infamous for his bold, bombastic and often false proclamations of Iraqi triumphs during the height of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies. Al-Sahhaf would claim that American soldiers were committing suicide rather than fight Iraqi forces, had failed to breach the city limits of Baghdad, and that America was close to surrender as the war neared its end. No matter what he said about the war not being in Baghdad, he was obviously wrong, despite his attempts to convince people otherwise.
Coupled with the resurgence of The Last Airbender after the complete series became available on Netflix, it makes perfect sense why “There Is no war in Ba Sing Se” would see a rise in popularity as a meme.