Avatar: The Last Airbender is arguably one of the most iconic animated series of the 21st century, largely due to its focus on diversity and highly detailed world-building. The show borrows heavily from cultures around the world, making the narrative feel both authentic and subversive. The success of Avatar led to a sequel titled The Legend of Korra, which follows the story from alternate perspectives.

As a result of its popularity, 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 arrival on Netflix in 2020. That said, 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." To understand the context of this meme, it is necessary to explore the fictional history of the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se.

Updated on March 13, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: The live-action adaptation of Avatar was released in February 2024 to lukewarm critical acclaim. While this series wasn't anything like M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, it failed to capture the buoyant warmth of the original series. That said, the legendary city of Ba Sing Se was mentioned in the live-action show, so it can be assumed that it will be shown during the second season. As such, we've updated this article about this iconic meme because of its eternal relevance.

The Political History Of Ba Sing Se

As the capital of the Earth Kingdom, the city of Ba Sing Se is easily the biggest in the Avatar world. It has existed for at least five millennia, as suggested by the map located in Wan Shi Tong's Library. Although originating underground in the Crystal Catacombs, the citizens of Ba Sing Se soon began to build upwards and outwards. This city remained the only metropolis in the Avatar world until the foundation of Republic City, the capital of the United Republic of Nations.

The name, which means "Impregnable City," is a testament to Ba Sing Se's formidable defensive strength. Surrounded by its iconic walls, the city has survived numerous external attacks without yielding. Even General Iroh's 600-day siege did nothing more than pierce through the first wall of Ba Sing Se. As a result, the city was populated by countless refugees who were driven away from their homes by the Fire Nation. Ba Sing Se was one of the few places that could offer a safe haven during the Hundred Years War. This reflects the American policy after the Second World War, when tens of thousands of refugees were allowed to migrate and settle.

At the same time, everything was not equal in Ba Sing Se. The city was sectioned into multiple localities depending on their distance from the center, with each zone housing people according to their social status. In other words, this hierarchical division betrayed Ba Sing Se's true policy of segregation — the elite rich had enormous mansions while the poor lived in slums and shanties. It is important to remember this facet of Ba Sing Se when considering the message of the meme in question.

Origin of 'There Is No War in Ba Sing Se'

Season 2, Episode 14: "City of Walls and Secrets"

The phrase originates in the episode titled "City of Walls and Secrets". It focused mainly on Team Avatar arriving at Ba Sing Se, where they were initially treated with honor and dignity. They were 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 had no knowledge of the war coming anywhere near Ba Sing Se, despite the Fire Nation's recent attempt to breach the city with a massive drill.

Long Feng, leader of the secret police known as the Dai Li, had 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. In the meantime, even the Earth King's role was minimized so that Long Feng could govern the city from the shadows. Those who couldn't be convinced through normal circumstances were instead captured by the Dai Li and taken deep underground to their base. Here, the Dai Li used hypnotizing light — and the mantra "There is no war in Ba Sing Se" — to brainwash them. Victims of this torture include the smiling, interchangeable officials known only as Joo Dee, as well as Team Avatar's sort of-ally, Jet. Some fans have argued that the Dai Li are stand-ins for the CIA, another group of covert operatives known for their involvement in controversial human rights violations.

Why 'There Is No War in Ba Sing Se' Became a Popular Meme

The Meme Was Created In 2015 And Spread Like Wildfire On Tumblr

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 a massive drill boring a hole in a city wall. 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 example of the kind of real-world figure that the meme refers to can be found in 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 fighting 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.

Even recently, Vladimir Putin's government is desperately trying to deflect blame for the atrocities inflicted by Russian forces on the Ukrainian populace, further entrenching the relevance of this meme. Outright denying that a war is going on might have been easy in the past, but the horrors of the Russia-Ukraine conflict became more and more apparent with the rise of social media presence across the globe. That said, although an ordinary citizen wielding a cell phone technically has the power to dismantle these lies, governments often use underhanded techniques to belittle the legitimacy of any claims that go against their policies. As it stands, the world will likely have to endure more egregiously false declarations along the lines of "There is no war in Ba Sing Se."