A Critical Analysis of the Film Avatar (2009) - Essay Example

A Critical Analysis of the Film Avatar (2009) Introduction The film Avatar was produced in 2009. It is a science fiction film which was written and directed by James Cameron. As of January 19, 2010, Avatar had earned $1.86 billion, making I the highest grossing movie of all time (Kendall 180). Avatar is one movie which changed the rules in film making starting from its plot to the themes portrayed. The plot uses planet Pandora where the star character Jake Sully finds himself. Jakes works for a mega corporation which has decided to visit Pandora in search of a rare precious mineral. In the search for unobtainium, the precious minerals, Jake comes across the natives of this planet, huge organisms with a height of up to twelve feet. The organisms are scary considering they are blue in color. It turns out that getting the precious stones will be a tough duel between Jake’s team and the aliens. The next episode involves the transfer of Jake’s consciousness into the Avatar body. Jake is a former marine who had been confined to walking with a wheelchair after getting injured in battle. This biological robot is developed from human and Na’vi DNA. This is the ultimate plan to make sure that he gets an upper hand in the struggle. Pandora’s atmosphere is toxic with gases which would easily end his life. However, in the acquired form, it becomes easy to navigate the planet and interact with Na’vi people. There are a number of film genres and styles adopted in the film Avatar. The idea of post-colonialism crisis dominate the film with the Na’vi society representing the resourcefully rich countries which are habitable. The presence of the precious minerals shows that region is not exploited as Jakes leaves the over exploited world to seek minerals from Pandora. The analysis will focus on the plot development and how themes relating to real life and matters affecting humans are presented. Main Sci-Fi Features in the Movie The movie incorporates aspects from the past, present and future. The financial run out experienced by VA fits well in the experienced economic recession from 2008 across the world. The idea of colonialism and post-colonialism is well expressed using the rich planet Pandora. However, the planet is not habitable for humans with the toxic atmosphere requiring the incorporation of humanoid DNA in the Avatars together with human DNA. After colonialism, the countries advocating for it wanted to continue siphoning the resources from their rich colonies to their motherland. This is the exact situation when Colonel Quaritch sends Jakes to search for the minerals with the promise that he would have his injured legs operated. The situation changes when Jakes who had initially fallen to Colonel Quaritch’s plan falls in love with a humanoid, Neytiri. Neytiri saves Jakes life at one point of the movie, creating trust from him and a vow to defend the humanoids from the approaching human controlled Avatars. A political set up is therefore seen as the Avatars are sent and controlled by humans who are selfishly after the minerals in the rich planet Pandora. The plot can also represent the conquest of colonies by the whites. Taking the American case study, the colonization process involved learning the people’s culture and language and then conquering them. Jakes transformation into a Na’vi is an unexpected move in the film albeit the celebrating audience (Fernandez 1133). In the colonial era, some of the soldiers and/or representatives from the colonial powers got converted and started anti-colonial movements in places such as America. During the British war with America, France joined the Americans to realize victory, a good scenario of humans supporting humanoids. Relating to Real World The movie focuses on the future especially with the environmental concerns arising with the presence of monopolistic corporations running the most stable economies such as America. Humans are seen as selfish creatures, too selfish to destroy the world they live in without realizing that destroying it will also mark their end. The movie reflects the fundamental fear of human alienation from nature, which is part of the wounded condition of our contemporary culture (Falquina 115). Humans are living in a society where money is rules, a society where humans pretend to be minding their environment but sit and watch as forests and nature gets destroyed. The movie shows the tussle to colonize the world and the support corporations can be given by governments since they are the ones determining the major policies being set or developed in the countries. People watching Avatar confessed that their understanding of the world changed, realizing that they live in a dying world (Alexander 502). The pathetic situation of a dying world presents a human generation too selfish to harm the same environment that supports their lives. The Home Tree present where the Omaticaya clan lives symbolically represents the unity and harmony in the planet. When Jakes arrives with Neytiri, he presents himself as a warrior interested in learning their ways. A reflection of the colonial times poses a similar ordeal where the visitors mainly from Europe requested to mingle with the people posing as harmless only to turn against the native clans and take their land. In Pandora, Jakes falls in love with Neytiri and embarks on a mission to defend them eventually stopping to report to Colonel. The plot therefore presents Avatar as a product of centuries of theoretical and applied science (Benitez and Wallin 45). It is not clear which theme stands out perfectly over the other between anti-white and anti-Americanism in Avatar. The message carried is of equal magnitude focusing on anti-Americanism and anti-Western ideologies. American and Western imperialism involves extending a country’s dominance over other financially weaker countries. Imperialism has replaced colonialism where powerful countries put in place policies oppressive to the weak countries. The presence of financial bodies such as International Monetary Fund and World Bank have ensured that the countries benefiting from the loans have to abide to a given set of policies or expectations from the financing countries. Jakes is sent by a multinational corporation which wants to get precious minerals from Pandora. In the world today, the multinational companies want to get international recognition extending business across the world. In a situation where the activities are harming the environment, the host countries are not in a position to evict them since they have to abide to the expectations of the powerful imperialists. Avatar is therefore an eye opener on how far humans can go to quench their selfish interests (Mulrooney 201). Meade notes that Avatar’s storyline has been crafted from world history, as almost all indigenous people of color have had to contend with European colonizers who are determined to steal the natural resources existing in their lands (207). The western countries showed no regard for the indigenous people as they embarked in getting the natural resources and shipping them to their own countries. After colonialism, imperialism set in where the post-colonies are treated as second class humans compared to the whites and Americans. United States rose to become a super power despite being a British colony at one time. Its war in Middle East against terror can be related with the situation in Pandora since Middle East is rich in oil. Jake’s stay with the Na’vi acquaints him with the high principles regarding universal respect for life and the environment which govern Na’vi thought and behavior (Meade 208). This contributes to the decision he makes later in the film to defend the people against his ‘own people’ and withdraws the reports he had been making to Colonel. As a confidant of the Na’vi, he lets them know the intentions of the crew from Jake’s country and promises to defend them with all his might. He stands as the savior figure in the movie. When watching the movie, one is engulfed by Na’vi Sympathy, siding with the Na’vi people in the film since they play the victim role against the selfish Jake and crew (Holtmeir 415). People need to react to post-Pandoran depression, realizing that humans have been too selfish to destroy the same environment that supports their existence. Global warming and the greenhouse effect are common names in the fight to conserve the environment. Humans therefore should stop pretending and step out to address the drawbacks posed by environmental degradation. Avatar is a movie about actual and annoying issues (Briones 313). The best way to address the arising issues is standing against imperialism and advocate for policies set by the developed countries such as US and European countries aimed at expanding their influence in the world with little or no regard on the effect they are causing to the native communities. Avatar clearly participates in the green religion, supporting the environmentalist culture (Cynthia 3). Hunter describes the movie as a 2 hours 40 minutes brainless attraction that goes round and round and then deposits one where you started, only that one is poorer and dumber (58). Viewing the movie exposes one to the various challenges facing the world and the activities adding to the destruction as humans pretend to care about the environment. The destruction of the Trees of Voices signifies the commotion caused by the invading westerners as they try to conquer the peaceful Na’vis. Jake and Grace explain to the others that trees, just like humans possess an extensive network like the nervous system in humans. Considering that the Na’vi can access the information, trees should be respected and must not be destroyed. The themes develop simultaneously with the film criticizing western policies towards the poor countries. Conclusion Avatar’s storyline has been developed from history, incorporating issues affecting the world today and also focusing on the future. James Cameron presents Pandora as a rich region with the Na’vis being aware that they have to respect the environment they live in. The environment is personified as Grace is seen convincing other members of the crew after she is stripped off her avatar roles that the Na’vis communicate with the trees so they must not be destroyed. The movie also focuses on anti-Americanism. The war against terror has taken a new turn where America is seen as interested in destabilizing the Middle East which is rich in natural resources (oil). The movie therefore captures the attention of the view communicating the message through well-crafted themes and stylistic devices. The ethos of white superiority is consummated by Jake’s perpetual dominance over the people of Pandora. His presence among the people leads to the violation of the group’s sacred pre-arranged pairing of the rightful royal price and princess. The situation has changed and Pandora cannot enjoy peace and seclusion any more. Cited Works Alexander, Jonathan. “Aesthetics and Artificiality from A Rebours to Avatar: Some Varieties of the Virtual since 1884: Science Fiction Studies 41 (2014): 502-523. Benitez, Jorge. & Wallin, Matt. “Rethinking the Silver Screen: Science, Film and Art after ‘Avatar’.” The International Journal of Science in Society 2.3 (2011): 45-54. Web. http://science-society.com/journal/ ISSN 1836-6236. Briones, Claudia. “Scientific Avatars or doing Anthropology of (and against) our Modern Discontent.” Journal of Postcolonial Studies 14.3 (2011): 313-329. Print. Cynthia, ERB. “A Spiritual Blockbuster: Avatar, Environmentalism, and the New Religions.” Journal of film and video 66.3 (2014): 3-17. Print. Falquina, Silvia Martinez. “The Pandora Effect:” James Cameron’s Avatar and a Trauma Studies Perspective. Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies 36.2 (2014): 115-131. Print. Fernandez, Ramona. “The Soma type: from Bakhtin’s Chronotype to Haraway’s Cyborg via James Cameron’s Dark Angel and Avatar.” The Journal of Popular Culture 47.6 (2014): 1122-1138. Print. Holtmeier, Matthew. “Post-Pandoran Depression or Na’vi Sympathy: Avatar, Affect and Audience Reception. London: Equinoz Publishing Limited, 2010: 414-424. Print. Hunter, Stephen. “James Cameron’s Unbelievium.” The Many Idiocies of Avatar, Culture and Civilization (2010): 58-60. Print. Kendall, Christopher. “The Publicity Rights of Avatar’s Avatar.” UCLA Entertainment Law Review 18(2011): 180-197. Print. Meade, FrederickAlexander. “Avatar: An Extension of White Supremacy.” The Journal of Pan African Studies 3.6 (2010): 2017-210. Print. Mulrooney, Jonathan. “The Sadness of Avatar.” Wordsworth Circle, (n.d.): 201-205. Print. Read More