This past Thursday, my friends and I went to see Avatar at the IMAX in 3D. Fourteen dollars to pay for the ticket to see a 3D movie in the IMAX was well worth it, especially because Avatar is so well known for its outstanding graphics and cinematography. After seeing the movie twice, I realized that it had many similarities and parallels to the tragic history of the Native Americans in North America. An evil group of people, the American military, who are very powerful through military enforcement, decide to occupy some land on a planet called Pandora, which is the planet of the Avatars. The whole purpose of the American military being on Pandora is because of a type of rock that is found deep underground which costs 20million per kilo. From this I learned that money was what drove these people to wipe out an entire culture, people and habitat. The main character, Jake Sully, replaces his dead brother’s job, which was to help find a diplomatic way to move a tribe called the Na’vi out of their habitat, which is built right above the ground where the 20million per kilo rocks are found. After a series of events, Jake Sully finds himself learning the ways of the Na’vi and becoming one of ‘The People’. The Na’vi culture is very different from the American culture. Seeds of Eywa, very pure spirits, help guide the people to be good to mother nature and its creatures. With this outlook on creation, every time someone kills an animal for food they are supposed to pray over it and say, “Thank you brother, for providing us with your body as food. Your body is dead left here, but your soul is with Eywa.” There is another scene that best describes the Na’vis outlook on life and creation, it is when a clan member passed away and while burying him, Jake Sully says, “The Na’vi say that the energy that we are given by Ewya is only to be borrowed, and one day we must give it back.” With all of this in mind, the movie portrays the human purpose as being good stewards of nature and its creatures. While evil still lurks around, as seen through the American military, redemption is found when the victory is won by the oppressed. The movie ends with triumph over evil through revenge which is what the empire professes as true triumph. I imagine the Kingdom of God being more like the culture of the Na’vi. The Na’vi were very respectful of nature and its creatures around them, they always knew that Ewya was the one who provided and kept nature in a balanced state.
Discussion questions:
-If you could change the ending of the movie in light of Shalom and the Kingdom of God, how would you do that?
-What do you think about the US military? Do you think the movie did well in terms of how they portrayed the US military?
I agree with you on the quality of the film, Avatar was AMAZING! I went to it the other night in 3D, but I really want to go see it in the IMAX (if only it was cheaper!). The people who worked on that film have made great use of their imaginations!
ReplyDeleteI'd say that if I could change the end of the movie (in light of what we've been learning in class these past few weeks) I would like to see The People embrace the humans with forgiveness after their tree had been destroyed. Then maybe the company owner could visit The People and learn to understand their way of life a little bit better. As a result, maybe they could come to an agreement about extracting some unobtainium (the rock) or maybe not. But either way the humans would either leave peacefully or stay on Pandora in a peaceful way that was unobstructive to the planet. Think how much more of their planet could have been saved if that last battle hadn't occured! So much beauty was wasted. Plus, I think it could have been a good lesson in how we should treat others, on a personal and military level.
In terms of the military, I think the movie brought up some important issues and made those issues personal to us (I for one became very attached to The People). I definately agree with you about how the movie parallels the conflicts between the US and the Native Americans; I personally think that was a very sad and unecessary part of our history. But I also don't think I know enough about the military's current actions and missions to make any decisive judgments. I think the movie could and should inspire a lot of conversation and discussion about the military and what it is doing around the world today-I know it inspired me to think more about what I, as a Christian taxpayer, am supporting and whether or not I really want to be supporting it.
Good overview and analysis, Becky. You touch on many of the themes implicit in the film. It might be helpful to remember, though, that light and dark run through everything--at least in well-told stories. One of the criticisms I've read of Avatar is that it is too simplistic, making the Na'vi and the military too one-dimensional. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteAlso, while much of the Na'vi's approach to caring for their world seems in line with biblically-rooted stewardship, some of it seems to border on pantheism--the idea that "all is God." Part of the distinctive story of scripture is the distinction between God (the creator) and creation, lest we creatures think too highly of ourselves.