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Although the plot and theme of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’, is similar to that of many movies in the “Can’t we all get along” genre, the style, effects, and overall creative genius make this film truly stand out amongst the crowd. Avatar received a great amount of hype, and it lived up to its society set standards. There’s nothing like watching a film that meets societies unrealistic expectations. It’s rare, but Avatar is one of those films.
Although I didn’t expect to get many life messages from Avatar, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how deep the movie was. Some of the themes are unity, fairness and equality, and the fight against territorial greed.
Avatar shows what can happen when there is no unification between species. It causes a war to break out, because of some valuable rocks. Looking at the film, there are much better ways to handle such a situation. You can reach out to their society directly. You can find a way to negotiate, without resorting to military force. I believe that military was meant to be a last resort in solving problems. However, in the recent years, and as Avatar shows, we are beginning to resort to military force as a first option. This is bad for so many reasons that I cannot stress enough. The most important reason: No word is strong enough to express the sheer dread of a lost life. In Avatar, a large part of a community is wiped out, all because of military ignorance.
I believe that we are all born with a sense of unification. It is only through society, that we are influenced into separating ourselves from other people/groups. The only solution is to embrace the fact that we are all different. At the end of Avatar, I was given hope. Hope that perhaps sometime in the future, our society will find a way to accept all members of society, and leave other groups alone. They have a right to live, just as much as we do.
“If something has something that you want; kill him, and then take it from him”. As a human being, would you kill your own brother for a material possession? I don’t think you would. So why would we kill massive groups of people, for a possession? As it turns out, we are all brothers.
Avatar also shows the power that 1 person can have on a group, and demonstrates the Butterfly Effect. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) learns that the military cause is unjust, and he eventually switches sides. He is just a single person, but his action led to a chain of events that would change Pandora forever. Sometimes, 1 simple action is all it takes. Don’t worry about the result, for now. Just start it up.
Jake Sully could also represent America today. We have great intentions, and we want what is best. However, we are handicapped in the ways in which we seek our Nation’s wealth. When Jake is in his Avatar body, it represents the hope for our countries’ future. Peaceful, happy, and just.
Avatar, with all of its glorious special effects, and its revolutionary film-making methods, has brought many ills of society to light. It reminds us about the harsh truth of unjustifiable military aggression; and at the same time, giving us hope for a peaceful future. James Cameron knows that there is always hope for a better future. If we can all just learn the life lessons presented in Avatar, the whole world will be a fantastic place to live in. And who knows what can happen from there? Perhaps a better environment? Happier people? The possibilities are both endless and tremendous. It’s time for all of us to do our part, to promote peace and unity: To make the world a better place, and for a better life. Isn’t that what we are all after?
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2 comments
January 15, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Cameron has a knack for offering up lessons in morality wrapped in a thick layer of spectacle. The problem is that most people tend to dwell on the spectacle and either ignore or forget the moralising. It’s nothing new though.
I think that Cameron had an interesting way of synergizing our plug & play obsessed culture with the concept of global unity. It’s a form of delivery that can be easily absorbed by children – they’ll soak it up without even realising it.
We’ve nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger award. Take it in good health!
http://www.thefilmcynics.com/blog/?p=2931
January 15, 2010 at 11:43 pm
I’ll take it in excellent health Steve. That is such an honor to be nominated. I really appreciate that, and I feel more motivated than ever. I’m going to start posting interviews on this site, and possibly podcasts. I am looking to bring many social perspectives into my website. By commenting on my articles, you have given me another awesome perspective for this particular movie.
And with movies, you know that you can never get enough perspectives. It’s so incredible; how different every person is, and what different themes people can extract from movies. I value your opinion highly, Steve.
Thank you so much for your all of your comments!
Josh Lipovetsky.
PS:
I looked at my sidebar, and I was shocked to see that you weren’t on my links. Needless to say, TheFilmCynics has been added.