Avatar(2009): Pocahontas in Space or Something Deeper?

Avatar has been out for over 16 years, and has been since dethroned from being the only 2 billion Dollar film by Titanic(yet another James Cameron film) for 14, so why in the world am I suddenly talking about it now?

Well for one, back in 2009 I was a child minded Fetus, and did not have the presence of mind to start a Blog about the movies I watched, and as well I do not believe Blogs were a thing I knew to exist.

All that and now in about two weeks Avatar Fire and Ash comes out, only three years after the second one, which itself took thirteen years after the first, maybe ol' Jamesy boi has grown the speed gene in his old age.

But regardless, Avatar is genuinely one of my favorite films to ever come into existence, and why wouldn't it be, if it wasn't for the straight forward yet impactful storyline, the visuals alone are something to stare at in awe.

And before I get the whole, visuals are shallow argument thrown at me once again, I would like to quickly stop you all in your tracks and ask you that would you enjoy any of your favorite films as much if they were pencil drawn by a three year old?

No actually you might, three year olds these days can be quite talented.

Besides the point!

The thing I am saying is Visuals matter, someone put their years of hard work into making the film look as good as it does right now, and it shouldn't be put aside.

Sometimes making something look visually appealing alone can invoke emotions that it wouldn't otherwise, in fact if I remember correctly that is why the N'avi have breasts even though they aren't mammals technically speaking...

Am I right Jamesy boi? (James Cameron is one hundred percent a boobs man confirmed)

But the main question one has is, did Jamesy boi come up with this Idea himself?

And the answer is no he didn't, you know what they say about there being no original Ideas right?

I don't think any of the basic plots of his movies are super original, The time travelling avenger Idea of Terminator had been done before, as had the rich girl falls for poor farm boy Idea of Titanic and so has this idea of a colonist falling for the native and then siding with them against the settlers isn't new.

But what matters is: a) The setting.

and: b) The Execution.

Because everyone has seen the rich girl fall for the poor farm boy, but how many have seen it happen on a ship that is about to Sink?

Everyone has seen a settler side with the natives, but how many have seen them do it as a Avatar on an alien world?

Come to think of it though, isn't the Avatar program just an elaborate form of Black face?

Nah I am overthinking, for one Black Face was specifically made as a form of mockery whereas the Avatar program is a genuine attempt at survival(cause Pandora air isn't really breathable by humans and the flora and fauna require their much larger and more agile and hence suited to the environment bodies) and connection to the Natives.

At least that is how Grace the person running the program sees it.

But surprisingly she has been going about this the exact wrong way, she has had the right idea, or at least a better idea than the corporation running the expedition to this planet for their main resource: Unobtanium, but she is in a sense suffering from the white savior complex.

She is just a lot more sweet and understanding about it.

As well, while her wishes might be to study the planet for what it is, her job requires her to find a diplomatic way to make the Natives move so they can mine Unobtanium, she meanwhile just wants to teach them English, now if you have played Frontiers of Pandora you full know how shit that turned out.

But anyways, I have no clue if that was the intention back then.

You see what Sigourney Weaver, I mean Grace, is missing here, is that the N'avi are a warrior culture, sure, they respect the nature and their Goddess Eywa, but also, they probably hate diplomats like her.

In a strange way, having a military person on her science team as probably the best thing that happened for her program, I mean there have been Jarheads on her team before, sent by General Quaritch and Parker Selfridge(man his parents never gave him a chance did they? With a name like Selfridge?) as protection.

Unfortunately all of them were too good at their jobs for their own good, in other words they shot everything before it got to the talking phase.

You see its stuff like this that ruins a relationship, this time its not me it actually is you.

Jake Sully somehow is just clueless enough that he fumbles the right things that make him able to land in the right place to be rescued by a N'avi, in other words, this was only possible because he got next to no training before entering Pandora, which could only happen because his twin died and the corporate overlords wanted to not let the investment made in his Avatar to go to waste so they had to rush Jake in his place...

Shut up Jake, you don't know anything.

And that kids, is how capitalism shot itself in the foot.

If anything had gone different, if Jake had recieved training, or if he had been his brother, he would have been too far to one side to make this work.

He is wondered and awed by this world because his first experience is in person and not through a military superior or through a text book or a scholar, it would never have the same effect, and you know what they say about Pandora(nature) you need to see it first hand to see its full beauty.

so he basically got blasted with the best depiction of Pandora's beauty in a very short period of time from zero to a hundred very quickly.

Another thing is that Jake doesn't have the use of his legs, but since this is an avatar made for his twin who did have that, or because they don't want to create Avatars with disabilities in general, his Avatar body has legs, and as a result he is obviously more attached to his Avatar than his human body because who doesn't like to run and climb up trees like it's nothing...

Well whatever, Jake got chosen and even though he doesn't realize it yet, he is falling in love with being a N'avi for more reasons than one, for now however, he thinks he is helping his superiors get an easy diplomatic victory for their unobtanium dreams...

Good enough, every big change begins with denial.

But I believe this is where the Pocahontas comparisons begin, like in Pocahontas, Jake Sully falls in love with a native woman who happens to be the Daughter of her tribe's chief and like in Pocahontas she is to be married to a great warrior.

But I believe this is where the similarities stop, Pocahontas wasn't exactly a warrior, she was more of a Diplomat, and that is what allowed her to bridge the gap between the natives and the settlers, moreover the person she was to be married off to, wasn't exactly the best...

But here, Neytiri is a full on warrior, in fact, while in the case of Pocahontas it is more of an equal trade initially, here, Neytiri is almost completely in power, she teaches Jake and in the process falls for his playful innocence.

But more importantly, Jake fully joins over to the N'avi by the end of it all, Where as in Pocahontas it is different.

Pocahontas also had a marriage set up for her, but that marriage was always going to fuck off because she didn't like the man she was getting married to, and only liked the white man who has to come and save her.

Look I am with you, I hate looking at media this way but you know... it is true.

Anyways, in Neytiri's case she is actually fine with the man who she is planned to be married off to, and quite likes him...

But love works in mysterious ways you know...

And Tsu'tey while initially taking a dislike to Jake for being a "Demon from the Sky" and the obvious reason, eventually becomes an ally and comes to treat Jake as a brother.

But that part is yet to come, first, Jake's betrayal must be revealed if he is to have any chance at a successful marriage to Neytiri.

Right after an event where their sacred tree is bulldozed over, Jake tries to negotiate and fails drastically, Quaritch and Selfridge take over the operation to colonize, only leading to defection amongst their ranks.

As some people like Trudy Chacon see it for what it is(her being a Latina herself).

Jake does the most batshit insane thing possible to regain the N'avi's trust, he rides the Great Leonopteryx, known simply as Toruk, and becomes the new Toruk Makto.

As the Toruk Makto Jake leads the clans to rebellion with help from Eywa whom he forewarned and kills Quaritch alongside Neytiri.

Neytiri finally seeing his human form saves him and they finally realize their love is forever.

So is Avatar Pocahontas in space? Absolutely not.

It is Pocahontas in Space the same way a nuclear explosion is a mushroom.

See one key detail amongst all of this is that when you use actual Human races or cultures as two sides of a war, everyone will see it differently, here, since the Natives are blue Aliens and the Humans are the bad guys.

No matter what every human being will see this the same.

This movie has one message, there is evil in you. As a human you have destroyed the planet, and if you continue, one day you will do it to another, one which actually maybe on a planet that is in its own right a whole living organism.

Because that's what Eywa is right? A planetary neural network from whence beings can upload and download information?

A planetary consciousness if you will.

I still remember being ten years old and shouting and hooting and cheering as the humans went down, and talking later about how satisfying it was to see the humans get taken down.

And that's when it hit me, I am human... this evil resides in me...

See I am Indian so if this was a normal movie about race relationships and colonization, I would probably relate more with the oppressed and as a result I would not come to this realization...

The thing is, it would have been just as bad if we had invaded the British and imposed our world view on them, given the right circumstances, anyone can do shitty things, it is a very common phenomenon that the leader of the rebellion then becomes the next dictator.

See Maximillian Robespierre's reign of terror.

The oppressed rise to become the next oppressors.

And more often than not some of the oppressed help the oppressors...

But that isn't here in this movie...

Oh wait...

Also I have to mention this, does anyone else remember the outrage when the title font was in Papyrus? Man such days...