Blue (Skin) State
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
Good point there - Avatar is, first and foremost, Indians vs. Settlers. Pro-environment, anti-military undertones may be there, but so is the notion that Na'vi maintain a culture of honor and traditionalism and fight against pragmatic mercenaries.
Postscriptum: where's the significant plot spoilers you promised, eh?
Postscriptum: where's the significant plot spoilers you promised, eh?
Expecting ordinary (or even a lot of extra-ordinary) people to be aware of political messages is like getting them to remember what they had for dinner last week.
TBF, no-one cares about politics except for what it means to them in the immediate future or whether they get taxed.
Starship Troopers, Catch-22, Platoon and Good Morning Vietnam could be running in a marathon and people would still want to watch American Gladiators next.
The one thing the public will watch for is a Turkey, and that's why Battlefield Earth, Sarah Palin and Ian Duncan Smith crashed and burned.
Equally, Supersize Me was a massive hit, but has Maccy Ds been brought crumbling to the ground? Or is it still selling plastic burgers to hyperactive kids everywhere?
TBF, no-one cares about politics except for what it means to them in the immediate future or whether they get taxed.
Starship Troopers, Catch-22, Platoon and Good Morning Vietnam could be running in a marathon and people would still want to watch American Gladiators next.
The one thing the public will watch for is a Turkey, and that's why Battlefield Earth, Sarah Palin and Ian Duncan Smith crashed and burned.
Equally, Supersize Me was a massive hit, but has Maccy Ds been brought crumbling to the ground? Or is it still selling plastic burgers to hyperactive kids everywhere?
Great critique Bob.
But unfortunately I have the terrible feeling that it is too late, I am already seeing the right universally come to hate this film and even worse the most stuck up lefties are holding this film up as an example of "changing beliefs". They hijacked my favourite film of the year! And all my conservative friends refuse to even watch the film! Now these commentators and politicians have got this view stuck in their head it seems it will never shift.
I fucking hate this manipulating, tunnel vision, politicising commentators who twist whatever there is to suit what they want it to be.
It's so much bullshit I can't stand it.
But unfortunately I have the terrible feeling that it is too late, I am already seeing the right universally come to hate this film and even worse the most stuck up lefties are holding this film up as an example of "changing beliefs". They hijacked my favourite film of the year! And all my conservative friends refuse to even watch the film! Now these commentators and politicians have got this view stuck in their head it seems it will never shift.
I fucking hate this manipulating, tunnel vision, politicising commentators who twist whatever there is to suit what they want it to be.
It's so much bullshit I can't stand it.
Fantastic article moviebob, Intermission is definitely my favorite feature on the escapist.
I find this article quite timely, as I recently read a number of the sort of articles you talk about; politicizing the movie.
I find this article quite timely, as I recently read a number of the sort of articles you talk about; politicizing the movie.
I definitely noticed the allegory in the movie. It didn't keep me from enjoying it (although I did find it really cliched. And while it didn't keep me from enjoying the movie, I did root for the military much of the time, on general principles, because it got a little preachy at times.
And if there is one thing I hate, its when things get preachy.
And if there is one thing I hate, its when things get preachy.
You can read them as basically an energy company. The unobtanium is some kind of important energy source, so they're essentially Exxon IN SPACE.Satosuke said:
And most mercs/PMC grunts in real life are vets from one nation's armies or another (e.g., a significant number of Blackwater operatives were former Chilean Special Forces). Pretty rational career choice for a soldier: you have some skills you learned fighting under a flag that some suits are willing to pay you 10x your old salary for--sign me up! How is that important?
Also, for better or for worse, it seems like Avatar is one of those properties where you need to RTFM to understand half of what's going on: http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Resources_Development_Administration
For the record, I found the story painfully derivative too, but a few things made it tolerable. Although I'm all for sustainable development and environmental responsibility, I'm not for tree-hugging for tree-hugging's sake. I like living in an industrial society with the internet, phones, cars, and antibiotics, thank you very much. (A friend of mine used to say, every modern Western city is two weeks away from being the Third World: just cut off running water and sewage.)
I accepted it from the Na'vi because they could actually neurologically interface with the lifeforms on their planet, and use trees as computer databases of their memories. So it wasn't as simple as moving to a different copse of trees on the other side of the forest. When the humans destroyed Hometree, it was the equivalent of burning down the Library of Alexandria, and as a librarian, I consider that a horrendous act. You're not just burning down someone's house, you're eradicating their culture.
The rest of the story was pretty pedestrian, but the acting, visuals and action elevated it quite a bit. It was really the main character who pissed me off. He was sent among the Na'vi to try and get them to leave their home, and he didn't even try. He knew he was the last hope for a diplomatic solution before Colonel Hardass brought down the hammer, and he was the one person whom the Colonel, Dr. Augustine and the Na'vi could respect. If anyone could have brokered a compromise, it was him. And he pissed away all his time flirting with the chief's daughter and going native until the very moment the bulldozers rolled in! It's hardly the first time I've enjoyed a sci-fi/fantasy story despite the annoying messianic hero, but I still hate it when it happens.
Avatar to me was just Pocahontas meets Fern's Gully but a whole lot more badass. I completely agree I wasn't thinking about any real political aspects of the movie.
I left the theatre thinking about three things:
1) What a great movie and time I had with my friends
2) A sickly feeling that some one choose to actually abandoned his own species turned "hopeless" (Yeah his old body sucked, I give it that much. I'd probably make the same choice)
3) How the fuck can people live on a planet they can't even breathe in. Your skin breathes too. Poison gets in pores, easily.
Either way, the last gripe aside. I enjoyed it.
I left the theatre thinking about three things:
1) What a great movie and time I had with my friends
2) A sickly feeling that some one choose to actually abandoned his own species turned "hopeless" (Yeah his old body sucked, I give it that much. I'd probably make the same choice)
3) How the fuck can people live on a planet they can't even breathe in. Your skin breathes too. Poison gets in pores, easily.
Either way, the last gripe aside. I enjoyed it.
<-- is more right then left, and yes, I can see the various ways this movie can be interpreted, but all in all, its easy to enjoy story with tons of special effects. That is as far as I care to read into it.
Though it is interesting, its an anti-corporation movie being supported by multiple corporations, guess their marketing groups just know that its popular and haven't seen the movie. McDonalds burger any one? its made from beef raised on burned down rain forest. =D
Though it is interesting, its an anti-corporation movie being supported by multiple corporations, guess their marketing groups just know that its popular and haven't seen the movie. McDonalds burger any one? its made from beef raised on burned down rain forest. =D
Not really a cop-out, but more of a MacGuffin. Hell, they called the resource they were looking for 'unobtanium', what more do you need to know that they were trying to say "This film isn't about the corporation backstory, or Why they are on this planet...it is About what happens On the planet." They needed some reason to have an army attacking the natives. (which is what the story is about...not Why they are attacking the natives).Satosuke said:
They also mentioned that the tree was the 'largest deposit' in a certain area, but never bothered to consider just mining a Different area that is farther...and not under the home of the natives. Why? Because that isn't what the movie was about and it would have wasted film time.
I don't remember the details, but i think the air wasn't 'poisonous' per-se, but rather not what humans can process with their lungs for energy. Thus, all they need is good air to breath, not bio-hazard suits. Think like scuba gear underwater: we can't breathe the water, but it isn't poisonous.Xersues said:
Then again, my knowledge of this isn't all that great...never did enjoy studying biology/chemistry type stuff.
I'm definitely a conservative kind of guy, and I loved this movie to no end. I wish everyone with a computer would stop thinking they're Siskel and Ebert, and just enjoy movies for how entertaining they are.
People applauded when I saw Babe as a little kid. I shit you not.Nimbus said:
Surprisingly, I'm the only one who clapped at the end of Avatar. I think it's a lot more common at pre-screenings where you have a critical audience much more appreciative of the effort on display.
OT: "What political commentators (and, to be fair, film critics including yours truly) tend to forget is that most of "the people" - even the smart ones - don't go through life looking at every movie (or book, or videogame) through the rubric of politics and theory."
Video games are hardly ever examined through theoretical frameworks. The only example I could point to is the current Escapist article about video games as a reflection of male insecurity [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_235/6978-Vaginophobia]. It's something that needs to be done for the interactive arts to become a truely appreciated expression.
But it would be nice if politicians stopped using the same methods of examination to turn everything into an ideological battle. All of the politics in Avatar are subtextual, even if Avatar is unusually forward with them, but most people won't even recognize they're there.
Anyone else tired of Michelle Rodriguez being perfect for the role of 'Rebel militaristic badass who has to die 10 minutes before the end in a really cool way'? I think she is, with her 4th wall breaking line to the effect of "Gee, and I was hoping for a plan that didn't involve martyrdom". On the bright side, even if there were to be an antithisizing sequel to Avatar that supports the military and the corporations, we'd have to wait 6 years for them to get back to Earth, and 6 years for them to come back to Pandora, plus however long it takes to stock a garrison or mercs. But, that won't happen (hopefully), so at least we get a damn good movie out of it, even if it is Dances With Wolves meets Fern Gully.
Avatar didn't exactly spark an ideologic fervor in me after i watched it, the only things I was left pondering over was how ridicolous 'unobtanium' sounded and if the humans in the film should be classified as 'racists' or 'specieists' (as the na'vi are technically another species and not a race 
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