Avatar has been getting a lot of hate here at the escapist for one big reason- the unoriginal plot. But, and I have said this in other threads, the plot isn't the point of the movie. The point of it is to get you immersed in an amazing world and use it to drive a point home.
Some people say that the message is exxagerated, with the humans being sadistic, nature-hating douchebags who put no value on life. They are wrong in many ways. Humans do the exact same thing in real life, but instead of killing the opposition, they ignore them completely. Also, what the humans were doing on Pandora has nothing on what people do in real life. We cut down practically whole forests every day and kill untold amounts of animal species so we can live a life of decadent luxery and excess. We kill any animal that poses a threat and save room only for the ones we think are cute.
The difference between real life and Avatar is that we don't SEE what we are doing to the planet and Earth isn't as majestic or beautiful as Pandora in the eyes of many people, although I believe it is. We are just jaded and think we've seen everything there is to see on Earth. We are like a cancer, a natural part of the system that has grown out of control and is beginning to kill the system that gave birth to it.
I believe I know why we do this too- we have no Empathy. Empathy is feeling connected emotionally to other things. We assume that because we have been more successful as a species and are smart that we are in a league of our own. We would kill hundreds of animals to save one human life, because we can relate to people. We know what it feels like to be human and identify with other humans. We feel empathy for them.
We feel no empathy whatsoever to other animals because we are not like them. Think about it- if you felt as much sadness for the death of any living thing as the death of a person, what would the world be like. Also people feel even less empathy for plants because they can't move or emote and have no faces. People say that chopping down a tree isn't bad because it has no emotions. I say that chopping a tree down is just as bad as chopping a human's legs off and leaving him/her to bleed to death. The only opposition for killing plants is the environmental impact and the fact that many plants are pretty, which is good, but a different point entirely.
We love dogs and cats as pets because they like us and (for the most part) won't hurt us. Some people say that eating a dog is horrible (some cultures do that). When I ask them why, they simply answer "because it's a dog". Eating a dog is no worse than eating a pig or a cow. They are all living creatures. If we felt empathy for every living thing, our world would be so much better and people would get the damn point when watching Avatar. Jesus christ....
Some people say that the message is exxagerated, with the humans being sadistic, nature-hating douchebags who put no value on life. They are wrong in many ways. Humans do the exact same thing in real life, but instead of killing the opposition, they ignore them completely. Also, what the humans were doing on Pandora has nothing on what people do in real life. We cut down practically whole forests every day and kill untold amounts of animal species so we can live a life of decadent luxery and excess. We kill any animal that poses a threat and save room only for the ones we think are cute.
The difference between real life and Avatar is that we don't SEE what we are doing to the planet and Earth isn't as majestic or beautiful as Pandora in the eyes of many people, although I believe it is. We are just jaded and think we've seen everything there is to see on Earth. We are like a cancer, a natural part of the system that has grown out of control and is beginning to kill the system that gave birth to it.
I believe I know why we do this too- we have no Empathy. Empathy is feeling connected emotionally to other things. We assume that because we have been more successful as a species and are smart that we are in a league of our own. We would kill hundreds of animals to save one human life, because we can relate to people. We know what it feels like to be human and identify with other humans. We feel empathy for them.
We feel no empathy whatsoever to other animals because we are not like them. Think about it- if you felt as much sadness for the death of any living thing as the death of a person, what would the world be like. Also people feel even less empathy for plants because they can't move or emote and have no faces. People say that chopping down a tree isn't bad because it has no emotions. I say that chopping a tree down is just as bad as chopping a human's legs off and leaving him/her to bleed to death. The only opposition for killing plants is the environmental impact and the fact that many plants are pretty, which is good, but a different point entirely.
We love dogs and cats as pets because they like us and (for the most part) won't hurt us. Some people say that eating a dog is horrible (some cultures do that). When I ask them why, they simply answer "because it's a dog". Eating a dog is no worse than eating a pig or a cow. They are all living creatures. If we felt empathy for every living thing, our world would be so much better and people would get the damn point when watching Avatar. Jesus christ....
