Comments on: “Avatar” is epic

By: Vince

Vince — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:42:46 +0000

First of all, I don’t think the majority of the audience actually cared about the stereotypes, in fact, it helps them to emotionally connect with the protagonists much better, putting them as the bad guys in such a way makes it so that viewers can grab the viewer’s heart more effectively than say, if you were to make them all hugely developed and confusing.
Also, unobtainium is an ACTUAL science term that scientists use to describe an imaginary element with properties that are special-beyond anything we have seen but which may be probable in other circumstances. Do your research before you make puns with these terms.
Lastly, the movie didn’t make the natives weak. You say you’ve studied the natives of North America extensively, then look at the first contact with the europeans; It’s not so much that the Natives were weak, it was just that they were not prepared for this new foreign culture. Argue all you want, but you need someone who knows how to fight with guns and technology if you want to win against enemies who use guns and advanced technology.
Honestly, the story was predictable at times, but if you want to use that against it, then you may as well scrub half the stories in the world, because they all have some things in common. That may be, but it doesn’t make them bad.

By: Jess

Jess — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:36:13 +0000

Yeah, it looked great… but it was also offensive on a lot of levels.
I don’t care how good your 3D movie looked, if your script has one-dimensional, stereotypical characters and piss-poor, hackneyed dialog a 13-year-old could’ve written, then it’s NOT a good movie. Cameron depended way too much on visual effects to tell his story, and forgot that every good movie needs decent dialog and characters. I’m sorry, but assigning everyone a stereotype does not count as characterization. Let’s see, there was:
1. The military man who completely disregards ethics and human (and Na’vi) life in favor of pointless destruction because explosions are more fun than having a brain.
2. The corporate suit who will stop at nothing to make a profit, even if it means destroying natural beauty to get at the “unobtainium” (GET IT?! BECAUSE IT CAN’T BE OBTAINED! James Cameron, like George Lucas, should not be allowed to name stuff).
3. The jaded, yet uber-liberal scientist who comes with a patent disrespect for anyone in the military.
But worse than the stereotypical characters (which are ridiculous, but only mildly offensive) is the portrayal of the Na’vi. Yes, stories about the benefits of conservation and the horrible things imperialism has done to aboriginal tribes the world over, are stories that need to be told. However, Cameron took Disney’s “Pocahontas”, “Dances With Wolves”, and “Fern Gully” and smashed it all together with HIS fictional approximation of how a native (read: NATIVE AMERICAN) tribe would behave, and it came off as patronizing and romanticized. I’m sorry, but the “noble savage” stereotype is just as harmful as the stereotype that all indigenous tribes are brainless savages. The storyline of an outsider coming to save an indigenous tribe from his own people has been done before (“Dances With Wolves”, “The Last Samurai”), and all it says to me in this iteration is that the natives were too weak and stupid to save themselves. It’s patronizing, it’s offensive, and as someone who’s studied the history of native North America, I’m tired of it.
Be dazzled by the special effects and the realism of the CG characters (no denying it, they were amazing) if you want, but if you don’t have an original, respectful script to follow it up, then you don’t have a good movie.

By: Lily Thompson

Lily Thompson — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:40:45 +0000

Who cares what the critics say if the audience is holding its breath as the action unfolds in exciting screne after scene, and after the long attention span that is challenged every minute, you still don’t want it to end. This is a true document for peace and conservation, for human rights and mutual respect. As a critic, audience reaction is THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS in matters of entertainment, and I was thoroughly entertained.