The Massie Twins have written an adequate synopsis that is below and I think it is a good description of Avatar without giving too much away:
When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.
According to CNN, the way the characters are formed and the way they live are stated to be a “pro-environment, anti-religious film.” Cameron is also accused of making a motion picture that depicts the military as the “bad guys” and that he does not respect the military culture. Well, NEWSFLASH!!!! Cameron actually has a brother who was a former marine and greatly respects the military. I strongly believe that Cameron simply wanted to make a movie out this world to blow people away and according to the reactions, he truly has. If anything, we should give Cameron a pat on the back for giving audiences such an indulging experience. Truthfully, there is one main reason why people go to movies. That reason is that people want to ESCAPE from reality and Cameron has certainly met up to that expectation.
Just because he did not give the people living on Pandora, does not mean this film is ANTI-religious. In reaction to Jonah Goldberg’s article on Avatar, I agree with him that the movie would not have been the least interesting if there was no religion addressed. The movie is not stating that one religion is better than another, however, Cameron was simply making a movie that would take audiences into another mindset and on a fantasy journey.
Blogs such as “Heresy Corner,” has attacked the film for having an underlying political message that the American troops are evil because they are trying to ruin the living environment of the Na’vi people.
Sebastian states that the Vatican believes that the movie is pantheism, which is a nature religion. It’s a movie people! Why are you personally offended by every concept of the film?!?! It’s an AMAZING and HEART WARMING film.
Brent Riggs is another blogger who feels strongly that Avatar is a left-wing movie that agrees with the fact that “white corporate America are greedy,” and that the “military is death-loving [and] peace hating.” He believes that movie goers are brainwashed and are used to movies like Avatar, so we except the messages the movie is sending to us. However, he Riggs does admit that it was a spectacular movie and I strongly agree with him.
T.A. McMahon addresses Avatar’s Shamanism, which is the belief in nature and the most widespread religion today. I agree with McMahon when he mentions that the movie is for pure enjoyment and entertainment. When you pay to watch a movie, you expect to be blown away and Avatar did just that!
Waddah Jerk mentions that the movie has a lot of relatable the Iraq war, spiritualism, and such. I believe that Cameron put these issues in his movie to make the movie relateable to the widest audience possible. A movie is trying to capture the most audience possible to make the most money on their film. Therefore, one way to do that is by making your film connect to everyone who watches it.
Carlos A. Quiroz believes that Avatar is in fact a real situation. It depicts what is going on with the rich and poor of this country and around the world. This simply proves that, once again, Avatar can be connected to many people’s lives. Quiroz connects all the characters and ideas of Avatar to real life situations and people today.
LeftWingAndBrave has gone so far as to set up a protest against Avatar because of it’s view of transgender people. I feel as if some people are taking this movie a little farther than Cameron would have expected. Perhaps he can do a press conference or release a statement addressing all these pressing issues that people are uncomfortable with.
All these blog posts and controversies simply show that audiences look into movies for more than simply enjoyment, but rather to analyze every second of it. All movies are seen from different lenses and audiences have the choice to see which lens they would like to view the movie from. We all have our own opinions and no opinion has greater significance than another because we are all equal beings. Avatar has simply set the bar for future movie making ideas. James Cameron wrote the script of Avatar over a decade ago, which simply proves that all the connections to war and politics are incongruent with the time.
As Richard Corless at Time Magazine mentions, "For years to come 'Avatar' will define what movies can achieve."
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