Special to the Web of Democracy, by guest contributor, Dr. Ock.
Avatar: A Sci-Fi Critique of Corporate Imperialism
The new James Cameron sci-fi epic Avatar has been described by some entertainment pundits as a "game changer", taking movie making into a whole new era. Some folks I spoke to couldn't even describe the primary plot line to me because it was so epic, they just said I had to see it for myself. Finally someone told me it was quite political, depicting corporate capitalisms thirst for resources and the callous destruction of an entire culture in it's wake. Sounds like a fairly progressive theme for a sci-fi thriller, all packed into 3D fun!
So I went to see this ground breaking piece of cinema, all 160 minutes of it. It turns out that the first 60 minutes or so we do see a rather critical portrayal of a "human" (imperialist) mining company trying to extract expensive resources by whatever means necessary, coercion, bribery, trickery, or just plain brute military force that might turn into genocide. Clearly these humans are evil, with the exception of the scientists, who are more sympathetic to the native Pandorians, and prefer to peacefully deceive the natives with generosity and education, so long as they leave their Homeland (actually, Hometree) and make way for the bulldozers. Even less evil are the deceptive "Avatar" (meaning proxy) bodies that the scientists have genetically grown in the labs, so they can pose as Pandorians rather than the white skinned humans they are. Naturally the Pandorians don't trust these posers because they wear I Love New York t-shirts and seem to be terribly confused by the ways of the forest. But somehow we are to believe that Sigourney Weaver's character, Grace, is still a benevolent scientist amongst all her deception done at the behest of the mining cooperation.
One of the posers is an ex-marine (Jake Sully) who is given an Avatar body in order to collect intel (that's military speak for intelligence). He manages to make his way into the main village of the Pandorians through several acts of incompetence which in turn require a local babe to save his ass from certain death. The Pandorians agree to teach him the ways of the forest, the wisdom of their culture, because they have reason to believe he has a pure Spirit. This is where our journey into the racist rabbit-hole begins, the journey into the Chosen One myth. It only takes three months for this ex-marine, who can't actually use his legs in the real world, to master all the knowledge and skills of the forest people. Things are pretty good for the Chosen One, he breaks up a pre-arranged marriage by mating with the girl who saved him, and manages to trump all the natives at their own skills. Good thing he catches on quick, because the Imperialist goons are stepping up their program of rape and pillage, launching a shock and awe attack on Hometree.
Now Jake Sully is fully committed to fighting his human comrades and saving the Pandorians. Again we see the Chosen One savior white guy become Super-Pandorian and tame the evil Hell Bird that has only ever been mounted by five famous ancestors. At this, all the natives acknowledge the superiority of the poser new-comer and submit to his leadership in a rebellion against the Imperialist humans. So the narrative of this ground breaking movie is that the fate of indigenous populations will inevitably be in the hands of Colonial masters, whether they are destroyed or saved by them, no matter. There is no room for autonomy or self determination, just dependence (on the foreign savior in this case). But this isn't the point of Avatar, its the amazing and vivid visual displays delivered in 3D that makes this film a cutting edge game changer, rights? Or maybe what makes this film so stellar is that the story is really a re-packaging of three sci-fi films all rolled into one; The Matrix, Starwars, and Aliens. Three movies in 3D, that is a feat!
It is interesting that Haiti is at the forefront of the news at the same time as Avatar, as Haiti is the real-world example of this Colonial narrative. If Haitians don't cooperate with foreign interests they will suffer military occupation, regime change, and oppression. When the same foreign powers determine that Haiti is a "failed state" it's up to the benevolent Colonialists to save Haitians from their own savagery by bringing aid with strings attached, trade agreements, and foreign-friendly puppet democracies. Should I mention that Haitian Vodoun practice involves worship of nature and it's spirits, with special emphasis on the Spiritual power of trees? Those beliefs weren't popular with the foreign logging companies.