Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Avatar



James Cameron is insane. In a good way.


Visually, the movie is stunning. Blue elves (the Na'vi, which sounds much like 'mavi', Turkish for blue) may not be very original, but they are beautifully rendered, and the entire planet of Pandora is a delight to watch. See it in 3-D if possible.


What bugged me is not how the film looks, and not even what it's saying, but how hard it's trying to be PC. You could read the Na'vi as Africans (there's the whole history of colonialism right there), with their jewelery, the giant baobab-like tree and certainly (and not very subtly) their accent. The general (who is now working for a private security firm) and the choppers come right out of any Vietnam movie. Iraq and the insurgents are certainly in there. There's even the fall of the twin towers, except that the roles are reversed. In case you missed any of the visual clues, the evil general utters the words "pre-emptive strike." The entire story feels like a lame attempt at a confessional for any and all US (and European) aggression. Yet, the ultimate hero of the film is a former marine, and the "natives" are properly othered.


And the song at the end - even worse than 'My Heart Will Go On.' Hopefully less catchy.


There's more to be said, for sure, but I'll keep it short. For now, anyway...

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