Does 'Avatar' perpetuate stereotypes?

[()smoke()]

Is there some racism involved, even if unintentional?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34805869...inment-movies/

We had a previous thread discussing the idea, but it was deleted. Then this story pops up on MSNBC front page today--so it certainly seems worth discussing, imo.

I haven't seen the movie, but I recall from the opinion piece I read in the previous thread that the plot seems similar to other films in which a white man helps to save a group of non-white people from danger, harm, or destruction.

Hopefully things can remain civil. I can't really comment myself without having seen the film, and honestly, it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, so I probably won't see it.

[Joey3313]

Originally Posted by ()smoke()

Is there some racism involved, even if unintentional?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34805869...inment-movies/

We had a previous thread discussing the idea, but it was deleted. Then this story pops up on MSNBC front page today--so it certainly seems worth discussing, imo.

Or maybe it was deleted for a reason the past two times it's been posted. Topical or not, the conversation will only stir up trouble.

[Gubna]

not if you can remember aliens invading your planet...trying to carve it up like some thanksgiving turkey.

[()smoke()]

Originally Posted by Joey3313

Or maybe it was deleted for a reason the past two times it's been posted. Topical or not, the conversation will only stir up trouble.

it's unfortunate that people can't discuss the matter with maturity...i was looking forward to reading through one of the previous threads one evening (i only saw and posted in one), and was disappointed it had been deleted

i don't see any harm in discussing different viewpoints, that's historically how progress happens

[geeza]

Originally Posted by ()smoke()

I can't really comment myself without having seen the film, and honestly, it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, so I probably won't see it.

So then why bring it up in the first place?

[bassrique]

http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/201...vatar_010810w/

Corps official: Avatar ‘sophomoric’

Staff report
Posted : Friday Jan 8, 2010 14:03:42 EST

Avatar, the highly anticipated 3-D movie by director James Cameron, was met with enthusiasm by audiences across the globe and has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide as of Jan. 6. Talks of a sequel are already underway.

But despite commercial success, Avatar has been the target of anger and backlash from some who see it as an affront to the Marine Corps and a negative allegory for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the movie, a paraplegic Marine veteran named Jake agrees to travel to the distant, resource-rich planet Pandora where he works with the military and private mercenaries to displace a humanoid race called the Na’vi so that their land can be mined for precious minerals. In return for his service, Jake is to receive a surgery that will allow him to walk again, but after infiltrating the Na-vi with an avatar identity, he falls in love with one of the locals and decides to take a stand against the money-hungry corporation that seeks to eradicate them.

Chief among critics of the movie is the Marine Corps’ own director of public affairs, Col. Bryan Salas. In a recent letter to the Marine Corps Times (see below) he said the film, “takes sophomoric shots at our military culture.”

———

Have you seen Avatar? Do you think it portrays the Marine Corps or military at large in a negative light?

Speak your mind on our message board

Col. Bryan Salas’ letter:

Lost amid the staggering commercial success of “Avatar” and obscured by the punditry of the left and right as they debate James Cameron’s social and historical commentary are the real warriors whose heroism, valor and selfless service has allowed the U.S. to leave a war in Iraq that many in 2006 thought was unwinnable and indeed salvage success from the jaws of calamity.

“Avatar” takes sophomoric shots at our military culture and uses the lore of the Marine Corps and over-the-top stereotyping of Marine warriors to set the context for the screenplay. This does a disservice to our Corps of Marines and the publics’ understanding of their Corps.

The Marine Corps embraces a warrior-scholar mentality and prides itself on understanding host country narratives and sensitivities in complex climes and places. Gen. James Mattis, whose catch-phrase is “no better friend, no worse enemy,” better captures the essence of Marines who helped usher in the Sunni Awakening in Anbar province than the cinemagraphically convenient colonel-turned-mercenary antagonist in “Avatar.”

Let’s view “Avatar” for what it is, a leap in the wizardry of cinema, a digital fantasy and a vehicle for a film-maker to make a statement, but not emblematic of the Marines who honorably fight and fall to win our nation’s real battles today.

Col. Bryan Salas director of public affairs

Headquarters Marine Corps

[()smoke()]

Originally Posted by geeza

So then why bring it up in the first place?

because the idea behind the controversy is applicable to things other than this particular film

[()smoke()]

Originally Posted by bassrique

http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/201...vatar_010810w/

this is an interesting observation--thanks for posting

[TrooperFarva]

Don't let the fact that the same thread got shut down twice prevent you from starting it again.

[DeluxeRed]

I think the biggest stereotype it perpetrates is that Hollywood can't--or won't--make a movie of a decent, original SF idea.

Sigh.

[Phalex]

Avatar was amazing because of the illusion of motion that's actually created by rapidly projecting a series of still images.

I think someone is reading an awful lot into it.

[()smoke()]

yes, orginality seems lost in many recent hollywood endeavors, i agree

i like to try to understand these kinds of issues relating to worldviews from different perspectives...i understand that others find it petty or inflammatory to discuss these things, but that's not how i see it...

i think an orginal take of the simple inverse of the setting would go a long way, ie a non-white person (maybe a woman?) swooping in to save a white culture with her wisdom

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by ()smoke()

this is an interesting observation--thanks for posting

That's not interesting, that's PR at work, trying to maintain the "heroic" image of the armed forces. Wouldn't have many recruits if they portrayed themselves as nothing more than the big stick of our foreign policy, after all.


Soldiers can be heroes. So can teachers, so can doctors, so can janitors. There is nothing implicit in an occupation that infers that status.

[()smoke()]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Soldiers can be heroes. So can teachers, so can doctors, so can janitors. There is nothing implicit in an occupation that infers that status.

i agree

...and i still find it interesting

[NickInMesa]

Stereotypes are always common in story-telling.

I also hear people complaining that Avatar is not original and borrows from many other stories.

Well, what story does not? What story is truly original?

The same people who would trash Avatar for being not original Sci Fi will say great things about Gattaca, while the latter borrows from a bunch of myth and stories and clearly identifies them.

Great movies with biblical, shakespearian, historical references abound.

As for stereotypes, it's always more obvious when it's your community that's targeted. Being French, I can tell you that Hollywood can be somewhat heavy handed sometimes.

[Jared Lash]

I haven't seen this film and probably won't. I also watch so little TV these days that I hadn't even seen a commercial for it. The first time I'd even heard of it was in a thread here in TB OT and from the title I thought maybe it was about TB user avatars.

All that being said I will state that yes, this movie is hella racist.

[MakiSupaStar]

Yeah. I can see that.

[()smoke()]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

As for stereotypes, it's always more obvious when it's your community that's targeted. Being French, I can tell you that Hollywood can be somewhat heavy handed sometimes.

this might be the most compelling aspect of the situation to me, personally...learning to recognize it when it's not my particular 'community' is an important part of life, imo

the story in the link i posted contains a poll in which people can vote--the numbers were far in favor of 'no racism' when i last checked it...i wonder how the final percentages will compare to demographics

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

As for stereotypes, it's always more obvious when it's your community that's targeted. Being French, I can tell you that Hollywood can be somewhat heavy handed sometimes.

Exactly. Ask someone from the South how often they roll their eyes at some of the portrayals and badly attempted accents.

[Brad Barker]

i've read some good analysis by some sci-fi wonks. let's see if i can find it...

http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-whi...es-like-avatar

http://dunedinschool.wordpress.com/2...alist-fantasy/

worth a read. incidentally, a few months ago, i read an essay about "orientalism" in neil gaiman's "sandman" series, and unlike cameron, gaiman came out on top.