Film Festival: Avatar (2009)
Avatar (often called James Cameron’s Avatar) is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The film is set in the mid-22nd century when humans are colonizing Pandora, a habitable moon in another solar system, in order to mine the valuable mineral unobtanium. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na’vi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora.
Development of Avatar began in 1994, however, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Overall, the film took 15 years to film and produce before finally releasing in 2009. Avatar remained the highest-grossing film worldwide for nearly a decade until it was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, before a re-release saw Avatar retake the top spot in March 2021.
What to watch out for:
Director James Cameron acknowledged that the film is “certainly about imperialism in the sense that the way human history has always worked is that people with more military or technological might tend to supplant or destroy people who are weaker, usually for their resources.” Critics agreed that the film is “a clear message about dominant, aggressive cultures subjugating a native population in a quest for resources or riches.” George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian, asserted that conservative criticism of Avatar is a reaction to what he called the film’s “chilling metaphor” for the European “genocides in the Americas”, which “massively enriched” Europe. Cameron told National Public Radio that references to the colonial period are in the film “by design”. Adam Cohen of The New York Times stated that the film is “is firmly in the anti-imperialist canon, a 22nd-century version of the American colonists vs. the British, India vs. the Raj, or Latin America vs. United Fruit.”
Avatar is widely celebrated for its politically and culturally sensitive critique of the “West’s” neocolonial wars and exploitation of the “global south” – an allegory for (neo)colonialism – and for highlighting the plight of tribal communities throughout the world (for instance, the case of the Dongriah Kondh tribe of India). At the same time, it has been also criticized for repeating the colonialist fantasy of saving natives doomed by imperialist aggression.
The film is currently not available for viewing.
11 comments
Great movie to watch . This film is a classic package of stunning visuals, great meanings, wonderful acting and also a beautiful storyline. The way Cameron presented Pandora its really mesmerizing.
Really commendable how the graphics had been played with back in 2009. A Sci-Fi film but felt so wholesome with emotional turmoil and extraordinary acting. We get to watch these kinda movies once in a blue moon!
I had completely forgotten everything about this masterpiece (except seeing some blue people galloping around on my screen😬), but today’s experience made me fall in love with such impeccable storytelling techniques all over again, and how!❤
The themes of colonialism, imperialism, racism, corporate greed, patriotism, religion and spiritualism is showcased through such visually stunning camera lens… Indeed, studying was never more fun than when Literature is paired up with some truely great films! ❤
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