but, like many people i have my grievances with the film. my issues with avatar aren't very unique and have been pointed out by many people. it's not because great minds think alike but rather, james cameron is as subtle as a hockey puck to the face. (i used hockey b/c he's canadian and i used to play)
for those of you who haven't seen the movie, this is where you stop reading this post. buh-bye.
maybe they'll produce my film: The Last Nigga on Earth starring Tom Hanks how 'bout that?"- paul mooney
anyways, so my problem with avatar began back during the world series when fox would air those five minute trailer/promos for the movie. i said to the inefficient detective, "ah this is some ferngully shit." she replied, "what's a ferngully?" this was the opposite of the problem i posted about a week ago, instead of being tricked by the trailer, i pretty much knew the entire story of the film, beginning, middle, and end. i didn't predict the giant bird but i knew he'd make alien love to the daughter and end up becoming their leader.
it's actually a bit ironic, for something that felt like something i've never seen before, it felt a whole lot like something i had seen before. that is because avatar is basically dance with wolves+ fern gully+ a made up language (ala lord of the rings) + the blue man group. you can't really say the movie has environmentalist or anti-imperialism undertones because that would mean they were underlying, which they were not.
the dialogue was corny, "i see you" = "i'll never let go", and the characters were exaggerated and one dimensional, such as, villain is villain, hero is hero, except the tree, the tree wasn't just a tree. and similar to titanic, you know a lot of people are going to die, something epic will be destroyed, and you'll probably feel more for the hundreds of randos that died than any peril for the main characters. (yes i confess, i didn't cry when jack died in titanic, mainly because it didn't make sense, there were lots of scraps he could have held on to and bitch said she'd never let go but she did. i apologize for this rant but i felt this was an appropriate time). and jake and jack, james cameron that's practically the same name!
however, this is all feels like a moot point, because avatar isn't a movie you go to see for the story. you go for the visuals. and james cameron sure is an effin visionary! plus, society recycles stories over and over, because it's easy and because in a weird way it's comforting. sure avatar had some white guilt, something i would usually go on and on for hours about, but this time i choose not to for a few reasons but mainly because i am lazy right now and every once and a while i wish i could watch a movie and not think, hmm what would spike lee say about this?
instead, i will just hope that hollywood will be so amazed at the epic-ness of the film that they will never want to create another story like it, ever again. (or for at least 20 years) because i honestly don't even want to know what other kinds of spin someone can put on the white guy saving native people story. they've already done: dif native american tribes, the japanese, fairies, and blue alien people.
EDIT: i came home and found this article: avatar=pocahontas in space...how did i forget about pocahontas? probs bc i only think of the colors of the wind and forgot the story once i found out it wasn't acurate b/c she was like 10 when she met john smith (calling chris hansen)
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