subject: The Movie AVATAR; the role of relationships [print this page] The Movie AVATAR; the role of relationships
If you missed the movie then take a moment to read the book before watching the movie. If you have already watched the movie, this perspective will shock you in to a different perspective about the movie. Much of what is expressed in this book was cleverly hidden by James Cameron. The Spirit of Avatar releaves what Cameron assumed was too complicated for movie goers to understand.
Inspired by the movie Avatar, Don Robinson's book the Spirit of Avatar: the role of relationships focuses on how relationships influence us in our day to day existence. The author is not just talking about interpersonal relationships, but relationship with nature and the internal understanding that comes from reflection on our place in the grand scheme of things. This inspirational book draws readers into the spirit of the human connection with the environment, not for activism for the sake of acting, but for action arising from our intimate bonds. This unique focus on reationships was analyzed by Don in his new book The Spirit of Avatar.
The box office phenomenon Avatar is more than just a runof-the-mill action movie set to pull in a non-stop crowd of teenagers. The message behind this incredible piece of film is more pertinent now than ever before. Even if you aren't looking for heartfelt messages about the environment, war, and spirituality it comes in IMAX 3D and even the new 4D technology so even those who are interested in simple shock and awe action should definitely check it out.
The term Avatar is derived from a Sanskrit term meaning "descent". It is used most often to describe the deliberate descent of a deity from Heaven to Earth. Though much of the spirituality of this term has been lost on English translation the movie Avatar definitely brings a certain aspect of the divine back to the term. Writer and director James Cameron acknowledges that the term does have some significance to his characters and the script. He also admits that he used Hindu deities for a great deal of the intrinsic value of the tall blue, cat-like characters.
In this movie corporate interest and greed stand to threaten the peace loving Na'vi Tribe of their home and life. This group who derive divinity through nature and can communicate with trees and other wildlife live in an interconnected solidarity with the universe that few human beings will ever comprehend. All of this takes place on an alien planet's moon known as Pandora.
Their home is targeted simply for the product that it can provide to greedy capitalistic human beings in the form of energy. The only reason that the human military has set foot on Pandora is in hopes of getting the Na'vi to move so that they can take all of the resources they need to run their own planet, without any regard for the humanoid aliens that live there. In order to infiltrate the tribe military strategists invent avatars using human DNA that are operated by the mind of their proprietor and send them in to learn about the culture from the inside. This character, Sam falls in love with and marries the Na'vi woman who has been instructed by her mother to teach him the ways of the tribe. He learns quickly how important the nature around them is to their environment. When he states in a video journal the importance of their home tree to their divine ancestors, it leads military strategists to plan for its imminent destruction.
The symbolism in the film Avatar is absolutely amazing. The destruction of a people's natural habitat to provide cheap forms of energy is more pertinent today than ever before. James Cameron admits that there is a bit of an anti-war theme to the film, though its conception began long before the Bush administration. The mining platform used in the movie was based upon one of the countless oil platforms that can be found dotting the once beautiful Gulf of Mexico coastline. It's resemblance to this type of establishment was completely intentional and meant to spark a fire in the minds of viewers.
