Tigersoap
The Living Force
I did not intend to keep posting things about Avatar but as I was browsing through books at a local store I could not help but check out a book about the world of avatar.
Two things struck me, the Na'vi were linked to the neolithic era and the dance ritual in the movie was linked specifically to the use of peyotl in a glossary at the end of the book.
So I just started to look for the origin of the ideas behind the Na'vi themselves and stumbled upon this :
from : _http://io9.com/5354315/avatar-concept-designer-reveals-the-secrets-of-the-navi
from:_http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/12/17/is-james-camerons-avatar-sexist/
I have also linked two articles who are interesting because they analyze the movie in a different angle than juts the obvious imho.
from : _http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-avatar
from _http://globalshift.org/2009/12/dances-with-discrimination-on-avatar-racism-misogyny-and-disabled-prejudice/
Follow the many links from the article itself, many things to ponder.
fyi
Two things struck me, the Na'vi were linked to the neolithic era and the dance ritual in the movie was linked specifically to the use of peyotl in a glossary at the end of the book.
So I just started to look for the origin of the ideas behind the Na'vi themselves and stumbled upon this :
Question : What about the sex appeal aspect of it? Was the sexiness something James Cameron emphasized with you?
Answer : Well, he wanted them to be very beautiful. And I do believe that, at some point, he said something to the effect of...the audience has to want to f*** her. I mean, Jim is very plain in his language.
So, I went, "All right?" So I made something that, I don't know if I really particularly wanted to -flick- it, but it was certainly a beautiful alien. He definitely, he wanted it — because he really prefers women that are kind of athletic, and buff and stuff like that, so I, you know, designed something with big hands and feet, a big presence that felt really big and strong.
from : _http://io9.com/5354315/avatar-concept-designer-reveals-the-secrets-of-the-navi
But then, on the absolute other side of the coin is Playboy’s interview with Cameron, which delves into the hotness of the movie’s female stars. And breasts. When asked whether he designed Neytiri specifically to appeal to guys, Cameron replies, “And they won’t be able to control themselves.” (I guess that means yes.) A lot of that appeal, according to Cameron, started with the decision to give the character breasts — even though the Na’vi aren’t mammals.
from:_http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/12/17/is-james-camerons-avatar-sexist/
I have also linked two articles who are interesting because they analyze the movie in a different angle than juts the obvious imho.
Whether Avatar is racist is a matter for debate. Regardless of where you come down on that question, it's undeniable that the film - like alien apartheid flick District 9, released earlier this year - is emphatically a fantasy about race. Specifically, it's a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people. Avatar and scifi films like it give us the opportunity to answer the question: What do white people fantasize about when they fantasize about racial identity?
from : _http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-avatar
It is, at the basic level, a re-imagining of the great genocide against people of color on America’s original colonial backdrop. And the ethereal, blue-skinned Na’vi, with their painted faces and feathered arrows, are the ideal representations of the systematic oppression that has been lobbed at various incantations of the “savage” that came before. But unlike “Dances with Wolves,” which ultimately asserts the superiority of the way of the native, “Avatar” doesn’t even attempt to hide it’s double-standard. Jake makes his last stand as the Great White Hope with the assistance of a wild bird and a sub-machine gun, effectively turning the narrative of the native into the narrative of the white savior.
from _http://globalshift.org/2009/12/dances-with-discrimination-on-avatar-racism-misogyny-and-disabled-prejudice/
Follow the many links from the article itself, many things to ponder.
fyi