posted by Sam Richards
Admittedly I have not seen the film. The last time I visited a movie theater was in 2005. Before that it was sometime in the early 1990s. I just don’t get out much. And while Avatar does seem like the kind of film that ought to be experienced on the big screen, it’s highly unlikely that that is where I’ll see it given my track record.
Nonetheless, reading this op-ed by David Brooks makes me a bit curious about the movie. Not sure why, really, as it sounds a lot like just another film from a long list of other films that I was neither drawn to, nor do I feel somehow deprived as a result of not seeing. But Brooks makes some serious accusations about a film that is being widely and universally viewed that it does make me curious about this persistent theme that just won’t go away — about how it is up to white people to save people from disastrous fates that might befall them.
I supposed one could readily argue that Brooks is reading far too much into the film. But these conscious and subconscious themes that drive popular cultures have a way of landing in us and shape our minds and hearts and just because you didn’t draw his conclusions from the film does not mean that he’s not dead on. In fact, if you’ve grown up in this culture and you haven’t not critically restructured your thinking about gender and race and culture and imperialism, then it’s highly unlikely that you would come to his conclusions. It doesn’t make him “correct” or you “wrong”–but I’d give his ideas time to gestate.
Here’s what Brooks had to say: The Messiah Complex
I saw this movie and LOVED it. The special effects were amazing, way better in 3-D. I feel like David Brooks is looking a little too much into the movie. It is true, the movie is a little cliche, but every movie cannot be perfect. I feel like "the white hero" was not trying to "save" them in a sense to what he was trying to say, he was trying to save them, period. He was just doing what he knew was right. What is wrong with that? He obviously is not trying to "change" them, he lived among them and adapted to their culture and lifestyle. Mr. Brooks just said this because they were a different race. If they were ALL White or ALL Avatars, this conversation would not have even been brought up. It was just people who thought they were doing the right thing going against each other.
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When I first saw Avatar all that I could think about was its connections to Pochahantas. It seems like the entirety of the base plot is exactly the same. And in pochahantas, I noticed that not only is the white man saving the brown people like you said, but he's also the one destroying their way of life. Yeah, the white person is often portrayed as the savior, but I find that white people are also often portrayed as the destroyers. Is this side of the story not seen? In Avatar, the whole reason that the natives even had to be saved is because white people decided they wanted the blue people's valuable mineral, so they basically declared war and took it by force. Also, even though the avatars are animated characters, they are played by black people. Does that hold any significance? Is that James Cameron's way of telling us that white people are still ruining things for black and brown people? It's hard to tell. He could have also just thought that those actresses and actors that were cast were good for their role.
Another thing is that apparently James Cameron's whole reason for doing the movie was to show Americans how much they don't respect their earth, and how they are destroying it. It seems like we are going to ultimately lose though. The end of the movie is a mess, tons of innocent people/avatars died. And the whole tree thing that they were going for was destroyed anyway. Is Avatar predicting the future? That maybe there is no hope? I think that the movie is trying to warn us, but the writers and producers of Avatar are still negative. They want to warn us about destroying the environment, but they also have little hope themselves.
Back to the race issue though. Sam mentioned in his video blog that some peoples reactions to the article were that they didn't notice because they were white themselves. I don't know how something like that could just pass you by just because you're white. I don't think white people fully understand white people. Just because I'm white, I would never compare myself to the white people in Avatar. I, actually, think I'm closer to the Avatar side. Only because I care a lot about the environment and am a pacifist. Am I not allowed to be on that side because I'm white? And why was it so shocking in the movie when a few of the characters decided to live in the Avatar world? The whole concept of this movie having a bigger meaning is very hard for me to grasp, obviously. I just cant seem to understand how James Cameron took Pochohantas, made the people blue instead of native american, added some special effects and a crappier plot, then had it be the highest grossing 3D movie ever made AND had all of America talking about its "deeper meaning".
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I personally do agree that the idea of the White Messiah is an escapist trope in films and fiction these days but I don’t necessarily think it’s a deliberate, purposeful thing on the part of the storyteller. They’re goal is to just tell a story they feel most passionate about, the kind of story that would interest them if they were the movie-goer or reader. Of course, there’s always a bit of wish fulfillment but I do believe this White Messiah idea is more subconscious to white people than it is to any other race or culture. Like Sam said in the video, I don’t think many people would have picked it out if our culture and our day and age weren't so racially sensitive.
But you also have to take into account who exactly the majority is in only our country, but in Hollywood as well. It’s white people and therefore movie makers and story tellers have to write movies that would interest the majority. I think the main characters are usually white and usually male is so that the audience is able to identify with him more readily without being clouded with the base stereotypes that come along with women and other races. It’s the easiest way to get around all that. And, most of the time, a storyteller will have the main character match them in both race and gender because it’s what they know best. They don’t know the true reactions of any other kind of person besides themselves. It’s a writer thing, I guess.
Anyway, back to this whole race issue in Avatar. To tell the truth I think David Brooks definitely has a point in his argument, but I also believe that there is a HUGE chance that he could be wrong. Maybe James Cameron just wasn’t thinking like that when he wrote it? I don’t know. Though I did have this same issue with The Last Samurai (I think I just don’t like Tom Cruise ) I, as a black person , didn’t have a problem with Jake Sully being white or the Nav’I were based on a plethora of black and brown people. I was more excited to see the interracial (inter-species?) relationship develop between Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). That’s what I think was SUPPOSED to be the focus, inter-whatever love. Can we talk about that instead?
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First of all, I know you are a professor and probably have a lot going on, but I think this movie is worth the almost $10. It is a great movie to break away from the everyday norms and just have fun. I don’t normally get out much either because of all the school work I have, but this movie is worth seeing in theaters in 3D. Even the glasses they give you are cool. Anyway, off my rant. I do agree with Brooks to an extent. We do seem to be in the age of the White Messiah Fable. There have been tons of movies with this same structure and avatar fits in perfectly. It seems like in a lot of movies, the heroes are always white. I know there are maybe one or two that are not but I cannot even think of them right now. And now that I think about it more, this might be a reason people are still racist. They are being taught by these movies that whites are better and will save you. They are the all-mighty powerful leaders. And this is starting at a very early age with our kids because they are also in kids movies. I think it is kind of racist but avatar does it in a different way. Usually they whites are tall handsome muscular and essentially perfect. In avatar however, the man is crippled and he is only going to this planet because his brother died and he has nothing left to live for. Being in the native body he has his legs back and he has something to live for again because he has hope and he doesn’t have to be in a wheelchair and depressed. He is already in a better state of mind before he meets the natives. And his very first encounter with them, they save him from being eaten alive. Other movies, that does not happen, the white man is always the hero. Have you ever noticed that they are also always male? Why never a female hero? I like the point he makes about the natives not being corrupted by cell phones or literacy or blockbuster movies. Maybe the reason we are not like these native is because we have all this stuff to corrupt us. Sometimes I think that our world would be better off without money and without all our extravagant things. People use to be happy. People use to actually have a life. Now all we do is work work work. We work more hours than ever before, we run ourselves into the ground to make ends meet and we have no time for our family or friends because we are worried that if we don’t work enough we will end up out in the cold on the street. Back to Brooks I agree with him about the white messiah fable. I do not however believe that it sends the message that non-whites need us to lead them. You should seriously consider making an exception for this movie, and only watch it in 3D.
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As soon as I saw Sam's post about this famous movie Avatar, I started to wonder why a post about this movie is on this blog. I thought it was just a film that almost every movie goers in the world have already watched. I thought it was nothing more than a movie. What could Sam talk about this in a sociological perspective? Even though I did not watch the movie Avatar, I know the fact that it is yet another film full of special effects and computer graphics. I know it is made by a hit movie director James Cameron. But what is it about races?
After I read Brooks' New York Times article, I got a brief storyline of this movie and started to think in what he pointed out: why is it always whites who save the world? It is true that most of the hit movies that we have seen are about white people in New York City saving the world and uncivilized people. This trend is not only presented by Avatar. Think about the movies, Deep Impact or Armageddon. Who save the world? Who are the people affected by disastrous phenomena? The answer for the first question always has been whites; and the answer for the latter always have been people who are not whites. In both of these movies, whites are the ones who find out the upcoming disaster, and the ones who com come up with solutions. There is no black, brown, or Asians. It has always been whites. Actually, as a Asian, I used to answer the question why is it always like this for several times. Every time I asked this to myself, the only conclusion I could draw out was that whites have dominated the world since long time ago and people are so used to this fact. The sad thing is that even though many movies feature the White Messiah fable, we do not even realize it. After many contemplations about this matter, and after failures to reach to plausible answers, I think I just made myself get used to this fable. Now, I do not even question why it always goes like this. I just accept White Messiah fables as they were the rules for hit movies. Just like I did for Avatar. I did not even tried to think in critical ways. It is really amazing how popular culture can make people blind most of the times. I cannot believe that I did not see the fact clearly and does not ask myself about this phenomenon anymore.
I hope Hollywood makes more movies with Black, Brown, or Asian protagonists who save the world. I think that if more people question about White Messiah fables, Hollywood would change also.
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To be honest, I neither have watched this movie nor have any plan to watch it in near future. The only reason was because it is animation. I am hearing lots of things how fantastic this movie is. Some of my friends who recommended me to watch it even describe it as ‘unlike any other animation.’ Besides that, the comment regarding almost all main characters in Hollywood movies is more likely to be white rather than other races seems very interesting question. Yes, why should it be? It may be because some movies are based on the history of Europe or the War between North and South under Lincoln’s presidency. What about other movies which talk about these times or future? I think it is just because that we got used to it so much! Like hockey and basket ball were dominated by different race.
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To be honest, I do not understand how people start issues where issues are not needed. I saw this movie and never even thought about anything that would be related to race. It was a great movie, but the plot was rather basic and common to many many other movies. So why did this issue only arise with this film? I do not agree on Brooks' comment about the White messianic fable. I do not think this movie has anything to do with that topic at all and people need to stop adapting things into what they think is defensive. It is a harmless movie that was not made out to make anyone mad.
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I am sorry but this whole racial thing is driving me insane. Why can people just watch a movie and just call it a day. I mean yes it’s good to have your opinion and share it, but it is not that serious, unless you make it be that serious. I mean don’t get me wrong, yes, I usually analyze things very closely, and if I was to stay on the subject I would say that I agree just a TINY bit with David Brooks, I repeat just a TINY bit, everything else was just his opinion and I won’t penalize him for it because we all have our own views. But I personally watched Avatar and I fell in love with it at first site. I would tell you though that at first I wasn’t convinced enough to see it, just because I felt like it was just one of those long science fiction corny movies, but I started getting good feedbacks about it and I am a person who likes to see things and judge them for myself, so I decided to go watch it and I thank God for giving me the strength and chance to see it. It really is mind blowing, you just learn so much, and being from another country and also being very involved in my culture I could relate to the story and the foreigners in the movie.
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Okay, so before I get into anything about the undertones of this film, I just want to say that personally, I thought this story plot was basically horrific. Sure the graphics were cool and all, and it was the most money spent on an animated film in all of production history; but with that money they could have taken out a couple of minutes of editing and maybe rethought an actual story line or something. Just saying.
So to the actual issue, white superiority in the movies. I had not thought of this idea during the movie at all when I saw it, let alone any other movie where the protagonist is white and the poor innocent people in need of saving are black, brown, or native. I think it's really an interesting point that is made. As Sam said in his video response, I think it is very apparent that white people are naturally blind to the fact that we always want to be the hero that comes out on top. Lets face it, every big story these days involved a hunky white man who is ridiculously good looking. As a white female, it has never been fully brought to my attention, but in the back of my mind I have always notices the dominance of white protagonists in the film industry.
On one side of this argument, the superior white man, who has served his superior country, and now is involved in this crazily innovative technology, is going to save the poor innocent natives of another world. Very cliche'. But if you think about it, the natives are really in need of someone who is superior to them. They can't help themselves and then here comes along this buff white man with technology and great intelligence – here to save the day once again. He does help them, and they learn of his advanced culture, learning to accept his differences that at first separated them completely. The natives, who are black and/or brown skinned, aren't smart enough to produce a solution themselve. So in the end, it was great that the white man cam along.
One the other hand, this white guy is not perfect and does not come along to save the day immediately. He has to adapt to the culture first, being tought about the land that he disrepects becausde he has technology to serve his needs, whereas these epople only have the land and each other. He is taught the ways so that hecan save them. Also, if I recall correctly, he is a paraplegic in the real world. So he really isn't perfect after all, but when he enters this avatar world, he gains the power to walk again.
It really is an interesting paradox that should be reviewed further. I haven't truly gathered an opinion on the white superirorty in the film industry, although nowI am going to notice it more and more since it has been brought to my attention. Basically, white people are probably trying to redeem themselves for taking away and destroying all that was nature and native. So the point of these movies is to redeem the white people. Make them feel better that they may have been well intended but screwed things up on the way.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
So frequently in cinema and in the media, white people are portrayed as the 'saviors' to a group that is most typically composed of minorities. This is not a new trend, as Brooks described, nor is it likely to be altered anytime soon. But I think that Brooks reads a little too much into it. I understand that he is trying to make a point about generalizations and stereotypes but he doesn't take into account that in Hollywood and especially in blockbusters like Avatar, directors and producers are trying to create something that people can relate to; something that is familiar to them, whether it's stereotypes about a 'white Messiah' or a hippie's anti-governmental portrayal of natural awareness and environmental importance. Avatar is, first and foremost, a product that someone is trying to sell. But what I have a problem with, and maybe what Brooks is getting at, is the over generalizations and portrayals of specific 'races' or cultures. According to Brooks, Avatar portrays white people as "rationalist and technocratic" and the natives as "spiritual and athletic". But so many people, and mainstream media, so often don't take into account that people are not defined by their skin color or social status.
Personally, I believe that people are what they make of themselves. So, if you want to be lazy, or an athlete, or a surgeon or priest that's individual choice! It doesn't matter where you come from. But that is just my personal belief, and that is not necessarily what sells. I think that Avatar was such a success because it played into stereotypes that people are already familiar with, and not only the 'white Messiah' thing. People weren't phased by seeing a governmental role as 'the bad guy' because people have been attacking the US government for their environmental policies for years. Anyone who has ever heard of Michael Moore or any of his documentaries should not be shocked to see the government as bad, even if they don't agree with it. I think that in the end, people will make of the film what they will. Sure, it raises issues about culture and stereotype, but so many films do. And while I completely agree with Brooks in that Avatar does play into the white Messiah theme, I don't think that takes anything away from the film and I don't necessarily think that it is condescending or hurtful to any particular social or cultural group.
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Growing up I was that girl with the Pohcahauntus lunch box…bright purple with a picture from the movie plastered over the front and everything. I didn't realize that the story I loved about finding your soulmate and living out in nature was so terribly corrupt. I see now that underneath the story of following your heart is a story of white supremacy. The whites come in and want to take over, ruining so many lives in the process.
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Like I said before I don’t go to the movies to think too much, I just go to enjoy myself and watch someone’s “art” as I would call it. But if I was to think racially, I would say that I didn’t need Brooks to bring up this subject to see it, because again coming from another country I have seen white people or just people coming from where they came from just to disturb my land, but not just my land of course they came in many other lands and they disturb people’s peace and harmony just to claim properties and using force and weapons against the people when they would refuse to give up their land. Those people did not understand how much their land meant to them or shall I say our land, I don’t think they ever put in mind that those people they were torturing could have been themselves, but again because of money, power and technical weapons they just didn’t care and they just came to do what they call their job. So yes I could really relate to this movie.
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When I saw commericials for Avatar, I was hooked right away. I'm a visual person and I loved what I saw. I saw the movie and loved it. I didn't see anything about the "White Messiah" though. It was a movie that was someone's baby for 10 years. I felt that this isn't like that type of movie. I read his commentary and I feel he is going too far. It made me think though, but I still felt that he went too far. People have different opinions and mine is that it was an amazing movie that many people loved and why do we have to look so far into it?
The movie was made to excite and make people think about what we are doing to ourselves and our planet. That is what I thought about the most. I feel that his essay was looking to hard for something to be wrong. I think that we should all just watch the movie for entertainment and not think about all the other horrible things that happened, or other views.
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While I have not seen Avatar, I did hear it was "the movie to see" and "you must see this while its in 3D". Ill get around to it…maybe. But what im taking from all of this is that it is pathetic that our culture still shows inderlaying signs of racial inequality. I know that on people are workign hard to get rid of barriers that were and still are placed in this world and country but does this movie help at all? No. do any movies with that theme help at all? No. While I understand its probably not some propagans film trying to keep the thoughts of racial inequality in our thoughts, I still feel that its an issue. So why did they do it? Why did they stick to a movie plot undermines the integrity of some cultures? Well, my thoughts were that maybe people play off the sterotypes and the preconcived ideas to make people feel like they can relate to a story. People are familiar with it, maybe too much so. White people can relate to white people and brown people can relate to brown people and on and on and on. The question is how much can we stick to these already made cultural ideas before it becomes outdated and simply insulting?
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Like I said earlier, I was a huge fan of Pohahantus when I was a little child but I wonder how many people loved that movie that came from other backgrounds, like Native Americans. While the white people were not protayed as the nicest people by any means, they had power and that is very attractive. Could this simple Disney movie have set me up for a life of racisim? Just like we learn in psych classes that gender roles are culturaly forced apon us, are racial roles also forced apon us? Could movies like Pohahauntus and Avatar be subconsiously pusing us more towards separation of races?
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So a movie goes out and dominates the box office. Topping sales of all previous competition after only 6 weeks on the big screen. And instead of glorifying and respecting the ten years of effort and hard work that people put into it, people chose to chastise this special effects masterpiece. The film is a great movie with a lot to be said using symbols and metaphors. It is also a movie using action and characters. Just because one character is white, and the other is black, doesn’t mean anything. The sole intension of the movie was not to point out that either race is superior or inferior. The point was to make money. There have been many movies where blacks have prevailed. Look at I Am Legend. Will Smith, black man, lived when all else don’t. House on Haunted Hill, A horror movie where the white chick and black guy actually live, that almost never happens in horror flicks. Normally the black guy is the one that has an attitude and goes and gets himself killed. While the white girl runs upstairs instead of out the front door. Needless to say, the gender nor race of a casting decision is not necessarily indicative of what role they will play in a motion picture.
It is absurd to relate any and everything to race. I don’t mean to be ignorant to the fact that racial tension does exist. It has been around since the beginning of time. However to extent at which people are persecuted and accused for racial inconsideration is ridiculous. That being said, I support the movie avatar it was an amazing film. It will go down in theatrical history and be paired up with the other revolutionary greats like Star Wars. Which also had a conflicting racial issue. Luke Skywalker and every other Jedi Knight was white, while Darth Vader, although white inside his costumed, wore black. But still over time the racial implication will inevitability fade and the films true form will be acknowledge for its true theatrical greatness.
Other than race, the Pope took a jab at Cameron’s Avatar when he implied that it was pushing on the idea of nature and didn’t support the holy spirit. This is retarded to say the least. Avatar did not claim or will never claim to be a religious motion picture. It was not like Passion of the Christ, it was more like a Movie about smurfs in a Ferngully Environment/situation. All in all the movie is great. If you can take the time out to see it, its like three hours long, then you should definitely do so. If you wait until it hits Blockbuster, you should by a blue ray player and rent it as a blueray.
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When I think about the whole coming to the rescue!!! Yes, I have seen lots of movies where the white man comes and become the “hero” but at the same time I have seen some movies where the black man came to the rescue as well but that’s only in sport movies like “Coach Carter” and maybe some others but everything else, the white man is always the “hero” and it gets annoying and old but that’s how our society is portrayed. People need to understand that we need to come together to fix things, it can’t only be one person doing the job which Is what happened in the movie. Eventhough the main character was looked up on as the “Hero” he still needed everybody to come together and have faith because he would not have done it alone and that’s just a fact. He at least was open minded enough to accept another culture, tradition, food,spirits and ect… in his life which was the way to go.
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in conclusion, we the human on this planet, on this earth just need to come together, come to our senses and fix ourselves and our world, then we will be able to portray it in the media ( movies,news,shows….). I don’t blame David Brooks for his comment…Everyone has their opinion.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
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It's funny that when Avatar first hit theaters I had absolutely no desire to see the movie. It didn't interest me at all and I didn't want to know anything about the movie, but as the movie became more and more popular I became more and more enticed to see the movie. Before I normally go and spend money on a movie I ask people that saw the movie what they thought about it. Some people that I spoke to said that they loved the movies with all the graphics and that it has a good story plot. That was the general answer from most people but some that I asked felt a lot different about the movie and felt that the movie had some racial undertones with the White man helping the underprivileged in the movie. Or as some people put it " A modern day cowboys and Indian's movie" where the white man is helping the Indian's save there civilization. Its seems that for someone to say that Brook's comments were outlandish or far fetched, that they may not have been looking deeply into the movie. Also, what he wrote was solely and opinion and that he is entitled to it. Personally I haven't seen the movie and would like to see it so that I can form my own opinion about the movie. But for the most part from reading and asking people about the movie most have said that it was like Pocahontas and that it was really good but the concept of the movie was of how America was colonized where the white people basically took the native people's land and they fought back but in they end the natives got to keep there land. One of the main things that I think people forget when they say things about movies is the fact that movies like this are fiction movies and just someone thoughts. As far as what Brook's said about the movie some will agree with what he said and most probably won't and say that his thoughts were far fetched and that he thought to much into the movie but we must not forget that there will plenty of people that will think to much into a movie or get a different message from movies. It could have been any movie about anything and someone would have seen something different or racist in the movie. I feel that's its safe to say that when the writer of Avatar wrote this movie that he wasn't thinking about a a White Messiah being the center of the film, but he was just thinking in terms of a good movie that would do well in theaters and entertain people.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
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So frequently in cinema and in the media, white people are portrayed as the 'saviors' to a group that is most typically composed of minorities. This is not a new trend, as Brooks described, nor is it likely to be altered anytime soon. But I think that Brooks reads a little too much into it. I understand that he is trying to make a point about generalizations and stereotypes but he doesn't take into account that in Hollywood and especially in blockbusters like Avatar, directors and producers are trying to create something that people can relate to; something that is familiar to them, whether it's stereotypes about a 'white Messiah' or a hippie's anti-governmental portrayal of natural awareness and environmental importance. Avatar is, first and foremost, a product that someone is trying to sell. But what I have a problem with, and maybe what Brooks is getting at, is the over generalizations and portrayals of specific 'races' or cultures. According to Brooks, Avatar portrays white people as "rationalist and technocratic" and the natives as "spiritual and athletic". But so many people, and mainstream media, so often don't take into account that people are not defined by their skin color or social status.
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Personally, I believe that people are what they make of themselves. So, if you want to be lazy, or an athlete, or a surgeon or priest that's individual choice! It doesn't matter where you come from. But that is just my personal belief, and that is not necessarily what sells. I think that Avatar was such a success because it played into stereotypes that people are already familiar with, and not only the 'white Messiah' thing. People weren't phased by seeing a governmental role as 'the bad guy' because people have been attacking the US government for their environmental policies for years. Anyone who has ever heard of Michael Moore or any of his documentaries should not be shocked to see the government as bad, even if they don't agree with it. I think that in the end, people will make of the film what they will. Sure, it raises issues about culture and stereotype, but so many films do. And while I completely agree with Brooks in that Avatar does play into the white Messiah theme, I don't think that takes anything away from the film and I don't necessarily think that it is condescending or hurtful to any particular social or cultural group.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
So frequently in cinema and in the media, white people are portrayed as the 'saviors' to a group that is most typically composed of minorities. This is not a new trend, as Brooks described, nor is it likely to be altered anytime soon. But I think that Brooks reads a little too much into it. I understand that he is trying to make a point about generalizations and stereotypes but he doesn't take into account that in Hollywood and especially in blockbusters like Avatar, directors and producers are trying to create something that people can relate to; something that is familiar to them, whether it's stereotypes about a 'white Messiah' or a hippie's anti-governmental portrayal of natural awareness and environmental importance. Avatar is, first and foremost, a product that someone is trying to sell. But what I have a problem with, and maybe what Brooks is getting at, is the over generalizations and portrayals of specific 'races' or cultures. According to Brooks, Avatar portrays white people as "rationalist and technocratic" and the natives as "spiritual and athletic". But so many people, and mainstream media, so often don't take into account that people are not defined by their skin color or social status.
Personally, I believe that people are what they make of themselves. So, if you want to be lazy, or an athlete, or a surgeon or priest that's individual choice! It doesn't matter where you come from. But that is just my personal belief, and that is not necessarily what sells. I think that Avatar was such a success because it played into stereotypes that people are already familiar with, and not only the 'white Messiah' thing. People weren't phased by seeing a governmental role as 'the bad guy' because people have been attacking the US government for their environmental policies for years. Anyone who has ever heard of Michael Moore or any of his documentaries should not be shocked to see the government as bad, even if they don't agree with it. I think that in the end, people will make of the film what they will. Sure, it raises issues about culture and stereotype, but so many films do. And while I completely agree with Brooks in that Avatar does play into the white Messiah theme, I don't think that takes anything away from the film and I don't necessarily think that it is condescending or hurtful to any particular social or cultural group.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
So frequently in cinema and in the media, white people are portrayed as the 'saviors' to a group that is most typically composed of minorities. This is not a new trend, as Brooks described, nor is it likely to be altered anytime soon. But I think that Brooks reads a little too much into it. I understand that he is trying to make a point about generalizations and stereotypes but he doesn't take into account that in Hollywood and especially in blockbusters like Avatar, directors and producers are trying to create something that people can relate to; something that is familiar to them, whether it's stereotypes about a 'white Messiah' or a hippie's anti-governmental portrayal of natural awareness and environmental importance. Avatar is, first and foremost, a product that someone is trying to sell. But what I have a problem with, and maybe what Brooks is getting at, is the over generalizations and portrayals of specific 'races' or cultures. According to Brooks, Avatar portrays white people as "rationalist and technocratic" and the natives as "spiritual and athletic". But so many people, and mainstream media, so often don't take into account that people are not defined by their skin color or social status.
Personally, I believe that people are what they make of themselves. So, if you want to be lazy, or an athlete, or a surgeon or priest that's individual choice! It doesn't matter where you come from. But that is just my personal belief, and that is not necessarily what sells. I think that Avatar was such a success because it played into stereotypes that people are already familiar with, and not only the 'white Messiah' thing. People weren't phased by seeing a governmental role as 'the bad guy' because people have been attacking the US government for their environmental policies for years. Anyone who has ever heard of Michael Moore or any of his documentaries should not be shocked to see the government as bad, even if they don't agree with it. I think that in the end, people will make of the film what they will. Sure, it raises issues about culture and stereotype, but so many films do. And while I completely agree with Brooks in that Avatar does play into the white Messiah theme, I don't think that takes anything away from the film and I don't necessarily think that it is condescending or hurtful to any particular social or cultural group.
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Alright, so I was one of the many to venture out and see Avatar, but I was not ignorant of the issues Brooks raises. It was kind of obvious, to me at least, that we were supposed to see the 'US Army' as the bad guys and the 'natives' as inherently good and worthwhile. To me, it seemed much more of a political movie than anything else. Who else besides big government and the US military would bomb a huge tree in a magical forest? But this movie is more important than just for its special effects. It displays quite blatantly and dramatically racial disputes between two completely opposing cultures.
So frequently in cinema and in the media, white people are portrayed as the 'saviors' to a group that is most typically composed of minorities. This is not a new trend, as Brooks described, nor is it likely to be altered anytime soon. But I think that Brooks reads a little too much into it. I understand that he is trying to make a point about generalizations and stereotypes but he doesn't take into account that in Hollywood and especially in blockbusters like Avatar, directors and producers are trying to create something that people can relate to; something that is familiar to them, whether it's stereotypes about a 'white Messiah' or a hippie's anti-governmental portrayal of natural awareness and environmental importance. Avatar is, first and foremost, a product that someone is trying to sell. But what I have a problem with, and maybe what Brooks is getting at, is the over generalizations and portrayals of specific 'races' or cultures. According to Brooks, Avatar portrays white people as "rationalist and technocratic" and the natives as "spiritual and athletic". But so many people, and mainstream media, so often don't take into account that people are not defined by their skin color or social status.
Personally, I believe that people are what they make of themselves. So, if you want to be lazy, or an athlete, or a surgeon or priest that's individual choice! It doesn't matter where you come from. But that is just my personal belief, and that is not necessarily what sells. I think that Avatar was such a success because it played into stereotypes that people are already familiar with, and not only the 'white Messiah' thing. People weren't phased by seeing a governmental role as 'the bad guy' because people have been attacking the US government for their environmental policies for years. Anyone who has ever heard of Michael Moore or any of his documentaries should not be shocked to see the government as bad, even if they don't agree with it. I think that in the end, people will make of the film what they will. Sure, it raises issues about culture and stereotype, but so many films do. And while I completely agree with Brooks in that Avatar does play into the white Messiah theme, I don't think that takes anything away from the film and I don't necessarily think that it is condescending or hurtful to any particular social or cultural group.
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I whole heartedly disagree with Brooks' comments on the Messiah Complex. Although I did find it interesting to re evaluate the themes in Avatar, being that I had seen the movie. Yes, the film was undeniably multicultural and environmentally sensitive. But these themes are perpetually promoted not only in film (and various films at that) but in our everyday lives. But these themes are most definitely not specialized toward the white man. When I first saw Avatar I found myself feeling pity for Jake Sully, the main character. The man was weak, and embodied many personality traits that you would not envision for a protagonist of any film. All in all, I believe that this whole "white man messiah" is a coincidence. There are several films which star a black protagonist who faces obstacles and succeeds.
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"I am Legend" is one of those films and one of my favorite movies of all times, Apocalypto showcases an entire cast of brown people, none of which speak English. These movies, I found more hard hitting and significant than Avatar in general. One reason I feel that Avatar is attracting so much attention is an obvious one, the money. The film has grossed more than any in history. So there has to be 'something' which is attracting this much attention. As a member of a generation which is drawn to technology and special effects, Avatar is a visual masterpiece. The 3D IMAX experience is something which is really cool, for lack of more sophisticated terms.
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Again, I feel that if the white man does anything positive, even in film and anything which brings success than there must be something wrong with the way it was done. Yes, the white man has ravaged lands and taken lives, but so has EVERY RACE. The scale of destruction has differed but I think it is ignorant to view the white man as an embodiment of evil and so self absorbed. Brooks' article continues to claim that this theme is widely and frequently practiced in film, but there is a heavy lack of reality in several of these films. I highly doubt, any of us will be traveling to the planet Pandora to save the Avatars.
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I have trouble internalizing Brooks' claims for several reasons, first; they are based on a small sample of films, second, they are films (like most) which are unrealistic, and lastly he ignores the prevalence of diversity of real life which is much more influential than any 3D film. I can only make claims based on my experiences, but feel that as an individual I have been consistently exposed to the black influence in areas which I enjoy and value, music and sport. I love hip hop and value the art of highly competitive athletics. As a woman, I do not know what it is like to play in the NBA or NFL but to see the sheer strength and skill of all of the athletes is inspiring. And more often than not, these athletes are black. All in all, I think you can find every which way to bash the white man, but Avatar is taking it a little too far.
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I usually am not one to read too far or in much depth at all into movies. Movies, to me, are normally just a way of entertainment. It is something that is fictitious (well, the majority of the time) and my life goes on as it normally does regardless of what happens in the movie. It is just simple entertainment. This article brings up an interesting point of this ongoing theme of the white man helping the indigenous people and saving them from destruction. It really does seem to be repeated time and time again over the past couple decades and Avatar is no exception. It seems to be just a science fiction version of this popular "Dances With Wolves"-type story line. It makes you think of how movies and television shows and other forms of media have so many different conscious or even sub-conscious underlying themes that we don't consciously think about or notice, yet these themes may still have some kind of affect on our outlook on life.
It is also interesting though is how this is created with made up alien creatures from another planet that are blue and have only some physical human characteristics and critics still bring out the issues with race in our world and apply them to such an off the wall fictitious movie. It brings up an interesting point of how it almost makes us, "the white man", feel almost envious of the indigenous people. They are all in phenomenal physical shape, they can run and jump like no other and they have a major sense of unity and community within in their people. It is almost like it is the things that we value, but can not have. It is the simplicity of life and worry free environment that usually makes us look up to these people and makes their ways of life seem so appealing.
This is not the most interesting part about Avatar, however. The most interesting part of this record-setting movie is how popular it has become among all different varieties of people. A movie that seemed to be an incredibly ridiculous and expensive science fiction production, which normally does not appeal to the masses, has become a movie that everyone could enjoy. It is truly amazing how the character development and romantic side has appealed to those who are not usually into the all action-type movies and then there was plenty action for people as well. It is a movie that all people were generally skeptical at first except a little intrigued as well by a movie that took such an incredible amount of money to make. However, after people got themselves to go see it, my reaction, at least was that everyone was blown away and it far exceeded everyone's expectations.
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When I stepped into the movie theater to watch this film, I had no idea what the film was going to be about. I’d seen all the commercials and heard the fuss about the 3D technology, but I really expected another action film with no content whatsoever. After sitting in the theater for more than 2 hours and really forcing myself to be immersed in the plot, I felt touched. I was intrigued by the whole planet and how the inhabitants respected and interacted with the surroundings. I was not at all disappointed and felt that this movie did, to me, have a lot of meaningful content.
First off, everyone says that this film is a load of bullcrap. They say that it’s just another version of “The Last Samurai,” “Pochahontas,” and tens of other Hollywood films. The storyline is the same. Some white man is sent in to do something horrible and has these intentions, but something goes wrong. Then over time, he falls in love with his enemy or believes that his original intentions were based off of evil and immoral beliefs.
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This is true. People just can’t come up with that many themes anymore. Stories will have different details but the storyline will never stray too far. There is, however, depth in this movie that inspires me and brings up an intriguing thought to me. Why? Why does the white man always have to go in and destroy something that exists in perfect harmony? In all these films, the natives of a certain place are perfectly fine and understand how to respect their environment. Why does the white man have to go in and exploit other people and their territory?
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This is seen in the real world just as it is in the movies. Europeans did exploit much of the world and it did help international trade, but was it meant to be? Even though African-American’s in the United States have opportunities nowadays, was it really worth the hundreds of years of utter disrespect and brutal treatment? When you sit down to watch down to watch these films, you always hate the white dudes. They have their technology and their ambitions, but you always know that they’re going to get what is coming to them and they will be destroyed.
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To me, this shows that the writers behind these stories all realize how ugly the truth is. Maybe they realized their ancestors really did mess up, tearing apart countless families and cultures right down the middle. Or maybe they just wanted to make a movie that would break box office records. I don’t know if anyone thought this much after watching this movie. I don’t know if anyone cares to take the time to ponder on these questions. However, if anyone is reading this, maybe you can reply to this question. When the white man colonized and expanded their forever growing empire, was it the right thing to do? Is it ever right to thrive off of the loss of others?
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I saw the movie Avatar and it tells a story we have heard before. Their is a group of aliens that live a very different lifestyle than the humans. The aliens love nature, shoot bow and arrows, and do not care for money or power. (aka The Native Americans) The aliens live on a planet with a plethora of valuable resources.(aka North America) and the humans (aka white people) decided to violently attack the aliens (aka Native Americans), steal their land, and ruin their lives…all in the name of resources and profit. The hero is a human (white guy), yes, BUT, he is a hero because he turns his back on white people and becomes a member of the alien (native american culture). So what is the message here? White people are bad? Or The White Messiah theory. Perhaps its both? That way the non-whites in the audience enjoy the movie AND the whites love it too. Maybe its just a movie and the meaning dosen't matter? I don't know if Brooks is right or not but his ideas are certainly plausible. I also agree with Sam's statement about not being able to fully understand your culture without the input of someone outside your culture.
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I walked into the movie theater with a fairly opened mind last January when I went to see Avatar. I was hearing good views. “It will change your life,” someone told me. “A science fiction love story version of Titanic!” This sounded perfect because I loved romance and my boyfriend loved sci fi. However, it didn’t take long before I found myself being immediately disinterested and unamused with the plot line. Despite the beautiful graphics, I felt as if I had been fed this idea before. It reminded me incredibly of Ferngully, the children’s movie about the big bad wood cutters in the forest filled with nature loving fairies. The effects were not enough to trick me into believing this movie was original.
I believe this form of storytelling is getting old. Sooner or later, people will wake up and realize they’re watching the same movie with different actors. Brooks made many good points throughout his article, The Messiah Complex. The natives are kind, courageous and nature loving and never white, in fact this time they’re blue! The “messiah” is always a white man, ignorant at first but when the natives show him their ways he suddenly excels, is even better than they are. Jake Sulley went from an ignorant ex marine to the most revered of the natives, excelling in the language, hunting, and he even got the princess who swore she wouldn’t care for him. Then it becomes to the white man’s job to save them from his own people. I’m tired of these stereotypes and the irrationalness of the movie, even if it’s pure fiction. He would have been murdered by that tribes, not welcomed because a tree told them to do so.
It’s not a white man’s job to be the leader of a black man’s movement. Let them have their own thoughts, their own strategies, and their own heroes. Race superiority crosses my mind every time I watch a movie like this one and it pisses me off.
I’d just like to throw it out there that I really like the analogy that our own culture is like a fish in water. You really can’t feel the weight of your own culture when you’re in it. I feel like I’m always saying, “I wish I had culture” when the truth is that I have just as much culture as anyone else, I just can’t truly grasp the enormity of it. That said, there’s probably some aspects of these messiah stories that I’m still not getting. Most likely my subconscious has been brainwashed to think it’s my duty to learn about other people but only on the outside. Perhaps in the end I’ll only think even more highly of myself? I’d like to think that’s not true but you never know. That’s why the race relation group discussions are so good, right after you voice your opinion there’s always someone else who can say they don’t agree with what you’re saying.
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In response to Sam Richard's entry, Avatar and the White Man's Burden, I feel like the argument being made is one that many students who are made to analyze English literature, make. I remember that often, in class, when I was learning about the author's intention of putting certain objects in the story, like my fellow peers I would always feel like we were over analyzing everything and the author could not have put that much thought into each object or even theme that was present.
In the same way, I do not believe that the writer for the story of Avatar intentionally made the “hero,” white, and “the people in need of salvation,” black. I do believe that people are over analyzing the writer's intentions as I often believed when analyzing literature in school. I believe that the fact that the characters in the movie look the way that they do is due to a conscious decision made by the writer to have people look a certain way, to make the movie more believable. I do not believe that I am racist, I am not going against black people, and I am a person of colored skin. I am making this comment going off of what we have learned in this class.
It was Sam Richard that informed us of an obvious fact that we may have never thought of before. The fact is that we look different because our ancestors came from different parts of the world and have adapted to look the way that they do, to best survive in that part of the world. It just so happens that in the history of our world, it was the people who lived in regions where they were best adapted to have white skin, who first came about into the land of others with darker skin. Also, I may be very incorrect in saying this but I believe that people with darker skin at the time were more nature oriented in comparison to people with lighter skin. I feel that this geography and history is what led to the development of the characters of Avatar.
Also, the fact that most of the white people who the white hero initially sided with became the antagonists in the end of the movie, shows that the writer never meant for the movie to have any racial implications to say that whites are better than colored. I believe that in our world today, where so many places are so diverse, people should begin to realize that yes, we are physically different and yes, it used to cause several problems in earlier times, but now most of us realize that we are all simply people and race means almost nothing.
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What i found most interesting about David Brook's comment was how he did not mention once how the protagonist of the film was physically handicapped. Brook's has made these claims about the theme of the film based on a very closed minded view of the main elements of the theme. His perspective of the film is completely different from what message James Cameron was trying to portray. James Cameron exemplified the physical handicap of the antagonist throughout the film through derogatory statements he endured from his fellow soldiers, as well as dealing with the incessant torment of being brought out of his avatar state, and back to his paraplegic body.
James was not trying to make it seem that because was white he naturally posses generic traits greater than that of any of the members of their tribe. It is because of the protagonist's handicap that he was able to acquire a new perspective of his life and became more spiritual. His enlightenment allowed him to excel in the alien society quicker than their most elite.
Being a soldier, the protagonist's physical condition is of the greatest importance and even though he was paralyzed from the waist down he still believed he could do what everyone told him he could not. The fact that he was white was not what accelerated him through the tribe ranks, but it was his zealous and courageous spirit. These are qualities which can be found within any gender, race, or age. I will agree with Brook's in saying this did have a "messiah" based theme but it was not due to the protagonists ethnicity.
Brook was able to make a point about how people need to see situations from other peoples perspectives. Our country is founded on Christian beliefs and you can find no greater collection of messiah stories than that in the bible. We have been conditioned to feel drawn to films with a "messiah" theme as it similar to the stories many kids have grown up with. It is true that messiah themed films are often showing the white man as the one who rises to greatness within another foreign society, but it is rare that you ever see it going in the opposite direction. But after all, it is a Hollywood film trying to appeal to its viewers by putting the protagonist in a position the viewer can most likely characterize themselves with.
Brook's perspective of the messiah theme portrayed in the film has been skewed into a negative light but actually demonstrates a more positive message then he believes. The message Avatar tries to communicate is how ethnicity does NOT matter, and anyone can lead and achieve greatness. Avatar was trying to appeal to a larger majority by having the film viewed from the perspective similar to that of the protagonist.
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The movie to me was a good movie, but when you watch any movie with Black or Brown people and white people its always the white people who are saved or let out of jail or not guilty where the black and brown people are the guilty ones. I understand totally where Sam is coming from in this but at the same time I just watch the movie think about it for like twenty minutes and then go and do something else becuase I'm not a big enough person in the world to have a say in anything. If i were to start anything it would just be pointless becuase I live in a little no huge importance town where everything happens the same everyday and where you just keep your mouth shut. It sucks becuase I'm not like that what so ever and maybe within time I'll be able to go and live my life and be able to talk about what i want and be able to say what I want and not have to worry about it, but until then I just have to sit back and let people be racist and waste time over stupid things which is what a lot of this world is coming to. Stupid arguments, stupid fights, stupid wars. Just dumb dumb dumb.
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The movie to me was a good movie, but when you watch any movie with Black or Brown people and white people its always the white people who are saved or let out of jail or not guilty where the black and brown people are the guilty ones. I understand totally where Sam is coming from in this but at the same time I just watch the movie think about it for like twenty minutes and then go and do something else becuase I'm not a big enough person in the world to have a say in anything. If i were to start anything it would just be pointless becuase I live in a little no huge importance town where everything happens the same everyday and where you just keep your mouth shut. It sucks becuase I'm not like that what so ever and maybe within time I'll be able to go and live my life and be able to talk about what i want and be able to say what I want and not have to worry about it, but until then I just have to sit back and let people be racist and waste time over stupid things which is what a lot of this world is coming to. Stupid arguments, stupid fights, stupid wars. Just dumb dumb dumb.
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I understand the water to the fish allegory, and I understand that we need to expand our minds to fully see what he is saying, and in no way am I angry or hurt by his words, but as nicely put as can be, I think he was reading slightly too far into the movie. I do not know the movie writer or director personally so I have no idea if the movie was really made purposely to have a white protagonist and black and brown people being lesser or in need of some kind of help. I don’t know what James Cameron was thinking about when he was casting the roles or who would play them but at the same time, I do not think it really matters. Okay, yeah I’m white. Okay, yeah I’ve grown up with this culture and been fed these story lines my whole life with white representing good and black/brown representing something else, but trying to incorporate everything to the best of my uncultured knowledge, I still feel that these were not the purposes of the movie.
After having a conversation with a friend of mine who is African American, she also did not feel that it was just another white guy saving the world either, until I brought this up to her. She still felt it was a little bit of a stretch but it could be possible. I admit I only watched half of it before falling asleep as the result of a really rough weekend, but still none of this crosses my mind or my friend’s mind. It is a valid question for him to rise and yes it makes you think about it and open your mind to it, but a topic like this can be argued until we are all blue in the face. There is no answer to it. In the end the reason I don’t really think it matters is because his ‘avatar’ is not a white guy, he becomes one of the people of that area, and ends up staying with his ‘avatar’ and becomes one of them permanently. I feel that no matter what color the person who was cast the “Messiah” role, the story line would have remained the same.
Just to play Devil’s advocate for a second, I’ve seen movies where the white guy is the stereotypical “wigger” amongst a group of the ‘cool’ black guys and no one has written articles about that? It just all seems a bit over thought and maybe Brooks just felt that he needed something to pick on Avatar about, since I have heard nothing but great things about it. I see nothing to get upset about from my point of view. But then again, I am white and uncultured.
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Of course we don't need a White Messiah, that much is clear. But what Brooks addresses is the pattern that American films carry out that theme. And why does this pattern repeat itself? It's because it's what we're most comfortable with. It's our culture.
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When I first heard about and saw previews for this movie I really didn't have much interest in seeing it. It didn't seem like the kind of movie I would enjoy watching. Unfortunately, my friends had other opinions, so after finding out that it was directed by the same director who directed Titanic (James Cameron), and had been worked on for over ten years, I decided I would give it a try. Maybe it would be worth my while. Not to mention, the 3d effects were definitely a lure in for me. After seeing the movie I didn't really have many thoughts about it other then the fact that it may have dragged on longer then I could handle. Nothing that Brooks' conveys in his essay would ever cross my mind after seeing a film like this and I'm not sure if it is because I myself am white, or if it is just because I solely went to see the movie for entertainment purpses, not to formulate in depth analyses and to dwell on the underlying meaning of the plot. After reading Brooks' essay, I now can see exactly what he is talking about and I am not saying I agree completely with his thought process, but I definitely can bring myself to an understanding of what he is trying to convey to the viewers of "Avatar." I do think that this whole "White Messiah" theory is definitely offensive to anyone who is not of white descent. Why should natives need a white hero to same them? It doesn't really makes sense other then the fact that this is what our culture has stated. As Brooks' is saying, there are so many movies that portray this theme of a White hero coming in and sweeping the natives off their feet to save the day. Why is this? I think that anyone with intelligence should know that White people are not the only heroic people, why can't the directors pick a Hispanic or an African American to be the hero? I am really unsure as to why this is a constant occurence throughout film history. I found it interesting that in "Avatar," the hero is this former White marine who had been paralyzed. I question if he truly fell in love with the natives way of life, or if what he fell in love with was merely that he had free reign of his body again. Was this just an escape for him? I also wonder why this White heroic figure was displayed as superior to the natives. I don't understand why he was able to fly the big red bird and why he was able to adapt to their culture so quickly. It all just doesn't make sense to me. In my opinion, I feel that the natives should not have been so accepting of this foreign man.
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When Avatar first came out around winter-break, I had no intention of going to see it, because I thought it was an animated film. When spring semester started, all of my friends told me how Avatar’s the best movie ever and that I really should go see it, that’s when I decided to go watch it. Before I went to see it, I asked a few friends about the plot of the movie and they all told me that it’s like another version of Pocahontas. So going into the movie, I already knew what to expect so the content did not surprise me. However after reading this article, I think David Brooks has a really interesting interpretation for these types of movies, he calls them the Messiah Complex. I think after reading his reasoning, he makes sense but I always interpreted these kinds of movies differently. Before reading Brook’s interpretation, I always thought movies like Pocahontas and Avatar are movies that teach us to get to know other people’s cultures. I think the directors want to show that sometimes all we need is to know someone else or another culture a little better to appreciate them. I think a lot of times we judge a person or a culture too quickly, before we even get to know them. We make these judgments from what we hear about them or our past experiences with them. I think in every city, states, countries, and culture, there are always good people and bad people so we should not judge a group of people based on a only a few people. In Pocahontas at first John Smith’s plans were like all the others, they all wanted to take over Pocahontas’s land. However after John Smith meets Pocahontas and she starts to show him her world he understands her people and starts to appreciate them and what they do. This is the same in Avatar. Maybe if all the other military people in Avatar put down their gun and get to know the natives, they would too appreciate the natives’ traditions. I think if we all get to know each other’s cultures and way of living there would be less violence and wars. We will find out that we are all similar; we are all trying to live our lives and protect people close to us. I think that is true with religions, people are always trying to convert each other but I think all religions promote similar things so there isn’t a correct or better religion it’s just what works best for the person, and if a person does not need religion I think that is fine too. I think the reason people like Avatar is because of all the special effects.
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I have never seen avatar. I saw it in the previews and i am normally not one to see animated films. Plus i never had time to watch the movie. But what i heard from people who have seen the movie is that it is a beautiful magical cinema. Some said they really enjoyed it and thought the message behind it was about nature and being green to conserve and save our planet. the other side of that was that people said that by the end of the movie they were rooting against the white man. These people agreed with brooks in that the message behind the movie or the message the movie is suppose to convey is one that stands up for the native American Indians and or the black cultures or just minorities in general. This is not the first movie to portray the "white man's burden." Well, I think it is true that the white man’s burden is a recurring theme that we see in movies. Pocahontas was the ultimate movie that actually showed the white man as the root or the problem and the solution to the problem. But there would be no problem if the white man was not there. The white man is usually the one who saves a group of non-white people and somewhat “fixes” their society. So I can defiantly see where Brooks is coming from when he talks about these kinds of movies being offensive to non-white people. It could portray a sense of less importance or weakness towards the non-white people. The message from these movies could express incompetence for the non-white people until helped out by the white race. This is a very clever assumption to make about a movie such as “Avatar”, but everybody thinks differently.
As much as i see the message of the "white man's burden" in the movie Avatar as Brooks is expressing. However, i do believe that people can find any type or secrete message in anything. If they want to find something in every movie ever made that there is something that is racist then you will find it. it is movie for God's sake. It was made for it's special effects. it even got an oscar nomination for the special effect that where portrayed in the movie. So if people want to find a message they will. And every person who sees this movie will see or find or have different feelings about the movie. That is what makes a great movie. One that when people walk out of movie theater they want to talk about it, they want to figure out and look into what they saw – speak their feelings.
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I have not seen the Avatar movie and even though I am quite the moviegoer… I have not had the urge to view this movie. I am tired of seeing the same old plot and it did remind me of Ferngully. It seems like every movie now a days with this kind of plot has the good looking, built, young, white male who saves the day. He enters a new group of civilization nothing like what he has known, and they always look different, ex: Planet of the Apes. Traditionally, whether this white male is entering a new school, a new society, culture or even a new planet he is originally looked at like an outcast. He then proves himself by beating out one of the “coolest” guys and simultaneously winning the guys “hot” girlfriend, who is always exotic. Another recent example of this can be seen in the movie “Too Fast Too Furious: Tokyo Drift” where an American cowboy type finds himself in Japan and eventually wins the title of “DK” Drift King.
Many people like this kind of plot, obviously since movies with this plot are continuously being produced and doing well. However, I am personally tired of seeing the same thing over and over again just with new people and special effects. I want to go see a movie and know that the “new guy” is NOT going to save the day and is NOT always going to win, especially win the girl. I have been watching this plot since I was 5 years old and 17 years later I am bored of watching it. I believe this is partially why I enjoy horror movies so much now, because the plot is exactly a “fairytale”. Sadly, even horror movies are getting repetitive and there is always a couple that is in love and survives… I do not need love in my horror movies thank you very much, but that is a topic for another day.
In the end, there are a few reasons as to why we keep seeing the same plot used over and over again. The most obvious reason is because it works. People keep going to see these “new” movies that are just the same plot as the last hit movie they went out to watch. Another reason is that I think it is a common stereotype that still exist that the young, attractive, white male saves the day for the people that are “inferior” to him and that need saving. Of course he rebels against the people that sent him in the first place and that just ads to the fairytale that the big bad evil people (corporations) get bit in the ass.
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The first time I read this post I hadn't noticed the link to the Pocahontas versus Avatar webpage. The resemblance between the two is astounding. The fact that someone sat down and replaced the names of the characters and suddenly Pocahontas was transformed into a multi-billion sellout is quite amazing and disturbing. It’s strange that this story keeps reoccurring in American film. Why do we have this idea that we, as white Americans, are everyone else’s savior. We are no stronger, smarter or more advanced than any other human culture group. So where did this ideal come from? It came from the white man’s burden… an idea that white humans have not been able to shake since the colonization of Africa.
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I have commented on here, but now after watching Sam's video and his perspective I totally agree. I feel as though Whites do try to be superior and everything and people expect that to be the Hero in a movie. I think it is one of those things where you do not really think about it you just know. Like for instance look at superman? Who played him a white guy! If you were given a movie to watch and turned it on and saw 5 people 2 white guys and 3 black guys in your head you would be thinking good things happen to at least one of the white people. And If something good happens to the black person in the film the white person in the end supersedes that goodness.
This is just my take on this. I think it is one of those subconscious things that happens.
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I think that Avatar, along with other movies distinctly shows the universal concept that when there is a problem, a dashing white male will appear out of nowhere and save the day. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if all of the classic super hero films that we love, had minorities as the heroes. Would we love them any less? It’s hard to imagine what would happen if these people were of the opposite race, somehow I don’t believe that they would be as popular. For many white people, I think it’s hard for them to imagine the hero not being white. When someone talks about a man rescuing a child from a burning building, or helping a stranger during an accident, we automatically think of a white person doing these gestures. I don’t necessarily believe that this is racist, but it just comes to mind when we think of the general characteristics of a hero. For example, when Sam showed the picture of what Jesus probably looked like, I was really taken aback. I had automatically assumed that Jesus was white because that was what I was taught.
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