Comments on: Avatar and the White Man’s Burden

By: ilovesoc

ilovesoc — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:52:02 +0000

I really enjoyed this film and believe it deserves better understanding than the op-ed done by Brooks. I think this film will go on to win many awards, as it should. The avatars in this movie actually reminded me a lot of the Native Americans living in America. They had a successful and flourishing community wrongfully stripped away by those who wanted to use it for money and greed. The messages that should come across to those that see this movie are the importance of accepting and respecting other cultures and that those who have power do not always use it for good.

By: ilovesoc

ilovesoc — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:47:17 +0000

If anything, those that don't actually receive more praise and approval by the movie-going industry. Movies like Slumdog Millionnaire, Mystic River, and Shindler's List are all movies that are historically accurate and portray other messages than simply the white man always getting his way. I am not saying that I don't believe that some movies support this theory, but I think overall, entertainment today is trying more and more to integrate other cultures, religions, and ethnicites into our lives because our country grows more diverse everyday. I do not think James Cameron would spend numerous years working on this movie to simply put out another message supporting white imperialists.

By: ilovesoc

ilovesoc — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:46:45 +0000

I agree with the final thoughts of this last comment. I do think races are now trying to coexist more so than in the past, especially in the relms of film and entertainment. However, I am still unconvinced that Brooks made a valid point. His parallel seemed like a far stretch, considering there were so many other important underlying messges within the movie. I did see the movie and believed that if anything, director James Cameron was trying to show that other cultures can and should coexist more equally. There are plenty of movies that have come out in recent years that do not support the White Messiah Theory.

By: missruthieb

missruthieb — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:33:54 +0000

I wanted to wait until I saw Avatar before I responded to this post. Now that I have seen the movie I have to say that I agree with what Brooks said. First, I would like to start by saying that I think its funny when I see people saying that Brooks is reading too much into the film and that other people are being way to sensitive about what the movie is portraying. In my opinion, a movie like this is meant to be critically analyzed because the situations depicted in this film say a lot about our culture. I don’t know how anyone could watch this film and only digest it on superficial level because I think the message it sends is very deep. Yes, there have been other films with the same kind of movie plots but if anything I think it should show that there is a link between our culture and the things being shown in the films. There is this need sometimes in our culture to have the “White Messiah” that comes in and saves the day. Now I don’t know exactly why that is but that’s just how things are portrayed in films for the most part. I’ve heard people say what if the “ Messiah” would have been Black, or Spanish or Asian but our culture so far has shown that it will never happen. And I feel the thing that makes the “White Messiah” different from it were any other race is that in American culture the “white man” has gone into civilizations and caused disruption. I’m not an expert in history so I can’t be 100% certain but I really haven’t heard of Asians, or African Americans invading White civilizations and then having someone from their culture saving the white people. If anyone knows the last time there has been a plot of that sort please let me know. It also bothers me that people can reduce Brooks’ analysis as just a reason to complain about something. I think his intentions in analyzing the was to get people to think about the bigger picture. I didn’t even listen to Prof. Richards’s video or read what David Brooks had to say until tonight but I when I saw the film I shared their opinions in regards to the film. Now I don’t know if its because I’m not White and I have immigrant parents that makes me more accepting or understanding of what Brooks had to say, but I do think the Whites need examine what his argument. I think sometimes Whites tend to be a little oblivious to the way things happen in society so I would say instead getting angry, they need to actually take some time to see where Brooks is coming from.

By: JulietaVenegas

JulietaVenegas — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:29:36 +0000

I agree with you in that the story line would not have changed whatsoever if the hero of the movie would have been something other than White. But I do think that the choice made by the writers and casting directors for the main character was based on a couple of different things. As I mentioned in a different post, it is my opinion that the main message here is more along the lines of “whites will destroy anything and everything as long as they experience gain from it” and not so much of “the white man saves everyone and everything.” That being said, if that really were what the writers were going for, then of course the main character would have to be white because it was in fact the main character that was so critical in obtaining information critical to destroying the native’s “Home Tree.”

By: JulietaVenegas

JulietaVenegas — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:28:16 +0000

I too am one of those people who had absolutely no interest in seeing Avatar when I first saw the previews/trailers. I thought it looked incredibly stupid and I couldn’t stand to think the calamity that was bound to happen as a result of trying to put an animated “thing” right next real live actors. When it finally came out, I had many friends who went to see it (and are still seeing it), and it’s become apparent to me that there will probably be people still seeing it with the same excitement 3 weeks from now. I ended up giving in and going to see it two days ago because there hasn’t been a non-Harry-Potter-Lord-of-the-Rings movie with this much attention in a long time. I was completely blown away—and not by the visual effects. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was remarkably gorgeous visually, but what really got me was the profound message hiding under the glowing trees and blue people.
Not only did I find the theme of “white man will save everyone else,” but more surprisingly I couldn’t help but to think the real message was more along the lines of “white man will destroy all.” Apparently I wasn’t the only one to pick up on this because the day after the movie was released, it seemed like that was the only thing that the TV news networks could talk about. In any case, I thought that this subliminal message was profound and though provoking to those who caught it. I mean, clearly the writers meant something when they decided to name the thing that the humans were after “Unobtanium.”
So what is interesting to me is that some people are putting the focus on how the hero of the story was white and how he managed to save everything that was left. To me, the funny thing is that he was the one to deliver the information that was so crippling to the native’s society, so in a way it was his fault that such mass destruction happened in the first place. And why did he deliver such sensitive information? Because his personal gain from doing so outweighed the loss that would be incurred by the natives. Of course that was all before he fell in love with one of the natives, and it was this love for her and her people that gave him a change in heart, which then lead to his “heroic” acts.
I can see how people might think that this movie is all about the white man saving the natives, but from my perspective it has more to do with the “get what we want no matter what it may cost the natives” mentality of the white people.

By: mrpennstate

mrpennstate — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:49:37 +0000

Alot of prestigious black directors make their leading hero actor white as well. Think about it when we watch sports we often cheer for the guy we most identify with. Thats why white pro basketball players are beloved by white men. They feel like yup if he can do it, go pro, so can I. He looks just like me. Same thing for black athletes. For instance a big reason Jimmy Rollins is a fan favorite amongst blacks is first because he is very good but also because he's black. Also thats why alot of white fans like Chase Utley because hes very good as well but because hes white. People feel like seeing someone of their race out there on the field or on the big screen is somewhat like they themselves are out there too. Its not being racist. Its being human.. Isnt it??. Its wierd tho how im black and I see this completely different then a white guy. Its kind of like we're both arguing for the other team. It probably does have alot to do with me being born in a white world and just simple accepting the way it is. Kind of what Sam Richard said about being fish in water. Or something like that.

By: mrpennstate

mrpennstate — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:49:19 +0000

Everything. Even pro sports. Alot of people would say nope, not basketball, blacks dominate that. Well.. we dominate the game on the court but the guys in the head office: coaches, general managers, scouts, owners, team presidents. Those guys are 97 percent white in all four major sports. And they make much more money on average then the average pro player does. The bottom line is America is white.more to the movie. By large most of the revenue generated by Avator came from white viewers. James Cameron needs to make the viewers who are paying as comfortable and attentive to the movie as possible. And thats done by making the leading actor, the hero, the "messiah" white. So when little Eric sees the movie he feels like he can be the character, and little Erica feels a higher sense of attraction to the leading hero because he's white like her. What James Cameron did was not racist he only wants to make money

By: penguinsfan89

penguinsfan89 — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:34:17 +0000

First of all, Avatar was a fantastic movie in my opinion and James Cameron did a wonderful job with the visual effects. It is the only 3D movie worth seeing in my personal opinion. The fact that Cameron came up with the visual technology that he used in the film is just crazy and really cool in itself. A lot of people do call this movie racist just because of how a white man saves the "blue" people and their land. It's not like he did it for any benefit to himself; he genuinely liked the people of the Natari which is why he chose to go against his own people (people of his race) to save their land and the people of the land.
Now back to the fact that a white man is always the hero in the movies. There was a movie that came out a couple years ago called I Am Legend. Its about a scientist who is immune to a virus that is mutating and killing other people. This man is isolated and alone (except for his dog) in New York City for a long time so that he can be the "hero" who figures out a vaccine to save the infected humans. The character in the movie is played by Will Smith; last time I checked he was black. Sure this is just one movie compared to the many where the "hero" is portrayed by a white man but times are changing and we can see many more lead roles being played by people of different ethinicities and races.

By: ChiefMaybe

ChiefMaybe — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:37:32 +0000

I do not agree at all with this. The movie Avatar, in my own opinion, was just to show the people what kind of new technology is available for layering into a movie screen. The 3 dimensionality of this movie is almost incomprehensible and is entirely breathtaking to think how far we have come, and this movie is the first of its breed. I think he read way to into the story line, where-as I believe the producers and directors of the film just wanted to basically create a visually stimulation experience for the techno-geeks of the world. This movies plot was lacking, but the special effects feast kept eyes salivating and wanting more. If I were a critic I wouldn’t complain to much about the story line as I would be praising the time, effort, and money thrown at this technologically advanced for-our-time project. Two thumbs up.