There seems to be an influx of films that are depicting mankind as the villain. As if our greed, arrogance, and disregard for anything we can’t immediately understand have developed into a self loathing that is trickling into our art forms. The question is, “Are we deserving of such judgment?”
In three films this year, Planet 51, Battle for Terra, and now Avatar, humans have descended upon peaceful clans of aliens to exude their dominance and usually get trampled in the process. I didn’t actually see Planet 51, but the trailer shows the astronaut land in the backyard of an alien barbecue and plant his flag to claim the planet in the name of the good ole US of A. In Battle for Terra, humans invade the planet because they have destroyed Earth and must exterminate the natives to make the atmosphere breathable for themselves. In Avatar, the humans want to uproot the natives for little more than greed over the price of the ore the natives live on top of. Conquest, destruction, and greed. Is this the legacy this generation will leave behind?
I’ve already written about Battle for Terra so I’d like to comment on the themes that come up in the film Avatar. For starters, if you haven’t seen it, go. It’s very rare that I will pay full price for a film, but the spectacle alone was worth it. The motion capture technique that James Cameron developed for the film is nothing short of brilliant. My wife remarked that she found it disconcerting that the film looked so real. She expected to see some hint of CGI, but it is visually flawless. Even the most staunch industrialist will appreciate that. However, that may be all that he appreciates.
In the film, the humans who have set up shop on the planet of Pandora are made up mostly of military types whose sole cause is to retrieve as much of a valuable ore (called Unobtainium with tongue firmly planted in cheek) as possible. A small group of scientists are also there to study the flora and see what other treasures the planet might hold. To achieve their causes, the humans have developed Avatars, hybrids using the DNA of humans and Na’vi, the native humanoids, that serve as vehicles for the minds of select humans so that they can get close to the Na’vi to study them and to find out their weaknesses.
One of the marines manages to infiltrate the natives and through a series of tests, becomes one of them and falls in love. Unfortunately, he has also given valuable intel to the Marine colonel, a career military man who seems to want nothing more than to find an excuse to use his lifelong training and go into battle. Though the scientists try to inform the colonel and the necktie in charge of the operation about the interconnectedness of the planet and how much there is to learn about the web of consciousness the Na’vi share with it, they scoff at the science, sneer at the spiritual, laugh at the sentimental, and move forward with violence and greed.
I truly wish that I could say the film is entirely fantasy, but unfortunately these themes are all to present in our history and modern society. The concept of moving in on an indigenous people to take what we want dates back to before the colonists chased the Native Americans west, to the black gold for which so many people believe we invaded Iraq. From the outlandish markups on pharmaceutical products, the number of companies that use near slave labor and harmful chemicals in their products because they are cheaper, and the fact that our current health plan will allow people to die just because they can’t afford treatment shows how far we will go to increase our profit margin.
A large theme in the film regards seeing other people for who they really are. The natives have a saying, “I see you,” meaning they see to the core of who you really are. When the young marine sides with the natives, his colonel sees him as a traitor to his race, but the audience is supposed to see him as a hero to his principles. As I watched the scourge of industrialism depicted in the film and the harmony of the aborigines as they communed and connected with nature, I had to really consider how I saw humanity.
We were walking to our car down Main Street after the film, and my wife remarked how sad it was that so many businesses had closed. She asked what I thought would bring the economy back. I told her that we needed to find what was truly valuable again. In our capitalist/industrial mindset, we are so prone to cut ourselves off from others in the “us vs. them/I’ll get mine; you get yours” mentality that we lose a bit of the concept of community and interconnectedness. Because we put so much energy into the acquisition of money, we lose sight of what’s of true value. There is value in understanding. There is value in connection. There is value in feeling. There is value in seeing deeper.
I don’t think the message of the film was that humans suck, even though they destroyed their planet and kept looking for new ones to pillage. I think the message was that we need to start seeing through new eyes. We need to see, once again, the value of community. We need to see our connection to one another and the planet upon which we live. There is so much value that we miss simply because our focus is off. It is time to open our eyes.
Steve McAllister
Steve McAllister is an acclaimed author, filmmaker, actor, and musician. In addition to contributing to Modern Hippie Mag, he also writes InkenSoul, a blog focused on literature and information that promotes commerce, charity, creativity, spirituality, and environmental sustainability. Purchase his most recent novel, The McAllister Code as an e-book at www.themcallistercode.com. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.
