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We've seen it before on the big screen. Many times in fact. White settlers invade a new territory, determined to take out any noble savage who stands in the way.
An hour in, however, the Caucasian protagonist has a change of heart after living among the people and learning to respect their ways.
Cue 'Avatar.'
When marine Jake Sully is sent on a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, a tribe of 10-feet-tall blue-skinned individuals who live on top of the precious ore the humans desire, he begins to identify with the indigenous people and is reluctant to obey government orders that will surely result in their demise.
Moviegoers don't have look back too far to realize the story is simply a rehash of the past. 'Pocahontas,' 'The Last Samurai,' 'Dances With Wolves' and countless others films explore similar white-man-saves-the-natives story lines.
Most of the news surrounding the movie has been in praise of its special effects and the box-office records it continues to smash a month after being released. But should we be talking about the movie's racial insensitivity? It is interesting that director James Cameron chose to cast Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans to voice the Na'Vi. There's not one white voice among them.
And the color coding of the nature-respecting natives and the technologically advanced whites does the opposite of what Cameron intended. By the end of the movie, it seems as if he's managed to devote hours reinforcing long-held stereotypes about "natural" people of color unencumbered by the trappings of the civilized world, which is, of course, represented by whites.
Apparently, Cameron sees things differently. In an e-mail to the Associated Press, he stated that his film "asks us to open our eyes and truly see others, respecting them even though they are different, in the hope that we may find a way to prevent conflict and live more harmoniously on this world. I hardly think that is a racist message."
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By: CCC on 3/25/2010 11:22AM
Does Avatar have a racist theme? Of course it does. That's the whole point. But it's not, as people are suggesting, white racism towards blacks. That view is entirely too narrow. This film depicts the ugliness that is racism by showing humans as racists towards a fantasy alien race. We need to look beyond the fact that the lead characters are white, and should not take the race of the real life actors that play the alien characters to suggest that the film is portraying white on black racism. I believe that is the very reason that the aliens are blue. The filmmaker wanted to portray racism without being labeled racist. As black people we do see the world through different eyes than the white director of this film. The filmmaker created a wonderful film that shows the intolerance that people can portray towards each other through his own eyes. To engage us he created a thought provoking story by drawing upon the reality of human racism. Many people can see themselves through the eyes of the alien race. Humans came in and wanted to take something that the alien race had. So by labeling the natives as primitive, and savages they can justify taking what they want from the natives even if that means destroying their way of life. How many times has that played out in history? The movie is filmmaking at its best. An enjoyable fantasy that also teaches us an important lesson. It takes us into the hearts and souls of the alien race. In the end you feel connected to the aliens and almost want to be one of them. What better way to help humanity overcome our own intolerances. Bravo James Cameron, et al.
CCC
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By: Ryeberg on 2/09/2010 1:53PM
Mitu Sengupta runs through the whole question here and the racist charges stick:
http://ryeberg.com/curated-videos/avatar-race-relations-light-years-from-earth/
Sengupta is very convincing. Check it out.
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