Discover. Domesticate. Command. Conquer. “Avatar” is a futuristic story that embodies the essence of expansionism as deep as the beginning of organized civilizations that began to understand how to utilize their resources.
The corporation (or metaphorically, a more “advanced civilization”) discovers a highly valuable resource that benefits its economy on the planet Pandora – untapped ore that would sell at high prices. However, Pandora is currently occupied by “savages.”
Like most civilizations that believe they are the higher power, the “advanced civilization” comes to the planet with scientists and missionaries intent on “educating” and domesticating the indigenous peoples of Pandora.
In the movie, a paraplegic U.S. Marine becomes intertwined in an experiment to gain a better understanding of the surroundings and culture of Pandora’s people, a project initially started by his deceased brother.
When Marine enters the Pandoran community, he is convinced by his superior officer to learn their culture and to find out what their needs are. If a solution to the “problem” cannot be found, then total destruction would be the corporation’s last option in obtaining the village that sits upon the richest ore deposit on Pandora.
As time progresses, the Marine becomes part of the society, and his original loyalty to his regiment is divided.
It becomes apparent that the Marine is no longer part of the original plan of having the villagers abandon their centuries old home so as a resolution the military decides it cannot wait any longer and begins its’ invasion on the avatars.
The movie “Avatar” takes a history that is very real to all of our lives and makes it visually stimulating. The movie tells a story of human nature and how this requires (or as the story wants us to believe is required) us to command, conquer, utilize and restructure societies not “fit to govern themselves” according to the conquerors.
This larger civilization believes that the villagers are not aware of the gold mine they are resting on and that the native people must be domesticated like a cow so the company can use their land to its’ full potential without disruption from the villagers.
At first, the story seems to be like any other David-meets-Goliath film, and I tried to view the movie as New York Times columnist David Brooks does – the typical white-man-saves-savages-using-resources-they-already-have-to-defeat-the-invading-empire type. However, I found that the story really didn’t add up to his description.
After watching most of the movie, a new theory began to formulate.
This movie was a movie about destruction of natives for personal gain that incited more thought about our own culture’s invading other countries and civilizations that we believed were governed poorly.
This is a tradition we carry on even today in wars still being fought to create a democracy based on the beliefs of a stronger nation.
“Avatar” brings this thought to reality. Brooks’ evaluation of the movie does not reveal “a white messiah” who rescues a village from ultimate ruin.
However, “Avatar” does reveal a man who begins to understand that we are all different people with different beliefs and traditions, and one governing body should not determine the fate of another without fully understanding how or why that country, civilization or village operates as it does.
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