Movie Review: James Cameron’s “Avatar”
Oe ngati kameie.
True to form, this past week was my second time seeing the movie, but for the sake of the review, I’m going to try to remember what the first run through was like as well. Not that there was really much of a difference between the two, save for some added scenes.
The formula was kind of transparent – twin brother dropped into a program he has no idea about, and throughout a chain of chances and the movie-goer wondering how he didn’t die, he becomes the saving grace of the people. Add in something called “Unobtainium”, and you’ve got a formula for a very cookie-cutter sci-fi movie that is seen as a meh attempt at the genre.
“Avatar”, however, finds its own way around the idea of being cookie cutter, and through some very beautiful images and breathtaking scenery, it does succeed in capturing your attention, making up for the momentary drops in the dialogue or the idea beneath it all.
The opening sequence is reminiscent of videos you saw in grade school about the Amazon – soaring tropical trees shrouded in a thick mist as the first signs of dawn start to show beyond the horizon. Filtered into this image is the voice of an up-to-know unknown character talking about how, after he was shot in the field, he had dreams of flying. To this, a lot of people probably would add in their heads, “Who doesn’t?” Truthfully enough, a number of people dream of flying. It’s one of those great unconscious dream-state archetypes.
And then the speaker wakes up, and you discover that he’s part of an extraterrestrial journey from Earth to a planet (or, more truthfully, the moon of a planet) called Pandora. Cue the first time my brain shot out the thought of “Okay, mark one for lack of originality”, considering I’m at least familiar with the idea of Pandora and her troublesome little box. Then, I’m left wondering what the “problem” is on this planet, other than the mineral that they’re mining for. And just on a side note – as a Pagan, it’s hard having such a great view of this planet disrupted by nature falling to the alien machines of the corporation. I cried a little on the inside at that. Puts me in mind of the old bumper sticker “Earth First – We’ll Strip-Mine the Other Planets Later”.
All the scenes you see around this point with the guy and his twin brother put that whole feel of “being the replacement” into perspective, and this is the first time you’re aware that the hero of the story is paralyzed from the legs down. Wow. For a moment, unless you knew how the Avatars worked (which I did…sort of), you wondered how this guy was supposed to do anything.
From there, the transport ship lands, and it goes from learning that Pandoran air is toxic to humans to showing the entire group getting off the transport and into the facility, with the (stereo)typical chatter from the troops already stationed. Now, the first time I saw the movie, it was a moment of “well, hell” seeing a corporation using Marines as shock troops. Going back for a second run, and with the release of Disturbed’s single “Another Way to Die”, it was a moment of frustration all over again for just the same reason. That, and the added idea of “Why is it that killing Earth wasn’t enough of a wake-up call to these idiots?” That aside, you go to this safety brief, and even from the first time, I didn’t like the colonel or general or whatever the heck he was.
And then you are finally introduced to the Avatars. I geeked both times, mostly because I’ve always been interested in biomechanics, biochemistry, and the ability to astral project or travel between bodies. Point for this movie for touching on that kind of stuff. Anyway, you are given your first view into Grace Augustine’s Avatar program, and the fact that these Avatars are a second body for the scientists who, unlike the money-driven corporation, are actually looking into learning more from the natives, the Na’vi. Later on, when Jake and Norm are finally linked into their Avatars, it’s a very expected moment for the parapalegic to be like “I HAVE LEGS!!!” and blast out of the facility as fast as his newfound legs will carry him. So far, we’ve seen both sides of this coin.
We get to before Jake’s first ride out in his Avatar body, and you see the military head telling him that he needs to find a way in with the Na’vi to get them to leave their tree, seeing as it stands above a relatively huge deposit of this wunder-ore they’ve found on Pandora. Points lost for the greed again, but I’m still interested in where this goes. So, out into the jungle, (plus an added scene I’m not going to spoil here) and Grace and Norm do the science thing, and they’re looking into this electro-chemical “communication” between the trees. Jake, meanwhile, wanders off and finds these really interesting spiral-shaped plants that recoil at touch. A couple playful pokes later, and Jake is facing down a very annoyed-looking angtsika. Enter another one of those “you see it from a mile away” moments, where Jake thinks he scared it off only for the real reason for the sudden turn of events being the palulukan sneaking up behind him. From there, our hero bolts for the hills, trying to put as much land between him and the big thing trying to eat him. By the end of this, he’s only escaped by the skin of his teeth, diving into a pool at the base of a waterfall.
As he tries to survive the night, which he’s not doing so well against a pack of nantang, he manages to survive only by the intervention of the first true (non-Avatar) Na’vi, one stopped from killing him earlier on only by the appearance of this unique little jellyfish-looking thing. If ever you wanted to see a movie where the first major fight shows that the heroine is more bad-ass than the hero, here’s a good one. Past that, I started geeking a little at her reaction to Jake’s presence and actions. After all, she tried getting it through his head that he was being extremely immature and could not understand that her killing the nantangs was not a good thing. It was that moment of first starting to understand the deeper connection that the Na’vi had with Pandora – she knew that death as it had been committed was outside of the way things should have been. Jake keeps stressing that he doesn’t know how to go home, and he keeps trying to press this Na’vi to help him – to help him back, to help him see. Only when the atokirina (remember those jellyfish things I mentioned?) show up, sentient spirit-seeds of some sacred tree, does the Na’vi feel it necessary to help Jake. Again, my inner Pagan is dorking at all of this.
As the movie progresses, Jake is brought into the village of the female Na’vi’s clan, who we later find out is named Neytiri, which is housed within a giant tree. Here, the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik, the clan and spiritual leaders, decide that this “Jakesully of the Jarhead Clan”, as a warrior, may prove to be the first of the Dreamwalkers who can be taught, rather than believing they are smarter than the Na’vi. As Mo’at says, “Learn well, Jakesully, then we will see if your insanity can be cured.”
Now, of course, once Jake is mentally thrust back into his own mind when his Avatar body falls asleep, it becomes the talk of the entire base that he has managed to get into good favor with the local Na’vi tribe. The scientists, of course, see it as a way to reopen the communication between them and the Na’vi. The military and corporate heads? Hey, look, now we have a way to either make them move, or to find a way to get them out if they won’t go willingly.
So, Jake begins learning what it means to be Na’vi. From the language, which he is simultaneously tutored by Neytiri and Norm, to the riding of the pa’li and the idea of what it is to track and to hunt, he is taught every aspect of the People. The Omatikaya, especially Tsu’tey, Neytiri’s arranged mate, take him to be simply a skxawng (moron) who will never truly understand what it is to be Na’vi.
Of course, this is where the time between first and second viewing of the movies really kicks in. In the midst of all this talk about how Pandora is this amazing world that we can never see, and how the Na’vi are so intricately linked into everything, all I can truly think about is how the tsaheylu (the bond) is just a very visceral, physical representation of the Pagan teachings of making the body serve as a conduit between Earth and Heaven by stretching the energy out through the lowest chakra into Earth and through the highest chakra into Heaven. I don’t know if Cameron meant for it to be the way it was, but being me, there was so much Earth-based spirituality evident in the ways of the Na’vi that I’m left (both times) walking out of the theater wondering what it would take to create that astral ‘tsaheylu’ between myself and the creatures of this planet. I’m still working on it, by the way.
As time goes on, you see Jake become almost obsessed with being in the Avatar body, and it becomes a question – is he that interested in becoming one of the Omatikaya, or does he just like being able to walk and run and use his legs? As the movie continues, you can tell that he’s truly becoming more and more one of the Na’vi as the days go by. He has learned to ride the pa’li, he has learned to hunt, he has learned to move as part of the forest, as part of the whole. “Energy is only borrowed, and one day, you have to give it back” is one of the many lessons that Jake learns, the network of energy passing between all of the creatures of Pandora, and it is shown that, in one of his later hunts, that he has learned of the Na’vi way, thanking his brother for his sacrifice – his body will feed the people, and his spirit with go with Eywa. Upon completing this, it is determined by Neytiri that he is ready for the next step – climbing Iknimaya to gain his flying ikran mount. It is also the final step of all Na’vi in ascending through the ranks of the clan and earning the right to be considered as an adult and a true part of the Omatikaya.
And it is then, when Jake successfully makes tsaheylu with the ikran that tried to kill him, that the link is made between the dreams of flying from the opening sequence and what he has been working towards. This leads into the final ceremony, where the Olo’eyktan announces that Jake is now a true part of the Omatikaya and of the Na’vi of Pandora. Cue another Pagan geek moment as Na’vi putting arms against shoulders started to look like a web, and it just reflected the idea that, despite each member having different skills and appearances and personalities, they were still part of something larger than just themselves.
I…honestly don’t know what to think of the whole “choosing a mate” thing that happened at the Utral Aymokriya. I did find out, however, in the extended cut that, yes, Jake and Neytiri did make tsaheylu in the process, a minor detail dropped from the original theatrical release. Yay me for being right…even if it was a ‘duh’ moment in my eyes. The next day in the movie, however, had me getting a little stuffed up in the sinuses trying not to cry as the corporation tore down the entire grove. I mean, those trees were the connection between the Na’vi that had passed and those still alive, something akin to the spiritual connections that some individuals in esoteric crafts, such as astral projection, Ouija board use and spiritual channeling, have. To have something like that severed linked in very directly to my own issue with the clairaudience I used to have a number of years ago and am only now trying to reestablish.
From there, it was just a wave of developments – Jake being seen as a threat by the corporation because of his growing connection to the Omatikaya, the fact that the corporation was allowing for an attack to be made to clear out Kelutrel to proceed with the mining operation, the arrest of the individuals in the science department for seemingly siding with the Na’vi, and the destruction of Kelutrel, which led to Jake being outcast from the Omatikaya due to his knowledge of the attack months before it occurred. I’ll be honest here – I was so glad Dan went with me the first time I went to see the movie. I spent the whole sequence with the destruction of Kelutrel sobbing into his arms. Second time, I kind of just bit back the tears.
From there, however, the messages became a lot more prominent, at least in my eyes. I saw not only through the eyes of a Pagan, but I soon started seeing it as a Jedi as well, especially so with the group link when they tried to save Grace by moving her soul into her Avatar body. Not only were they linked into the planet, but they were linked to each other, a melding of mind and inner power towards a common goal, for a common cause. Anyone that read the Jedi Academy trilogy should understand the comparison I make between Mo’at and Dorsk 81 here.
Then came the attempt Jake made to prove that he was not working for the humans, in his (could-have-been-suicidal) attempt to make tsaheylu with toruk. This was another one of those moments you knew was going to happen, especially with Neytiri relating to Jake that only five had ever ridden toruk since “the time of first songs”. Regardless, however, for him to show up as Toruk’makto, as a leader to not only the Omatikaya, but to all the Na’vi because of the coming scourge of the humans, as the savior of them all because he believed in them, rather than the people who had first brought him to Pandora, was a moment that was done beautifully. He did not run up to Tsu’tey, the new Olo’eyktan (as Neytiri’s father had died during the destruction of Kelutrel), and demand to be put into power. Rather, he turned to Tsu’tey to help him rally the people. He needed a translator, someone he knew that he could trust to fly at his side, to be the warrior to help lead the attack, to be a voice for Toruk’makto where Jake could not go.
Then came the final moments, when the military would try to destroy the last bastion of the Omatikaya, around Vitrautral, a tree not only that was (probably) the last remaining Utral Amokriya, but as Norm mentioned, “their direct line to Eywa”. Even with all the clans answering to him, Jake still knelt before the tree, making tsaheylu with the glowing strands of the tree, and he relayed to Eywa a warning of what was coming, a mention to look into Grace’s memories (now that Grace’s soul was with Eywa after her death) to see that Earth was a dead wasteland killed by the humans, that he needed her to help if they had a chance of winning. It was, after all, a war of guns and missiles and fire against bows and arrows and knives.
And the final battle began. At first, even with the ikran hunters able to use their velocity to get arrows through the glass of the Scorpion attack helicopters, and the pa’li riders moving towards the ground troops, it looked very much like a hopeless battle, especially as the shuttle/bomber drew ever closer to its intended target. As all of the Na’vi started to pull back, and one by one, several members of Jake’s team fell in battle, it made you almost think that it was going to be another loss for the native peoples.
And then Eywa kicked back with a vengeance. Sending out hordes of angtsika, whose hides cannot be pierced by bullets, and waves of nantang that attack the troops that are not in the large mech-armor, as well as rider-less ikran to combat the aerial fighters. While Neytiri had warned that Eywa did not take sides, but only protected the balance of life, you could tell that there was a pretty deep disturbance in the Force then, and as more of the native life died, it became clear that more help would be needed. And boom – a little help from a force that the military and corporate leaders thought was tree-hugging nonsense spewed by mud-squatting natives turned the tide of the war in the favor of the Na’vi.
Overall, I think that this was a wonderful movie, despite the cliches and the transparency of some of the plot points. It presented a very sci-fi futuristic view of one of the biggest lessons that I believe should be learned by everyone. A lot of people made the point that this was a travesty of a film in that it glorified the old viewpoints of the settlers first moving to North America and wiping out the Native American tribes. While that does hold some level of weight, it still teaches that there needs to be a level of cooperation between parties. After all, if the parties came together in peace, such as they did with Grace’s school and the later interactions between the Omatikaya and Jake and Grace, there was little issue between the parties. However, introduce hostilities, and relations soured. Addtionally, I believe the movie provided a very beautiful balance between earth-based and spirituality-based religious views, as Eywa was seen as part of every living creature on Pandora, but as a separate entity as well. It was very much a parallel to Obi-Wan’s line in Episode IV: “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
I blathered on for a while, so I think I’ll hazard on the safe side and stop here.
May the Force be with you,
Jedi Padawan Tiphereth Amarandir
Book Report: Hidden Messages
Book Name: The Hidden Messages in Water
Author: Masaru Emoto
Publication Year: 2001/2004
Review: Masaru Emoto presents numerous ideas about water and how it connects to the human race and how the way we act and the words we speak can change our world for the better or worse. The first thing mentioned in the book is the idea that water crystals would be a good way for determining the effects of words and such on water. By exposing different water to words, images or sounds, and then freezing that water, the crystals that show up can show the effects on the water. For example, something shown the words love and gratitude are really detailed, beautiful crystals, but those exposed to the command “Do it!”, heavy metal music, or the word “Satan” come out deformed. Water that has been exposed to chemicals fails to form crystals when frozen, which I found extremely interesting considering all the chemical treatments that water in the States has to go through.
A later part of the book detailed how water, when viewed at first, formed very misshapen crystals, but after a Buddhist monk chanted over the water for an hour and a sample was frozen and examined, the crystal that formed in the water was detailed, and the center of it even looked like a flower with a glowing halo over it.
Other theories that were introduced were the idea that all water on the planet is extraterrestrial, in that Earth started off as a mass of magma, but as icy meteors hit the planet, the gases made as the water evaporated helped create the ozone, which in turn helped cool the planet by blocking solar radiation and allowed future meteors to start forming the oceans and lakes and such. There was also the idea that water can memorize information, so by exposure to certain things, the water can ‘know’ what’s going on and then transmit that data to water all over the world. Another thing of interest was the idea that water can forecast events, such as earthquakes, if the water is analyzed for the crystal malformations present beforehand, or that water can tell when something happens across the world because of the water “memory”.
Overall, Masaru presented the idea in this book that if we live our lives according to the idea of love and gratitude (With it being one part love, two parts gratitude), the world will become a better place to live, and we will find and lead more fulfilling lives by this. In essence, it was preaching the idea of positive thinking as a fundamental part of human life, because the more positive our thoughts, the cleaner the water in our bodies, the more capable it would be to form crystals, and the more enlightened and complete our lives can be. Negative emotions, thoughts and words are not part of the natural cycle, and too much of a negative factor has to be met with an even greater amount of the positive opposite, such as ridding oneself of anger with peace or hate with love. By understanding emotion and making sure that negativity is countered as soon as it shows, we can lead better lives, and because of the ripple effect that action has because of water “memory”, it will lead the worldwide change for the better. Or so Masaru hopes it will.
