Comments | fatestorm: Another Avatar article -- Cameron and Conrad

fatestorm

Another Avatar article -- Cameron and Conrad

Dec 31, 2009 02:21

I found another Avatar review that I liked--this time on the Telegraph. It's a powerful comparison of Cameron's universe to Joseph Conrad's--and the way that both oppose exploitation while unwittingly perpetuating the image of the savage. This is an argument (about Conrad) that I first encountered in Edward Said (I read it in Culture and ( Read more... )

Comments 4

firestormroses December 31 2009, 18:02:57 UTC

lol. i can't help but laugh at this. i honestly hate it when people can't just take a movie for what it is, but have to apply all this "subtext" to it. of course the inspiration comes from history; what else do we have? we live in a post modern world and nothing can be completely original. so he used African and Native American tribes as a basis... so what? their religions and connection to nature were in tune with what Cameron wanted the Na'vi to believe. and the whole "white man has to save them because they can't save themselves..." OR maybe he was just the hero archetype? always gotta bring race and gender into it, pfft. just let it be a movie. a really good, inspiring, beautiful movie.

fatestorm December 31 2009, 21:01:02 UTC

You argue that this guy who wrote the article, Will Heaven, 'can't just take the movie for what it is.' In all fairness, I think that supposes that you know what the movie is about, exhaustively, and he doesn't. If it's a legitimate work of art it's open to discussion right ( ... )

firestormroses January 2 2010, 03:48:17 UTC

i'm not saying don't criticize, but i really hate when people get trapped in that whole, "duh, the white man is going to save them" mindset. it's so tired. you could argue that about like, 200 different movies. and that's just the well known ones. i wish people would just take race and gender out of the picture when they critique movies. it's hollywood. there are a lot of white male actors, mmkay?

fatestorm January 2 2010, 04:24:06 UTC

I am actually with you on this. I can understand criticizing Conrad--since his novel was explicitly about Africa and Africans. But I am with you that I wish people didn't leap to race so fast, and only when it needs to be brought up.

...what is your icon? o.0