As the Huffington Post says about him:
While the sound of his voice may make you think he's got some developmental problems, the guy's clearly a genius. This is required viewing regardless of whether or not you liked the movie. And if you didn't, here's every thought you've had about the film, presented in a grinding, monotone form.So now, I give you the best deconstruction of AVAHONTAS (or, if you prefer, DANCES WITH SMURFS) that I've seen yet.
A few points for after you watch:
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- For those of you going "OF COURSE Cameron released the film when it's make the most money--this is show BUSINESS, after all" I say: yes. It is. I, as an aspiring producer, would fight tooth and nail to get my movie released at the appropriate time. But that's not the point--the point of this is to make people aware of how they're being manipulated by the media. Once you know you're being manipulated, you can chose to either go along with it or not; but the point is the choice. Not the mindlessness of simply doing without thought. (Not that I hold out hope that the majority of people will ever break free of their carefully prescribed roles as mindless dollar signs, but there's a small little part of me that insists people can be better.)
- There are only 7 stories in the whole of human storytelling. It's the characters that are going to make your story different--and when you give me stock characters like in AVATAR, that's not storytelling. That's appealing to the lowest common denominator and perpetuating stereotypes. This film is so incredibly racist I get mad every time I think about it.
People have this idea that “racism” is only about believing that people from “other” cultures are bad, but it’s so much more than that. We do people an equal disservice when we think of them as good because of their race—the exoticized image of an “other” is no more accurate than the demonized one. We do “others” an even worse disservice when we try to imitate them in order to get some of that nummy racialized goodness for ourselves (regardless of our own racial identities). If we’re so dissatisfied with our own culture that we can’t stand it anymore, appropriating someone else’s is taking the easy way out—and it’s not that terribly different from what colonial cultures have done since the dawn of time, that is, ditch the homeland to go rape and pillage elsewhere in the name of progress.
From Sex Geek
- The Oscars, while still considered Hollywood's most prestigious award, haven't been relevant for some time now. Which is why I'm going to be disgusted if AVATARD wins the Best Picture Oscar, but not overly upset. Because the awards aren't worth my ire.
- District 9 really was the best picture of the year. But it won't win because sci-fi (real sci-fi that shows us the trials and tribulations of the human condition in a meaningful way as opposed to stock characters) is notoriously underrated. AVATARD isn't science fiction. It's a James Cameron film that happens to be science fiction.
- If you're depressed Pandora doesn't exist and considering committing suicide, either a) GET OVER IT because OMG, SRIUSLY?! or b) go ahead and do it, preferably before you've reproduced. I'm sure you'll get reincarnated as a giant blue cat and live happily ever after (because the native people had no problems of their own until the White Man showed up and raped their way of life. But a White Man can also do native better than the natives, so...I think we've hit a conundrum.)
