I saw “Avatar” this morning with 9to5poet in 3D on an IMAX screen with great reluctance and with much peer pressure from friends and family. I’m sure that someone else will rave about the special effects and the breakthroughs in 3D technology, the powerful presence of Sigourney Weaver, the haunting voice of Wes Studi as Eytukan, and the eroticism of the “other,” all of which were amazing; however, (and even though I enjoyed those aspects of the movie) I wish I wouldn’t have seen it. “Avatar” seems to me to be an excellent rewrite of “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992), in which the magical inhabitants of the metaphorical Amazon Rain Forest
I recently came across an example in The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A. In “The Relation of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca,” Cabeza de Vaca records the interactions of a group of Christian slavers and his native guides and entourage:
To the last I could not convince the Indians that we were not of the same people as the Christian slavers. Only with the greatest effort were we able to induce them to go back home. We order them to fear no more, reestablish their towns, and farm.
[...]
They [the Christian slavers] took us through the forest and wastes so we would not communicate with the natives and would neither see nor learn of their crafty scheme afoot. Thus we often misjudge the motives of men; we thought we had effected the Indian’s liberty, when the Christians were but posing to pounce.
c. 1536 – 40
Cabeza de Vaca could not have written any truer words when he penned, “Thus we often misjudge the motives of men,” so to in “Avatar,” when the moviegoer learns that shareholder profits will once again trump the value of a native people group, and their way of life that values harmony with nature and creation as the key to life. There is no profit in harmony with nature and creation; there is no progress if you accept that nature is sufficiently advanced technology, superior even, because it doesn’t leave us (humans) anything to do other than admire, cultivate, and protect it.
Take for example a tree. I know that everyone see a different, their favorite species of tree when they see the word tree, so imagine with me the Great American Elm tree with its wide trunk and expansive canopy. Imagine my childhood street in Lincoln , Nebraska
Not only did all those fuzzy woodland / cityland creatures loose their critical habitat, but we lost our natural air conditioners and air purifiers. One good shade tree can do the work of three air conditioners; next time you are standing in the hot sun and need to cool down, don’t run indoors, just step into the shadow of a tree. On average, the shadow of a tree is between 10 to 20 degrees cooler than standing in direct sunlight. And one thing that I’ve learned by living in Minneapolis , MN
However, those are only the benefits that a tree provides above ground. Below, a tree's roots hold soil tight preventing erosion. In the film “Flow: For Love of Water (2008),” the Chinese learn the hard way that all those trees on their rolling hills and mountains were holding back biblical tides of flood water. These roots systems also provide habitat and nutrient cycling that we take for granted when we look at a tree and see only the product that it can become or as an obstacle to overcome.
Now let’s go back to “Avatar,” for just a moment, imagine the Home-Tree that provided safe haven for an entire tribe, the or The Tree of Souls that connects Pandora’s people to the memories of their ancestors. These trees are invaluable. However, they stand in the way of progress and profit. Home-Tree stands on top of the richest source of unobtainium, the precious mineral that sells for some astronomical amount per kilo. Again, the question is begged: which is more valuable Tree-Home or unobtainium (unobtainium = the massive profits needed to drive progress).
So why is it that we always choose progress and profit over native people groups and natural technology? Well, in my opinion, it is the American Dream: a house, a yard, a dog, two cars and a boat, and two to three children. The American dream takes a lot of inputs (Natural Capital) to support. We, The United States of American, use more of everything (energy and fossil fuel to name the two most important) per capita than any other nation in the world to support our way of life. Our way of life is envied (for the most part) by the developing nations. There are approximately 330 million people living in the United States
To end this rant, I would like to ask forgiveness for being angry when I see that in “Avatar” a compassionate few can make a difference, stand up to the soulless machine of profit and progress. How do you stand in front of 6.5 billion people and say that our collective desire is wrong, and that the dream of a house, a dog, two cars and a boat, and children is detrimental not only to future generations, but to our planet. How do we reinvent the dream? When do we begin to see that any techo-bobble pales in comparison to Mother Nature’s miraculous inventions? Maybe it is the misanthrope in me, but I believe that there is no hope for humanity because we are unable to learn from our historical mistakes and invent a future where humanity's greatest idea, the economy, and nature can coexist.
- Just you wait: round 1 went to the native people of Pandora, but progress and profit will be back, this time with smallpox laced blankets.
- Just you wait: round 1 went to the native people of Pandora, but progress and profit will be back, this time with smallpox laced blankets.
