The Best Movie Critic   +  review

Avatar Roundup, Part 2!

Back by popular demand, here's another Avatar Roundup!

As you may recall, about a month ago, I wrote a little story about the cultural phenomenon surrounding Avatar. Maybe you American Idol fans are used to having your media permeate every level of society. Unfortunately, however, movies don't often have that extreme of an impact anymore. Some of the greatest cinephiles ever are living now, but in terms of a general interest in the movies, we don't have anything on the Great Depression-era Classic Hollywood Studio system or the dawn of the blockbuster in the late 70s and early 80s. That's why I believe it is important to discuss and appreciate a movie that takes hold of the popular imagination the way Avatar has, regardless of whether the movie is quality or not.

Besides, it's really, really funny to laugh at people who are obsessed with Avatar.

You know, out of all the stories and reviews I've written since starting The Movie Advocate, the first Avatar Roundup has received far and away the most and best feedback. I have people coming up to me in bars to tell me how much they liked that one. Who am I to deny the people what they want? You guys are just crazy about Avatar, and you're crazy about hearing about people who are crazier about Avatar than you are! Love the movie or hate it, we can all agree that Avatar has enraptured audiences worldwide at the level of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. This movie is a capatal-E Event, and it's ripples can be felt far and wide.

For instance, did you know that in response to Avatar's success, Samsung, Sony, and others are putting the first 3-D HDTVs on the market this year? Because spending a car's worth of money on my new LED HDTV and upgrading to BluRay just wasn't good enough, it turns out I need 3-D at home, too. Just imagine the possibilities... I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I've always wanted to see Schindler's List, The 400 Blows, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?... in 3-D!!! Citizen Kane in 3-D! just like Orson Welles intended it! I've seen The Bicycle Thief, and you can't tell me that wouldn't be better in 3-D.

Read about it here.

But Avatar isn't on home video yet. No, Avatar got legs. Beyond breaking every box office record conceivable and making approximately 100,000 zillion dollars (I rounded up), Avatar is stretching the creative muscles of distributors worldwide. Take Seoul, Korea, where they have made oodles of money projecting Avatar in 4-D. Huh-wha? Yeah, that's right 4-D, more infamously known as Smell-O-Vision. Don't just see spaceships blow up, get up close and personal with that gasoline-y explosion smell! Mmmm... and you thought the 3-D glasses gave you a headache...

Read more about the 4-D phenomenon here.

Okay, I understand that using Avatar as a metaphor for your pet cause is serious business for some people. Nevertheless, I'm having a lot of trouble keeping a straight face about this: At a protest concerning a 'security wall' between Israel and Palestine at Bil'in, several Palestinian protesters dressed up and painted themselves as Na'vi to draw comparisons between their struggle and the struggle of the Avatar aliens. They were then shot at by Israeli soldiers. One was even injured when struck by a gas grenade.

Read the story and see the photos here. Make sure to take a look at picture #6. It's amazing.

Okay, come on, that's funny. Okay, damn, I guess it's not that funny... Maybe just a little?

That's not the only example. Many representatives of environmentally threatened areas or culturally threatened tribes are using Avatar as a PR touchstone to raise awareness for their respective causes.

Here's a story about the striking similarities between Avatar and the plight of indigenous peoples in Peru and the Brazilian Amazon.

In New Delhi, some are calling for James Cameron's assistance in defending the Dongria Kondh tribe against encroaching commercial mining, due to the similarities between that tribe and the fictional Na'vi. Read the story here.

If Avatar can be used as a conversation starter to lead to more understanding and higher level discussion about the rampant cultural imperialism at the crux of most or all of our global conflicts, then more power to it.

It's important to remember, however, that Avatar itself is a product and tool of global cultural imperialism. A massive studio conglomerate gives a white, male, rich director millions of dollars to make an entertainment product to send around the world, making the studio and the director millions and billions more in the process. When you put it that way, it sounds like more of the same, eh? It's important to remember that the way we understand concepts like 'cultural preservation' and 'environmental protection' are already married to our own culture, and exporting those views and values into and onto other audiences isn't that much different from what us first-worlders already do every day.

Woah, that got pretty heavy there for a second. I don't want to leave on such a pessimistic note, so why don't we laugh at a fat girl putting on Avatar makeup? How about it?

Remember, I do this because I love you.

-Ben