Avatar and Colonialism

Overall, I found the videos and essays to be a great tool to help me understand the underlying structure of the film Avatar. Often, I find myself getting lost more in the dramatic plot of a movie rather than examining the social or cultural critique it may make (which is a problem in society in general, but I can get into that later). While I had an understanding that the film was a critique of America’s greed and ego, I failed to see just how much history was injected into the lines of dialogue throughout the film. 

For example, Cameron’s choice to have Quaritch mention Nigeria and other military missions executed by the United States were lost on me upon first watch. However, after reading Dr. Hartley’s essay and watching his videos, the given historical context put the rest of the movie in perspective. The film takes place in the future, we don’t know how far in the future, but it demonstrates that America is still hungry and willing to pillage other nations for supplies that will make us rich. Of course, we have seen this happen in countries other than what is mentioned in the movie (and in parts of our own country with the colonizing of the west). I found it interesting that this kind of conquest and colonialism didn’t seem unfamiliar to me, which is kind of terrifying. We have become so accustomed to American colonialism and conquest that we do not find it outrageous that we would continue it outside of our own planet. 

To us, teaching others the “American” culture and English language is not seen as colonizing through forced cultural assimilation. As we see in the case with the Na’vi people, American Avatars are interacting with natives, teaching them English and exchanging cultural currency. This exchange would be peaceful if it didn’t have the purpose of forcing the people to feel comfortable before we took their most valuable resources, destroyed sacred land, and attempted to demolish their culture and history. There is no mutual respect in the case of colonization. 

To me, Cameron suggests that this kind of passive colonization is dangerous, despite it not seeming like it to the colonizer. By betraying relationships with others (in this case, the Na’vi), we ruin person-to-person trust and respect. Not only that, but we are pillaging planets for profit, destroying history and the environment in the process. Through Avatar, one could imagine what our own world may look like in the near future if we do not begin to not only respect one another and our differences, but also the Earth itself.