Avatar and the American Hero Syndrome
I finally managed to watch the much acclaimed Avatar this weekend, not in 3 or 2 D as we no longer have this type of cinema in Libya but simply on DVD.
I absolutely loved the movie, the plot and the Na'vi are beautiful creatures, I wish I could lead such a life.
The angle that most appealed to me is caring about the planet, a climate or environment type of storyline which also includes balance between nature and the spirit.
Prior to watching the film I had read some criticism that it may be anti-American as it negatively criticizes mechanized warfare and by extension the US led wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and possibly all the other attacks launched on other countries to shock and awe them into submission.
Having seen and enjoyed the creativity of the production, I can confirm that it is certainly not anti-American but on the contrary as is with 99.999 % of US films it manages to portray the person who at the end saves the world as American. Even in Avatar this did not fail because the only one who could save the Na'vi was an US marine who like many people in the military in countries who experienced war with the US dated a local woman. That's why fraternization with the natives are frowned upon in the military, use the woman for sex but don't fall in love with them because you may end up embracing their cause and going against your nation even if your nation is in the wrong :P.
Anyway the hero fell in love with the heroine and helped her people against his people. If not for him the American, the Na'vi would be annihilated.
That is the subliminal message I got, 100% pro - America :)
Now we in the Arab world should start making more movies where an Arab saves the day. If Bollywood, the Israelis and even Egyptian film producers can do it why not the rest ? we just need a bit of more fervent nationalism !
Will definitely watch the movie again...
7 comments:
What film you want the arabs to make ?
What arabs first of all ?
And what cause you are talking about ?
Every and anything you said is 100 % wrong
There is no arabs
Arabs are in the trash of history 700 years ago
Do I need to recount to you what king abdul aziz did when they discovered the oil in his lands ?
Do I need to tell you what the arabs ar doing 60 years after they found oil in their land ?
Do I need to tell you what your blessed crown prince is doing in Switzerland ?
Do I need to remind you what the rest of his family are doing in England ?
Do I need to tell you that all the arab production of anything except oil can not buy them a loaf of bread to feed them for a half day ?
Do I need to tell you that all the gulf states and all the oil countries do not really care about any cause and they enjoy licking the feet of the states ?
Do I need to tell you that Dubai fountain cost is 22 000000 Million Dollars
Do I need to tell you that Dubai tower cost is 1.5 Billion dollars
Do I need to tell you that we are a Rubbish ?
Highlander , We are a rubbish , just a rubbish , nothing but a rubbish
The most thing we can do is to watch the film like you did and write some pathetic comments exactly like you did , and in
Thank you Nilo for visiting my blog and your comment.
From the single post on your own blog a year ago one can glean that you have feelings, opinions, ideas and spiritual beliefs that you want to share with the world. I wish you success and look forward to more of your writing.
Whilst I appreciate feedback in any form as it allows me to understand point of views other than those from people who agree with my opinion; it was not necessary to get personal.
I hear your pain Nilo and it would be a pity if everyone in the region had such a pessimistic outlook as you have portrayed above. Each one can do something however small or inconsequential he/she might think to effect change instead of claiming that one is trash/rubbish. I'm sure that Akhenaton whom you regard so highly would have approved. Otherwise all is lost and we might as well all carry out collective seppuku.
Good luck
Highlander
I wish I can believe you highlander
But you know we are a misery
A misery in education
A misery in healthcare
A misery in industry
A misery in democracy
We are a misery as a people
And a misery as governments
We are Miserable men
Miserable women
Miserable children
Miserable past
Miserable present
Miserable future
I can lie to you and tell you sugar coated words
But you know we are a scandal
We were a scandal before the oil
we are a scandal with the oil
And we will be a scandal after the oil
We added nothing to the human civilization but the oil
you write your blog in a foreign language
And I comment on it in a foreign language
And we can express ourselves better in a foreign language
Because it is the death of anything arabic
We go to foreign lands when we need a surgery
And we even bring foreign armies to defend our lands
And we import foreign companies to dig our oil
We are an oily greased nation “ highlander “
A nation that lives on oil
And had it not been for this oil no body in the arab countries would have a shirt on his body
You have a better idea than me for sure how this oil money is spent
I am sorry if I look too gloomy
I promise I will not try it again and write in your blog
I will not disturb your dreamy ideas about your dreamy world
Just if you can ; tell me where you are going to shoot your film
In all the arab countries , there only the “ Egyptian media production city “ in Egypt
You know the head of this institution was is an international pimp
He is busy with bringing girls to the head of the “ Arabia “ Satellite
You know the name of his famous girl that he was caught with her in the case ?
Her name is Shereen Seif El Naser ,
Seif El Nasser means “ the sword of victory “
This is the only sword we have
This is the only victory we can make
This is the only royalty
This is the only men
And you know they are still there
They are still the cream de cream of our society
One is a royalty in saudi Arabia and the brother in law of the late king
The other is still keeping his governmental position in Egypt
And the third is a star , a famous movie star
Will these make a film to defend your cause ?
Highlander , you know we are a jock
A stupid jock as a people and as a government
Have a nice dreamy day anyway
lol
Well, I don't think most Americans would consider it pro-American just because the hero at the end happened to be American. I have to admit it's the first time I've ever watched a movie and been cheering when the Americans got their asses kicked, though :)
I enjoyed the movie, but I accomplished that by deliberately ignoring the not-so-subtle attempts at making political statements.
salam,
well, as for the movie , i loved it too and yes the side that talk about nature , how they are connected to the nature and care about it is what appealed to me and the movie i think displays that love for nature in very nice way and not like any other movie I've seen that talk about this kind of issue.
i loved the romance in it, they were so different and they just hit it on.
and about it been an anti-American movie i didn't read that but it is really as you said 100% pro .
love your topic :)
salam
"I wish I could lead such a life."
Oh Highlander! Please be serious!
(This is rhetorical of course. On your blog you can be whatever you like, and if somebody is unhappy about it, he should push the Back button.)
I haven't watched Avatar, but have a pretty good idea what it is about. We all have been reliably irradiated by ads seducing us to give our money to watch this movie about how beautiful a world without money would be.
Your previous post was about your new car. Do you really, really feel tempted to abandon it and travel from point A to point B on a donkey or a camel? (In fact, as far as I know, from the viewpoint of Avatar even domestication of animals means a too-advanced, corrupting and decadent civilization.)
In fact, if you were living in a hunter-gatherer community, you would be lucky to be alive and riding, rather than having fallen victim to infection, trauma, starvation or predation at an earlier age.
A Bulgarian blogger wrote, "As for the harmony with nature pictured in Avatar - such a harmony has never existed in human history. I have watched it, and also other similar fantastic screenplays, and in all of them the "American Indians" had received special magic bonuses from nature. The real American Indians had never received such bonuses, because only technology can produce them, and this is why they lost."
However, even this is not so important. The most important thing would be the loss of self. In the skin of a tree-climbing, tail-waiving creature you could be happy, but could no longer be yourself.
I guess that you at times feel tired and sad in your self and wish to be someone else. At least, I feel this way at times.
And the most obvious refuge is primitivity. Our knowledge makes us unhappy more than anything else. The Bible said it: as soon as you taste the fruit of knowledge, you are expelled from Paradise.
Sometimes we long for our lost happiness and wish to return to Paradise. But there is no way back, as long as we retain our selves.
Once I wrote on your blog about how Erich Fromm described the hallucinogenic orgies of hunter-gatherer tribes, and you replied, "But we are not hunter-gatherers anymore." That's it.
The movie IS anti-American because it is against that America where the electric light bulb was invented and genomes are being sequenced.
But, remembering the achievements of Arabs in math, chemistry, medicine and philosophy, it is anti-Arab, too :-).
Craig, amigo, this is the second time within a few months that I agree with you. This is getting worrisome. I have really got to stop reading this blog ;p
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