Avatar: Highest Grossing Movie of All Time ... & RACIST?

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http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/some-see-racist-theme-alien-adventure-avatar-ap

Quote:

But she said the film, which so far has the second-highest worldwide box-office gross ever, still reminded her of Hollywood's "Pocahontas" story " "the Indian woman leads the white man into the wilderness, and he learns the way of the people and becomes the savior."

"It's really upsetting in many ways," said Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry. "It would be nice if we could save ourselves."

Annalee Newitz, editor-in-chief of the sci-fi Web site io9.com , likened "Avatar" to the recent film "District 9," in which a white man accidentally becomes an alien and then helps save them, and 1984's "Dune," in which a white man becomes an alien Messiah.

"Main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens, AKA people of color ... (then) go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed," she wrote.

"When will whites stop making these movies and start thinking about race in a new way?" wrote Newitz, who is white.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 11 • Views: 4,137 • Replies: 33

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@maporsche,

Someone need to get a life.

0 Replies

@maporsche,

Some people see bunny rabbits when they look at clouds too. Sometimes perception comes from what you want to see or expect to see.

2 Replies

@rosborne979,

No doubt; but this was the featured article on Yahoo's homepage this morning.

I thought I was missing something the 2 times I saw the movie.

I wonder what black people think?

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if someone only wants to see racism/race/things being about color, that is all they will see even if it does not apply.

1 Reply

sounds like christianity

i went to bible school as a kid, with pictures of blue eyed, blond haired, surfer jesus on the wall

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@shewolfnm,

I have to think crap like this really makes it more difficult to combat 'real' racism.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

it really does.
When every single thing can be seen as racist, then there is no point and no meaning to the real issue of racism.
It is a catch phrase now it seems " oh thats racist"

Its pathetic and there has to be a point in where this stops and people are held responsible for their claims instead of being allowed to explain their deluded thought process for everyone to swallow. People need to wake up too and stop blindly following that word. I dont know that people realize anymore what REAL racism is.

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I think Avatar is more akin to 'Dancing with Wolves' in which the non-native hero actually becomes one of the oppressed people.

Joe(he gets his legs back too, but hey, he leaves humanity behind)Nation

1 Reply

@rosborne979,

rosborne979 wrote:

Some people see bunny rabbits when they look at clouds too. Sometimes perception comes from what you want to see or expect to see.

I beg your pardon?

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@maporsche,

Give me a break. It is Maporsche who is overreacting here!

Notice that the critic here isn't screaming that the film shouldn't be shown. This is a commentary on the what has become a cliche in movies. And... it is a call for some movies with a different story line.

I don't know at what point anti-racism became a bad thing. Social commentary about stereotypes in society have been an important of our civil rights movement through our history. Heck, if you are a working woman-- who no longer hears that you are stealing jobs from men and their families-- you should appreciate that these stereotypes are challenged.

But that isn't what is going on here... this is a simple observation that there are a whole lot of movies that follow the same pattern.

2 Replies

@ebrown p,

ebrown p wrote:

Give me a break. It is Maporsche who is overreacting here!

Excuse me?

Did I write the featured www.yahoo.com 'news' article?

1 Reply

@ebrown p,

You are defending this nonsense!

0 Replies

@maporsche,

No, you just overreacted to it. And, you put the word "racist" in all caps in your title (a bit excessive I think).

I don't see anything wrong with intellectual discussions on the meanings of social events (i.e. movies that Americans are seeing en mass), do you?

They aren't demanding the movie not be shown. They are just wishing that someone could make a movie without the white man saves native cliche.

Do you disagree with the point being made?

1 Reply

i heard the avatar characters are going to appear in KFC commercial in Australia

0 Replies

@ebrown p,

ebrown p wrote:

I don't see anything wrong with intellectual discussions on the meanings of social events, do you?

Do you disagree with the point being made?

Yes, I do.

I don't find this movie to be offensive in any way, and I think inserting racism into this movie is a mistake and undermines real racism.

1 Reply

It might have been interesting if the natives used their ability to commune with nature to devise a biological weapon (other than the deadly air) that would have killed off all the invaders, but somehow I don't think the public would have been so happy with the result and I'm sure people would assume it was a political statement about Iraq or Afganistan.

Avatar - Pocohontas trailer remix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm3HWjVESL0

1 Reply

@maporsche,

MaPorsche I disagree on a couple of points.

1. I don't mind if you disagree with me, but don't try to shut down the discussion. Discussion is a good thing. Let's get the ideas out in public and work them out.

It would be nice if only ideas that you agreed with were expressed, but that isn't how things work. People expressing their opinions publicly, especially when they do it as intelligent, restrained criticism, is not a bad thing (even if you don't happen to agree).

2. Challenging stereotypes in popular culture has always been an important part of social progress. Women demanded that they be shown as business leaders. People of color demanded to be portrayed in positive roles instead of drug dealers. Homosexuals worked to be portrayed as something other than "odd and unnatural".

People questioning, challenging and discussing stereotypes has helped our country grow.

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@engineer,

I was thinking.... wasn't 'V' (the Sci-Fi series from the 1980s) a counter example where the superior race came to Earth and the humans become the "freedom fighters" to save themselves?

(oh yeah... in this case the "natives" fail)

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i hope reverend al and jesse have something to say about this

oh wait, i meant to say, i hope reverend all and jesse get hit by a truck

1 Reply

Avatar: Highest Grossing Movie of All Time ... & RACIST?

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