"Avatar": The movie
I am probably the only one on the planet that thinks this movie is a DUD!
I get tired of all the special affects used now...that yes, are awesome...but without a deep story-line,are distracting! Digital-awe when "depended on" by the director......shows weakness.
Heck I thought "Dances with Wolves"....(which is basically the same theme used in "Avatar")....at least gave us a message with depth. "Avatar" used the same story/format and fell flat. Bummer.
Jeez...I hope people take the chance to google the word Avatar and understand it's true meaning re: the Divine and Spirituality. Jesus was an Avatar - and many faiths believe he was not the only one. But, I'm guessing the movie does bring home good points to a large group of people.
I LOVED the side references to George Bush "shock and awe"...and the U.S. taking the step of using preemptive strikes as a new U.S policy/concept (i.e., totally about the Iraqi invasion by the US).
Ok call me crazy to not have liked this movie....but I'd rather focus on the positive. So, I'm hoping, yes, the movie will wake up the minds of the majority to understand that it is the indiginous wisdom that will save the planet and ourselves. If you are into it...check out the book "Grandmothers Council the World".
If you are a grandmother, I'm pretty sure you know what is like to have your heart opened by the birth of a grand child. Gotta give it to those grandmothers. The book is about the 13 indigenous grandmothers who found one another in 2000...and started meeting in 2004.
Time to listen to them. Perhaps the movie will get people thinking....and maybe reading this book...instead of only being dazzled by incredible digital cinema.
I AM loving the book I mention vs. the "shock and awe" of digital movie-making. Especially with the fact that we are only 2 years away from 2012 - when a new time is prophecied to begin. Just ask those grand-mothers!
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this movie is not the first this in pop culture to use the word "avatar" to mean something different from a divine manifestation. in many video and computer games, people role play characters and these are referred to as their avatars. the movie was taking off on that idea and imagining what it would be like in the future if technology was able to make physical avatars and not just virtual-reality ones like people use today. to a lot of people who are more plugged into gaming culture than to spiritual terminology, that's what the word "avatar" primarily means.
ReplyDeletei think i am okay with the word "avatar" being taken out of a divine context culturally, because the word originates from hinduism, and the hindu gods were pretty blessedly irreverent a lot of the time. they had the same flaws and foibles as humans, but existed on a different plane. that's why i don't see it as too much of a stretch to apply it to the idea of humans taking on an alternate form to operate on a different dimension. it mainly means an incarnation of an entity from a different plane of existence. i think it is okay for words to have different levels of meaning.
i appreciated the visual/aesthetic richness of the movie. i understand your concern about not wanting special effects to be distracting, but i think that mindset underestimates the power and usefulness of visual material. images are cultural food, and i think it's healthy for there to be some images like these mass-circulating that highlight the awesomeness of nature. catchphrases like "form follows function" and "the medium is the message" really apply in this case, i think. on one level, the stunning visual material drawing the viewer's attention to the wondrous quality of nature IS the message of the movie. of course, i am an artist and wrote an 84-page thesis on arts activism and visual culture, so of course that is my bias here :)
the main thing that i appreciated about Avatar was the way it takes possibly the two most crucial messages that our culture needs to hear right now (the stupidity and horror of war, and the dignity and value of the environment) and broadcasts them plain and clear. that is significant! especially for such a high-profile work. sure, it doesn't have the level of depth that people like us (who are already on to those ideas) would find more interesting... but that's because it's a mainstream blockbuster; anything intended for the masses is going to be more general than something directed at a more specific audience. mainly i found it a huge affirmation/sign-of-hope that the most hyped movie of the season was actually about something so crucial. could it be a sign that consciousness is awakening on a broader scale and the culture is shifting to where it needs to go?
(from emily)
Yes - I agree with your comment, as I quote you:
ReplyDelete"...that the most hyped movie of the season was actually about something so crucial. could it be a sign that consciousness is awakening on a broader scale and the culture is shifting to where it needs to go?"
BRAVO --- and YES.....to focus on this is the main point! And to be thankful that art is the gift that offers the uplifting of consciousness!!!!