Does 'Avatar' Contain Hidden Messages?

Since it opened last week, James Cameron's much-anticipated film "Avatar" has won praise from movie critics and been a juggernaut at the box office. But some who have seen the film say that it contains hidden messages that are anti-war, pro-environment, and perhaps even racist.

For the benefit of those who haven't seen the film, a little nonspoiler background might be useful. The story is set in the year 2154 when Earth's inhabitants, having used up most of their natural resources through decades of living in excess, plan to use military force to conquer Pandora, a moon roughly the same size as Earth. Pandora, inhabited by a wise, peaceful, and nature-respecting people with blue skin called the Na'vi, is rich in a resource that the people of Earth desperately need. The earthlings send in a crew of special-forces mercenaries armed with guns, bombs, and other sophisticated weaponry to attack and conquer the Na'vi (who some think resemble American Indians and Africans), despite the fact that they represent no direct threat to the inhabitants of Earth. Since humans can't breathe in Pandora's atmosphere, the military employs mind-controlled avatars that resemble the Na'vi in every way to venture out from their landing craft and explore the landscape. Sympathizing with the Na'vi after becoming acquainted with them and their customs, one of the human-controlled avatars becomes a turncoat and helps lead the people of Pandora in the defense of their homeland.

Almost every great work of art is created to work on multiple levels, including an “actual” story or theme and a subtext. This movie falls into that category. Writer James Cameron shows old school racist colors as well as extreme hypocrisy way in this admittedly visually spectacular film.

1. White man saves primitive species–PLEASE, James, not this pat Hollywood formula AGAIN. I know it makes money but give me a break–I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw this coming one more time.(p.s.–I’m white).

2. White man flips seamlessly between his white world and the more compelling primitive world (Cameron living vicariously through the Na’vi (NBA?), as he no doubt wishes that he, like many white libs, were black). OK man, got it, but the expiration date on that one was about 1989 and now it’s really starting to stink up the place.

3. I loved the makeup of the military defectors–a Latino dude, a handicapped white dude, two white academics, and a probable Lesbian. Man, I love that Democratic party! James, do you have any other paint by numbers coloring books you can share?

4. Closing scenes show almost every single bad human to be white men. Certainly no women, and few if any Latinos, Asians or Blacks. Hmmm.

5. Worst of all, the real story of the film is not the taking of the precious metal from the Na’vi, or about the taking of oil from Iraq, or about the stripping of the the rain forest. It’s about the James Cameron mining our uncertainties about race in order to make an insane amount of money. This kind of maneuver will blow up your emotional Hometree whether you realize it or not, and most people will never how completely they have been manipulated by this film.

One more point regarding race while I’m on a roll — I’m perplexed as to why people of all colors continue to beat white people up over the issue of slavery. Folks, the slave trade TODAY as perpetrated by Arabs and Africans against native Africans is ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE larger than the slave trade in the colonial U.S. African governments have been selling their own people across the world for centuries. MANY, MANY more slaves ended up in South American vs. North American. Don’t let your professors play you for a fool with their revisionist history as the world has been a nasty place for a long, long time and non-white faces have played a huge part in the nastiness.

I prefer to live in a post-racial world where I don’t really give a damn about anyone’s race. I don’t care if you are white, brown, green, black, purple or see-through, if you’re a good person I’m going to like you, and if not then I’ll be seeing you later.

That’s my take. Happy Holidays and God Bless.

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