What is Avatar?

av⋅a⋅tar [av-uh-tahr, av-uh-tahr] –noun
1. Hindu Mythology. the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god.
2. an embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life.
3. Computers. a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet.

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

Several people have asked me what my impressions of James Cameron’s new movie Avatar. A couple of them have been concerned about a message within the film. One person asked: “Isnt [sic] AVATAR an Envionmentalist(Green) Movie?” Another commented: “How much relation does it has [sic] with the "Gaia worship"? I heard it develops some "mother earth" stuff in it.” There so much to say about Cameron’s 2 hour 40 minute sci-fi spectacle—such as the $278 million dollars it made its first weekend, shattering all previous records; the four-year production schedule—that there is no way it can all be addressed here. Instead, I will offer a brief overview on the movie that everybody is talking about.

First of all, what is an “avatar?” This question is answered above and has more than one meaning. The most common use of the word today is closely associated with the internet; those little icons we put next to our pictures on Facebook, emails, video games, etc. are called avatars. The origin of the word, according to the Random House Dictionary, is a Sanskrit word avatāra, meaning “a passing down,” equiv. to ava (down) + -tāra (a passing over). According to the film’s website, an avatar is “a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with the DNA from the inhabitants of Pandora… the Na’vi.”

So what happens? Here’s the Internet Movie Data Base’s synopsis: “When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.”

Yes, James Cameron names the planet Pandora. Who was Pandora? According to Greek mythology, she was the first woman. Her name means “all gifted;” she was given gifts by the gods that would make her dangerous yet attractive to men, a name very appropriate to the imaginary home world of the Na’vi. Pandora is probably best known for opening the box that was to remain closed, and releasing all the ills that afflict mankind. The only one that remained was hope.

When watching the movie, I found myself drawing parallels from other films to this one such as Dances with Wolves, the Lord of the Rings, Return of the Jedi, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Wars as well as historical and political events. There’s even a love triangle. But that is not to say that Avatar is not an original movie; I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a movie quite like this one, especially in 3D. The technological accomplishments in the film are unparalleled. It is a science fiction movie. It’s a romance movie. It’s an action movie. It’s a sweeping epic. This movie has something to please almost everyone. However, this movie may not be to some people’s liking and for the same reason; because it is open to so many interpretations. Good movies refuse to be pigeon-holed and Avatar is a good movie. It gives us a chance to pull for the underdog, a theme Frank Capra developed in the 1930s.

Is it an Environmentalist movie? Environmentalists may say so. Does it worship Mother Earth (even though it takes place on an imaginary planet millions of light years away)? Some who worship the Earth may say so. As mentioned I found themes similar in Westerns, fantasy films, traditional science fiction, romance movies and the evening news. There are probably more if I considered them, but this is plenty. Avatar is what it is: great entertainment. When Peter Jackson was addressed with several issues regarding production of the filming of his massive Lord of the Rings trilogy, he responded with four words that I would use to summarize Avatar:

“It’s just a movie.”