Saw Avatar a few weeks ago.  A visually enjoyable movie, and a pretty on par story.  By “on par,” I mean “average.”  It’s not stellar.

I didn’t want to see the film, initially. I thought there was too much Eastern influence (I hate, hate, hate anime and manga, and all things like that, so blue people with pointy ears just don’t size up, in my book). But when I found out it was in 3D I decided to check it out.  And it was somewhat enjoyable.  The marine in charge, the old guy: I’ve liked him since “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg.”  So it wasn’t all bad.

Here’s my thing, though: When are we going to stop glorifying primitive stick throwing cultures just because they’re primitive stick-throwing cultures, and when are we going to stop demonizing industrial cultures just because they’re industrial cultures?  On one level, even though I did enjoy the movie, I was sick of seeing yet another movie with traditional “Industry Bad, Loincloths Good” themes.

Just because this culture worships trees and doesn’t have spaceships, they’re seen as inherently better, and more wholesome than more advanced civilizations.  Just because you wear a leather loincloth and have a bow instead of a gun does not make you inherently more “in tune” with nature. 

I read a news piece where the Vatican was saying some of the same things, especially that the movie seemed to glorify some kind of environmental neo-paganism, which I can see.  There’s a scene in the movie where they’re swaying back and forth before a big tree to try and bring some woman back to life.  Extreme example of pagan nature religions.  2 things:  1. people who really do worship trees in real life, aren’t as glamorous as they are in 3D on an alien planet, and 2. when these people worship trees in real life, nothing happens.

I read in a report that some people were even depressed and (gasp! really?!) suicidal after watching Avatar, because the images were so beautiful that folks are feeling a lack in their lives after seeing it.  I think that’s glorifying creation a little too much.  What I don’t understand is, there’s a LOT of beautiful things on this earth: I’m sure you’ve seen pretty pictures on slide shows at work of waterfalls and islands and such. 

Well, right now, we’re all way too lazy to take advantage of what we do have.  What if the folks who are depressed about this fantasy land actually did have floating mountains and tame flying birds and trees that lit up – - would they actually go out and see them? I mean, you do understand that when Blue Guy climbs to the top of the floating mountains, he was really out of breath, right? So, unless you’re marine-fit, I doubt you’d take advantage of those floating mountains…. You’d be too out of shape. 

So if you’re down about how we don’t have memory-trees and floating mountains, I suggest you go, I don’t know, see a waterfall or something.  Or you can just trash our planet on a forum somewhere and finish your Cheetos and lament that we’re not blue-skinned, 8 foot tall savages.

But yeah, those themes are questionable.

Here’s what I would’ve liked to have seen:  some kind of redemption of the industrial folks.  The human protagonist getting his own legs back and living as a full, whole, human being.  Some kind of spirituality beyond oneness-trees.