The film Avatar is a cinematographic representation of a common duality found in modern perspectives of nature: nature as capital and nature as something that should be preserved. For the purpose of this paper, the term nature will refer to the physical world outside of humans and human creation – landscape, plants, animals, and so forth. The distant world of Pandora is the main setting for the film. The Na'vi are the indigenous humanoids of Pandora, whose tribe is geographically located on top of a vast amount of a highly valuable mineral – unobtanium. Humans colonized Pandora in order to mine this precious mineral. The Na'vi have a very spiritual connection with nature; they refuse to move their tribe and allow humans to expand their mining
Sternberg (2015) defines capitalism as, “An economic system characterised by comprehensive private property, free-market pricing, and the absence of coercion” (p.385). Similarly, industrial capitalism is an economic system that banks on investment of capital in technology and machines that are implemented to increase the production of marketable goods. With these basic definitions in mind, it is clear that industrial capitalism can lead to, amongst other things, overconsumption and the exploitation of resources. Define nature as capital here.
How does preservation compare to capitalism? In brief, the concept of preservation aims to keep something (nature in this context) in its original state, or to preserve it. According to Clarkin (2015),
The concept of preservation of wilderness emerged in the United States in the nineteenth century as a response to the large-scale disposal of public lands then taking place and to such economic activities as mining and logging, which had altered much of the western landscape…John Muir, who is usually cited as the first American preservationist, condemned the common perception of wilderness as an economic resource
According to Liebig’s Law, populations are limited by the minimum amount of resources that can be found at the scarcest time of the year. Perhaps this is why the Na’vi population is fairly low. In contrast, the humans in the film are living in an era where they are forced to seek resources from other planets, due to the overconsumption of earth’s resources. Whilst discussing the differences between the Native Americans and colonists, Cronon (1983) eloquently states, “The difference between Indians and Europeans was not that one had property and the other had none; rather, it was that they loved property differently” (p.80). Similar views exist between the Na’vi and the humans in Avatar. Indeed, the Na’vi princess, Neytiri, supports this idea in the film, “The wealth of this world isn’t in the ground [referring to the mining of unobtanium], it’s all around us.” fix quote These contrasting ideas help to induce the prominent duality found in the film: nature as capital and nature as something that should be
To conclude, there are clearly many ways in which the events of chapter 12 and the movie “Avatar” resemble each other. Not only are there numerous examples of similarities, but there are also numerous examples of differences as well. For instance, the whites tried to remove the Native Americans from their homelands, and the humans tried to remove the Na’vi from their homelands. Although, the whites succeeded, whereas the humans did not. In addition, many people died in both cases, however, in different ways.
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
Throughout time, many people feel as if they have lost their connection to their cultural from outside influences and numerous disruptions. Disruptions to one’s cultural can be seen in the Picture book The Rabbits by john Marsden and Shaun tan which is an an allegory of the invasion of Australia. Another example is the film avatar by James Cameron. The creators of these works are expressing the effect of man on nature and disruption it brings upon the cultural of the indigenous people who are the traditional owners of the land.
The rise of conservation was first fueled by Theodore Roosevelt in the late 19th century. And the issues surrounding conservation had risen in the US around that time. The new understanding affects the country and its policies. Conservation is the careful preservation and protection of something; especially planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect. Merriam-Webster:
John Muir believed that for the future of America that the natural world should be protected. Muir felt that the environment of much of the United States was not protected properly and the locations that were protected were not managed adequately. Muir felt that Americans had much to gain from the protection of their national resources and park lands. In John Muir’s book Our National Parks, written in 1901 he states: “Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and enrich their own...
Every since the industrial revolution, society has moved to jobs, factories, manufacturing goods and products, and larger cities. This process called industrialization is when an economy modifies its way of living from an agriculture based living to the production of merchandise in factories. The manual labor that is required for farm work is replaced with mass production on assembly lines. Andrew Blackwell visits this idea of industrialization in Visit Sunny Chernobyl but to a higher extent. Blackwell states “today that society is an industrial one, resource hungry and plant-spanning, growing so inefficiently large, we believe that it is disrupting its own host… It’s not just about living sustainably. It’s about being able to live with ourselves,”
Since the rise of the American environmental romanticism the idea of preservation and conservation have been seen as competing ideologies. Literary scholars such as Thoreau and Muir have all spoke to the defense of our natural lands in a pristine, untouched form. These pro-preservation thinkers believed in the protecting of American lands to not only ensure that future generations will get to experiences these lands, but to protect the heavily rooted early American nationalism in our natural expanses. Muir was one of the most outspoken supports of the preservation ideology, yet his stylistic writing style and rhetoric resulted in conservation being an adopted practice in the early 20th century Muir is often seen as one of the most pro-preservation
The theory of evolution, although supported by scientific evidence, is still a debated topic within North American culture. With the spread of false information through of social media and pop culture, it is important that scientific themes like evolution is correctly represented. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a Nickelodeon TV show that aired from 2005-2008 and reached an average audience of 3.1 million viewers per episode (Bynum, 2006). Because it was a popular kids’ show, it had the ability to influence young minds. The Avatar universe has since been expanded into comic books and a spin off tv show, to continue building on the world and ideologies expressed. The world consists of four nations, each affiliated with a different element air,
Leopold defends his position the advent of a new ethical development, one that deals with humans’ relations to the land and its necessity. This relationship is defined as the land ethic, this concept holds to a central component referred to as the ecological consciousness. The ecological consciousness is not a vague ideal, but one that is not recognized in modern society. It reflects a certainty of individual responsibility for the health and preservation of the land upon which we live, and all of its components. If the health of the land is upheld, its capacity of self-renewal and regeneration is maintained as well. To date, conservation has been our sole effort to understand and preserve this capacity. Leopold holds that if the mainstream embraces his ideals of a land ethic and an ecological consciousness, the beauty, stability and integrity of our world will be preserved.
The American science fiction film ‘Avatar’, directed by James Cameron is about Jake Sully, a paralysed former marine who becomes an avatar to take his place on a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There, he meets the Na’vi people and gets attached to living in harmony with nature, where he must save their land when being attacked by humans. The story line of Avatar follows closely with ‘The Hero’s Journey’ which focuses on how the main character is experiencing a change from his ordinary world, turning into an avatar to explore a new world. Primarily, Avatar captures a call to adventure to begin the hero’s journey. The film also explores a new approach with crossing the first threshold of the hero’s joinery which is conveyed through a range of cinematic techniques. Furthermore, Sully experiences a major ordeal followed by a reward shown in a variety of dramatic shots.
In “Avatar”, the concept of cultural relativism is explored in numerous ways. The main character, Jake Sully, is a prime example of cultural relativism. As Jake submerges himself among the Na’vi and their culture, he begins to realize the culture, viewing it from the Na’vi perspective. After falling in love with a native, Neytiri, Jake realizes the innocence of the Na’vi and how they are simply trying to protect their homeland. He begins to understand the value in scared places to the Na’vi, most notably the Tree of Souls. Only after living with Na’vi and seeing the destruction of the military does Jake truly understand the value within the Na’vi people. Another prevalent film that conveys the theme of cultural relativism is “The Emerald Forest”. The son of Bill Markham, Tommy, is kidnapped at the start of the movie, spending the rest of his
Capitalism was a very strong form of government in fact, it was so strong that it was one of the factors that led to the evolution of the Industrial Revolution. Capitalism is a form of government where it’s based on open competition in a free market, in which individuals and companies own the means of production and operate for profit. The Industrial Revolution that began in 1780 in England, was a time shift from using hand tools to machines producing the demands of humans. Through the growth of capitalism, much of society began to question themselves whether the effects of capitalism on society, the nature of human beings, and the ideal social and economic situation was unjust or not. Karl Marx and Andrew Carnegie were two people who disagreed
Set on the planet Pandora, Avatar is a science-fiction story of a money-hungry corporation’s attempt to conquer and excavate the land of humanoids known as Na’Vi. Jake Sully is a paraplegic, who is sent to space to complete his deceased brother’s mission because they share the same genome, which is necessary to navigate the expensive avatar that had already been cloned. We learn that the avatar is basically a mind-transporter used to be a part of and learn about the Na’Vi community. During his first expedition in the land of the Na’Vi, Jake gets lost and encounters one of the main female members of the tribe who ends up taking him under her wing and teaches him the ways of a Omaticaya. From here, the movie continues to tell the story of Jake’s dilemma between the mission he started with his people and the allegiance he slowly pledged to the Omaticaya clan. After watching Avatar the day it came out in theaters, I easily decided that it was one of the most extraordinary movies I had ever seen. My opinion may seem invalid coming from an uncultured fourteen-year-old, but even after having recently re-watched the film, I feel this movie and its social commentary are remarkable. There were many aspects to this movie, some controversial, that made the movie exceptional: its new-aged cinematography, disputable portrayal of the indigenous peoples, oddly familiar plotline, and mostly its critique on colonization and civilization. After having watched Avatar for the sixth time, I have come to the conclusion that this film much more intricate than its critics and supporters acknowledge. There are multiple parallels between imperialism and...
the land they wish to exploit for personal greed. Jake takes up the opportunity of infiltrating the Na’vi for
While watching the movie you feel for sad the Avatar people and anger towards the humans and corporations that are taking control, wanting to destroy the environment through mining to make money. It is a message of caution; look at how things could be in the 22nd century if we aren’t more careful with the resources the Earth provides now.