DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I have a grandnephew, 15, from Kentucky and a grandson, 16, from California. Both say “Avatar” is the best movie they’ve ever seen. When I asked why, I expected to hear about the amazing graphics. But they surprised me saying it was the storyline. Independently, they both mentioned the scene where the princess blesses the animal before killing it and the scene where Jake Sully is accepted into the tribe by all the linked hands. I’m interested in how other young people were impacted by this film. — John Wood, Carmichael, Calif.
Editor’s Web Note: Could humans finally be weary of violence and exploitation? As of today’s date, the sci-fi film “Avatar” holds the spot for the second-highest grossing film ever made. For all the complaints from the intellectual community and the Christian right, Cameron makes a spiritual life of peace and ecological balance look sumptuously fulfilling. If it wasn’t for “abandonment guilt”, most young people would head to Pandora in a hot second. —Lauren
Comments
-
I thought Avatar was a good movie too, but really guys? This is Hollywood! I understand the theme was thought provoking, but the film’s impact on people just shows how much we are affected by the media. It is not about the message, historical parallels, or the environment. You really want nature? go out to the woods, not the movie theater. It disturbs me to see how misinformed and ignorant we all can be sometimes.
I appreciate this movie for what it was; an entertaining blockbuster and a beautiful display of digital art which thoroughly enhanced a feelgood, cliche theme. Thank you Geoff for stating it a bit more eloquently than my rant.
-
“Avatar” opened a new meaning of life to me. I didn’t feel sad at all afterward, I felt as if I woke up and grew wings. The movie gave me a new connection to nature, who I believe is God, he created the world for us to live and care for. I believe that if we don’t take care of Earth, then we might murder our own home, a home created just for us. We should take good care for it, like the Na’vi did with Pandora.
-
The longing that these teens are feeling is the longing that we all have within us. We were created to live in a garden in peace and in relationship with nature and each other. It is at the core of our being.
-
The plot line was completely unoriginal and “hollywood” like Dominic said but I think what makes this movie so powerful is that it questions our humanity, (like most stories) and has us ask the big questions that examine what it means to be human. The graphics make it easier for us to feel empathy, putting ourselves into someone else’s shoes. Even though its unoriginal, the story obviously needs to be repeated over and over again before we get it and stop acting the way we do towards each other in war, racism etc.
-
Lauren,
Responding to ‘Avatar’ blues column. Here’s what young people can do to withdraw from what you appropriately describe as “the insanity of the military-industrial-corporate machine.”
First, recognize that it is both a machine and someone else’s dream. We are more than consumers. We are spiritual beings in human form.
Truth is, we are not bound by someone else’s dream, no matter how many messages they send out intending for us to sleepwalk or buy into their dream.
I would offer that young adults find some practices like meditation, yoga, prayer for them to know the truth of their their True Self, their own Infinite Nature. I have some exercises that people of any age can do so they can access this awareness in their body so it is a real experience, not just a concept or wishful thought.
Then, young people cna congregate together, shae their dreams and visions for the world they want to create and start to take actions steps to make it their 3D reality.
The best way to dismantle the insanity of today’s culture is to give it less and less energy, simply by focusing on what we do want to create. Like sustainable, healthy organic food supplies. Connecting with nature.
As we live more loving, connected, and fun lives with each other by living our own Truths, and the Matrix, the old powers that be lose their grip on us, eventually collapsing because fewer and fewer people buy into their story.
I’d love to discuss this with you directly if you’d like.
It’s time to re-create the world! And who better to lead us than the leaders of tomorrow!
Warmly,
Stu
-
Hey so I finally saw this film and I know why everyone is depressed when they see Avatar. When they watch this movie it shows a way of life that humans once lived a way of life that every single person longs for. and the reason we long for this is because it is deeply embedded in our DNA and our very nature. Our ancestors lived like the Navi did maybe without riding on birds, but by living in nature and co-existing with it and thanking the animals we killed and praying and being connected too nature and god and all living things. Now all that we do is use nature and animals like they aren’t made of energy like all of us humans. We have forgotten who we are!
-
Lauren: Thanks for writing Straight Talk. I think it is a great resource for teens and is a valuable addition to the Record Searchlight newspaper.
Due to an illness, I could not write sooner, but the column that appeared in the RS on Jan 25 really bothered me. I think you may have mislead many with your comment about the “insanity” of the military-industrial-corporate machine. It is said that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat past mistakes over and over.War is a violent way for determining who gets to say what goes on in a given territory, for example, regarding: who gets power, who gets wealth and resources, whose ideals prevail, who is a member and who is not, which laws get made, what gets taught in schools, where the border rests, how much tax is levied, and so on. War is the ultimate means for deciding these issues if a peaceful process or resolution can’t be agreed upon.
Wars have been going on since before recorded history, and certainly long before industry and corporations appeared. Wars are still going on today in areas of the world without significant industry or corporation presence.War can be seen as one of the facets of human nature. Many, like myself, believe that if we are not prepared to defend ourselves and our friends with a “big stick” then we are not prepared at all. So, while you see it as “insanity”, I see it as a prophylactic.
As an aside, we can thank war, along with purges, disease and auto accidents, etc. for our relatively decent living conditions. Despite the heartache, suffering & pain loved ones may feel due to deaths, these things have not even begun to keep pace with another facet of human nature, that of “breeding like rabbits”. The USA probably has at least twice the population it should have, and the world should probably reduce its population to a third or forth of present levels just to get to a sustainable level.
Ken
