After having seen the movie Avatar, in all honesty I thought the special effects were incredibly innovative and totally worth the ten year wait from Cameron’s last blockbuster movie Titanic. In Brook’s defense it is true that many plot-lines these days fall under the category of white men being taken into another culture while learning it. This movie list may include films like Planet of the Apes or Star Wars. The main characters become stronger, faster and figuratively as good as the culture they are brought into. However, I think that Avatar parallels many historical events in American society and probably points to the largest genocides ever, The Europeans over the Native Americans.
The occupation of the Americans on this planet or alternate world of Pandora very much parallels the occupation of Europeans in the new world of North America back in the days when they conquered it. Pandora is a place untouched by technology, machinery or greedy Americans looking for some special rock that can obviously lead to riches. Back to the point made by Brooks, the main character in Avatar does try to become a part of the Nairobi culture but the movie through it’s incredible special effects and in my opinion it’s very unique plot line accentuates the destruction we are capable of in the future and in the past. Avatar also makes the point that Earth is a planet humans continue to destroy without really fully realizing it.
