2 Fat Dads

Around me, many folks are gung-ho to see Avatar, James Cameron’s newest film.  They say it will be nothing short of a Cinematic Revelation.  Some are adamant that this will be The-biggest-movie-of-the-Summah (for those who remember Arnold Schwarzenegger’s boast of his 1993 flop, The Last Action Hero).  Although I find the term revelation a tad much, you can be sure that as far as quality goes, M. Cameron will deliver.  Innovative (3-D) visual effects.  Lush, vibrant colours.  Loud, ostentatious sound.  Computer-controlled camera shots so impossible they can’t be re-created in the real world, as there’s a thing called Gravity to contend with.  Sensory Candy so sweet, teeth will rot on the spot.

The only thing that worries me is the story.  We’ve seen this dozens of times before, in different mediums.  Its roots are found all over Human History.  A few names; Exploitation colonialism, Indigenous displacement, Conquest imperialism.  It’s the deliberate attempt by an exterior entity to harness and exploit a natural resource that A:) does not belong to them.  B:) has an immense material/ energetic wealth.  The invaders are usually brutal, uncaring, ignorant buffoons.  They will rape, murder and plunder everything around them and leave everything a smoldering mess.  Mankind (as a whole) is a poster child of this.  We have destroyed countless civilizations and killed our own kin, in the Name of God, Profit and Power. Continue reading My take on Avatar, on this episode of Flacking the Flicks.