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bigaudiofanatic

I doubt that you will be able to have 3d without glasses for a long while.

ryanjoachim

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

I doubt that you will be able to have 3d without glasses for a long while.

Shouldn't be more than another year or so, as Intel was showing off working models at CES this year. As to when that type of technology will be affordable is anyone's guess though.

bigaudiofanatic

Hmm interesting I will have to look into that.

It is amazing what one movie will make some of us do. LOL

concealer404

When do i get to see movies in moving holograms? I want to sit at a round table like in star wars and see everything happening below me.

Face

Demiurge

The movie was very good visually, but the story sucked a fat one.

Yes, I tried to be entertained, but like Shizelbs I couldn't shut my brain off with this one because the fantasy world that so many impressionable people were sucked into was filled with such crap. Perhaps I was preparing myself for it since Hollywood is overrun with such things being stuffed into films. Avatar would have been hilarious if it wasn't so insulting.

Just read this:

Audiences experience 'Avatar' blues

(CNN) -- James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.

"I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ," Baghdassarian said. "But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."

A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.

"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie," Elequin posted.

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

Cameron's movie, which has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office sales and could be on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, is set in the future when the Earth's resources have been pillaged by the human race. A greedy corporation is trying to mine the rare mineral unobtainium from the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by a peace-loving race of 7-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na'vi.

In their race to mine for Pandora's resources, the humans clash with the Na'vi, leading to casualties on both sides. The world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.

Ivar Hill posts to the "Avatar" forum page under the name Eltu. He wrote about his post-"Avatar" depression after he first saw the film earlier this month.

"When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed ... gray. It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning," Hill wrote on the forum. "It just seems so ... meaningless. I still don't really see any reason to keep ... doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

Reached via e-mail in Sweden where he is studying game design, Hill, 17, explained that his feelings of despair made him desperately want to escape reality.

"One can say my depression was twofold: I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place, but I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality," Hill said.

Cameron's special effects masterpiece is very lifelike, and the 3-D performance capture and CGI effects essentially allow the viewer to enter the alien world of Pandora for the movie's 2½-hour running time, which only lends to the separation anxiety some individuals experience when they depart the movie theater.

"Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far," said Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."

Fans of the movie may find actor Stephen Lang, who plays the villainous Col. Miles Quaritch in the film, an enemy of the Na'vi people and their sacred ground, an unlikely sympathizer. But Lang says he can understand the connection people are feeling with the movie.

"Pandora is a pristine world and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet and I think that strikes a deep chord within people that has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it," Lang said. "James Cameron had the technical resources to go along with this incredibly fertile imagination of his and his dream is built out of the same things that other peoples' dreams are made of."

The bright side is that for Hill and others like him -- who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron -- becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.

"After discussing on the forums for a while now, my depression is beginning to fade away. Having taken a part in many discussions concerning all this has really, really helped me," Hill said. "Before, I had lost the reason to keep on living -- but now it feels like these feelings are gradually being replaced with others."

Quentzel said creating relationships with others is one of the keys to human happiness, and that even if those connections are occurring online they are better than nothing.

"Obviously there is community building in these forums," Quentzel said. "It may be technologically different from other community building, but it serves the same purpose."

Within the fan community, suggestions for battling feelings of depression after seeing the movie include things like playing "Avatar" video games or downloading the movie soundtrack, in addition to encouraging members to relate to other people outside the virtual realm and to seek out positive and constructive activities.

Link

Emotional realms filled with unattainables.

bigaudiofanatic

Face, ya ya I saw that I still dont care still one of the best movies I have ever seem 80% for the visual 20 for the story.

bigaudiofanatic

Won best actor and best movie for golden globes.

Ron Temple

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

Won best actor and best movie for golden globes.

Well, I didnt see any 12' tall actors accepting an award for best actor. I did see JC grabbing best director though.:p

MrNightly

1.4 billion in sales world wide. .4 billion to to go to upset Titanic!!!

Anything to beat Titanic please... anything!!!

danz1906

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

Won best actor and best movie for golden globes.

Avatar was the Clear Winner.........Very Good Movie!

bigaudiofanatic

MrNightly wrote: »

1.4 billion in sales world wide. .4 billion to to go to upset Titanic!!!

Anything to beat Titanic please... anything!!!

I can only hope

Sherardp

Went to see it a second time last week. I think I had my share of seeing it. Its been a very long time since I went to see the same movie twice in theaters. The theater I was in was jam packed.

Jstas

***POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILERS***

Saw this on Saturday night.

Visually, it was stunning. Good effects, believable environment but the movement of the Na'vi was clunky and unnatural. I think they got past the uncanny valley that would cause people to be repulsed by the CGI humanoids by making them "cat like". Otherwise, they were believable.

However, the environments seemed robbed from several different video games that I've played over the years. I saw hints of Myst, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and a few more that I can't really name off-hand. The floating mountains were one of the things that everybody seems stunned over but I vividly recall seeing in a role-playing game from the late 90's where they just took shots of the Chinese Huang Shan mountains and cut them off at the base. They then flipped the picture upside down, transposed it and attached it to the bottom of the cropped mountain, upside down. The graphics were grainier and not as realistic but graphics technology in the 1998 time frame was in the stone age comparatively. But those floating mountains, they looked very similar.

But the foliage and fauna were very familiar in several respects from other games as well. Some of them were very common like Warcraft and Starcraft. I found it odd that everything glowed at night. Even when they stepped on or touched stuff, it glowed.


The plot was pedestrian, linear and very predictable. Mainly because like what was already said, it's been rehashed through history. Otherwise known as cowboys and indians or the even the story of Pocahontas. That was depressing. Why film makers have to preach on and on about this stuff is annoying. I could understand if it was "Dances With Wolves" which dealt directly with that whole concept. But this was a chance to not be cliche. But I guess we can't expect that from James Cameron. That's how he sells tickets. Cliche, supermarket romance novel romps through a horrendous plot. Either that or kick-**** superhero dude saves the day while the good guys cower in fear from the bad guys who seem to line up for the chance to get their **** kicked by the hero.

Anyway, as soon as I saw the opening scenes and they started talking about Pandora and what was going on, I got the whole Pocahontas thing. What solidified it for me was the use of ethnic actors in the lead roles for the leaders of the Na'vi. I was actually kind of offended by it that JC would think we could be so dumb to not see through it. It was almost as bad as George Lucas taking the easy way out in Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Then again, judging by the reviews I've seen from several people who have seen it multiple times as well as those despairing that they can't live in the Pandoran fantasy world, maybe 'ole James is right and we are that stupid?

The chieftain was played by Wes Studi. Wes is an accomplished character actor playing many different roles and exploiting his very ethnic appearance and upbringing to his advantage. Wes has played a part in virtually every modern film concerning anything to do with Native Americans. Wes is also Cherokee.

The priestess was played by CCH Pounder. She is a native of Guyana. For those who failed geography, it is a country on the northern coast of South America. Guyana shares much of it's culture with the predominantly English speaking Caribbean and is one of only 4 non-Hispanic countries in South America. The people are made up of Indo-Guyanese (native "indians") and Afro-Guyanese (African slaves) cultures. The culture that resembles it the most is that of Trinidad. So not only does the movie have the North American Native represented as an oppressed society in the chief but the West Indian population decimated by European explorers as well as the African victims of the slave trade are represented by the priestess. Additionally, the priestess's practicing religion is quite remarkably close to voodoo. If you REALLY want to stretch it far, most of the rest of the Na'vi are played by actors with strong African heritage to further solidify that 3rd oppressed culture.

The exploited stereotypes are quite obvious in the speech patterns, mannerisms and behaviors of the various Na'vi, including the female lead character. Even if they are all blue.

The Na'vi follow typical Native American ways, use Native American weapons and tools and even their name seems derived from word "Native". Meanwhile, the RDA corporation's hired goons are exactly what the "explorers" from about 1450-1650 were in the New World. They came with superior weapons and technology to look for resources. Yeah, pretty definitive pattern here.

Once you get past that though, the plot is...well,...uninspiring. It's a tear jerker for sure at points but that's how it's played up and character development is deliberate and personifies the Na'vi as victims of corporate greed. That tugs at heart strings because "corporate greed" is a nameless, faceless aggressor that has many victims from those minions that do the bidding to those who are displaced, oppressed and violated in the name of profit. But because it's nameless and faceless, there is no one place to direct the anger and rage that you feel against the "bad guys" so it manifests itself in helpless compassion for the Na'vi. At the same time though, you get to see the human side of the "corporation" when those "victimized minions" involved show muted disgust at the destruction they just waged on Hometree. That ties in the "explorers of the New World" in to the modern day blastings of oil companies, Haliburton, drug companies, big tobacco and so on. Sums up how bad we are in one neat package that has you looking at how bad such entities are that exploit and oppress lesser advanced cultures or even more impressionable individuals for corporate gain. You bad, bad people!

But wait! There's more! Watch the destruction of Hometree again. Look familiar? James Cameron, in an interview and almost completely unprompted, made mention of "how close to the World Trade Center destruction that scene was". Do you remember what the excuse was that al-Qaeda gave for the bombing of the WTC in 1993 and then its destruction in 2001? It wasn't just about leaving Muslim countries alone. They chose the WTC because it represented the "capitalist pig", the excessive waste, greed and consumption that flies in the face of Islam. And there you have it, the end of the pattern. Hometree was the center of the Na'vi world, what they relied on to sustain their standard of living. When it was destroyed by capitalist greed, the people were lost, homeless and without direction. It seemed a pretty clear and preachy message to me. JC's story is telling us that we'll end up like the Na'vi who are just like us, a bug under the shoe of the corporate world.

That corporate world is a major distinction. JC never says it's America doing all this. It's always RDA Corporation. Yeah, they hired Marines but they were rejected and/or retired Marines. Not active duty soldiers tied to any one country. Kinda like the oil companies. they even used oil....I mean "unobtanium" profits to finance the army and even the research that Sigorney Weaver's character was doing.

I'm not going to go further by insinuating such things that JC wants us to adopt the lifestyle of the Na'vi or even to convert to Islam or anything even remotely like that. That's a bit too far beyond insane to even be given reasonable consideration. I don't even think James Cameron hates America. Although, he is Canadian so that may be true after all. But the guy has made his home here since 1971 and if he really hated it that bad, he'd probably just have gone back to Canada.

I tried to give this movie a chance but the references as plot devices were so obvious and cheap that they glared at me the entire time. I questioned everything in the movie and couldn't really enjoy it for what it was, entertainment. I got the distinct feeling that I was being preached to in the manner of a fire and brimstone evangelist telling me how evil I was unless I changed my ways. It kinda ruined the movie for me.

Was it worth $10 to see? No, it wasn't. That's why I only paid $8.25 which was still a tad too much. 3-D didn't add anything to it nor did IMAX. It honestly just made the 2.5 hours of movie more fatiguing to sit through. The tech side with all the shiny images and such was slick, I'll give it that. It advanced film technology pretty far all by itself. Just wish they backed off on the "look how bad we are" stuff for once and told a more creative store with it.

If you stuck with me this long, thanks for reading. If you think I'm on to something, cool. If you think I'm nuts, that's cool too. Either way, hope you enjoyed "Avatar: 'Cause James Cameron Hates Corporate America" more than I did.


BTW, unobtanium? Really? Could it get any more lame?

shepx2

If you stuck with me this long, thanks for reading. If you think I'm on to something, cool. If you think I'm nuts, that's cool too.

What if I think you are on to something ANd nuts?? :eek:

When I first scrolled through your post, for a second I thought this was a new review from our favorite club polk movie critic

And, yeah, the unobtainium name had to come from a lost bet by one of the screenwriters.

bigaudiofanatic

^^^ Should of just stopped analyzing stuff and watched jstas. Still to me best movie I have seen. Good review

LuSh

Ron-P posted awhile back about a sleeper flicked called "Moon". I started a new thread. If those who like Sci-Fi and found Avatar's plot lacking or perhaps done one too many times check out "Moon". It was directed by David Bowies son Duncan Jones on a $5million budget and is Sci-Fi to it's core. No lasers, just a very good story.

Here is the trailer to that film released last week on Blu Ray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q

I post this because I saw Avatar on an IMAX screening and while I did enjoy the craftsmanship and technology used I preferred Moon so much more on so many more different levels. It's still up in the air if Sam Rockwell will get an Oscar Nomination as Avatar seems to have pushed many story driven pictures out of the picture.

Ron-P

The ONLY reason I'd ever go see Avatar is for the effects, nothing more. I don't care about acting, story or none of that nonsense, this is an effects films and that is why I'd go see it, but, I think I'll wait for it on Blu.

And yes, Moon is outstanding Sci-fi, one of the best films I've seen in a very long time.

BTW, unobtanium? Really? Could it get any more lame?

That comes from the film, "The Core". The guy who built his ship to drill to the center of the planet called the material he used unobtanium. ****'n Cameron, what a copy-cat.

kuntasensei

Unobtainium was actually a term coined by aerospace engineers to describe materials with near-miraculous properties, such that they don't actually exist or can't be had. It's kind of an inside joke that spread to science fiction. Cameron's use of it, while it may seem silly on the surface, is actually a clever reference. I used to hear my dad use the word... but my dad was a giant engineering dork. I kinda hate that Cameron used it, but it's not any more ridiculous than some of the other made-up names for stuff in sci-fi. Can you say "red matter" or "dilithium", Trek fans?

SolidSqual

I think Nooshinjohn had the necessary attitude going into the movie. First and foremost, it's a work of fiction. Second, it's coming out of Hollywood so you know its going to be loaded with at least a few not so subtle disagreeable themes. Thus prepare yourself.

Remember, a Marine's life is worth 100 treehuggers in reality. Marines are the one's keeping peace around the world, even now in Haiti, just so treehuggers can come in and distribute supplies transported by the Navy and Airforce. Finally, take note that the Na'vi treehuggers would have been slaughtered if not for the wit and cunning of one Marine who stayed true to his training and values.

domflane

I just saw the film and I loved it, there's no reason to be so critical. Sure the story is familiar, but it was still encompassing and I couldn't help but become immersed. I was instantly reminded of "Dune", the stories are very similar with fantastic worlds and fierce natives and giant monsters. This doesn't take away from Avatar though. Some story ideas just stand the test of time. A +

Fongolio

When I watch a movie like Avatar, any Star Wars film, Indiana Jones movies etc. etc. I check my brain at the ticket booth strap on my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. 2 1/2 hours of forgetting about this planet and travelling to another one in the Imax was more than worth the price of admission two times over. Don't over analyze. Just enjoy.

bigaudiofanatic

Fongolio wrote: »

When I watch a movie like Avatar, any Star Wars film, Indiana Jones movies etc. etc. I check my brain at the ticket booth strap on my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. 2 1/2 hours of forgetting about this planet and travelling to another one in the Imax was more than worth the price of admission two times over. Don't over analyze. Just enjoy.

I agree

MrNightly

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

I agree

Apparently so does about 1.5 Billion dollars of other people too

nooshinjohn

Fongolio wrote: »

When I watch a movie like Avatar, any Star Wars film, Indiana Jones movies etc. etc. I check my brain at the ticket booth strap on my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. 2 1/2 hours of forgetting about this planet and travelling to another one in the Imax was more than worth the price of admission two times over. Don't over analyze. Just enjoy.

I agree with you completely...

If I did not do this every time I went to a movie my brain would explode.

cnh

Jstas wrote: »

***POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILERS***

Saw this on Saturday night.

Visually, it was stunning. Good effects, believable environment but the movement of the Na'vi was clunky and unnatural. I think they got past the uncanny valley that would cause people to be repulsed by the CGI humanoids by making them "cat like". Otherwise, they were believable.

However, the environments seemed robbed from several different video games that I've played over the years. I saw hints of Myst, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and a few more that I can't really name off-hand. The floating mountains were one of the things that everybody seems stunned over but I vividly recall seeing in a role-playing game from the late 90's where they just took shots of the Chinese Huang Shan mountains and cut them off at the base. They then flipped the picture upside down, transposed it and attached it to the bottom of the cropped mountain, upside down. The graphics were grainier and not as realistic but graphics technology in the 1998 time frame was in the stone age comparatively. But those floating mountains, they looked very similar.

But the foliage and fauna were very familiar in several respects from other games as well. Some of them were very common like Warcraft and Starcraft. I found it odd that everything glowed at night. Even when they stepped on or touched stuff, it glowed.


The plot was pedestrian, linear and very predictable. Mainly because like what was already said, it's been rehashed through history. Otherwise known as cowboys and indians or the even the story of Pocahontas. That was depressing. Why film makers have to preach on and on about this stuff is annoying. I could understand if it was "Dances With Wolves" which dealt directly with that whole concept. But this was a chance to not be cliche. But I guess we can't expect that from James Cameron. That's how he sells tickets. Cliche, supermarket romance novel romps through a horrendous plot. Either that or kick-**** superhero dude saves the day while the good guys cower in fear from the bad guys who seem to line up for the chance to get their **** kicked by the hero.

Anyway, as soon as I saw the opening scenes and they started talking about Pandora and what was going on, I got the whole Pocahontas thing. What solidified it for me was the use of ethnic actors in the lead roles for the leaders of the Na'vi. I was actually kind of offended by it that JC would think we could be so dumb to not see through it. It was almost as bad as George Lucas taking the easy way out in Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Then again, judging by the reviews I've seen from several people who have seen it multiple times as well as those despairing that they can't live in the Pandoran fantasy world, maybe 'ole James is right and we are that stupid?

The chieftain was played by Wes Studi. Wes is an accomplished character actor playing many different roles and exploiting his very ethnic appearance and upbringing to his advantage. Wes has played a part in virtually every modern film concerning anything to do with Native Americans. Wes is also Cherokee.

..........
The exploited stereotypes are quite obvious in the speech patterns, mannerisms and behaviors of the various Na'vi, including the female lead character. Even if they are all blue.

The Na'vi follow typical Native American ways, use Native American weapons and tools and even their name seems derived from word "Native". Meanwhile, the RDA corporation's hired goons are exactly what the "explorers" from about 1450-1650 were in the New World. They came with superior weapons and technology to look for resources. Yeah, pretty definitive pattern here.

Once you get past that though, the plot is...well,...uninspiring. It's a tear jerker for sure at points but that's how it's played up and character development is deliberate and personifies the Na'vi as victims of corporate greed. That tugs at heart strings because "corporate greed" is a nameless, faceless aggressor that has many victims from those minions that do the bidding to those who are displaced, oppressed and violated in the name of profit. But because it's nameless and faceless, there is no one place to direct the anger and rage that you feel against the "bad guys" so it manifests itself in helpless compassion for the Na'vi. At the same time though, you get to see the human side of the "corporation" when those "victimized minions" involved show muted disgust at the destruction they just waged on Hometree. That ties in the "explorers of the New World" in to the modern day blastings of oil companies, Haliburton, drug companies, big tobacco and so on. Sums up how bad we are in one neat package that has you looking at how bad such entities are that exploit and oppress lesser advanced cultures or even more impressionable individuals for corporate gain. You bad, bad people!

But wait! There's more! Watch the destruction of Hometree again. Look familiar? James Cameron, in an interview and almost completely unprompted, made mention of "how close to the World Trade Center destruction that scene was". Do you remember what the excuse was that al-Qaeda gave for the bombing of the WTC in 1993 and then its destruction in 2001? It wasn't just about leaving Muslim countries alone. They chose the WTC because it represented the "capitalist pig", the excessive waste, greed and consumption that flies in the face of Islam. And there you have it, the end of the pattern. Hometree was the center of the Na'vi world, what they relied on to sustain their standard of living. When it was destroyed by capitalist greed, the people were lost, homeless and without direction. It seemed a pretty clear and preachy message to me. JC's story is telling us that we'll end up like the Na'vi who are just like us, a bug under the shoe of the corporate world.

That corporate world is a major distinction. JC never says it's America doing all this. It's always RDA Corporation. Yeah, they hired Marines but they were rejected and/or retired Marines. Not active duty soldiers tied to any one country. Kinda like the oil companies. they even used oil....I mean "unobtanium" profits to finance the army and even the research that Sigorney Weaver's character was doing.

I'm not going to go further by insinuating such things that JC wants us to adopt the lifestyle of the Na'vi or even to convert to Islam or anything even remotely like that. That's a bit too far beyond insane to even be given reasonable consideration. I don't even think James Cameron hates America. Although, he is Canadian so that may be true after all. But the guy has made his home here since 1971 and if he really hated it that bad, he'd probably just have gone back to Canada.

I tried to give this movie a chance but the references as plot devices were so obvious and cheap that they glared at me the entire time. I questioned everything in the movie and couldn't really enjoy it for what it was, entertainment. I got the distinct feeling that I was being preached to in the manner of a fire and brimstone evangelist telling me how evil I was unless I changed my ways. It kinda ruined the movie for me.

Was it worth $10 to see? No, it wasn't. That's why I only paid $8.25 which was still a tad too much. 3-D didn't add anything to it nor did IMAX. It honestly just made the 2.5 hours of movie more fatiguing to sit through. The tech side with all the shiny images and such was slick, I'll give it that. It advanced film technology pretty far all by itself. Just wish they backed off on the "look how bad we are" stuff for once and told a more creative store with it.

If you stuck with me this long, thanks for reading. If you think I'm on to something, cool. If you think I'm nuts, that's cool too. Either way, hope you enjoyed "Avatar: 'Cause James Cameron Hates Corporate America" more than I did.


BTW, unobtanium? Really? Could it get any more lame?

So, did you like the film?? lol

Careful with the length of your review or you might start giving Mike le... a run for his money!

That said, jokingly of course....the only way someone could have written the above is one, because it pissed him off and two he did a lot of research and thinking after the film.

Well my friends..this encounter with the 'other' is what my 'field' is all about. And the scenario referred to above we call a trope. In simple terms a concept that is deeply embedded in the cultural mind of a particular civilization...in this case the 'primitive' vs. science and civilization. It is also a romantic nostalgia for a past that may have 'never' been--that is simply the converse of all the shortcomings and laments of our present day society.

In most instances it is IMPOSSIBLE for most western minds to think outside of these kinds of concepts...so they keep reproducing their cultural baggage and biases and longings.

I am NOT going to turn this into a film review...I did not see it in its full 3d glory but at a friends house here in China--so I can't talk about the effects and the wonders of the imax version.

But the fascinating thing is HoW much IMPACT said tropes have on the public imagination....because they are culturally embedded and mostly unconscious except for those who believe their opposite...because there is always a counter discourse--hence jstas's tirade above. That is the other side...but it''s not like we've actually gotten outside either IDEA in any of the posts here. Because it is quite difficult to escape one's time and place...only the great scientists and artists have a partial ability to do so...

Is JC a great artist...most definitely not! Does Avatar fulfill and reinforce a social imaginary...YES!! What do I think...? Time to get out of the BOX!

cnh

bigaudiofanatic

After going to see it for the 5th time last night I realized a few things. Still a great movie that will get your attention, the theater will be packed, and people will still cheer at the end.

danz1906

Fongolio wrote: »

When I watch a movie like Avatar, any Star Wars film, Indiana Jones movies etc. etc. I check my brain at the ticket booth strap on my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. 2 1/2 hours of forgetting about this planet and travelling to another one in the Imax was more than worth the price of admission two times over. Don't over analyze. Just enjoy.

So True!

Ron-P

Looks like I might go see this Wednesday morning, wife wants to go more then me. I'd personally like to wait for the Blu-ray but she's really wanting to see it so wth.

bigaudiofanatic

Trust me it will be worth it.