Avatar by James Cameron - Movie Review Example

The setting of the film takes the audience to such a backdrop, where time is almost a century and a half ahead, 2154 A.D. and man’s quest for unknown, in terms of scientific exploration, has led him to find out various types of valuable items from different planets in the universe. The course of such quest led the scientists to obtain “unobtanium” on a planet, Pandora. The Pandora biosphere has almost the same elements as that of the Earth’s and it is inhabited by Na’vi.

The species of the Pandora also has close similarities with the Earth’s and also provides a deep impression of the similarity that Earthly species, as well as human inhabitants, enjoyed during the days of primitive existence. Circumstances of the film take a serious turn as Jack Sully’s intelligence is used for the purpose of obtaining “unobtanium” and taking advantage of Na’vis’ primitive existence, human beings, with their superior technology and armed forces, attempt to destroy the Hometree, a manifestation of Na’vis’ respect for values and traditional existence, to reach the mines.

The entire Na’ vi community fights back and despite their initial defeat, finally, with the help of entire Pandoran wildlife, they defeat artificial intelligence and technological supremacy (Avatar 2009). The main theme of the Avatar elaborates a symbolical criticism against man’s hedonistic and utilitarian aggression for everything that is natural, spontaneous, and beautiful. It has also been suggested that free spirit cannot be dominated by the use of armed forces, artificial intelligence, and the threat of tremendous oppression.

The history of human civilization provides numerous such examples that a superior community in terms of power, technology, and massive support, has attempted to dominate the weaker ones but the moment such oppression has amounted to the level of violating self-respect, values, and morality, a strong wave of protest has always emerged from the dominated side, resulting in fall of the dominating. The storyline of Avatar adds a new dimension to this realization as it shows that human beings’ prejudiced observation about their power and technological supremacy should not reach such an extent that they are devastated.

It has also been suggested that protests against attempts to restrain freedom and disrespecting socio-moral as well as traditional values will always be treated in such a bold manner, no matter how much the society or civilization has progressed. Struggle and retaining of freedom, protection of values, morals and culture, fall of futile realization about racial superiority are some of the aspects that have been emerged as basic ethical issues and consequently have been treated explicitly. Implicitly, the film also has attempted to show the trends of the modern world, and socio-governmental legislation that attempts to jeopardize the lives of common people with their arbitrary action and use of power that has been conferred to them by people.

The cosmos of Pandora symbolically suggests of Earthly existence prior to human over-reliance of technology. At the same time, “unobtanium” is the symbolic element that incorporates within its very nomenclature of something that cannot be obtained and people should respect that. However, empowered with the devices and technological prosperity human beings have started to assume themselves as Godlike creatures, simultaneously, forgetting the ethical norms of appreciation and respect they engage themselves in the attempt to obtain everything so that they can use it for their self-centric purposes.