Guest Writer: Why I Like Avatar So Much

EDIT: I just want to write a brief welcome note to Suzanne. I asked her to be a guest writer on this blog when I saw the following post that she wrote about Avatar, and I realized that she pretty much said everything I wanted to say... except she said it better.

Also, like she said in her self-introduction, she's a real film major at Vassar (unlike me, who's an engineer but pretending to be a film major by taking a film class), so everything that I pretend to know, she actually knows. I won't say more -- it'll distract you from the main attraction. I just hope that Suzanne can find some time to add more enriching thoughts to our blog.
--X

I'm Suzanne, a friend of X and Jay and a senior film major at Vassar College. The following is a defense of Avatar I wrote because frankly I became tired of having to explain myself every time someone criticized me for loving Avatar. They asked me to post it here as a guest article, so enjoy!

Lately, (and somehow ironically) it seems like the popular thing to do is hate on what is currently popular. I honestly think that's a big reason as to why Avatar is getting a lot of backlash, especially from so-called intellectuals who think that because they're going against the masses, they're somehow superior to people who choose to enjoy popular entertainment. This post is my official defense of Avatar, and I want to get a few things straight.

First of all, if you genuinely did not like the film, I am not trying to insult you in any way, and I am not going to say that Avatar is a flawless work of genius or defend it aimlessly in a bout of fan-rage, because nothing is perfect.

Secondly, my main future career interest is business. Business means selling things, whether they be people, events, products or movies. Selling things means appealing to the masses. It is a fine line between popular entertainment and the "higher" arts -- independent film, foreign film, avant-garde, arthouse, etc. I will agree that there tend to be quality films in the latter category, and shitty money-making vehicles in the former, but the films I enjoy and respect the most are those that are able to straddle that fine line that lies between -- and Avatar is one of those films.

I feel like I have been constantly defending this film left and right and to be honest, I am kind of getting tired of the same old criticisms over and over again. I'll be clear: I don't mind discussing this film, and I enjoy discussing it, but not if all I'm doing is answering the same question again and again. These might include:

-"Have you realized the plot is the same as Pocahontas?!"
-"LOL how am I supposed to take blue people seriously?!"
-"This film is too pro-environmentalist/anti-American/anti-military/racist/etc etc."
-UNOBTANIUM
-"Why didn't they explain ______ further/Why did they gloss over _______ when it's so important to the story/etc."

Like I said in my last post about Avatar, film is first and foremost a visual medium. Now, the problem is that every film is created with a different intent. There are movies that are made solely to cash in on an existing franchise. There are movies made to broadcast a certain message, or a cause. There are movies that serve as studies in character, or adaptations from books or plays. All of these have different purposes, and you cannot fault one movie for not being satisfactory in an aspect that doesn't apply to it. What all of these movies have in common, however, is that they should excel in visual storytelling. Whether it's a documentary, a Hollywood blockbuster, or an indie experimental film, it should consist of a series of shots/scenes that are cut in a logical order such that the viewer is able to understand the viewpoint of its creator. It's harder than you might think.

That being said, there is more to the story of Avatar than there seems at first. Haha we've all seen the clever little Pocahontas meme that is making its way around the tubes, and it's fun to have a laugh at but if you are seriously judging this film based on that, then why bother even seeing it? It's pretty clear to me that Cameron's intent with this film is to introduce us to the world of Pandora. In other words: it's an origin story. The amount of detail put into the film and the world is astounding. A lot of the fauna/images in it are based on things from Cameron's deep sea explorations. Unobtanium, besides being a completely legitimate and pre-existing term, is defined by external resources as being a room-temperature superconductor that much of Earth's technologies/society rely on (in the same way as gold or oil) -- hey, this even explains the floating mountains on Pandora! Lots more notes on the details/design aspects can be found here. In other words: there was way more thought put into this film than just "Pocahontas in space."

Just to address any plot holes, and everyone asking why didn't they explain unobtanium in the movie and why should I have to read all of these external links?: mass appeal. I hear a lot of what audiences lacked in story/character was originally in the 2007 script (which I haven't read yet, but plan to eventually). Unfortunately, the movie already being 2 hrs 40 min means that it would have been hard to fit more in, plus there is an actual movie time limit involved when it comes to showing in IMAX. In general, simplifying the plot means a greater audience appeal -- in this case, hardly a bad business decision.

I'd like to take a moment and compare this film with what I think it is closest to: Star Wars. Another film that introduces us to a fantastic and detailed world, even though it does so with a somewhat mediocre good versus evil plot and characters that are just a little bit lacking in psychological depth. Sound familiar? A lot of people agree in retrospect that Star Wars doesn't really take off until Empire Strikes Back. Now let me tell you something you may not know: Cameron has all but confirmed that Avatar is going to be a trilogy, and there's a definite sequel. Here's another comparison: everyone loved Dark Knight, said it was a million times better than Batman Begins, and that's because once you've made the effort to establish a compelling world you are then free to go deeper and explore that world, answer questions that the audience had previously not even thought to ask. But even if the sequel is better than the first, you can't go down that road without the origin story.

At this point I want to step away from plot, because it's really become a tired criticism, and if you can't accept that good movies exist without complex plots and/or characters, then there's nothing more I have to say except take a film class. The reason why, for me, Avatar takes a step beyond being a really good film and becomes a film that I think will change the future of filmmaking, is because of the technology used in it. I can't describe it better than this video, so just watch if you're interested:



The other aspect that needs to be considered when judging a film is the effect that it has on its audiences. The fact alone that Avatar is well on its way to becoming the highest worldwide grossing film EVER should be enough to convince you that this is more than just "popular entertainment." There is also the fact that this movie is being talked about, in many different ways. It has spurred a global reaction, varieties of people and groups talking about how it's pro-this and anti-this. It's always interesting to compare what a film sets out to be and what it becomes once it's given a wide release.

So, why again is it "cool" to hate on what's popular? Sure, maybe it's okay to feel superior when something you like hasn't yet made its way to the masses, but that alone is not enough to carry it. I sincerely believe that things that are popular or successful are such because of a reason - whether it's good marketing, cashing in on the current fads, or a genuine quality product. It's ridiculous to go against the masses just for the hell of it, because in one way or another, we are all part of the masses. And there was never a worse reason to not like something just because everyone else liked it.