The film has drawn on various themes describing clashes between modern man and our surroundings; these include imperialism, corporate greed, racism, spirituality and religion, citizen’s processions right, the Na’vi’s right to defend their home destroyed and finally militarism vs. patriotism, an example would be when Trudy Chacón (Michelle Rodriguez), a pilot disgusted with Quaritch's (Stephen Lang) brutal methods begins to fight for the Na’vi.
Avatar uses many of these themes without preaching a specific viewpoint or solution to the hinted conflicts; however the mere presence of the various issues indicates an intention by Cameron to make his audience aware of the problems, and as a means to bring the issues to our minds yet leaving it to us to judge their severity by contrasting them to the disastrous developments of his fictional tale.
It can be debated whether Avatar and Cameron’s attitude towards the human hostility towards and the indigenous Na’vi is a message of support for the natives today, or alternatively a retelling of the racist myth of the righteous savage. The visual resemblance between the demolition of the World Trade Centre and the film’s falling of Home Tree can be reasoned to compare the Na’vi with western civilisation and the military as our terrorist enemies.
Also, one can regard the film’s handling of environmental issues as supportive of alternative measures to real life’s problems and unjust actions damaging our environment. The removal of the mountaintop for mining for instance, as well as evictions from homes destined for development and the destruction of rainforests touch on parallel situations known from our own word.
Together with numerous visual and other story elements the film’s title has also generated much discussion about its use of Hindu iconography. However, it can equally be argued that the film explores many other existing religious and mythological themes. Avatar certainly confronts the questions of faith e.g. “Must the ‘creation’ be governed hierarchically or ecologically?” but as with the previous themes does not deliver an answer without counteracting the consequences of this decision with an opposite action or opinion e.g. the Hinduism iconography vs. other religious themes.
Another example of the multi-facetted religious conflict is seen in the relationships between the Tree of Souls and the Nordic tree of Yggdrasil1, whose destruction indicates the collapse of the universe. Again Cameron leaves it to his audience to draw the conclusion of the conflicts evolving the story.
However, from a slightly more ominous angle it can be argued that the racist undertone in the film conducted by the military towards the Na’vi strengthens the idea of a ‘White Messiah’, where the white victor helps the weak primitive indigenous, who are consequently reduced to overhauling their aspirations and verifying their hero, or perhaps that the non-whites require a ‘White Messiah’ to lead their crusade. This skewed vision is underpinned by the choice to let all humanoid characters be played by white actors, whereas the Na’vi characters are played by African / Native American actors.
Avatar is rated PG-13, based on its use of language and violence. However, the absence of blood and gore demonstrates maturity in how the story is conveyed. The film maintains its focus on the intellectual story throughout, allowing its audience to relate to current events and issues highlighted by the thematic question posed.
In conclusion, however, the representation of the films exclusive themes, ideas and iconographic references are not all clear for all audiences. Some of these are dramatically visual and are distinguished clearly for any audience to understand; such as the destruction of Home Tree and the demolition of the World Trade Centre. Others require a further study and/or clear to a more sophisticated audience. It is this span which makes the film exquisite. Not only is it a high level of film making but a well-crafted action film to be enjoyed by a wider audience.
