My lovely wife forwarded this link to me and I'm glad to see that James Cameron had an environmental theme in mind.
Here is the link.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Avatar
Avatar is breaking records in the theaters, and for good reason. The movie is very well done. Even if you couldn't hear the audio there is enough eye candy to keep your attention. But unlike some movies that throw all their money into the "eye candy pot" and leave about $5 for the "writer's pot," Avatar has an engaging overall story and the movie takes enough time for you to get to know the characters, in other words there is a good amount of character development. It draws you in and you feel for the characters. This post won't go into the story in depth, you can see the movie for that. I think there is a message behind the story that many missed.
In the movie the humans are on a foreign moon "Pandora." They are there for some wonderful ore called "unobtanium", and it just so happens that the local natives, the Na'vi, live right on top of it. So of course they try to pay the Na'vi for it. But they have no use for stuff and reject their offers. So what do the humans do? Walk away? say "I guess we'll do without, move on."? Heck no. They do what humans have done throughout history and are still doing today. When they want something and can't get it nicely, they take it by force. A familiar example would be the conquistadors and the Aztecs. You could replace "unobtanium" with any natural resource: wood, coal, gold, diamonds, land, water and you could find an example of the same situation not only in the past, but also today.
How many who saw the movie felt bad for the Na'vi and thought the humans were out of line, even evil? Did they realize the hypocrisy in that feeling, as they sipped their 44 oz. (a quart and a half!) soda, downed their two gallon bucket of popcorn, and watched in a theater that was most likely powered by coal or nuclear power? Do they know about mountain top removal, or the water supply contamination that can occur from mining? Maybe they opted for bottled water, do they know about the draining and bottling of aquifers around the world, leaving none for the locals? Maybe they went out for a burger afterward. That would be the kicker. The dollar menu is the number one reason for deforestation in South America. Clear cutting for cattle grazing so we can have cheap beef.
The few remaining indigenous tribes are being pushed out of their land and forced to "modernize." Some may call it progress, bringing these people out of poverty. But who would have liked Avatar if the Na'vi were assimilated and their traditions lost in the end? That would have been a crappy ending, but that is the true story.
My worry is that most saw the movie, thought it was great, walked out of the theater, thought the urban sprawl laid out before them was ugly in comparison to the lush 3d landscapes, wished it was different, and then went on with life as normal.
We do not have to accept the way things are. We are not powerless in this regard. We can't wait for the "rhinos" to come save the day, we've killed most of them. We can bring about change. To paraphrase the words of Peter (the corporate guy in charge of the mining operation in Avatar), the leaders of any company hate bad press, but they hate a negative quarterly statement more. Every time we buy something we send a message. "I approve of this product, its manufacturing processes and all that entails."
Be a conscious buyer. Be aware of where the things you buy come from and where it will go when you are done with it. You don't have to go crazy and research every single item on your grocery list right now. Start small, do some research, and think before you buy. Just by being more conscious of the voting power of your dollars we can make a difference.
Sol-Harvester
You might say I saw the movie through tainted lenses and I would agree, they were 3d glasses :)
Suggested further reading: Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight ~ Thom Hartmann
In the movie the humans are on a foreign moon "Pandora." They are there for some wonderful ore called "unobtanium", and it just so happens that the local natives, the Na'vi, live right on top of it. So of course they try to pay the Na'vi for it. But they have no use for stuff and reject their offers. So what do the humans do? Walk away? say "I guess we'll do without, move on."? Heck no. They do what humans have done throughout history and are still doing today. When they want something and can't get it nicely, they take it by force. A familiar example would be the conquistadors and the Aztecs. You could replace "unobtanium" with any natural resource: wood, coal, gold, diamonds, land, water and you could find an example of the same situation not only in the past, but also today.
How many who saw the movie felt bad for the Na'vi and thought the humans were out of line, even evil? Did they realize the hypocrisy in that feeling, as they sipped their 44 oz. (a quart and a half!) soda, downed their two gallon bucket of popcorn, and watched in a theater that was most likely powered by coal or nuclear power? Do they know about mountain top removal, or the water supply contamination that can occur from mining? Maybe they opted for bottled water, do they know about the draining and bottling of aquifers around the world, leaving none for the locals? Maybe they went out for a burger afterward. That would be the kicker. The dollar menu is the number one reason for deforestation in South America. Clear cutting for cattle grazing so we can have cheap beef.
The few remaining indigenous tribes are being pushed out of their land and forced to "modernize." Some may call it progress, bringing these people out of poverty. But who would have liked Avatar if the Na'vi were assimilated and their traditions lost in the end? That would have been a crappy ending, but that is the true story.
My worry is that most saw the movie, thought it was great, walked out of the theater, thought the urban sprawl laid out before them was ugly in comparison to the lush 3d landscapes, wished it was different, and then went on with life as normal.
We do not have to accept the way things are. We are not powerless in this regard. We can't wait for the "rhinos" to come save the day, we've killed most of them. We can bring about change. To paraphrase the words of Peter (the corporate guy in charge of the mining operation in Avatar), the leaders of any company hate bad press, but they hate a negative quarterly statement more. Every time we buy something we send a message. "I approve of this product, its manufacturing processes and all that entails."
Be a conscious buyer. Be aware of where the things you buy come from and where it will go when you are done with it. You don't have to go crazy and research every single item on your grocery list right now. Start small, do some research, and think before you buy. Just by being more conscious of the voting power of your dollars we can make a difference.
Sol-Harvester
You might say I saw the movie through tainted lenses and I would agree, they were 3d glasses :)
Suggested further reading: Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight ~ Thom Hartmann
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