Avatar (2009)

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Industrialization and Pollution: Avatar (2009) Connor Haye, Charles Seeley, Victor Ly, Yanyan Lin

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Industrialization and Pollution Popular Culture 2014

Transcript of Avatar (2009)

Page 1: Avatar (2009)

Industrialization and Pollution: Avatar (2009)

Connor Haye, Charles Seeley, Victor Ly, Yanyan Lin

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• Industrialization and Pollution are major issues in our society. As the human race continues to increase industrialization and pollution, more environmental and health issues arise. Many books and films bring to light the issues that arise from industrialization and pollution.

• In our Popular Culture class, we examine these widely-known films that bring up the issues behind industrialization and pollution: Avatar (2009), Ferngully - The Last Rainforest, and Wall-E.

o Between these three films are 4 oscars and 113 other awards.

• Our presentation will continue to examine the film Avatar (2009) and how it relates to the topic of industrialization and pollution.

Industrialization and Pollution: Topic Overview

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• Avatar is a 2009 film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The film is set in the mid 22nd century, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na’vi.

• The idea for Avatar came about in 1994 when James Cameron wrote an 80 page treatment for the film. The proper technology James Cameron needed to achieve his vision had not been developed yet, however, so production was halted. Fortunately in 2006 the proper technological advances were in place for Cameron to continue his work. Cameron announced he would be using his own Reality Camera System to film in 3D. The system would use two high-definition cameras in a single camera body to create depth perception. Avatar was one of the first and most successful films to be animated in 3D. The 3D element was used to enhance the mystical world of the Na’vi and emphasize the beauty of nature on Pandora.

• Addresses the following issues:

o Industrialization

o Sustainability

o Pollution

o Imperialism

o Capitalism

Avatar: Overview

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Video ClipHere is a clip from Youtube that

summarizes the entire movie.

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According to Dictionary.com, the definition of industrialization is:

The large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, society, a country etc. Industrialization is very apparent in the film Avatar, and James Cameron points out the negatives associated with it.

Industrialization

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• In Avatar, the humans, for the most part, are portrayed to be motivated by the money value behind Unobtanium.

• In the film, humans introduce large scale mining of “Unobtanium” on Pandora.

• The film sends a message about how industrialization is motivated by money, and because of that, society wants to produce as much as possible.

o When only worrying about getting more and more, things that have value in other forms besides money are forfeited to produce the material.

o In this case, the land that is home to the Na’vi is forfeited. The humans value the Unobtanium while the Na’vi value the land. The humans only understand their perception of the value behind Unobtainium so they continue to destroy the values of the Na’vi.

Industrialization in Avatar“(Unobtanium) is a room-temperature superconductor for energy, which makes it very valuable; it is worth $20 million per kilogram (2.2 lbs) unrefined (worth $40 million per kilogram refined) on Earth.” (http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/)

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“Anybody that is a global-warming denier at this point in time has got their head so deeply up their ass I’m not sure they could hear me.” -James Cameron

• Sustainability definition: the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological

balance.

• Avatar has a pro-sustainability message.

Sustainability

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• Sustainability and nature play a large part in the Na’Vi’s way of life.• The Na’Vi live off the land.

o They create their weapons from nature.

o The food they eat is provided by nature.

o They are even spiritually connected with nature.• The Na’Vi believe in Eywa which is the substance, energy, and spirit of nature.

o The Na’Vi are dependant on ewa.

Whether it serves as a form of transportation, defense or hunting mechanism.

• The Ikran or Toruk.

Or whether it serves as a source of life, physically and spiritually

• Plants and animals as a source of food.

• Tree of Souls.

o Eywa provides life for the Na’Vi and the Na’Vi fight to protect the life of Eywa.

The Na’Vi live in complete harmony with nature.• Everything on pandora is connected.

o This provides life for nature and the Na’Vi alike while staying environmentally sound and ecologically balanced.

Sustainability in Avatar

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James Cameron has been one of the outspoken environmental activist,"There's always going to be a temptation to use coal because it's the cheapest power out there”, “But look at China. We don't want to wind up like this with absolutely unbreathable air. I was in Beijing just recently and it's literally unbreathable air. And a lot of it is particulate pollution from coal." By sharing his experiences, showing Cameron has a strong feeling about the issues of pollution.

In the movie “Avatar” directed by James Cameron, he takes on the issue of climate change and pollution.

Pollution

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● People in the earth turned to extraterrestrial worlds, which is Pandora. All the natural resources of the earth are depleted, due to pollution, the population topped out at a dramatic numbers.

● The movie uses color blue and green a lot to illustrate the environment of Pandora, represents the missing forest and ocean that has been polluted it in the earth.

● Unobtanium mineral

○ Very dangerous but valuable mineral found on the Pandora

○ Unobtanium is needed to manufacture machines, mining will certainly damage the nature, such as the looming global warming.

● Na’vi are able to connect with the nature, transfer electrochemical signals such as thoughts and memories to the trees, plants, and other creatures

Human and the ecosystem are related, transferring message of environmental awareness

Pollution in Avatar

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• Definition of Imperialism: a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

• Avatar has a strong anti-imperialist message.

Imperialism

Destruction of Hometree Summarized

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“I started having these dreams of flying. I was free.” -Jake Sully

• The Na’Vi are free, poor (in terms of money) indigenous people • The RDA are rich, technologically advanced, “bourgeois type”• The RDA try and take, by force, the land of the Na’Vi as evidenced by:

o Them plowing over the “tree of voices.” o The final battle scene.

• Quote from James Cameron:o “Avatar was written long before even Gulf One—was more in response to a kind of human history at large and the

way the history of the human race has been written in blood by technically or militarily superior people taking from those who are less capable. That’s how Rome worked, that’s how Greece worked, that’s how China worked, you name it—name your empire.”

Imperialism in Avatar

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• Definition of Capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

• Avatar has a strong Anti-Capitalist message.

Capitalism

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• The gaining of land through imperialistic means is for Capitalists reasons.

o According to Marxist theorist Vladimir Lenin, imperialism is a natural feature of a developed capitalist nation state as it matures into monopoly capatalism.

• Military is trying to gain control of land on Pandora for financial gain.

o They want to plow and pillage the NaVi’s planet for unobtanium which is a rare and expensive power source.

o Entire reason for the RDA’s (Resources Development Administration) presence on Pandora is to make a quick buck any way possible.

• Biggest symbol of Capitalism in Avatar is the Parker Selfridge character.

o Manager of the entire operation. Considered “the suit” which is direct contrast to the natural, indigenous Na’Vi whose only worry is that of the “quarterly statement.”

o Unrational, inhumane, and greedy.

o Quotes

“This is why we're here; unobtanium, because this little gray rock sells for 20 million a kilo. That's the only reason. It's what pays for the whole party. It's what pays for your science.”

"Their damn village happens to be resting on the richest unobtanium deposit within 200 klicks in any direction. I mean, look at all that cheddar!”

Capitalism in Avatar

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• 6th most expensive movie produced at 237 million dollars.

• Highest grossing domestic film of all time at 760 million dollars.

• Highest grossing film worldwide at 2.7 billion dollars.

• Total video sales at 350 million dollars.• Millions made in memorabilia from

books, action figures, postage stamps, video games,to theme park attractions.

Avatar in Capitalism

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1. Why does the film tell us about modern man versus nature? How does it relate to our society now?

2. Do you think the humans think they are a higher class than the avatar people? If so, Why?

3. How is Avatar a product of capitalism, in both interpretation and production, and how are they related?

4. How do the portrayal of Capitalism and Imperialism add to the message of environmental sustainability in Avatar?

5. Why does industrialization often involve forfeiting moral choices? How is it portrayed in Avatar?

6. What beliefs and practices of the Na’vi might seem attractive to us? Who, in our world, might the Na’vi represent?

7. Why does Cameron use real earth landscapes as the inspiration in designing the fictional world of the film?

8. What does the name “Pandora” of the new planet represent? Why does Cameron choose to name it this way?

Discussion Questions

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Charles: Capitalism, Imperialism, Sustainability, Helped with Film Overview, Fine Tuning, Discussion Questions 3 and 4

Connor: Industrialization, Topic Overview, Discussion Questions 5 and 6, Initial Setup of PowerPoint

Victor:Video Clip, Overview, Discussion Question 1 and 2

Yanyan: Pollution, discussion question 7 and 8

Contributions

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• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/industrialization

• http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Unobtanium

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/• Dictionary.com • Boxofficemojo.com• http://www.vanityfair.com/online/

oscars/2009/12/james-cameron-on-avatar

Sources