Avatar

Avatar opened on December 18, 2009. At first glance it seems to be an interesting action packed Science Fiction Film, but there is so much more to this movie. In the movie business you need one of two things for a movie to work, sex, and violence. This movie has both, the message behind the storyline however has the most impact.

Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine, takes his brothers place in a mission on a distant planet called Pandora. He is sent in with the mission of learning about the indigenous people known as the Na’vi. The military is there to help mine a new precious metal that will help the civilizations on earth. This precious metal is found in mass amount under the Na’vi’s home tree, where everyone gathers and sleeps from their tribe. Throughout the movie you learn the culture and lifestyle of the Na’vi people through Jake’s interactions with them.

The Na’vi are very spiritual beings, and the scientists on the mission have discovered a new and intriguing network between the places, trees, that the Na’vi find most spiritual. When the military charges show their true colors and begin to destroy the Na’vi’s home and population, Jake takes a stand against them. With his knowledge of the cultural, thanks to his Na’vi lover Neytiri, he goes to the spiritual hub and connects with it. He asks the spirits to look into his mind at the place he is from, earth, and see how his people had destroyed it. He is pleading for the spirits help in fighting off the human military.

When all hope is lost his prayers are answered. For anyone interested in the well being of their environment this movie is amazing. The visual aspects are breath taking, and the message is clear and profound. Director James Cameron did an amazing job, creating a science fiction world in order to vividly show an environmental issue.