First off, let me just say Avatar was one of the most exhilarating films I've seen in recent years. Now, a note of caution before you begin. I'm writing this without thinking about the degree to which it has spoiler information. With that said, I found the spiritual transformation of the main character and the depiction of the interconnectedness theme to be deeply flawed. I'll soon explain one possible explanation for what I view as a big problem in the story. I was compelled to write this piece because I couldn't help but correct the problems in my mind.
The hero's transformation and his mystical relationship with the Na'vi and their planet's god-tree were arguably the heart of the movie. Jake Sully is a marine in a wheelchair who winds up controlling a big blue alien avatar. At one point, he takes part in the Na'vi's sacred ritual that essentially symbolizes his entrance into alien-hood (if you will) and harmony with their planet (Pandora). Kind of a big deal. Yet, shortly before that moment, Jake Sully wrestles a dragon-bird that he will 'become one with' and says something like, 'Now you're mine.' Do you see where I'm going with this?
While dominating a dragon-bird would be a testosterone-increasing experience, the ensuing choice of words could have been a little deeper. Earlier on we see the same marine "jarhead" mentality when Jake Sully kills a forest hell-hound. In that scene, what I saw was an unreflective hunter mechanically repeating a prayer for an animal he detested, and couldn't wait to sink his knife into.
The marine in him is supposed to be peeling away the layers of his egoistic killing field attitude and replacing it with a more symbiotic relationship with nature. A more enlightened way of living, where killing animals is done in the same spirit (and I mean the exact same) as Native Americans. Maybe the problem is I imagine myself being a more enlightened Na'vi after several months of literally walking, running and mating in their body. On a side note, kudos to James Cameron for making the Na'vi and world of Pandora come to life and never get old.
I said I would offer an explanation for this great flaw, so here it is. I think it stems from the false belief that saints and people we call "enlightened," lose the essence of their identity when "spiritually transformed." That identity is of course their ego-born personality. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Thoreau, etc. At this point, Cameron or yourself might argue that Jake Sully is still struggling with his dual roles. However, he never truly abandons his dominant egoistic marine self. And personally, I'd rather live with what I see as a big flaw than the idea that the best I could hope for was a quasi-enlightened Na'vi-marine.
I'm convinced that Jake Sully was supposed to become one with the Na'vi and Pandora, but that Cameron was only able to deliver on a symbolic level. In the scene I mentioned earlier where Jake Sully breaks down the dragon-bird, there is an unmistakable orgasmic union that symbolizes what should be a harmonious connection. We see several times the literal connection to life, as characters plug and unplug (for lack of better terms) into beasts of burden and other objects in the living forest.
I think the spiritual transformation was at least deserving of a contemplative moment or overwhelming sense of awe that I didn't see. Would it have been so hard to convey some genuine understanding of the sacred Native American / Na'vi bond between death and life - no special effects required. Jake Sully is after all the 'chosen one,' which is made clear by the symbolic gesture of sacred floating jellyfish swarming him. I expected more than symbolic change after he walks in the Na'vi's body; is essentially baptized by the blue aliens; has his life saved by and mates with his girlfriend Neytiri; and eventually has something like a near-death experience where the holy Eywa tree makes him a Na'vi forever.
Think back to when he says, "I see you," and apparently experiences a sacred connection and realizes what it means to be one with the Na'vi. I hoped they would not just prove to be hallow words, but that's exactly what they turned out to be (though I still liked their symbolic representation of enlightenment). Remember, we first get a deliberate explanation of how the words do not literally mean "I see you," but have a much deeper meaning. He didn't get it. He never truly sheds the marine mindset and doesn't seem to have the capacity for a true heartfelt connection with the Na'vi. Okay, so let me wrap up. Why does this matter to me?
I think I can best answer that by pointing to the scene where Jake Sully solemnly asks the Eywa tree to help them defeat the 'evil' interplanetary US military industrial complex on steroids. The big, (but subtle) question to consider is whether we want to have our next generation aim to be like Jake Sully or the Na'vi, who genuinely commune with nature. We are steered into believing that he is one of them... but they couldn't be more different.
Unfortunately, when Pandora's Mother Nature uses the creatures to side with the Na'vi in battle and saves them, Neytiri is won over by his view. This is not how Earth's Mother Nature works and thank goodness for that. She doesn't take sides and portraying Mother Nature (on any planet) in such a way is a real lashing of her spirit - not to mention the Tao. And if the Na'vi are happy when their Mother Nature chooses sides now, what about when the tribes on Pandora have differences. It would be like Mother Nature choosing between Heat Miser and Cold Miser ;-). I know it's an alien planet, but it I like to think there are some laws that would be the same anywhere in the universe. Okay, so it's a lot to ask of a movie. I just wanted to see if any of you thought this post-movie correction was worthwhile or interesting to think about. Let me know what you think?
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