Warning: If you haven’t seen it then don’t read this post because I’m going to spoil the ending.
After watching this film I felt sad and a little angry. The story feels like a revisionist dream meant to fortify the collective denial of citizens of the developed world. The destruction of ecosystems and the people that live within them, as a result of mining on THIS planet is widespread and devastating. How many “trees of souls” have been eviscerated in the name of coal, gold and oil?
Avatar’s happy ending made me sad because I wish Indigenous people on Earth could have ex-marines to help them overcome military backed corporate invasion. Avatar’s $400 million dollar 3D rain forest is breathtaking, but it cannot replace the Amazon rain forest.
While researching this post I found an article dated Dec 22, 2009 entitled: The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation. At the end of the article you will find links to additional articles about South American Indigenous people fighting to protect their land.
The Amazon is not the only area of our planet at risk. Do some research and check out Google Maps satellite view to see for yourself. If this film helps raise awareness about the real effects of mining — then maybe the $400 million was worth it, after all.
This is a good reading of the movie. I agree that sometimes in our culture the happy ending substitutes for real action or change.
I have always loved that tree drawing…