Avatar – A Masterpiece With A Spiritually Profound Message!

reply to post by loveispeace


I think Avatar was a story about how Paul McCartney was replaced by an impostor after he died in 1966. See, the brother that died (Paul), replaced by his twin (Billy Shears), who uses the avatar (which makes him look exactly as paul would have looked) to front a revolutionary group (beatles). I'm almost positive that the colonel is supposed to represent Yoko Ono.

It's only a movie, folks. There's no hidden meaning, no deep secrets, no subtle brainwashing. It's entertainment.

movies are a form of art, and the purpose of art is to express a human "truth" that the artist has found. In todays world we have largely capitalised art, so much of our music and film is just for profit and entertainment, which amounts to no more than mental masturbation. But when true art comes around, it still evokes a powerful reaction in the viewers. Just because you go to movies for your little "mental masturbation" dont assume that all other moviegoers should be there for the same reason, or ridicule those who appreciate the deeper meaning of select films that the director is trying to convey.

As to the nature of this films message....i see many people digging at how the message of this film is superflous because there is no direct communion in our own world with any spirit or entity. I would say this is based from american egocentrism, in that since YOU havent experienced it you imagine it does not exist. Many groups, from zen buddhists to sufis to shamans experience a direct communion with their world and surroundings. Just because it is not quantifiable to YOU does not mean that it does not exist. If you had no radometers (say you were born 90 years ago) you would have no clue radioactivity existed, and would doubtless call it a myth.

Avatar looks pretty good.Since i not in a position to see Avatar at the movies i will watch it on dvd when it comes out.I just love blue skinned aliens.I have had blue aliens freinds for six years.They look human with blue skin and black eyes.

Originally posted by GORGANTHIUM
I just love blue skinned aliens.

Yeah, I've been painting them (oil on canvas) and I am inclined to give them a blue tint. Not gray or silver or green, but blue. Hm. Seems to be the natural color.

— Doc Velocity

I saw it via torrent, because for some odd reason all the good movies haven't been playing here since that piece of crap Twilight New Moon came out. Didn't get the road here either, and we a decent sized city with 3 theaters, no IMAX unfortunately.

reply to post by loveispeace


I've been itchin to comment on this flick as of course unreal/unbelievable as it may sound-but there are ET's within the 'Milky Way' similar in shape/size - blue in color. (Believe it or not.)

No big ears and a few other alterations.

Merry Xmas!


10.11.11.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 25-12-2009 by ET_MAN]

Sorry to crap all over your New Age orgy, but this needs posted here, as it is a nice reality check exposing the ridiculous hypocrisy of this movie.

Everyone really needs to read this full article, but I'm posting the real good snippets.

www.heraldsun.com.au...

MOST people will date the death of the great global warming scare not from the Copenhagen fiasco – boring! – but from Avatar.
It won’t be the world’s most expensive warmist conference but the world’s most expensive movie that will stick in most memories as the precise point at which the green faith started to shrivel from sheer stupidity.

The Na’vi live in trees, at one with nature. They worship Mother Earth and, like Gaians today, talk meaningfully of “a network of energy that flows through all living things”. They drink water that’s pooled in giant leaves, and chant around a tree that whispers of their ancestors.

They are also unusually non-sexist for a forest tribe, with the women just as free as men to hunt and choose their spouse. Naturally, like the most fashionable of Hollywood stars, they are also neo-Buddhist reincarnationists, who believe “all energy is borrowed and some day you have to give it back”.

And, of course, the Na’vi reject all technology that’s more advanced than a bow and arrow, for “the wealth of the world is all around us”.

Here’s Cameron condemning consumerism by spending almost half a billion dollars on a mass-market movie for the Christmas season complete with tie-in burger deals from McDonald’s and Avatar toys from Mattel.

Here’s Cameron damning our love of technology by using the most advanced cinematographic technology to create his new green world.

In fact, here’s Cameron urging his audience to scorn material possessions and get close to nature, only to himself retire each night to the splendid comfort of his Malibu mansion.

Not even his own creations live up to the philosophy he has them preach.

For all their talk of the connectedness of nature, the Na’vi still kill animals for food – although not before saying how sorry they are, of course, since we live in an age in which seeming sorry excuses every selfishness.

Likewise, despite all their lectures on not exploiting nature, the Na’vi still come out top dog in the food chain.

Even when they physically become at one with wild pterodactyls, by hooking up to them through some USB in their blue tails, they manage to convince their flying reptiles to act like their private jets.

Isn’t this against the rules? I mean, in this caring and at-one-with-nature world, shouldn’t a plugged-in pterodactyl just once in a while get to direct its human passenger instead – by either telling it to take a flying jump or to at least act like lunch?

In all of this, Avatar captures precisely – and to the point of satire – the creed of the Copenhagen faithful.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by Chainmaker]

Originally posted by Chainmaker
Sorry to crap all over your New Age orgy, but this needs posted here, as it is a nice reality check exposing the ridiculous hypocrisy of this movie.

What a silly naive person the writer of that article must be. Someone needs to let he/she know that in today's world, to the extent that things have gotten, your not going to make change or get your message across to the masses unless your ready to spend hundreds of millions (in the case of movies) in presenting your message.

That's not to say there aren't certain advancements in technology that are beneficial to BOTH humans and nature. Making movies is an form of art -- any technological advancements in art certainly cannot be compared to advancements in weaponry with the purpose of destroying both people AND nature.

Why make the assumption that just because he makes a case against the advancement of certain technologies, he must be against all technological advancements?

Just idiotic.

Thankfully the movie as well the "messages" in the movie will be seen and positively acknowledged by FAR more than that stupid author can even begin to hope for.

Awesome.

[edit on 25/12/09 by Navieko]

reply to post by Navieko


I agree, this writer does seem to have some very unreasonable comments to make. The use technology and money to make the film is necessary in order to present the message of the film and to impress audiences to watch it. Simply spending a lot of money and using a lot of technology to make a movie, does not mean that are endorsing consumerism, greed and capitalism. A lot of money was used to build the Taj Mahal, this does not make the Taj Mahal a symbol of consumerism, greed and capitalism.

We are living in a consumerist and technologically driven society, and so is James Cameron. Of course we are going to have to play by the rules to get by, even if we do not agree with consumerism and certains kinds of technology ourselves. We can use these to our advantage anyway to send out our message. The writer of the author is thinking too simplistically to be honest, just because somebody uses the current system out of need and yet disagrees with the current system does not mean they are hypocrites.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by Indigo_Child]

reply to post by passenger


You make some good points about the irony in all of this; however, you miss the point when you say:

Could he or his movie ever have existed if we tried to follow the beliefs set forth in his film?

If we followed the ways of the Na'vi we wouldn't need the film would we? We wouldn't need any artificial thing to remind us of what oneness with nature would be like because we would be living it.

Two comments about this movie. I sat there, not having read a single review, in the most perplexed but enjoyable state (because of its novelty I suppose). The Na'vi looked so real. One part of my brain believed they were real -- the minute, nuanced expressions on their faces told me they were real, living, likeable beings. Yet, the other part of my brain new that real people couldn't have such long, thick necks, such impressively broad shoulders, and impossibly narrow waists. I remained in this state of awe and mixed beliefs/emotions throughout the movie. I just couldn't figure out what trick they had pulled to make this illusion.

I did not get a huge spiritual message from the movie; however, as I understood the concepts of oneness with nature already. For me this movie held a huge Anti-War message, an anti-Iraq message (they even used the term "shock and awe"), an anti-US warmongering message, as well as an anti exploitation of poor/native peoples message.

I thought they did an excellent, explicit expose of how the "machine" labels innocents as terrorists in order to sway public opinion towards annihilating them. I couldn't help but wonder how some of the war mongering types on here would react to this movie.

edit for spelling

[edit on 12/25/2009 by wayno]

After seeing the film Avatar I appreciate life more.

Originally posted by Navieko

What a silly naive person the writer of that article must be. Someone needs to let he/she know that in today's world, to the extent that things have gotten, your not going to make change or get your message across to the masses unless your ready to spend hundreds of millions (in the case of movies) in presenting your message.

The point is, no change is going to be made, and you all are falling all over yourself with your faux spiritual moments watching this film, when the entire thing is a joke. You aren't going to get rid of your car and move into the woods to build a treehouse without using a horrible gas-powered chainsaw. Neither is anyone else.
Everyone is going to watch this movie and go back to living their lives, with the only change being that perhaps they will be tempted to explore pagan religion, which in reality has much less to do with peace and love and way more to do with accepting evil as "necessary to the balance"

Disclaimer: people have been preaching nature worship for thousands of years, and the whole time people were slaughtering each other as normal because humans have an evil nature that doesn't change.

That's not to say there aren't certain advancements in technology that are beneficial to BOTH humans and nature. Making movies is an form of art -- any technological advancements in art certainly cannot be compared to advancements in weaponry with the purpose of destroying both people AND nature.

How about the mountains of plastic toys created for the Avatar Happy Meal toys, toys that generally end up in the trash in less than a month, to stay there for the next 10,000 years, and then there is all the petroleum it took just to manufacture that consumerist crap. And that is just one part of the consumerist extravaganza that is Avatar.

Why make the assumption that just because he makes a case against the advancement of certain technologies, he must be against all technological advancements?

Look at how the "perfect" Na'vi live. That is his statement against technology.

Just idiotic.

Thankfully the movie as well the "messages" in the movie will be seen and positively acknowledged by FAR more than that stupid author can even begin to hope for.

Awesome.

I doubt you read the whole article, if you did it might put things in context for you to see the big picture, as the article spends a lot of time discussing Copenhagen as well.

I have no problem with a good action movie, I do have a problem with a bunch of naive first world consumers who think they are having a spiritual moment while watching hypocritical propaganda from an elitist filmmaker no better than Al Gore.

I personally believe technology is merely a tool that if used carefully with responsibility and consciously; it can improve our lives in a multitude of ways. The main issue at hand in this movie and in our planet in general, is technology falling in the hands of unconscious individuals, who only see money and power as their primary goal. This directly ties in with spirituality. Regardless of our spiritual believes, we must never feel superior to nature. It has been proven thousands of times that mother nature is superior to us all... A sudden earthquake can cause the lives on hundreds of thousands of people in matters of seconds, we exploit our natural resources like there's no tomorrow and we deplete our earth of its resources causing massive damage to our atmosphere and ultimately to ourselves, we genetically modify plants to control pests and nature, through the process of evolution gives us much more resistant and evolved insects... No matter how many times we try or how much technology we may have, nature will always prove itself more powerful, therefore we should respect it, appreciate it and if it feels right for you, then honor it.

So what is the answer to our problems?

Facts prove it again and again; the answer lies in striking a balance, in adapting to nature... Finding ways of using technology for the benefit of all, without disrupting our ecosystem, without interfering with nature's ways, without depleting our resources dry. Despite of how hard this may sound, it's not. It's a matter of using this unbelievable and valuable human ingenuity we posses for a greater good.

It makes no sense for us to rant and argue on this board over whether James Cameron did it for money, or whether he's right or wrong, or whether it's just a story for solely entertainment purposes. There's no need for us to point fingers at each other or insult each other over simple matters of reasoning and understanding. We all stand at different levels, therefore we all have different degrees of understanding. This shall not be an obstacle that separates us, but rather a reason to unite us and work together for the greater good... Because when it comes to the nitty-gritty, we all want a better world where our children can enjoy peacefully, loving one another and caring for one another. What it all boils down to is the same purpose, so let's not fight anymore and let's unite for one cause... The improvement and caring of our Planet Earth, because until somebody or something proves us different, it's the only one we have at this moment in time...

Much Love!

Xio F.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by loveispeace]

[edit on 25-12-2009 by loveispeace]

Everyone is going to watch this movie and go back to living their lives, with the only change being that perhaps they will be tempted to explore pagan religion, which in reality has much less to do with peace and love and way more to do with accepting evil as "necessary to the balance"

Disclaimer: people have been preaching nature worship for thousands of years, and the whole time people were slaughtering each other as normal because humans have an evil nature that doesn't change.

I think your view of Pagan religion is a bit distorted to say the least. I would invite you to so some research into it, and maybe talk to a few Pagans.

Paganism and Shamanism(which you probably include under Paganism) do have some very beautiful and spiritual aspects to it. Indeed, some "evil" thing are also a part of them such as animal and human sacrifice, which tend to be part of the earlier versions. However, other Pagan type of religions and modern versions do not have animal and human sacrifice. The Pagan ethic is about being one with nature and flowing with nature. I personally find that very spiritual.

You should bear in mind non pagan religions like Christianity and Islam have a more evil history than Pagan religions have had.

I do agree with your objection that a filmmaker that makes a film celebrating nature worshipping type culture, would themselves sponsor the same exploitation and capitalism is hypocritical to an extent. But I think it is unfair to pin this on James Cameron itself. It's his producers that commision the manufacture the plastic toys etc to promote the film. Even if he sincerely believes in the philosophy of the Navi, he has no choice but to be part of the system. You can use the system as a necessary evil to promote a message of goodness.

There is no wisdom in being a total Luddite and rejecting all technology, all consumerism, all capitalism. We have to use the current system even if our aim is to transcend it.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by Indigo_Child]

My son and I went out and watched this movie last night. We both enjoyed it very much. It more than kept our attention the entire time. The effects were impressive, and it did a great job of creating a variety of emotions (excitement, anger, sadness, laughter, hope, etc.)... which many successful movies do, allowing the viewers to 'connect' more with the movie.

I found myself curious about what my own avatar would look like and wondered just how far off we might be from actually attempting something like this... and what would be the results?

I think some people easily connected with this movie because it's like so many games and MMO's out there, i.e. WoW. (Night Elves living in a giant tree and close to nature, Ghostlands having glowing lands, Winged mounts, etc.)

The ending was certainly left wide open... possible sequel?

Originally posted by Chainmaker
The point is, no change is going to be made, and you all are falling all over yourself with your faux spiritual moments watching this film, when the entire thing is a joke. You aren't going to get rid of your car and move into the woods to build a treehouse without using a horrible gas-powered chainsaw. Neither is anyone else.

Everyone is going to watch this movie and go back to living their lives, with the only change being that perhaps they will be tempted to explore pagan religion, which in reality has much less to do with peace and love and way more to do with accepting evil as "necessary to the balance"

Realistically speaking, I don't think anyone in their right mind -- including Jame's Cameron, expected for the above to happen just by watching the movie... although then again, surely a few people out of the many millions are "crazy" enough to actually do something significant.

But no. In today's world, for any real change to take place must come in the form of slow, repetitive, expensive "deprogramming". And it will take a long time before subtle changes in the way we think, actually manifest into real see able changes in our society. Evolution doesn't take place in a single day.

Disclaimer: people have been preaching nature worship for thousands of years, and the whole time people were slaughtering each other as normal because humans have an evil nature that doesn't change.

Well I'd say it's about time we get evolving then, don't you?

How about the mountains of plastic toys created for the Avatar Happy Meal toys, toys that generally end up in the trash in less than a month, to stay there for the next 10,000 years, and then there is all the petroleum it took just to manufacture that consumerist crap. And that is just one part of the consumerist extravaganza that is Avatar.

And that is just one part of the "necessary evils" that James Cameron will have to live with. He doesn't have any control on that sort of crap. His job is to make the movie and that's it. The question is, in the end which will have made more positive change? The movie itself, or the consumerist extravaganza that goes with it?

We've been living with the consumerist crap for a long while now. It's not going anywhere. If it doesn't hitch a ride with Avatar, it'll hitch a ride with another movie. I think we can take it for at least one more film.

Look at how the "perfect" Na'vi live. That is his statement against technology.

It would be a pretty boring movie if the Na'vi didn't live the way they lived. Keep in mind it is a movie, and it's number one purpose is to entertain. Movies generally exaggerate to make things more interesting, even when telling the truth.

I have no problem with a good action movie, I do have a problem with a bunch of naive first world consumers who think they are having a spiritual moment while watching hypocritical propaganda from an elitist filmmaker no better than Al Gore.

If a murderer preaches that murder is bad, it doesn't make the message any less valid just because it's told by someone who has murdered another. Many of us learnt nothing new, spiritually speaking, just from watching the movie... but that doesn't mean we cannot like the message it is sending nonetheless -- for it is a message rarely seen in such a mainstream form.

See now where you come across as extremely naive, is where you call James Cameron as an 'elitist' just because he created a big film.

We experience, we learn, we change. It's a long process. Film's like James Cameron's "Avatar" will ultimately contribute to this process of change. No amount of plastic toys will change that. I think James Cameron knows this.

For the better good, there can be no bad.


[edit on 25/12/09 by Navieko]

The terms "prayer" and "God" annoy me endlessly.

I will check out the movie soon to see what's the buzz about.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by GrandKitaro777]

reply to post by misfitoy


I've heard they have stricken a deal for a trilogy.

We will probably start seeing the rise of celebrities and pop idols who are not real, but, like the Na'vi, are a meld of a real person and a "perfected" computer generated image. That is what is so novel in the blue people of Na'vi. It took a real person or actor to go through the motions for the computers to have something to emulate. The animations could not have been done so realistically without the real human.

The resulting "character" is at once both human like and yet more perfect; at least physically. Now that is something to fall in love with.

Whether these creations will give us mere mortals something to shoot for, or just serve to underscore our hopelessly imperfect nature, I do not know.

People inclined towards self enlightenment will be able to use these creations to that end. Those inclined towards making profits also have a great new tool at their disposal. Whether the balance changes in the end is doubtful.