Avatar: what's the big idea?

The most important idea in this movie is the universal question of ‘being’ as posed by Shakespeare’s Danish prince, Hamlet, in his famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be?” Though Hamlet was debating whether or not to commit suicide, the speech has meaning that transcends Hamlet’s despair. It has become the mantra for everyman’s questioning of his higher purpose, the existential angst of finding out who one really is and then growing into that ‘best self’. The film’s title “Avatar” proves that this is the overarching idea. Naturally one asks, what does the word ‘avatar’ mean? Moreover, what connotations does the name bring to an understanding of the film? There are three definitions worth considering:

•  The word avatar comes from Sanskrit, meaning “a form of self”. It is used in Hinduism to indicate a ‘manifestation’ of a deity in human form, most often associated with Lord Vishnu. For example, it is believed that Buddha is an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
• The word can also mean ‘embodiment’, a new personification of an old idea. For example, Barack Obama can be said to be the avatar (embodiment) of Martin Luther King’s dream of equality for all races.
•  In the context of MMORPGs (massively multi-user online role-playing games) and the internet in general, an avatar is the computer user’s virtual alter-ego – his/her online representation of him/herself, whether through a 3-dimensional model, or through a 2-dimensional picture or icon. In either case, the avatar is not necessarily how the user looks or behaves in reality, but how he/she wants to be perceived. It is common for one’s avatar to embody the most valued aspects/features of oneself, as well as characteristics that one wishes to have (e.g. less weight, more hair, different skin colour, popularity, more intelligence).

In all three understandings, one’s avatar connotes one’s ‘best self’. I posit that all three meanings are relevant to understanding this film in its deepest sense.

The avatar that we first encounter in the film is the virtual alter-ego. Using advanced drag and drop computer technology, the mind of the protagonist Jake Sully is transposed into his Na’vi avatar while his human form lies in a pseudo-comatose state. It is in this manifestation of himself, this avatar, that Jake becomes his ‘best self’.

As a human, Jake is disfigured, physically and emotionally. He is no stranger to violence, whether perpetrated upon or by him: he returned from combat as a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair, and his twin brother was murdered “for the paper in his pocket.” One can infer that Jake Sully knows violence and death so well that they no longer have any emotional impact on him. In fact, he speaks of his twin brother’s death with such apathy that the viewer wonders whether he feels any grief at all. His Marine training has made him a fierce warrior who can face the death of his own flesh and blood with nary a tear.

Yet for all his bravado and machismo, Jake is still an emotional infant. When he is first transposed into his avatar, he runs around in childlike wonderment of his new ability to walk. His immature emotional state is reinforced by Neytiri (the Na’vi heroine with whom he eventually falls in love) when she emphasizes on their first encounter that he is “like a baby” because he does not think of the consequences that his thoughtless actions would have on the animals. (He was wondering around noisily in the forest and was attacked by animals. Neytiri had to kill them to save his life.) James Cameron – the film’s creator – poses Jake as a trope to imply that the military may make soldiers “Army strong” physically, but emotionally they remain infants. Indeed, like any well-trained soldier, Jake’s first instinct is to attack first and ask questions later. Like any well-trained soldier, he can plan the destruction of others on the word of his superiors.

It is through his interaction with the Na’vi that Jake finds his higher purpose. One can argue that these catlike aliens are the only ones who truly ‘see’ the real Jake Sully. Their spiritual connection to their land and to each other afford them the perception to realize in Jake a kindred spirit: he would be more than just another member of the “jarhead clan” to them. In fact, he learns their ways so well that he starts to view himself as they view him. He finds himself in conflict between fulfilling his military mission to infiltrate the Na’vi and fulfilling the higher spiritual calling that is opening up to him every day.

It is when Jake chooses to join the Na’vi spiritually instead of just physically that he ‘becomes’ his avatar.  He has now fully 'grown' into his ten-foot tall Na’vi body. In essence, the traditional Hindu understanding of avatar is reversed, yet strangely still applies. Instead of manifesting his ‘deity’ in human form, Jake sheds his human form to manifest his deity. His true goodness and beauty, veiled and disfigured in his human body, is freed in and through his avatar. His godlikeness is most apparent when he conquers Toruk and swoops down to plan the salvation of his people. Their response to him as the legendary Rider of the Last Shadow marks him as their spiritual leader and saviour. Their first hope for him, foreshadowed when the woodsprites surrounded him, has come to pass. He is now Avatar – god in Na’vi form, as well as the embodiment of their legendary leader – to them.

In the final scene of the movie, Jake willingly chooses to leave his human form behind. This is fitting since the spiritual change had already occurred. His frail human form can no longer contain him: he is far greater now, fully grown into himself, having resolved his conflict of ‘being’. Jake Sully’s avatar is no longer just his genetically engineered alter-ego, but a true manifestation of his ‘best self’. Ironically, it is in his avatar that Jake becomes fully ‘human’.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and find that it is the most spectacular and technically superior use of special effects that I have ever seen. Cameron has been quoted as saying that this movie took ten years to create, and this is apparent as all aspects of the film were so brilliantly executed. What was most amazing was the mixture of ‘real-life’ with 3D animation in such seamless accord. The script, written by Cameron himself, could easily be studied in literature classes. That I was able to enjoy a science fiction film (I literally scoff at The Matrix) for 3 hours attests to how superior this film is to its ilk.

However, the movie had one weakness as far as I am concerned. The plot was unoriginal and seemed sacrificed to Hollywood stereotype. Critics of Avatar claim that is Dances with Wolves on an alien planet. I tend to agree that the storyline is very predictable, having the same basic plot as movies like The Last Samurai, District 9, Dune and even Tarzan. The premise that a white warrior should come to live among a native tribe and eventually become their natural leader and saviour, is a bit offensive and implies that indigenous peoples need outside help to survive. It is called the Messiah complex. It also raises the issue of ‘white guilt’: are these movies made to assuage the guilt felt by Caucasians over the atrocities their ancestors committed against indigenous peoples? Is their guilt also because they still subconsciously feel that they should lead other races, but should do so in a ‘nice’ way as they do in these films?

Notwithstanding these flaws, Avatar remains a brilliant example of storytelling.


What's your take on it?