Would you risk your life to save a different race?

Today we’ll discuss Avatar (2009), ranked #21 of best sci-fi movies of all time! It features Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver and was directed by the director of Aliens, Titanic and Terminator: James Cameron.

A summary:

When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge’s intentions of driving off the native humanoid “Na’vi” in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na’vi people with the use of an “avatar” identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand – and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

You can watch the trailer here:


The first time I watched this movie, I watched it in 3D. It was the first movie I watched in 3D, too. I was breathless the entire movie. The visuals, the story, the… everything, made me wish the movie lasted longer than those three hours. I thought it was fantastic.

What I particularly enjoyed is how brilliantly they portrayed an alien world and the alien culture. It was done very creatively and in a way it was magical, not in the very least because of the spectacular graphics. Never have I seen a movie before where the computer graphics were so advanced and real looking. Watch this video if you’re interested in how they created the world of Pandora.

Some people might find Avatar a too moralistic story (or even corny), after all, it’s about how the human race comes to an alien planet to steal their resources, without respecting the inhabitants of the planet and nearly destroying them and their world in the process. Then, the locals “strike back” and somehow win, although they’re far behind in technological advancement. How often have we not seen or read stories like this?

It’s the execution that makes it work though. The story is well written, the writers make you care dearly about the Na’vi and make you hate your own kind – although you will without a doubt love Jake Sully, the hero of the story.

I know this is a question that’s highly subjective to social desirability bias, but what would you do if you were Jake Sully? Would you too want to protect the alien race? I think you’d be surprised how many people would just go ahead and follow the authorities (read this if you don’t believe me). Not many people go ahead and defy their leaders, whether it be a police or military officer, or any other authoritative figure you deem credible.

Would you be ready to give up your life for other people? Our Western individualistic consumer culture doesn’t really inspire these kind of selfless acts, I think.

Please share your thoughts about the philosophy behind this movie – did you pick up other philosophies than I?

If you haven’t seen this movie yet (which I doubt), you should go see it as soon as possible. If you’ve seen it, were you as amazed as I was, or did you think it was less great?

Before you go… Don’t forget to participate in this week’s Weird Phenomenon Flash Fiction Challenge: “The Hum“!

Related posts:

  1. How far would you go to save the life of the one you love?
  2. Would you enter the mind of a serial killer to save a girl’s life?
  3. How would people react to an alien encounter?
  4. What would it be like to find out you’re a clone?
  5. Would you fight the authorities to get back your emotions?
Posted by on May 19, 2011 in Popular Culture, Sci-fi Movie Analysis | 8 comments
  • http://twitter.com/amberwest amberwest

    I thought a lot about how we treat the environment and animals, too, after watching this.  The current common practices for getting our food from farm/field are deplorable and even cruel, yet, in the name of money, they aren’t being stopped.  And there a lot of people that will talk about how sad it is, yet continue munching away on their McD’s hamburger. 

    And I would like to think that if an alien race was threatened, I would do what I could to stop it.

    • http://www.manoneileen.com Manon Eileen

      Hi Amber, thanks a lot for stopping by. :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree that it’s sad to see that people don’t want to sacrifice some things to help our planet survive. In my opinion, it’s probably because they don’t see direct results of what their behavior causes. It’s one of the reasons I eat very, very little meat. 

      All the best.

  • http://www.pwcreighton.blogspot.com PW Creighton

     I think this was a very successful film because not only was it a technological triumph but because it was telling a very human tale about globalization of culture on a much larger and abstract scale. The perceived ‘proper way’ of things is the dominant culture. ‘Be civilized.’ However, the success comes from convincing the audience to sympathize with the ‘lesser culture.’ This for me was more of an update to ‘Ferngully the last rainforest.’ I really appreciated the film for conveying the message because it was the exact same approach that most of the countries take towards cultural norms.

    • http://www.manoneileen.com Manon Eileen

      Hiya and thanks for stopping by!

      I appreciated it for the same reason as you. I thought it was wonderfully done and I was really rooting for the Na’vi in the end, which I bet they had intended!

  • http://twitter.com/GeneLempp Gene Lempp

    Avatar is a very real and current parallel to the struggles of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Jungle. Slash-burn farming, burning roadways and the building of dams to service those outside the Amazon threaten one of Earth’s greatest natural resources and the only ones concerned are quite similar to the Na’vi. James Cameron is a Jake Sully as is Sigourney Weaver, both of whom have stood up to protect the Amazon and its people (and they are not alone).

    Would I risk my life for an alien species? If they had the same needs as those above I certainly would. Life and the resources that life relies on are far more precious than profit. In the long run what good will profit do when life becomes unsustainable due to the loss of its supporting resources? Just something to consider.

    • http://www.manoneileen.com Manon Eileen

      Those are some interesting thoughts, Gene, thanks a lot for sharing them :)

  • AlbertSkoope

    I think the Aliens “way of life” is in danger not their physical self…The question then should be …Would you risk your life to preserve a different way of life ??

    • http://www.manoneileen.com Manon Eileen

      Hi Albert and thanks for stopping by :) That is actually a very good point, thanks!