The document discusses the film Avatar, including its storyline, themes, characters, animation techniques, and cultural aspects. It summarizes that in the 22nd century, humans travel to Pandora to mine for a valuable mineral. Pandora is inhabited by 10-foot tall blue Na'vi who live in harmony with nature. The protagonist Jake Sully builds trust with the Na'vi to negotiate a deal, but eventually sides with them against the humans to protect their homeland from destruction.

1. Industrialization and
Pollution

2. Alec Marx- Cultural Aspects, Themes, Characters,
Overview, Discussion Questions
Johnny Chen- Original source information, Animation,
Storyline, Intro, Video clip, Discussion questions

3. (Intro Slide)
"By the 22nd Century, humans have severely depleted Earth's natural
resources and have traveled light-years to Pandora, a densely forested
habitable moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri
star system to mine a valuable mineral – unobtanium – in order to stave off
an energy catastrophe back home. Pandora, whose atmosphere is
poisonous to humans, is inhabited by the Na'vi, 10-foot tall (3.0 m), blue-
skinned, sapient humanoids who live in harmony with nature and worship a
mother goddess called Eywa, but they are understandably unfriendly. Our
protagonist, Jake Sully, then takes on this important mission to build a -
bridge of trust - with the natives to negotiate a deal, and his journey
begins..."

4. (Original Source Info)
• There is no original source of Avatar the film because,
the film was a gather of ideas from the writer/director,
James Cameron's childhood. (Says Cameron himself in
the following link)
• Title of the film came from the incarnation of one of the
Hindu gods taking a flesh form.
• The image of Avatar characters came from Cameron's
mother's dream.

5. (Animation)
• In order to make Avatar the movie look as real as possible, the
producer/director/writer, James Cameron, used the most cutting edge
special effects and visuals, creating his "unparalleled masterpiece of
technology." Some of the amazing technologies used in create the movie
Avatar were:
1. Stereoscopic 3D Fusion Cameras - The fusion of two cameras to mimic
the vision of the human eyes, allowing the filming of the movie to be more
realistic.
2. High-Detail Performance Capture - Attachment of cameras to the actor's
faces, to get every facial expression of the actor, making the Na'vi
characters look more realistic.
3. Virtual Camera System - Special view piece (looks similar to a television)
allowing the director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live
action.

6. (Storyline)
• The paraplegic Marine, Jake Sully, takes his brother's place
in a mission on the distant world of Pandora to negotiate a
deal with the natives for their land.
• Jake was not accepted by the natives at first, but after much
effort, he was finally accepted by many.
• Jake falls in love with a native, and felt more connected with
the clan.
• The deal didn't work out, Jake was forced to take side
because the humans will destroy the Natives' sacred tree.
• Natives fought back and won.
• Every human were expelled from Pandora and sent back to
Earth, with the exceptions of Jake, Norm, Max and a few
other scientists.

7. Human
Characters
• Jake Sully is a disabled
ex-marine who is called to
Dr. Grace Augustine is one of
take the place of his
the scientists who occupies an
recently deceased brother
avatar body. She gets to know
as an avatar
the Na'vi, and ends up dieing in
scientist/explorer on the
an attempt to fight for the Na'vi.
Planet Pandora. He ends
falling in love with Neytiri,
one of the Na'vi, and fights
against the humans to
protect the Na'vi.
• Colonel Miles Quaritch is
in charge of the military on
Pandora, and will do
anything for the interest of
his country, and would
never betray his nation or

8. Na'vi Characters
Neytiri is the daughter of the leader of the Na'vi clan, and reluctantly agrees
(based on the request of her mother and a sign from their god Eywa) to
teach Jake the ways of her clan before eventually becoming his lover.
Neytiri represents the strength and commitment of women and how they are
just as strong, if not stronger than men. Neytiri is a big warrior, and Jake is
really a small crippled man.
Tsu'tey is next in line to rule the Na'vi and is supposed to marry Neytiri when
Jake first stumbles upon the clan. Eventually he ordains Jake with the title of
Toruk Makto, and willingly and gratefully fights for him against the humans. He
depicts the attachment that the Na'vi have towards their cultural roots and to
each other. Tsu'tey is representative of the courage that it takes to lead as a
warrior. He daringly jumps into an aircraft alone during the final battle, and
after being shot, has Jake customarily end his life before he dies.

9. Theme:
Connectedness
of humans to
nature
One of the main themes that Avatar focuses on is that all living things are
connected, and if we try to exploit that connection, we will only destroy
ourselves. The film shows that since nature and humans are connected we
can't abuse nature without inflicting negative consequences on ourselves.
This is a major theme that unfolds at the end of the film. Once the humans
blow up Home Tree (where this Na'vi tribe resides), and decide to go on a
mission to destroy the tree of souls, nature turns against them and defeats
the destructive attempt. This is apparent when all of the animals that used
to be hostile to the Na'vi band together and charge against the humans to
defend their land and way of life. Without any guidance from the Na'vi , the
Ikran (the flying birds that the Na'vi ride) swoop from the sky and attack the
human aircraft, while forest animals charge the human soldiers on the
ground. Neytiri yells, "Jake, Eywa heard you!" implying that mother nature
had realized the importance of protecting itself and the connectedness of
living things. The more destructive the humans tried to be, the more quickly
they were defeated.

10. Theme: Greed and Morality
Avatar has great examples of human greed. The initial attempt of the humans
was not to destroy the Na'vi, but to obtain the precious metal Unobtainium
that is found in abundance on Pandora. The demand for this metal on earth
is apparently very high, and the whole exhibition was not to conduct
scientific research but to gather this metal to sell on Earth. When the
largest concentration of metal was underneath Home Tree, and the Na'vi
did not want to leave their home, the humans blew up the tree anyway,
killing many innocent Na'vi. The morality of respect for the life of others was
ignored at the expense of human greed.

11. Theme: Humans are Moral at Heart
The interesting thing about Avatar is
that although the movie is centered
on humans destroying another race,
humans end up being the ones that
help the race and that race's world
survive. Jake Sully is faced many
times by the colonel of the military,
and told to step down, and let them
move in and destroy the Na'vi.
When Jake refuses and he is
'unplugged' from his Na'vi body after
fighting against the human efforts,
him and the others that have
avatars risk their lives to save the
race because it is the moral thing to
do. Betraying the interest of one's
race would not be an easy thing to
do, yet these characters still risk
their lives, and willingly neglet the
interest of their race since the

12. Cultural Aspect: Na'vi vs. Native
Americans
The Na'vi bear a striking resemblance to the Native Americans. When
Europeans discovered North America they automatically assumed the land
and resources belonged to them, and were there to service them. This
assumption as well as the desire for wealth and power clouded their
judgements, and soon was the only the thing that mattered. Native
Americans were just an obstacle in uncovering the wealth of the land, and
the lifestyle of the natives was neglected and destroyed in the interest of the
land. In Avatar, the exact same thing is happening. White humans discover
a new land with the resources to promote wealth, and the interest of the
Na'vi is ignored because greed is fueling the efforts of the humans. The
only difference between the movie, and our culture's history is that the
natives succeed. Avatar is an example of the guilt that we as people now
living in North America have towards the mistakes we have made in our
past. Having white humans rebel against their own in the interest of
morality shows that that would have been the moral thing to do when we
were stealing land, and peace from the Native Americans.

13. Cultural Aspect:
Purpose of Military Use
Even though this film is Canadian, the issue of recent military ventures in the
United States is questioned by Avatar. There are issues as the whether the
United States declared war on terrorism, or went to war to obtain oil and fuel
major corporations keeping the United States running. In Avatar, the whole
mission to Pandora is supposed to be to do scientific work on the
environment and learn about life on the planet. However, as the film
progresses it becomes apparent that the goal of learning about life on the
planet is not an innocent attempt to improve scientific knowledge, but a way
to get to understand the Na'vi so as to eventually use that knowledge to
exploit the precious resource Unobtainium that is so bountiful on Pandora.
The fact that that the actual goals of military are slightly hazy and
ambiguous in the film correlates with the fact that the recent goals of the
United States military have been ambiguous.

14. Cultural Aspect:
Pollution
We live in a culture that is majorly dependent on natural resources. We
continue to deplete those natural resources at an exponential rate, and we
are all responsible for that. Many of us think that if we are not physically
cutting down a tree, or if we print papers double sided, that we are not
responsible for the destruction of natural resources. In Avatar, all of the
humans are seen as being responsible for the destruction of Pandora in
search for Unobtainium, except the few who physically fight against it.
During the time period in the film, Earth's natural resources have been
depleted and almost every square inch of the planet is covered in concrete.
The people living on Earth and not doing anything to improve the conditions
of the planet, are viewed as being guilty of destruction, as are the people
flying the aircraft and shooting guns on Pandora. Avatar shows that
although we might realize we are depleting our natural resources, we are all
guilty of the immorality of destroying mother nature unless we dedicate to
fighting against it. If we don't fight against our way of life that contributes to
environmental concerns such as global warming, Avatar shows us that we
will only fail in our efforts, and create a world full of destruction.

15. Industrializatio
n and Pollution
The state of Earth in the movie Avatar is one of complete destruction and depletion
of natural resources. In the scenes that take place on Earth, many people are
wearing masks, showing that the air is thick with pollution/diseases and general
filth. This pollution is a byproduct of Industrialization. When industries are
developed to such a scale that we currently have, and especially to the scale
that they have probably reached in the film, pollution is virtually unavoidable.
Resources are required in order to propel such progress of a nation, and
destruction of these natural resources results in a world of pollution. Avatar
contrasts Earth, a highly industrialized planet, with the very nature respecting
planet of Pandora. The Na'vi people are so happy being at one with nature, and
are able to be content with that connection. They essentially worship mother
nature, and in it, seem to have found the meaning of life. the humans on the
other hand, live in a highly industrialized world where there is always a desire for
self-improvement at the expense of anything. In the movie, humans think that
finding this metal is the key to what they need. When the humans fail, and the
Na'vi live on, the audience sees that treating nature and all living things with
respect allows for a peaceful and content worldly lifestyle.

16. Video Clip

17. Discussion Questions
• If anyone was sent to learn about the Na'vi, would they all eventually want
to do the moral thing that Jake did and help protect them from irrational
harm, or are Jake and Grace simply outliers of the human race?
• Why is the main character who ends up saving the Na'vi a white male? In
light of the history of the white American man, and the tendency for him to
disregard the interest of people that differ from him (such as the Native
Americans), what does this say about the nature of the white American
man today? Basically, is the film saying that the white American man
should have stood up to his own race during times that it destroyed others,
or is the film depicting what the white American man would do nowadays
or in the future?
• (An interesting article related to the prior question):
http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-
avatar
• Are we all equally responsible for the depletion of our natural resources
and pollution of our world, or are other people in our past, ones who
started it all more responsible?

18. Discussion Questions (Continued)
• What was the first impression after seeing a trailer/preview or any kind of
•
Avatar related videos? Was the graphic a factor of the impression?
If James Cameron didn't use such advanced technologies into making
Avatar, do you think the film would still have the majority of its audience?
(i.e. Do the audience like the movie based on it's storyline, or is it because
•
the movie looks very realistic?)
If a movie was to be remade with the same technology used in making
Avatar, what movie do you want it to be? and why?

19. •Work Cited
Adams, Mike. "James Cameron's Avatar delivers a Powerful Message of Connectedness with
Mother Nature." Natural News. n.P., 26 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Feb 2013.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027810_Avatar_James_Cameron.html
• "All the Cultural Themes on Avatar." Academy of Meaning-Making and Observations. 6 Jan
2010. Web. 13 Feb 2013. http://evenhigherlearning.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/all-the-cultural-
themes-on-avatar/
• Auza, Jun. "The Technology Behind Avatar (Movie)."http://www.junauza.com. N.p., 27 Jan 2010.
Web. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.junauza.com/2010/01/technology-behind-avatar-
movie.html>.
• "Avatar (2009 film)." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 19 February
2013. Web. 20. Feb. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)>
• "How Did They Make the AVATAR Characters Look So Real?." http://avatarblog.typepad.com.
Panasonic Viera, 02 May 2010. Web. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
<http://avatarblog.typepad.com/avatar-blog/2010/05/learn-about-the-special-effects-used-in-the-
making-of-avatar.html>.
• Rainer, Peter. "Avatar: movie review."http://www.csmonitor.com. N.p., 17 Dec 2009. Web. Web.
20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2009/1217/Avatar-movie-review>.
• "Socio-Cultural Theme in Avatar." TransitionsLab. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Feb 2013.
http://www.transitionslab.com/socio-cultural-theme-in-avatar.html
• Thao, Gigi. "Avatar Questions Human Greed, Morality." The Feather Online. 16 Jan 2010, Web.
13 Feb 2013. http://www.thefeather.com/?page=articles&id=55573
• Wieland, Carl. "Avatar and the ‘new’ evolutionary religion."creation.com. N.p., 05 Jan 2010.
Web. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://creation.com/avatar-movie-review>.