1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: GILLIAN CHONG YEONG LIN
STUDENT ID NO: 0323941
FILMS SELECTED: THE AVATAR (2009) and THE AVENGERS (2012)
WORD COUNT: 929 WORDS
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: GOPIGHANTAN MYLVAGANAM
SUBMISSION DATE: DECEMBER 4TH 2015
2. Movies in general started decades ago in the late 18th century, then, it was a
luxury to even watch a movie. Today, movies are abundant and readily available in
cinemas, discs, online, etcetera. There are several types of genres for a movie
ranging from action films to documentary films, everyone will have the opportunity to
enjoy what they like. The recent advancement of technology and computer graphics
led to the drastic rise of science fiction films. Science Fiction films are a genre that
uses science fiction such as extra-terrestrial life forms, time travel, futuristic
elements, etcetera. Two noteworthy and popular science fiction films of the 21st
century are, The Avatar by James Cameron released in 2009 and The Avengers by
Joss Whedon released in 2012. Although both movies are in the same category,
they are quite different from each other. The differences between The Avatar and
The Avengers are clearly seen in the theme, setting, plot, and the moral lessons
from the movie.
First and foremost, the themes of both movies are far apart from each other,
The Avatar is based on the theme of action-adventure journey of self-discovery and
imperialism. On the other hand, The Avengers theme is about intergalactic war and
heroism. It can be seen that in The Avatar, Jake the main protagonist went on an
unexpected journey to an unknown world, doing something he never even dreamt of
doing. Through the movie, he rebuilds himself to a stronger person and discovers his
true self and purpose. In The Avengers however, the film is centred towards heroes
coming together and joining forces to battle in an apparent intergalactic war focusing
on heroism and intergalactic war. The movie revolves around six main heroes, Iron
Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, The Hulk, and Thor, in their journey
to save mankind from total annihilation. As you can see, both movies have different
themes and approaches to their stories.
Secondly, the differences are seen in the setting of the movie. The setting is
the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main
backdrop and mood for the movie. The setting used in The Avatar is set in the year
2154, in the fiction planet of Pandora. It’s noted that sources said that Pandora is a
densely forested habitable moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha
Centauri star system. Pandora is also home to the Na'vi. The mood for the movie
starts off with a thrilling adventure into the vast and open world of Pandora. In
contrast with The Avatar, The Avengers is set in the near future in New York City.
Subsequently, the most noticeable difference that everyone knows is the
entire plot of the movie itself. The Avatar is about a paraplegic Marine, Jake Sully
deciding to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he
3. 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 intelligence 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. On the other side of
the border, The Avengers is about Earth's mightiest heroes coming together and
learning to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army
from enslaving humanity. To conclude, these two movies have very different
approaches to their storyline and plot with one involving an independent character
and another involving a group of individuals.
Lastly, like any other movies, a moral lessons is ought to be learnt.
Regardless of the science fiction genre, they all have moral lessons deeply
embedded into the movie. The Avatar has several moral lessons in the movie. One
of them is having the determination and perseverance to overcome obstacles. In the
movie, Jake has to overcome a lot of problems as he was unfamiliar with the whole
situation and he was thrown in directly into the field. Despite the odds against him,
he eventually followed his heart and did what was right even though he had to take
on his own kind for peace and freedom of Pandora. Crossing over, The Avengers
present a different moral lesson altogether. One of the moral lessons found in The
Avengers is togetherness and unity is key to combat the odds. In the movie, Captain
America and Iron Man didn’t get along quite well together. When the team was
fighting against each other, nothing was accomplished and yet when Loki tore them
further apart, they fell terribly and almost gave up. In the end, the Avengers finally
settled their differences and came together to save the planet from the massive
invasion.
To summarize, both movies, The Avatar and The Avengers have their ups
and downs. They are among the elites in the science fiction films categories. The
differences between The Avatar and The Avengers again are clearly seen in the
theme, setting, plot, and the moral lessons from the movie. With this, we should be
aware and choose what movies to watch carefully as some movies pollute and
corrupt creative minds.
4. References:
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron movie information by The Avatar’s Official
Website. Retrieved on November 30th from http://www.avatarmovie.com/index.html
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron extended information on the movie’s specifics
of Pandora. Retrieved on November 30th from https://www.pandorapedia.com/
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron review, plot summary, and information by
Roger Ebert. Retrieved on November 30th from
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/avatar-2009
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron plot summary, review, and key events by
Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on November 30th from
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar/
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron review and key events by IMDB. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron plot summary by IMDB. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ql_6
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron review and opinions by Wikia. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/Avatar_(film)
The Avatar (2009) by James Cameron movie information by Metacritic. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://www.metacritic.com/movie/avatar
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon movie information by The Avengers’ Official
Website. Retrieved on November 30th from http://marvel.com/avengers_movie/
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon review and key events by IMDB. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon plot summary by IMDB. Retrieved on
November 30th from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ql_6
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon movie information by Cinemablend. Retrieved
on November 30th from http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Avengers-
5829.html
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon plot summary, review, and key events by
Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on November 30th from
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/reviews/
The Avengers (2012) by Joss Whedon review, plot summary, and information by
Roger Ebert. Retrieved on November 30th from
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-avengers-2012
