Conservatives say it’s liberal, anti-capitalist and anti-military. Feminists say it’s gender biased. Anti-smoking advocates say it features too many cigarettes. Christians (including the Vatican) say it’s pagan. Is it possible one movie is all these things?
Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times describes in his article, “You Saw What in Avatar? Pass Those Glasses!” that “Over the last month, it has been criticized by social and political conservatives who bristle at its depictions of religion and the use of military force; feminists who feel that the male avatar bodies are stronger and more muscular than their female counterparts; anti-smoking advocates who object to a character who lights up cigarettes; not to mention fans of Soviet-era Russian science fiction; the Chinese; and the Vatican. This week the authorities in China announced that the 2-D version of the film would be pulled from most theaters there to make way for a biography of Confucius.”
Itzkoff cites other critics: In a column for the Christian entertainment Web site Movieguide.com, David Outten wrote that Avatar maligned capitalism, promoted animism over monotheism and overdramatized the possibility of environmental catastrophe on earth. At another site that offers a conservative critique of the entertainment industry, BigHollywood.Breitbart.com, John Nolte wrote that the film was “a thinly disguised, heavy-handed and simplistic sci-fi fantasy/allegory critical of America from our founding straight through to the Iraq War.”
Jon Landau, one of the movie’s producers, says director James Cameron is not advancing any particular ideological agenda. Instead, he knows the value of big, broad themes that evoke a wide range of feelings in a wide range of viewers.
So, is Avatar, which may be on its way to being the most financially successful film in history, anti-capitalist? Sure, if you think it is!
Related links:
A is for AVATAR (December 2009)
Otherworldly “Avatar” Familiar in the Worst Way (December 2009)
2009’s Best Stuff (January 2010)
‘Second Life’ Fantasy Leads to Real Life Divorce (November 2008)
Virtual Reality (September 2008)
Harry Potter and the Christian Allegory (January 2008)
