Slave I
Active Hunter
I saw it the other day and agree it was really entertaining. Not entirely thought-provoking but held my attention throughout. I also agree that the story was not weak but rather simple. That's okay, though. Some of the best stories are simple.
There are elements that make it seem at times like Dances With Wolves, and other times like the Matrix.
While I do recommend seeing it, I don't plan on seeing it multiple times and don't have the urge to buy it on DVD. Seeing it and experiencing it once was enough for me. Again, not flawed, that's just me saying it didn't strike that chord in me that made me have to see it again.
I also recommend seeing it on the big screen rather than waiting on DVD.
I think a 7 yr old would probably be fine with it if they're closer to 8. There's some language and violence, but you have that flipping through regular cable channels and they'll definitely be able to grasp the story. Heck, the Happy Meals at McDonalds have Avatar toys right now.
Now the thing that really made me angry was the article on Yahoo, "Does AVATAR Contain Hidden Messages?" http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/hmg-avatar-hidden-messages.html
The writer suggests, among other things, that some might liken the Na'vi to American Indians. No! Really?! And then there is this crazy notion that it might be a pro-green, anti-war movie. Duh, thanks for pointing that out Brett Dykes. I would have completely missed these subtle under tones.
I'm being sarcastic, of course. If anything, the messages are blatantly obvious. If the writer of the article had to question whether the elements were hidden, I'm guessing he was watching the film under the influence of alchohol or some other substance and congratulated himself later when he was able to piece the message together later.
Another thing that struck me as insanely stupid in the article . . ."Will Heaven of the Daily Telegraph said that the plot line involving people of color who wear "tribal" jewelry while sporting dreadlocked hair, being saved by a noble white man gave the film a 'racist subtext' that he found 'nauseatingly patronising.'"
Give me a break. Unless this Will Heaven is himself a Na'vi, he has nothing to complain about. And if you don't have this outsider coming in to learn the culture, you've just thrown out 80% of the story and it's appeal. I guess Will Heaven (actually caucasion himself) would have preferred an African American helping save the Na'vi. But wouldn't that have been the same thing? What's the difference between a WHITE man helping save the BLUE Na'vi and a BLACK man helping save the BLUE Na'vi?
I don't know why every once in a while some animated bit of something catches flak on a racist issue. Look at Jar-jar and how people were saying he made Jamaicans look stupid. Hello? Jar-jar was a Gungan; he made Gungans (and George Lucas) look stupid. He was a bad idea for comic relief on his own without calling it racism. I've heard before with the two cartoon jellyfish on one of those animated movies and the two cars that were also supposedly making African American people look dumb.
Give the racism issue a rest. No one watches Uncle Buck and says, "Man, that John Candy makes white folks look stupid." Want to take some steps in ending racism an segregation, drop the Miss Black America and the Negro Scholarship fund--things which caucasions are excluded specificially because of their race.
I've deviated from the AVATAR topic itself, but I haven't heard of any Na'vi protesting how they were depicted.
See it on the big screen and enjoy it. Don't try to read too deeply into it.
There are elements that make it seem at times like Dances With Wolves, and other times like the Matrix.
While I do recommend seeing it, I don't plan on seeing it multiple times and don't have the urge to buy it on DVD. Seeing it and experiencing it once was enough for me. Again, not flawed, that's just me saying it didn't strike that chord in me that made me have to see it again.
I also recommend seeing it on the big screen rather than waiting on DVD.
I think a 7 yr old would probably be fine with it if they're closer to 8. There's some language and violence, but you have that flipping through regular cable channels and they'll definitely be able to grasp the story. Heck, the Happy Meals at McDonalds have Avatar toys right now.
Now the thing that really made me angry was the article on Yahoo, "Does AVATAR Contain Hidden Messages?" http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/hmg-avatar-hidden-messages.html
The writer suggests, among other things, that some might liken the Na'vi to American Indians. No! Really?! And then there is this crazy notion that it might be a pro-green, anti-war movie. Duh, thanks for pointing that out Brett Dykes. I would have completely missed these subtle under tones.
I'm being sarcastic, of course. If anything, the messages are blatantly obvious. If the writer of the article had to question whether the elements were hidden, I'm guessing he was watching the film under the influence of alchohol or some other substance and congratulated himself later when he was able to piece the message together later.
Another thing that struck me as insanely stupid in the article . . ."Will Heaven of the Daily Telegraph said that the plot line involving people of color who wear "tribal" jewelry while sporting dreadlocked hair, being saved by a noble white man gave the film a 'racist subtext' that he found 'nauseatingly patronising.'"
Give me a break. Unless this Will Heaven is himself a Na'vi, he has nothing to complain about. And if you don't have this outsider coming in to learn the culture, you've just thrown out 80% of the story and it's appeal. I guess Will Heaven (actually caucasion himself) would have preferred an African American helping save the Na'vi. But wouldn't that have been the same thing? What's the difference between a WHITE man helping save the BLUE Na'vi and a BLACK man helping save the BLUE Na'vi?
I don't know why every once in a while some animated bit of something catches flak on a racist issue. Look at Jar-jar and how people were saying he made Jamaicans look stupid. Hello? Jar-jar was a Gungan; he made Gungans (and George Lucas) look stupid. He was a bad idea for comic relief on his own without calling it racism. I've heard before with the two cartoon jellyfish on one of those animated movies and the two cars that were also supposedly making African American people look dumb.
Give the racism issue a rest. No one watches Uncle Buck and says, "Man, that John Candy makes white folks look stupid." Want to take some steps in ending racism an segregation, drop the Miss Black America and the Negro Scholarship fund--things which caucasions are excluded specificially because of their race.
I've deviated from the AVATAR topic itself, but I haven't heard of any Na'vi protesting how they were depicted.
See it on the big screen and enjoy it. Don't try to read too deeply into it.