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I finally saw Avatar yesterday. First let me note that I think Fred's wrong about the racial composition of the invading force. In the scene where the maniac officer gives a pep talk before the genocidal attack, Black and Latin faces are quite prominent, and nodding in agreement, so much so that I thought to myself, "this really looks (and thinks) like today's Army." Anyway in general I thought, despite its obvious Hollywood-style patronizing and stereotyping moments, no-one could possibly think the movie is not anti-imperialist. And the women play much more of a positive role as warriors and otherwise than they would have in previous decades. I'd say it takes the next step from Heart of Darkness. The latter is anti-imperialist in the sense that the Europeans all find the darkness in their own heart as they shed illusions in the great idea behind their mission. But given the racist view of the indigenous peoples, it's a completely pessimistic critique, and there's nothing in either the conquered or conquering peoples to make one think things can be otherwise. Avatar, in contrast, attributes all virtue to the indigenous -- and to the conquering to the extent they switch sides. Too schematic a view, but still immensely valuable. I think the antiwar movement needs to appropriate and use for our own purposes many of the images and lines from the movie. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
