Avatar: Too Basic to Fail

It takes some genius to octuple your profit and James Cameron (Director of Avatar) is that genius, or rather, that simpleton. Now this is not to insult, but to point out the fact that, as Einstein said, genius is making the complex easily understood; Cameron really seems to get this too because he has broken the box office record internationally twice in a row, even though his characters embody clichés and his stories have the same originality of Star Wars 7. So why do his movies make so much money? 

To answer this question, let's take a look at Avatar. This film tells a familiar story with simple characters and exorbitant spectacle. We have seen this story numerous times, and the obvious messages of environmentalism, oppressive military rule,  and natives trampled by capitalism reeks with repetition. We already know, we get it--military rule tends toward tyranny, we shouldn't displace and kill for shiny rocks, and the trees help everyone. Nothing here is new.

Yet everyone can relate. Brazil wants the government overthrown, China herds people out of their publicity pics, Africa tears itself apart for minerals because money beckons, America hyperfocuses on its policy agenda before extending a helping hand, etc. However, such divisions as these make us forget the bigger picture: a better world is a world in which we consider our fellow humans, our shared foundations and environment, and the paths that lead to long and difficult repairs. 

That said, despite the stereotypical story and cliché characters, Avatar does make the characters more human and fluid, thanks to involved actors and detailed motion capture and CGI. 

Flying never felt so exhilarating as in that 3D theater. Similar to Titanic, the story is so simple but so well told that different people of many nations can see themselves in it. The more simple the story and characters, the easier it is to translate, and still make sense. Although unoriginal, it packages familiar dramatic situations in the most spectacular and multilingual adaption possible.

Although just a live action remake of Fern Gully, I find that Avatar, like several other stories, contains characters that continue to reappear over and over again because they work and we still relate to these conflicts, since they occur again and again. Perhaps Cameron could have made the colonel less evil, or given more plot twists and continuous interpersonal struggles, or kept the length of the film consistent with the actual length of the conflict. But that might also have stolen its strengths--simplicity and relatability.

Like the percussion performance artists Blue Man Group say, we are all human, we are all blue inside.

Clyde E Northrup
Pragmus Omega

Co-Founder and Video Editor for Pragmus