Without revealing too much of the film, it's based on the scenario of a dominant species trying to overtake a presumably weaker species. In this case, it's humans versus the creatures of Pandora. "Avatar" left me questioning humanity's role in society, and the everlasting effects of our actions on our planet and its inhabitants. Leading actress Sigourney Weaver put it nicely when she said that "Avatar" will leave viewers wondering, what is worth fighting for? Director and mastermind James Cameron was quoted with his take on the movie's message:
“The point is that we are devastating habitat and biodiversity at a terrible rate,” Cameron told the UK Sun. “We are causing a global climate change that’s going to be absolutely devastating to the coral reefs. Science is unable to keep up with our industrial society. We are destroying species faster than we can classify them. We are destroying the food chain faster than we can understand it. The politicians are over in Copenhagen talking about climate change now – but there are other issues as well.”
As I was watching "Avatar," I was reminded of the orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra who are helplessly losing their habitats to palm oil plantations. I thought about the coyotes and deer that I see in the city, forced out of their homes because of deforestation and housing developments.
Is it too much to ask for all of earth's creatures to live together in harmony? Perhaps today the answer to this question is "yes, it is too much to ask." However, I'm hopeful that "Avatar" will, at the very least, plant a seed in peoples' minds and trigger some kind of inspiration to one day change that answer to "no."
