Saudi Avatar-ia

I just got home from watching Avatar.  Holy @#%$!!  I am not the type of person that typically enjoys movies that are all special effects, and no plot.  I went to this movie thinking that might be what I was in for.  Instead I found myself absolutely mesmerized for nearly three hours.  Do not misunderstand me, it is heavy on the special effects.  But the special effects are so mind blowing and enchanting that it actually touched my soul on some level.  I did not come away with the feeling of being visually stimulated, but ultimately unsatisfied as is often the case in high-tech movies.

And the plot was not bad either.  I have read a few things online about people taking offense at the blatant political statements expressed in the movie.  Get over it!  So the guy has an agenda.  Who cares.  Even if you disagree with the director's political views, it may help you to understand another side of the argument.  What is it they say about seeking first to understand before seeking to be understood?  

There are a number of political and social themes integrated into the movie.  The movie portrays the humans as invaders of a foreign land who will destroy the local population to get the mineral they have traveled to Pandora to find.  The humans even refer to the natives as 'terrorists' who must be forced off the land.  The parallel to early American treatment of Native Americans, and libertarian views on the corruptness of American foreign policy in general, is impossible to miss.  I could not help thinking of an interview that Ron Paul did on Larry King earlier this week.  Check it out:


I happen to be very sympathetic to the views expressed by Dr. Paul. This being the case, the themes expressed in Avatar strike a chord with me. The two sides of the conflict, as depicted in Avatar, are caricatures of a foreign policy reality. As such, they portray the humans (American military) as unrealistically aggressive, and the natives (citizens of the countries we invade) as complete innocents who act only in self defense. I realize that the American military is not as evil as portrayed in this movie. I also realize that there are evil elements on the terrorist side. There is, however, a kernel of truth in the depiction.

Where I depart from Dr. Paul, and presumably the director of Avatar, is with the simplistic solutions. Ron Paul says we should just get out. What if our whole way of life as Americans depends on us maintaining this foreign 'empire'? What if a quick departure threatened the stability of that way of life? How many Americans would sign up for a withdrawal then? Even if one concedes that our country is inappropriately involved in foreign affairs, the withdrawal would have to be a process rather than an event. The real problem is that even as Americans are becoming more opposed to the commitments overseas, they seem to be growing ever more unwilling to sacrifice the 'good life' that is being sustained by those commitments.