AVATAR, Anarchy, Narrative and Perception
POSTED BY: HKCavalier
UPDATED: Sunday, January 17, 2010 21:06
VIEWED: 3543
PAGE 3 of 4
Now that last one catches my eye. This is a movie where most of the humans portrayed are villains, that could make some moviegoers depressed about being human.
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Quote:Predictably self-serving.
Originally posted by out2theblack:
'...The Vatican's newspaper and its radio station have given a lukewarm reception to the film Avatar, criticizing it for its "spiritualism linked to the worship of nature."
The laughing Chrisisall
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I haven't seen Avatar yet.
Does this fit?
Quote:
The Hero's Journey
A. Departure
-The Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.
-Refusal of the Call
Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.
-Supernatural Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.
-The Crossing of the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
-The Belly of the Whale
The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.
B. Inititation
-The Road of Trials
The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.
-The Meeting with the Goddess
The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman.
-Woman as the Temptress
At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.
-Atonement with the Father
In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into aNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Oh, I just thought I'd throw this into the mix - what lunacy !
From Drudge
Chicago Alderman Declares War On 'AVATAR' .... Makes Marines Look Like 'Lunatics'...
Vatican says no masterpiece...
Audiences experience 'AVATAR' blues; depression and suicidal thoughts...
***************************************************************
Silence is consent.
Yeah, it's AVATAR that makes Marines look like lunatics...
... not Charles Whitman or Lee Harvey Oswald. ;)
In fact, if you go through a list of famous serial killers, you'd be surprised to see just how many of them are hoo-rah well-trained, disciplined Marines. Semper Fi, fellas. ;)
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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Quote:You actually ARE the angriest guy on the internet...
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Semper Fi, fellas. ;)
I thought I was...
The laughing Chrisisall
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:You actually ARE the angriest guy on the internet...
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Semper Fi, fellas. ;)
I thought I was...
The laughing Chrisisall
Oh, just pointing out some uncomfortable facts...
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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Quote:
Okay, now I understand what you’re saying. Using “hero” for protagonist had me confused…like you said, “main character” or something, because obviously the main character isn’t always the “hero” of the film.
one being an heroic (virtuous) person and the other being simply the protagonist (or "hero") of the narrative
Remember I haven’t seen Avatar yet, so I’m not going to understand a lot of this until it comes out on DVD, which is months away! So I can’t come up with my own opinion on it until I do, I’m just gleaning this and that from what others are saying. So I wasn’t comparing it to Dances, or didn’t intend it to come out that way, except to say I found it interesting how so many people found something in it that reinforces their own subjective beliefs.
Maybe I’m lucky in that I’m not around a lot of people, so I don’t hear the kind of stuff you have. To call Thelma and Louise a “male-bashing” movie is to laugh, in MY opinion. And yes, the ambiguity of Dead Man Walking was a perfect example of there not BEING a hero, and even there being a question of who’s the protagonist, Tim Robbins or Susan Sarandon? Most people would say Robbins, but I’m kinda on the fence.
As to Dances, I’m afraid I see it with a much broader view, in that I appreciate not just the movie and story, but the acting, directing, and all the stuff that goes into “making” a movie. I saw some wonderful camera work, I thought Mary McDonnel did a magnificent job and presented a character we don’t often see in movies. I see all the obviousness of it, but I still appreciate it for its own sake and can let Costner be. I happen to be very anti-Costner, and anti that nutbag Tom Cruise to the extent that I never saw Last Samurai. There are some people I just can’t get past enough to enjoy the movie. Costner is one NOW, too, but I enjoyed his performances for a few years, up until that Waterworld idiocy, and then his politics. Put those together with his ego, and I don’t want to see him anymore. Just my prejudice against some movie stars (some of which have no talent to speak of anyway).Quote:
I’m glad to hear that—I heard all the stuff about it being a romantic portrayal of the Indians, I didn’t hear a lot about Costner being considered a “hero” At the time I thought Dances was interesting in that it gave us a different view of Native Americans, and I still appreciate it for that…tho’ the obviousness was a put-off, admittedly. I just compared it to a reverse of John Wayne in that the sympathy was completely with the Indians and against the White men, reversal of what we had for decades.
And Niki, I was not suggesting that I saw Kevin Costner's character as an heroic figure, I was presenting that idea as something OTHER FOLKS are putting forth without any, y'know, evidence in the movie to back it up.Quote:
I happen to think EVERYONE supplies their own “veil” through which to interpret movies. I don’t know how one cannot, as everything is subjective. On that, I can’t even TALK about Dune, I was so pissed off at it. I’ve been a huge fan of the book and a couple of the sequels, and in my view, they screwed the movie up something fierce, for which I’ve never forgiven “them”! I know I DO take movies too personally, but I don’t care.
"Oh, they supplied it themselves."
I giggled at the different interpretations of Avatar are amusing, especially the new ones OTB and Rue brought us. People get head up about the strangest things, and have such STRONG prejudices. Mine may be about the actors themselves—and I admit to a prejudice against a couple of directors as well, whose movies are typically so violent I don’t want to see them, but political and religious prejudice put ON a film makes me laugh—it’s so typical of humans! The interpretation by the Vatican is pretty predictable; the one of how it makes Marines look makes me smile. People are incredibly subjective and put so much “on” films; mostly I enjoy them for themselves, tho’ admittedly at least hal
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Niki, did you see the tv series of Dune made a few years ago (by SciFi channel I think). I've been watching it again, and it's pretty good.
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Mmm, now I want to look THAT up! The movie sucked little green apples, in my opinion. But I must have missed what you suggested, and will look for it!
Ooo, found it on Netflix! Makes me hopeful, given it got four of five stars, while the movie Dune got only one star... THANKS Magon!! I'd adore to see Dune done right!
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I just saw it. Awesome.
Okay the plot is nothing new, but there only seven or so stories in the universe anyway.
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