Avatar

Last night we saw Avatar in X-3D (whatever that is). I was one of about 5 women in the theatre and probably also only one of about 5 who didn't cream my pants watching it. Look, I don't like James Cameron, he's a giant fuckwit and a major d-bag and this movie absolutely stinks of him. Exhibit A:

PLAYBOY: How much did you get into calibrating your movie heroine's hotness?
CAMERON: Right from the beginning I said, "She's got to have tits"...

Sure, Avatar has just about the coolest visual effects you've ever seen, but would it have killed them to put a decent story behind it? It goes like this, some US corporation has gone to a foreign planet to harvest their... get this... unobtainium and, metaphorically, what is clearly being acted out is the destruction of Native American populations by the settlers. The "noble savage" naturally has a closer relationship to the earth and their culture and knowledge is far reaching and more sophisticated than the settlers can even imagine. That's a story that's been told over and over again (by decedents of the settlers, mind you) and Cameron certainly doesn't bring anything new or interesting to the table and I have to wonder what his point is. And, knowing that he's a giant douchebag, I naturally assume his point has something to do with assuaging his massive white privilege. I'm not the first and certainly won't be the last to bring this up. Here's an article that spells it out rather eloquently:

These are movies about white guilt. Our main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens, AKA people of color - their cultures, their habitats, and their populations. The whites realize this when they begin to assimilate into the "alien" cultures and see things from a new perspective. To purge their overwhelming sense of guilt, they switch sides, become "race traitors," and fight against their old comrades. But then they go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed. This is the essence of the white guilt fantasy, laid bare. It's not just a wish to be absolved of the crimes whites have committed against people of color; it's not just a wish to join the side of moral justice in battle. It's a wish to lead people of color from the inside rather than from the (oppressive, white) outside.

Also the lead actor's an Australian guy playing an American and he loses his accent all the time. And the eyes are gross. I've heard some people say it's a kid's movie, but it's definitely not. It's very violent. I wouldn't necessarily recommend not seeing it, but watch it with your brain turned on and ask a lot of questions.