While I agree that, in a way, the White guy was a net zero (not the internet service), since he merely canceled out the damage done by other White people, I think the planet saved itself only because he interceded. It’s hard to deny that he was presented as the White savior. And, while people might relate to that character, he still comes from a fundamentally condescending place.

I’m all for a little propaganda in my movies, since it exposes the otherwise ignorant plebs to messages they would otherwise ignore or not even get in their corporate-ass media. Is that elitist?

And about the “ethnic”-looking faces of the natives in Avatar, I think there would be more complaining about racism if they looked European. Hell, I would be complaining if they looked European. The main character is white because he is supposed to represent European colonialism/imperialism. The natives looked African/Native American with Animist/Pantheist beliefs because they represented the people who were exploited and treated like sub-humans during European colonialism. So I don’t see the problem.

If the symbolism was a little obvious, then maybe that works for the movie’s favor. I loved District 9 but not many people who saw it had any idea that it was a metaphor for anything. Some people I spoke to had no idea what Apartheid or Bantustans were, and didn’t even know where Palestine was located let alone that there is a segregation wall being built around it. Avatar is a metaphor for so many past and current conflicts that it could mean something different for anyone in the world.

Personally I didn’t think that the white guy was saving the Natives. The planet saved herself in the end. I viewed the white guy as someone who could help them understand the humans and know their weaknesses, and spot their lies. If white people see this movie and identify with the “white hero”, why is that a bad thing? It sends the message that you don’t need to view the world as “my race against theirs”. If you have the upper hand over someone else, you don’t need to exploit them, you can help them… and helping doesn’t mean helping them to become more like you, sometimes it means helping them NOT become like you.

Peoples all over the world are trying to hang on to their ancient traditions, and resist the globalization of materialist culture. They are on the defensive while multi-national corporations are on the offensive. Just because I am part of the western materialist culture, that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with the the oppressed, exploited, and marginalized peoples around the world. Any movie that promotes environmentalism, humanitarianism, tolerance, and resisting oppression can’t be that bad.

Yes the dialogue could have been better, but I liked the predictability. It has been sooo long since I’ve seen an environmentalist film that was truly uplifting. I’m so used to hopeless endings that the happy ending in Avatar was actually a pleasant surprise.