Have you folks heard about the “Is Avatar Racist?” debate? Apparently, there are some people out there who felt that the film reinforced racial stereotypes by depicting a white man saving a ‘native’ non-white alien culture that is obviously incapable of saving itself. An insensitivity compounded by the fact that the aliens are coloured blue, are shown to be primitive, mystical and, while not quite Luddites, reasonably pro-nature – enough to make them anti-technology. Oh, and did I forget to mention that these aliens are clothed in loincloths and the like, and communicate with their equivalent of the earth-mother through some swaying and ritualistic chanting under a magical tree?
The whites, on the other hand, have space-travel, robot technology, cryonics and the ability to artificially create the bodies of the aliens. And a white man saves the alien race.
This was enough to set 0ff the sensitive, politically-correct mobs out there. Cameron has been accused of racial stereotyping.
But that’s just crap, isn’t it? Yeah, yeah, I know, words are sensitive, depictions like this are part of the cultural arrogance of the white race that seeks to impose its view of history on all of us yada yada yada. But is the accusation of racism in this specific instance really justified?
Because if the accusers had thought this ridiculous campaign through, they would have realised that James Cameron actually had no choice when it came to depicting the warring races on Pandora. Given the fact that his choices were limited because Avatar is so clearly a re-packaged and re-contextualised amalgamation of Dances with Wolves and The Last Samurai, what else could he do? Any other combination or depiction he could have shown would still have been met with shrill howls of protest from the same politically correct people out there.
Let us look at the possible options Cameron had in the depiction of the two races in Avatar:
White Colonisers & White Aliens: Did anyone seriously think Cameron would get away with this? We would have been inundated with comments like “…coloured people (black, brown etc) do not exist for Hollywood…”, “Yet another example of Hollywood’s white-centric attitude”, and “…in the year of America’s first black president, it is a shame that Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster continued the tradition of exclusion of non-whites”. The best, of course, would be a headline somewhere that screams: “White Hollywood cannot find Non-White life even in Outer Space”. (Fuck, but I’m good at this bad-writing shit, aren’t I? 🙂 )
Non-White Colonisers & White Aliens: This option would really have Cameron hauled over the coals. Because this is “malicious tampering with history.” Or, as some more jargon-prone columnists would have it, “Cameron tries to reverse-engineer history…” Perhaps even something like “In sheer defiance of centuries of recorded history and the rape of indigenous peoples worldwide by the white race, Cameron chooses to deny the Holocaust, as it were, by showing the non-whites as the big bad wolves, making mincemeat of the terrified white lambs”. (Wah Wah! even if I say so myself) Oprah would have done an outraged episode on this one that would have seriously dented Avatar’s business.
Non-White Colonisers and Non-White Aliens: This would again be seen as partially re-writing history to show whites in a favourable light. If I could coin a term for this (my contribution to movie-inspired socio-anthropological revisionist history?), Cameron would be accused of The Apocalypto Fallacy. Basically, this theory states that it wasn’t the whites that screwed native populations. It was the non-white natives themselves. They battled each other throughout history and allegedly have a far bloodier – and brutal – record than the whites. But, as some outraged blogger might write, “..such a visualisation seems to absolve whites of the colonisation, oppression and extermination of native races…” (Yup, still so bad I’m actually good!)
In short, whatever depiction Cameron chose, he would still have been skewered. The PC brigade would have been out to get him no matter what. So, unless he had made Avatar with robots as characters, or as an animated film with tigers and lambs, these people would have found it racist, no matter what.
For the record, I thought Avatar sucked. It had no story, and after the first 30 minutes, I was bored of the technical wizardry and the “new world”. Yes, Cameron is guilty – but he’s guilty of making a bad film. Not of racism.
You may also want to read my other post on the ridiculous extremes Political Correctness is heading towards.
January 14, 2010 at 5:17 pm
It is funny how Avatar seems to mean different think to different people. In the West, its message would probably be interpreted as anti-capitalistic. In China, on the other hand, it has been viewed as a movie that strongly defends property rights and individual freedom against the might of a brutal state.
And I completely agree about the political correctness silliness and about the fact that Avatar is basically a mediocre creation. Sure, the CG is beautiful, but for story and entertainment, I’d definitely prefer many of Cameron’s earlier movies, such as Terminator.
January 14, 2010 at 7:04 pm
These politically correct people out there need to get a bloody life! We are all racist in our own way. A movie is a movie. I’m guessing these PC peeps are from the US? For some reason they think their history rules the rest of the world and can impose their views on each and every one of us. [Kinda racist actually…the whole superiority they have]. Oh well. Liked your take on how Cameron was screwed no matter what! 😛
January 15, 2010 at 6:55 am
I agree with you – there’s too much PC doing the rounds…Life would be quite boring if everything was politically correct…
January 14, 2010 at 7:23 pm
That’s why the only kind of motion picture we should watch is various kinds of animals mating with each other (of course, ‘within’ the species) – as shown on Discovery channel! Oops, I meant, that’s the only thing that the PC-brigade must watch! 😉
And are you sure, with your usage of the acronym – ‘PC’, certain politician would not charge you of “individualism”? Or still worse, certain kind of electronic gadgets of “machineism”? 😛 It’s times of artificial intelligence, after all! Man, it’s impossible to escape PC! 😉 You must stop blogging entirely or get as shameless as uncyclopedia: click!
Haven’t watched Avatar, yet, so now I know whether to watch or not. 😉 Thanks!
Funny post! 😀
January 15, 2010 at 3:44 am
QI:
Recent events have made some recall (and others learn) that Haiti’s life as a colony came to an end due to a slave revolt, unique in history. That would have been an apt metaphor to use, except that true to life, all the interference that has gone on since (France, US) would have to be accounted for as well as the kleptocracy that has left the country as destitute as it is.
January 15, 2010 at 10:12 am
Tigers and lambs? Nope. PETA and the vegan brigade would have hollered blue murder then. Oops, I said “blue”! Am I disrespecting the indigenous people of Pandora? Am I a racist? To be on the safe side they are “chromatically challenged” :D.
Your “columns and headlines” are really funny. 😀
January 15, 2010 at 11:49 am
too many people with too little to do abound in the cyberspace. Their numbers have only increased post the recession worldwide. They are like the chaddi gang member’s association and found all over the net.
For a better discussion about Racism, visit Rediff’s discussion threads. Some of the best discussions happen there.
Even if the news is about the solar eclipse, they will bring in south india- north india, aryans – dravidans, hindu- muslim etc into the discussion.
January 15, 2010 at 10:09 pm
I agree with you… although I haven’t seen the movie. And the same person is capable of objecting to each of them.
January 18, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Yes this talk about racism by the supposedly politically correct guys is really equivalent to a pillow-fuck. You know you’re not going to get anywhere but still you want to have your pleasure.
But what is worth talking about is your last line – “I thought Avatar sucked. It had no story.”
C’mmon QI, which movie has a story these days? None or actually, they all have the same story. I thought, It was a brilliant spectacle and amazing thought had gone into creating a whole new world, language, creatures. Everything was so damn interesting.
January 19, 2010 at 10:57 am
I think any chance to skewer that pompous ass, Cameron, we should take.
January 20, 2010 at 10:09 am
First, as a white person, I take for granted that I’m correct when I say that Avatar is not racist.
Second, when I one day see Avatar, I’ll reaffirm my judgment as valid.
Third, non-white males are not really smart enough to determine whether the movie is racist or not.
(Before anyone loses it, I’m kidding.)
January 22, 2010 at 3:35 am
I wondered why all the hulla gulla about Avatar, especially as everyone I know was glorifying it. Glad to see a different perspective. I agree, its a badly made film. Didn’t enjoy the 3D even! But hey, I would watch this any day, over a typical Bollywood flick. As for racism, I felt the tribes sporting headgear and ‘Naamam’ (as traditional South Indian men do) was a little stereotyped.
January 22, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Blue Colonizers over Blue Natives.
Everybody is happy! It’s just a Smurf movie.
January 28, 2010 at 9:27 pm
here to make a request most humble:)
do join twitter QI:) it seems to have been tailor made just for you (only 140 characters so you can imagine my plight:( )
seriously you will rock it with your wit:) and I, with so many others will get to enjoy your quips 😀
do take a look see:)
http://twitter.com/
January 31, 2010 at 12:33 pm
what if it had been white & non-white colonisers, same-blue natives…BUT a native american coloniser had saved the day because he felt “connected to them”…that would have been remotely interesting than how it is now…no?
February 9, 2010 at 12:33 pm
It’s what literary critics do. Draw parallels between fiction and the real world. It’s their bread and butter, and it’s what keeps them fed and happy. So yes, I agree that the whining wouldn’t have stopped regardless of what setting Cameron chose.
I haven’t seen the film, but from what I know of it, having white saviours is pretty excusable and believable considering that it is a white guy making the film and the target audience is mainly people in the West (the majority of whom are white). I’m sure they relate better to the Western culture of today than any ‘mystic’ nature-worshipping Oriental ones.
February 23, 2010 at 11:02 pm
There is something unsettling about these charges. Its almost as if the ‘non-white’ people want to be colonizers. I thought being depicted as a colonizer would be a bad thing.