#atwow analysis

[hyperfixatedfandomer]

Neteyam: to be lonely on one’s pedestal (character thoughts)

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You know what I want to talk about when it comes to Neteyam, but don’t see it mentioned at ALL?

His disconnect with his siblings.

They love him to death. Of course they do. He’s their bro, their blood, and he takes care of them.

But let’s try and recall ONE time that he tagged along on the Sully kids’ adventures….or right, he didn’t.

The only time he was actively hanging out with his siblings on screen, was in his early childhood and when the other oldest brother wasn’t around.

I refuse to believe that Neytiri and Jake were so bad at parenting that they never let their son hang out with his siblings in their free time, but from all that we’ve seen, all his interactions with his siblings, I think I can draw a logical conclusion that they felt disconnected from him. Think about it; all Sully kids were "outcasts" on one level or another. They all felt like outsiders and so mostly hung out with each other in their little looser club, and then there is Neteyam, the Isabela or the Sully family who is not only the firstborn fated to fulfil a specific role, but he’s also magically missing all the visible human traits of his father. He looks like a full-blooded Na’vi and could easily fool a stranger into thinking that, so it’s shown both on-screen and told off-screen that he’s treated differently. He has people’s respect, he has their admiration even (deserved ofc), while his siblings avoid social interaction with the rest of their clan, and then get bullied by a new one.

Throughout not only the movie, but the comics, I had a strong feeling like Neteyam’s sheer status and expectations had accidentally piled into a wall between him and his siblings. He loves them, they love him, but there is now a barrier in place, and as result, the two parties can’t feel 100% comfortable with being their authentic selves around each other. Neteyam feels like he is on-duty babysitting, while his siblings automatically feel inferior or misunderstood in his presence.

Avatar the way of water focuses a lot on themes of social isolation, and all the Sullies experience it in different ways. Neteyam is a unique case because although he’s definitely not isolated from the clan, he’s isolated from his family. Both his siblings and his parents, because he very obviously feels like he has to put on a performance for all of them.

So what happens is, when he tries to be the understanding big bro and be real with his siblings for a minute, it comes off as pretentious. Lo’ak instantly pushes Netyam away because from his point of view, it looks like his big, narcissistic brother who has his head up his ass, just can’t understand him and the shit he’s going through, and Lo’ak is right! He can’t!

Netyam can never relate to Lo’ak’s, or Kiri’s, and more so to Spider’s experience, because he got to live a completely different social life. As we saw, that barrier of misunderstanding and disconnection resulted in Neteyam being a brother, but never a friend, and not being the second has had a very damaging effect on his relationship with his family, because he was unable to bond with his siblings on a deeper emotional level. He was too perfect, so they felt like they were lesser (subconsciously) and shut him out.

Neteyam can’t understand Kiri.

Neteyam can’t understand Lo’ak.

And you see the the WANTS TO understand, of course she does, he loves his babies to no end, but his success has led to his attempts never coming off as truly genuine. I believe that’s the true tragedy of his character. The disconnect he never got to clear up. A wrong he never got to right. A performance he never got to drop.

It’s also why he had to be the one who died. Someone had to go in this movie to bring the emotional whiplash and further darken the story, but the siblings would need someone whom they’re connected to on an emotional level, someone who they know understands their feelings and can relate to them, and sadly for him, that person was the orphaned human they grew up with, never him.

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(I wish fanfiction more often explored the concept of Neteyam not putting up a performance around Spider, as he doesn’t feel worthy enough to pretend around. That could be such an interesting dynamic; one that could even be freeing for Neteyam.)

[probablyhuntersmom]

Quaritch now reminds me a lot of Rourke from Disney's Atlantis and how he added flavour to that amazing movie in a great way

A:TWoW is a much longer movie than Atlantis, but because of my initial expectations I'm impressed with how much screentime was given to Quaritch

He's the opposite of Jake in the sense that he lost everything on the day that his human self was no more (while Jake joined the Avatar Program because of having nothing more to lose, and felt more alive after doing so).

When I saw Quaritch get visibly upset as he realized he would never get his old body back, I was pleasantly surprised that he was going to become a more layered character. He showed zero weakness and vulnerability in the first film since he stayed all macho till his demise. Now that we know there was a failsafe in place, he is back in a different body having to adapt to a new life.

Now that he's no longer complacent and comfortable in his arrogance and in his previous faith in his military strength, he is deadlier and in a new 9-foot-tall, stronger, faster body. Plus by becoming a subordinate that reports to General Ardmore, instead of being the one superior barking orders, he is arguably able to do a lot more damage. When he "wears the face of his enemy", he is more cunning and patient, having to use brains and not just brawn.

I like how he has new vulnerabilities (including his relationship with Spider) which make him not nearly as predictable as he was back then: when he was just a cardboard cutout antagonist.

Personally I'm pleased that they didn't kill him off in this sequel, since there are three more movies to go.

[icequeenlila]

So, it's pretty much a standard in the fandom that Lo'ak is described to be an exact copy of his dad, while Neteyam is the exact copy of his mum, right?

It's arguabel on the looks. I just think they share traits of both their parents but that's also not what this post is about.

I want to speak on the character traits the boys share with their parents.

Lo'ak is always made out to be a mini Jake. He's reckles just like his dad when he was young. He doesn't listen, has a big mouth, just like Jake. Yes.

But.

He shares one crucial trait with his mother. One that makes a big part of his character.

Neytiri and Lo'ak are both easily provoked. They are short tempered and impulsive when it comes to their family and loved ones.

Example: Lo'ak picking a fight with Aonung after he insulted Kiri. Just like Neytiri snapped at Ronal after she disrespected Jake. Neither of them thinking about possible consequences.

They both act without thinking, just jumping to defend their loved ones. In hindsight both realize their actions haven't been so wise but in that moment of anger they act on their feelings.

And then there is Jake and Neteyam. Both of them are able to stay level headed when faced with stressful situations.

While Jake used to be reckless in his youth, he was never as short tempered as Neytiri. It takes much to make him snap. That's why he is such a good leader. He is able to keep a cool head under pressure, he is able to think straight when angered. He also functions as Neytiri's tether in heated situations, making her calm and refocus.

Neteyam shares this trait with him. He's in full control about his actions. He's willing to let go of the anger he clearly felt when Aonung insulted Kiri, bc he knew of the consequences a fight would take.

You could argue here that that's because he's the oldest. True but his and Lo'ak's age only differ by a year and older siblings are not always this level headed. The goal is to protect the young ones, many don't think ahead of that.

But Neteyam does, becaus just like his father he thinks in a strategic way.

Example: Neteyam warning Aonung to stay away from Kiri but not acting on his anger and picking a fight, to prevent future difficulties for his family. Jake apologozing on Neytiri's behalf after Ronal disrespected him. He let's the attack on his own person slide, taking the hit to give his family a chance with the Metkayina clan.

They are thinking things through before they act.

I'm not at all saying that the boys share traits with only one of their parents. It's just that these two characteristics stand out a lot, mirroring their parents strongly.

That's it.

Have a nice day and bye!💙✨

[princess-nobody]

Avatar Rant: Snowy Region Na'vi

Am I the only one who doesn't like the fanon snow navi designs? Specifically this (I used shitty AI images I found off of pinterest to illustrate the point and to avoid using actual artwork from people 🩷):

(Before I continue my God these are creepy 😭 AI genuinely cannot create Na'vi without them looking uncanny, disturbing and far too human)

I can understand why people choose the more predictable design philosophy – blonde hair, blue eyes, pale/white skin, pretty two pieces – because that's relatively how this sort of lifestyle has been portrayed to us in the media. Every movie or show set in a snowy region always features mostly eastern European characters, so naturally people decide that their snow na'vi must resemble eastern European people to a degree, and this bothers me.

Not because they look like white people (though that is like 25% why ngl) but because it just isn't realistic? Na'vi may be inspired by humans but they are still a different species living on a harsh and deadly planet that humans can't survive in, na'vi winter and snow would be excruciatingly difficult for them, and they would need to adapt to it.

I just don't see how they would be so thin and petite and pale, people say to blend in, but why? Only a handful of animals in arctic regions are actually white to blend in (polar bears, arctic foxes etc.) so wouldn't it make more sense to base them off of arctic animals from the ice age? Back then, animals were bigger, bulkier, with thicker skin and hair all over to protect themselves from the crippling cold – with that in mind, wouldn't snow na'vi be bigger than average na'vi, and bulkier too? Unlike regular na'vi, it would make sense that the snow ones actually have body hair all over, maybe even fur if you want to take it that far.

And if you're basing them off of INDIGENOUS people, then appearance, features and fashion wise, wouldn't it make more sense to base them off of the actual Inuit people of the arctic instead of Elsa from frozen 😭

Because realistically why would they wear flowey dresses and two pieces in weather that is probably 80% worse than any winter humanity has ever faced... especially since na'vi are all inspired by different non-white/european indigenous communities, and yes... non-white/European indigenous people do in fact live in cold, snowy, arctic regions...

To add a little bit of pseudo-psychology to it, it may be done in an attempt from white avatar fans for the most part to feel closer to the na'vi by adding a white adjacent sub-species, as the closer to europeans the na'vi look, the more they see themselves within the na'vi. However, that is purely speculation lol.

Also, I do NOT think you are racist or anti-indigenous or anything of the sort if your headcanon for snow na'vi looks anything like the examples! You're allowed to draw and design what you want, and just because tumblr user princess-nobody doesn't like it, doesn't mean it's bad.

TLDR: Fanon snow na'vi don't make sense and confuse me lol. Imo snow na'vi would be big and bulky behemoths that are covered in thick body hair and wear large, figure covering warm clothing, not skinny little russian girls in ballet outfits LMAOOOO.

[thewarmblanket]

My thoughts on tsalnu

"Tsalnu" is a baby pod in which, as stated in early draft of Avatar the Way of Water script, na'vi women give birth to their babies. It described as "a beautiful translucent chrysalis" and kind of works as an amniotic sac outside of the womb, connected to the mother through tsaheylu. We don't actually have any details on how it works and looks like since the existence of tsalnu hasn't yet been confirmed canon.

A lot of fans was not fascinated by this concept and wished that na'vi would be giving birth "normally" like humans. In this topic I'm a minority, because I think tsalnu is kind of cool. And before I tell you why, I think... they still need to work on this concept because it's still a little weird and maybe if it looked more pretty then more people would like it? (Well, they liked pinkish worm-like wiggly tendrils in kuru so why wouldn't they? Ke tslolam) And now let's get to the point!

Why I think it's cool?

I'm surprised I never saw anyone stating that, but it's actually pretty cool and useful evolutional mechanism. Yeah it maybe looks weird, but I'm just reminding you that na'vi are alien species that had their own evolutional journey and wasn't created by anyone artificially and they are too part or the Pandoran alien ecosystem. So why is it cool? You know how human women needed to grow their pelvic bone wider, so that our giant big brain babies could be born? And it's still freaking painful to give birth? And if it wasn't for our science and medicine women would massively die from bleeding out and all this stuff? Well, na'vi do not have this problem, they have chrysalis.

Chrysalis allows to give birth to a much smaller baby that will come out more easily, which is a lot safer for the mother. And then she can keep nourishing her baby just fine outside of the womb until it's strong enough. Just like a kangaroo 🦘. And when baby is hatching out of it's tsalnu it's already big and strong enough to hold it's own head. Human newborns require constant attention and care from it's parents and are a lot more vulnerable at this period of time. When na'vi babies are out of their tsalnu parents can carry them around in a sling while doing their chores, fishing or gathering fruits and not worry about anything.

Just my ramblings

I've been thinking a lot on how female na'vi reproductive system works and this just bother me so much. They are non-placental, so... maybe tsalnu is a something like an egg? Egg AND amniotic sac at the same time. Somehow. Gosh I need this natgeo documentary to come out as fast as it can I have so many questions 😫😫😫

Like, is it that only mother can nourish baby in tsalnu? Or anyone can? Everyone has kuru... If only mother can, I suppose that na'vi can give birth only to one child at the time since they only have one kuru, or, if anyone can, then we can't have an exact number.. But I'd say two at max, so that both parents would be carrying tsalnu around.

I still have a lot of ideas on na'vi birth, like how it works for other animals and how they developed their own ways of taking care of tsalnu, make illustrations of how tsalnu looks like in everyday na'vi life, mating and breeding cycles, this is so interesting!!! I wanna ask my friend that is studying at med university how she thinks it all works I feel so nerdy fuck oof *catching my breath*

@annestea 👋👋

[raflovestuffs]

So you’re telling me Neteyam was holding on his brother’s arm the whole time?? How I’m supposed to recover from this? 😭 He’s holding his little brother’s arm he died protecting saying don’t leave me bro I can’t 😭😭

[fleursbending]

what was neteyam going to say? what were his last words going to be?

i initally thought it would be something like "i see you", but in my gut i was like.. hmm i dont know though. because i feel like jake already knows that.

he knows his son sees him, even with his harsh parenting ways - neteyam knows why he is the way he is. why he makes such decisions and is so hard on his children. he doesn't like it, but there is a mutual understanding there. i feel like it was established from the get-go. why neteyam didn't talk back, rebel, like lo'ak had. lo'ak did not see his father, when he'd try to - his judgment would be clouded and defensive.

tbh i think he was going to apologise and say "i'm sorry". we could debate this for a century but to me, it makes the most sense. he was the eldest son and now he was forced off the mantle due to his fatal gunshot wound. he was supposed to be the next clan leader, he was supposed to save his siblings and get all of them out there alive.

maybe it wasn't the first time he'd spoken out, revealed the depths of his mind in earnest to them. neteyam knows he isn't going to go home - he wants to though, he wants to live. he wants to see this battle through. to be able to stand and realise their reckonings did not fail and now they can really return back home. so in his final moments, he relays that to his father - desperation and wrangling fear in his eyes. "i want to go home."

and neteyam knows with the way his father hesitates but continues to reassure him, that this is where he will be laid to rest. he sees the anguish in his parent's eyes, how his younger brother continues to apply pressure on the wound that takes down the mighty warrior. and his father is saying "it's okay, we're going home." he knows then, eywa awaits for him, that will be his new home.

so he goes to apologise, "dad i'm sorry." but his last breath is escaping him quicker than he realises. and he feels so bad because this isn't what he does? this wasn't how he was supposed to go? neteyam knows his home is wherever his family is, he wants those words to follow after his apology. he wants to say how he should have done more, and how the legacy his father has been paving will not fade in vain. that they'll get through this loss - he'll always be there with them.

he was sorry because this was the first true time that someone had to suffer the consequences of his actions - usually, it was the other way around. and i also think if he had been given a few more moments, he would have consoled lo'ak and told him that it was not his fault. because he knows his baby bro better than anyone, the ins, and outs. what makes his brain tick, what triggers him and what makes him happy. he already feels like such a failure, he doesn't need this extra weight on top of the already impending load he has. he doesn't need to try his best to fit into the mantle neteyam was supposed to carry.

so that's why i think, neteyam's last words were going to be "im sorry / i'm sorry, dad."

pls don't kword me for this analysis...

[eriksdotter]

Jake Sully definitely has his flaws but isn’t necessarily a “bad” father, at least to the extent I’ve seen about him. Even if he’s hard on Neteyam and Lo’ak, we see early on in their childhood—before they were thrown into another war with humans—that Jake is an extremely affectionate, attentive and caring father.

Yet, given the return of humans and Jake’s experience with war and it’s hardships, we clearly can see his military mindset and training kick into gear and is basically his survival instincts coming in to protect his family and the Omaticaya as Olo’eyktan Doesn’t mean he handles every situation perfectly with his son’s particularly, he’s flawed and makes mistakes, but his top priority is the safety of his family and people in a time of war and as Olo’eyktan that isn’t always the easiest thing to handle.

Jake and Neytiri are shown to be okay with bringing Neteyam and Lo’ak into battle as Spotters—no doubt if Kiri wanted to be a warrior but she clearly shows more interest in the spiritual and healing side more, and if Tuk was older and wanted to be a warrior during a time of war that Jake would of been as equally as hard on them while taking them into the battle field, their his children after all—Jake witnesses them disobeying his orders on the field of battle that are given for a reason (while he is still a protective father watching his son’s) only to see them nearly die and get badly injured.

The next time this happens, Lo’ak, Kiri, Tuk and Spider go where they’ve been explicitly told not to go only to end up in serious danger which would freak any parent out. Moving on to Jake finding out his worst enemy is still alive and had his kid’s so close to death is terrifying and would make him doubt his skills and kick his survival instincts up tenfold.

We see all his decisions being centered around protecting his family and making sure the safety he secured to give them a better life isn’t threatened and potentially taken away. Sometimes that came about with his children constantly getting into trouble which would frustrate any parent, Jake’s handling of that isn’t perfect with Neteyam and Lo’ak as we see him put pressure on Neteyam as the older brother but also telling him to stop taking the heat for Lo’ak and we know that Neteyam doesn’t want to only be seen as “the perfect son.” (and Neytiri also puts that pressure on both boys, less than Jake but it’s still there.)

Lo’ak is the most like his father out of all of them, the rebellious outcast compared to his brother Neteyam who holds the typical features of Na’vi and was more accepted by the Omaticaya than Lo’ak as his demon blood is something we see Lo’ak struggle with more than the others. Jake and him are definitely going to clash. Jake’s handling of Neteyam’s death with Lo’ak wasn’t great and while I did appreciate him finally acknowledging Lo’ak with the “I See you” as he definitely needed that. I do believe their relationship still needs a bit of healing and Jake needs to work on himself—but I can also understand he was processing his pain as a grieving father during war while worried for his daughters at the hand of his sons murderers.

We also never got a glimpse at what happened the first year the humans returned and the Omaticaya fought them. A lot could of happened during then that influenced Jake’s behaviour. But, ultimately Jake is still a father worried about his family—his children, being hurt/killed and is what fuels him to make the decisions he does throughout the movies. All he wants is to protect his family from being hunted and slaughtered by someone he knows is dangerous, because “a father protects, it’s what gives him meaning” So, reducing Jake as some “harsh and unloving” father means you might of missed the message of what Jake’s character represents in a way—even when his fails throughout the movie—which is what the hardships of war can do to relationships, especially families.

[sad-endings-suck]

nothing is more annoying than people that think media literacy just means applying real life moral values to fictional characters

[hiya-itsamber]

avatar fandom where are you!!! digital release is now out !!!!!

[probablyhuntersmom]

This is the most interesting mother-daughter relationship I have ever seen so far in any fictional work. The plot will definitely have to pick up from where they left off with the Spirit Tree scene in the sequels to come, because they weren't done with their conversation. Kiri will have to find her mother's spirit again to continue seeking answers. Kiri's parents were both students of her biological mother which is what gets me.

I'm remembering how in the first movie Grace was all teary when the Omaticaya accepted Jake as one of their own, since that could further her goal of experiencing the wonder of Na'vi culture. And when Grace passed away, it was so hard on Neytiri too to accept that her English teacher, a "dreamwalker" of the "Sky People", who connected her even more with the world, was gone. Clearly Eywa favours Grace though, since she has brought Kiri into existence even though Grace no longer lives.

[azaleaniath]

Love how james cameron gives some characters 3 min screentime and the atwow fandom just comes up with 20k word pdf docs of detailed character analysis.

[princess-nobody]

Neytiri's inability to accept Metkayina culture, and why I LOVE it

Sadly Neytiri didn't play a huge role in ATWOW, which though is upsetting as a fan of her makes sense since the movie isn't really about her and is more so about the new generation. However, one aspect of her characterization that is prevalent in both the deleted scenes and the leaked early script is the fact that out of all the Sullys, she is the one that struggles the most in assimilating to the Metkayina lifestyle.

I adore this detail because it is such a deep understanding of who Neytiri is as a person, as well as a representation of all she has been through in her life. Neytiri, at her core, is a woman that dislikes change and views it as a harbinger of the worst to come. She is a woman that cannot be seperated from her culture and lifestyle as an Omatikaya because of how much of her indentity has been molded by it, and the few times she has been seperated from it has been by force.

For example: her inability to learn how to ride ilu. Riding ilu is essential in Metkayina culture because it is the most baseline way to hunt, and as Tonowari states, being unable to ride one makes you useless because you can't hunt. In one of the deleted scenes, Neytiri is trying to learn to ride ilu with Ronal but can't seem to get it down, only to eventually give up out of frustration. Ronal even makes sure to reiterate to her that ilu is not ikran, and ilu cannot fly, because fundamentally Neytiri is approaching riding ilu the way you would ride ikran.

The obvious answer as to why she does this is muscle memory, to Neytiri this would be like someone who rides bicycles trying to learn how to ride a unicycle – it may be similar, but approaching it the same way will yield wrong results. However I feel it is also because her experiences with ikran and losing her own has made her subconsciously hostile towards learning a new way of riding, because in her mind it is her again being seperated from her ikran. Seze's death was obviously traumatic to her, in that moment she not only lost a dear ally, but was forcibly seperated from a part of her culture and lifestyle by invaders.

So naturally, now that she has a new ikran, even if she wants to learn how to ride a different mount, her body won't let her. Her subconscious won't allow her to be seperated from the one thing she has left from her people since their relocation. I believe Neytiri learns how to hunt with her ikran, developing a diving technique which means she no longer needs to learn how to ride ilu. This not only feels very in character for her, but I also think it's just a sweet way to allow her to keep this part of her while also allowing her to contribute to the Metkayina way of life.

Another example of this is the bombing of the Omatikaya hometree – again, Neytiri was forcibly removed from a part of her lifestyle and culture against her will by outsiders. So her hostility to leaving their new hometree, even if it is for their own safety, makes more than enough sense. To her, she is yet again being ripped away from a part of her, yet again being forced out her culture and made to abandon a significant part of being of the Omatikaya. I wouldn't be surprised if she still struggles with being a part of the Metkayina clan in the coming few movies, because out of her whole family she is the one with the least positive experiences in change.

Throughout both movies, and some non movie pieces of media, change has brought almost nothing good to Neytiri personally, and accepting change has lead to more losses than wins. Her children are just that, children, so even through homesickness, they view Awa'atlu as a new start, because they never had to go through the loss of the first hometree, nor any of the losses Neytiri faced in the first film. Jake's entire character has been defined by him learning new cultures and ways of life, so to him, leaving the Omatikaya and seeking refuge with the Metkayina isn't nearly the life shattering decision it is for Neytiri; he's done it before, he can easily do it again. Neytiri though? Of course it would all be too much for her, and I doubt she'll ever fully integrate into Metkayina life.

TLDR: Neytiri's inability to assimilate to Metkayina life is very in character and I really like it actually. I wish it was touched on more but sadly there is no nine hour avatar cut so that won't ever happen. 😔

[princess-nobody]

Avatar Rant: Two Avatar takes that bother me

(Pssst! This was originally posted on reddit, but I liked it so much I decided to post it onto my this account! Here's a link to the original if you'd rather read it there!)

So, I saw a semi-viral tweet a while back that bothered me because it not only felt like a complete misunderstanding of the point of Avatar as a film franchise, but also just a very childish view of how societies and different communities function. I can't find it though (I didn't interact with it and it has since been buried) so I apologize for not being able to give the best context.

It was your typical RDA sympathizing humanity first take (makes sense, the account that tweeted it was a walking red flag) that claimed that the na'vi were stupid for not accepting human advancement and technology, that humanity should always put its preservation first, and that the RDA were simply prioritizing the well being of their people whilst the na'vi wanted them gone. I want to start by addressing the latter take(s).

The first and second movies make it very clear that the RDA are NOT prioritizing the survival of Earth or humanity. They are a money hungry organization that want to monetize pandoran resources to their dying people in hopes to squeeze out whatever little money they have left. The people of Earth are said to be protesting them for that very reason, every solution to their planet's problems that they have discovered is insanely expensive and inaccessible to anyone below the upper class one percent. The RDA don't care about humanity, they care about profit, which is the exact reason why their actions are so callous in the films.

There are certainly humans that want to preserve humanity, but I truly cannot wrap my head around how you can watch either film and come to the conclusion that it is the RDA that wants the best for humanity. Avatar is not a "human bad" movie, it is a "corporate greed bad" movie, which is reflective of real life environmental issues. The individual is green, the individual recycles and doesn't litter, the individual cleans their local rivers and sea shores. However, the powerplants continue to polute our air, the corporations continue to flood our oceans with plastic, the rich continue to cut corners and burn the air with private jets.

I truly believe the reading of Avatar as an anti-humanity movie is what has lead to people thinking the RDA are the "good guys". It is because they actually believe the RDA are supposed to represent humanity and their will to keep surviving (and that James Cameron is portraying them as wrong for that), when it is clear they are a representation of the corporate greed that leads to environmental damage and the destruction of humanity.

As for the belief that the na'vi are hostile and somehow wrong for not caring to "advance" in the way humanity did, that is just flat out wrong. When it came to the respectful, peaceful humans such as Grace and her team, the na'vi were incredibly welcoming. I mean, Grace built an entire school for them and taught them human language and other human academics, so clearly they aren't against learning from humans. Again, Avatar is clear about the fact that humans as a collective aren't bad, corporate greed is.

However, why should the na'vi "advance" when there is no need to? Innovation is built on the back of necessity, and in a world where there is no need for certain technological advancements, why should the na'vi chase it? Why do they need phones and tablets and video games and McDonalds? They are living just fine without it. This idea that every society needs to be "modernized", even when they function just fine without said modernization has always driven me up a wall.

This entitlement from the western world is what leads colonial brained weirdos to try and go to indigenous islands and force religion or their world view upon them, because they believe that if a society doesn't function like the "modern" world, it is wrong. The na'vi don't need currency, or modern tech, or modern trends or fast food. They aren't perfect, but they also aren't in a desperate situation that would call for innovation or some sort of technological evolution. They are fine, they don't need nor even want it, and it is strange to believe humanity is in their right to force it upon them.

I'll stop this here because it's getting too long, I would love to hear your thoughts. Last time I made a post in this vein I got some really interesting responses, I couldn't reply to all but I'll try and reblog if that means anything!

[princess-nobody]

I hate Quaritch but I also really adore him but I also want to bash his head open with a rock

So I have a lot of thoughts on Quaritch as a character as well as what he represents in the greater message of Avatar; I want to clarify that I admit that I have many biases, due to my very strong connection to my ethnic background, many of the themes of Avatar affect me on a more personal level. Though I usually try to put my own reactionary feelings to the side and stay objective, when it comes to this character I simply cannot do so, and therefore this will probably be my most emotionally charged Avatar take 😭

So I hate Quaritch, like deeply, as in my biggest dream is for his story to end with him being shot in the chest 2384884933 times by na'vi arrows, preferably Neytiri's arrows. Now, I've tried to unpack why he of all villains gets to me so much, because despite all of his infractions, he's not as bad as other villains that don't nearly get as much visceral hatred from me. Quaritch is far from the only unempathetic, xenophobic maniac that jumps with glee at the chance to kill some natives if it benefits his side in media, yet he's the one I want to strangle with my bare hands the most. After some deep reflection I've finally realized why.

It's because he's so real.

It's a simple answer, but it really opened my eyes to how and why so many of Avatar's themes hit such a personal cord with me; it's all so real. I remember being told by an old history professor of mine that many people have the capability to be Hitler, but few have the power to do so. He said that there are many diet Hitlers walking around, people with the same ideology, people with the same thirst for power, people with the same hatred and bigotry. It could be your barista, it could be the lady sitting beside you on the train. Hitler is not a rare individual, he was simply a politically powerful version of an individual we encounter everyday. That is to say, these evil people in history are not really uniquely evil nor are they these one dimensional beings, they are in fact what you get if you give some ordinary people more power than they need.

Now what does any of that have to do with Quaritch and how "real" I claim he is? Well, it all makes me understand that the reason my dislike for Quaritch is so much more deep-rooted than most villains is because he represents a very real, very common person. He is the overly patriotic military fanboy that treats indigenous lives as disposable, he is the America first guy that defends any and all invasions into other (often times less powerful) countries if he feels it benefits the nation. He is the anti-indigenous racist who thinks modern natives are larpers and believes historical natives were savages and that they deserved what they got. He is the terrifyingly ignorant guy who's views are so outdated that you wonder how he functions in modern society.

Now, Quaritch himself isn't really all of those things and doesn't outwardly ascribe to all of those things in either film, but his personality, position in the military and his role in the narrative of Avatar seem to – at least to me – represent what happens when you give this archetype of person the power he has. With that, as much as I hate him, I also love him for this.

Quaritch isn't unrealistic, he isn't this cartoonishly evil bad guy who only feels rage and hatred and wants to destroy Pandora just because, in fact he doesn't even want to destroy Pandora. James Cameron could have easily went with making both him and the RDA out to be these soulless evil entities that destroy and kill everything just for the fuck of it. Instead, he went with the more realistic approach, the RDA represents real life corporate greed that destroys the planet and seeks to devour anything that can make it a quick buck, and Quaritch represents the sort of bigoted, ignorant and VIOLENT man you may encounter at least once or twice a week depending.

The only difference is the one you think of when you read those words is just some guy, whilst Miles Quaritch has the power to actually act on those things. I genuinely adore this type of writing, because I feel it's very easy to detach ourselves from stories like Avatar because the antagonists are always so one dimensional and evil just because. You can't do that with Avatar, because most of what you are watching is based on and inspired by reality; there are many Quaritch-like people walking around, they just don't have the power and backing he does.

So yeah, TLDR: I hate Quaritch because of how evil he is but I also love him because of how evil he is. He's a really good villain that makes my blood boil and I actually don't mind him being the antagonist in the coming films.