Avatar will be like "The Godfather"

[Aspiring Mogul]

James Cameron wants Pocahontas in Space to be like the Godfather, where the viewers will be introduced to local cultures.

I would look forward to it, because most science-fiction movies - and most science fiction published in North America - are typically filled with Anglo-Americans or British. Even the aliens often come across as people who came from the same town in Iowa as Captain Kirk. There are exceptions, like the Klingons, but, very often the characters are all from North America or Britain.

As an aside, even the Ten Commandments are like that - the Egyptians and Israelis all come across as Americans.

 

[rayw]

I like watching cartoons and such of basically little white kids in assorted animal and alien forms.
Cracks me up.

Anyone here think Barney is a "white" dinosaur?
How about Oscar the Grouch?
Big Bird a "white" bird?
Anyone think Smurfs or Tony the Tiger are from Europe or Asia?
Is Casper the Gho... Forget it. Duh!
How about Transformers? Are the Autobots from some African or South Pacific cultural background? How about the Decpticons? Yeah, of course they're "of European descent."

Pfft.
Ha!


Bring it on James.
I'm good with Na'vi = Native Americans.
What we need are some alien Asians and some Spartan aliens.
"Xerxes in space!"

 

[ItDonnedOnMe]

It sounds like he's basically just saying the sequels won't just be about the navi but about other cultures on pandora - I don't think this has anything to do with any real human races.

 

[PhantomScreenwriter]

I think the criticisms of the first film being a copy of movies like Pocahontas and Fern Gully have been taken on board by Cameron and will be avoided (call it intuition - plus in this social media internet world there's no way he wouldn't have seen those criticisms) in the Avatar sequels and prequel because he's given us the introduction to Pandora and the plight of the Na'vi, established the world, it's technology, it's rules and characters. So I think we will see stories that expand way beyond the first movie.

I don't think we will have a Matrix situation on our hands because:

Cameron is the master of sequels. He knows how to expand what was established in the original film, add new elements while still retaining what was set up. Whether it's the introduction of the Queen in Aliens, Ripley's psychological development or the scope of Terminator 2: Judgment Day compared to The Terminator.

I don't see this being a disaster. I also believe that he's taken more control over this franchise and it's direction because of his experience with the Terminator series after T2 (the whole rights being divvied up all over the place and sold to different parties) so he is more protective of this franchise.

The whole copying other movies topic warrants it's own thread but I will say that there's some successful movies that have similar set pieces, story elements and archetypes as others:

Rocky and the Karate Kid - both were successful.
Halloween and Friday the 13th - both were successful.

Which are the better films out of those two examples? Depends on your preferences. The point is that in both of these examples the film mentioned second isn't a remake or reboot of the first film mentioned. They both share similar stories and structure, as well as characters.

At the end of the day though everyone has a different opinion and that's completely fine, it's healthy and more people should be respectful of other's opinions.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

I like watching cartoons and such of basically little white kids in assorted animal and alien forms.
Cracks me up.

Anyone here think Barney is a "white" dinosaur?
How about Oscar the Grouch?
Big Bird a "white" bird?
Anyone think Smurfs or Tony the Tiger are from Europe or Asia?
Is Casper the Gho... Forget it. Duh!
How about Transformers? Are the Autobots from some African or South Pacific cultural background? How about the Decpticons? Yeah, of course they're "of European descent."

Pfft.
Ha!


Bring it on James.
I'm good with Na'vi = Native Americans.
What we need are some alien Asians and some Spartan aliens.
"Xerxes in space!"

Yes, they are anglos.

Consider the non-anglo mouse named Fievel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_4kU9cwgXM

 

[Cracker Funk]

To be honest, I don't see the connection between the Na'vi and native Americans. I definitely understand the comparison of the movie to Pocahontas, and Fern Gully, and Dances with Wolves. So, in that respect, it seems natural to think that the Na'vi are a metaphor for native Americans. Nevertheless, I think that assumption is invalid.

For whatever it's worth, my opinion is influenced by a degree in anthropology. While watching Avatar, some may see native Americans, some may see Africans, I simply see hunter/gatherers. Many of the cultural traits that you associate with native Americans are actually common to ALL hunter/gatherers, including those that once lived in what we now know as Europe.

In my opinion, James Cameron's depiction of the Na'vi is nothing more than a very accurate representation of how a hunter/gatherer tribe might exist on a fictional alien planet. That is all.

So, in this article, yeah I agree with IDOM -- they're only saying that we'll see different ethnicities that exist within this Avatar universe. I see no indication that any of those ethnicities should correlate with those that exist in our real-life universe.

 

[Cracker Funk]

Also, I think the sequels are going to be fucking awesome. Seriously, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

To be honest, I don't see the connection between the Na'vi and native Americans. I definitely understand the comparison of the movie to Pocahontas, and Fern Gully, and Dances with Wolves. So, in that respect, it seems natural to think that the Na'vi are a metaphor for native Americans. Nevertheless, I think that assumption is invalid.

For whatever it's worth, my opinion is influenced by a degree in anthropology. While watching Avatar, some may see native Americans, some may see Africans, I simply see hunter/gatherers. Many of the cultural traits that you associate with native Americans are actually common to ALL hunter/gatherers, including those that once lived in what we now know as Europe.

In my opinion, James Cameron's depiction of the Na'vi is nothing more than a very accurate representation of how a hunter/gatherer tribe might exist on a fictional alien planet. That is all.

So, in this article, yeah I agree with IDOM -- they're only saying that we'll see different ethnicities that exist within this Avatar universe. I see no indication that any of those ethnicities should correlate with those that exist in our real-life universe.

Interesting. Given your education, how would you depict ethnicities? I'm asking because I'm writing a series bible and various draft scripts for my SF universe, and I'm trying to get free advice on how to provide an ethnic flavor.

 

[Cracker Funk]

Interesting. Given your education, how would you depict ethnicities? I'm asking because I'm writing a series bible and various draft scripts for my SF universe, and I'm trying to get free advice on how to provide an ethnic flavor.

Well, my education is just a bachelor's, so I'm not exactly an expert, but this is a subject that I take great interest in.

An ethnicity is pretty much self-defining. Every ethnicity exists because it says so. Ethnically speaking, you are what you identify yourself as.

I'm not quite sure how to answer your question, but I might point out the difference between European Americans vs. Europeans, and African Americans vs. Africans. White Americans and Black Americans have so much more in common with each other than they do with either their European or African relatives. And this is the way that ethnicity is different from "race". Ethnicity is a cultural identity, and that is why white Americans and black Americans are very closely-related, while our European and African counterparts are so very different.