Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Avatar and Interconnectedness


Initially, I resisted seeing James Cameron's film Avatar. I was put off by the hype about the new 3-D technology. Also, the blue aliens shown in ads reminded me of my least favorite character in the Star Wars saga: Jar-Jar Binks. However, I overcame my resistance and I'm very glad I did.

Avatar is an amazing movie. The 3-D technology lives up to its hype. But, the movie also has a powerful, and prophetic, storyline. It develops the classic battle of "humans versus nature." Because "nature" in this case is alien only gives the movie more power and relevance.

What I found absolutely stunning about the movie is the biology of the planet Pandora. Everything on the planet is interdependent, from the blue Na'vi people to the pterodactyl-like ikran to the deerlike yerik to the jellyfish-like creatures that glow and float in the air. Pandora is one giant organism.

One of the truths driven home by Avatar is the interconnectedness of all life. To destroy or exploit one aspect of life is to negatively affect other aspects. Pandora is a powerful analogy of our own planet. We, too, are interconnected with all living and non-living things. And, because we are interconnected, we are interdependent.

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