Avatar's feminism?

[exostrike]

Found this article about Feminism in Avatar and how its slightly less daring than Cameron's earlier works such as Aliens or Terminator. Not sure if its correct or accurate (the author appears to believe Cameron made the orginal Alien), but I'm throwing it out none the less.

Alien to Avatar: How James Cameron Learned to Fail at Feminist SF – The Blog! (http://blogs.feministsf.net/alien-to-avatar-how-james-cameron-learned-to-fail)

[tm20]

i read it and i must say..........wut

[_Omaticaya_]

Bit harsh but, not all trash...

[Foxhound]

I read it and i said. Lol, grow up and quit crying.

[Porthos1]

No wait, that would be so cool! He could have caste Mila Kunis to play Janet Sully and renamed the movie "After Avatar." It would be so cutting edge...what?...It's already been done? Well then it would be better than saying he copied "Fern Gully" :nwink:

[RD-701]

Yeah... why does a film have to be 'daring'? Why can't things like passing the Bechdel test simply make their way into stories naturally?


I have to admit though that it'd be awesome if Sully were a woman.

[Eternal Enigma]

I quit reading the article when the writer suggested that Jake Sully's character should have been a woman and that the AVATAR romance should have been between a human female and an alien female. I don't believe having an interspecies lesbian love scene would have made it any more popular and although guys may have really liked it I don't believe it would have done as well as it did. The writer claims that James Cameron didn't take any risks and suggests that fulfilling some sort of lesbian fantasy and sneaking it in a PG-13 film would have been just the risk to take. Clearly the writer of the article has lost touch with reality.

Some people could barely handle the idea of alien sex even though we didn't see anything much less a lesbian alien love scene. In AVATAR all we see is Jake and Neytiri kiss ONE TIME and people were outraged that it somehow promoted sex with animals. In the movie industry you can take risks, but you don't want to do too much all at once and that's why things were limited in AVATAR in terms of physically showing affection. In the next movie I suspect we'll see a bit more in terms of Jake and Neytiri showing affection towards one another and we may even see a well choreographed mating scene where it never shows anything aside from some suggestive movement and intense/passionate or euphoric facial expressions, but I doubt it.

As far as the feminism goes... the female roles in this film were portrayed as very strong capable females.

I'm not really sure where the writer is coming from.

Mentioning lesbian scenes and Playboy sounds to me like someone is trying to cheapen AVATAR to the level of "adult entertainment."

That's all I really got out of that article...

Actually that article remnded me of this one: Please mount my hot blue alien (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/12/26/notes122609.DTL&ao=all)

[exostrike]

Well at least that article does have a point. The Na'vi are rather fetishised.

[ScottWashburn]

Yeah, I can't really agree with the writer of the article. There were plenty of strong female characters. In addition to Grace, Neytiri and Trudy you also have Moat and the red-faced leader of the Sea People. And in case anyone forgets, Trudy was the strongest human character in the movie. She's the one who starts the revolt against the RDA, not Jake. And to me one of the most powerful scenes in the whole movie is where Jake is telling Neytiri to retreat and get away during the battle. But she won't. You can see it in her expression. She's going to strike one last blow for her people even though it will certainly mean her death. Doesn't get much stronger than that.

[RD-701]

But the whole point is that a lesbian romance doesn't have to be some kind of male fantasy; the idea is that you can put a legitimate romance in a film simply with two characters of the same sex, and not turn it into some sort of fetish-fest, or create something badly insensitive.

Creating a romance that's just that- and not some kind of "adult entertainment" is very daring. Not because it's meant to shock people (some may be disappointed, but they'd deserve it :an-rotfl:), but because so few do it. And because that's the way it should be done.

I'm saying this in the sense that these sorts of themes should work themselves naturally into a story, not be forced in an attempt to be 'daring' or 'controversial' or 'titillating'. And sure, some people would complain if you've got two girls kissing onscreen, or two tall blue aliens kissing onscreen, but at the end of the day, that's their problem.

[Ja'k Dawsiin]

since when does great female characters equate to feminism?! i long for the day when this ridiculous society will look past a great woman,a great accomplishment by a woman,a great acting role by a woman,a great female politician,etc,etc,etc,and just recognize that work,ability,feat,as something done by a great person...not their gender or gender-related disposition. *sighs*

[_Omaticaya_]

since when does great female characters equate to feminism?! i long for the day when this ridiculous society will look past a great woman,a great accomplishment by a woman,a great acting role by a woman,a great female politician,etc,etc,etc,and just recognize that work,ability,feat,as something done by a great person...not their gender or gender-related disposition. *sighs*

^Awesome.

[-Mi'niri-]

since when does great female characters equate to feminism?! i long for the day when this ridiculous society will look past a great woman,a great accomplishment by a woman,a great acting role by a woman,a great female politician,etc,etc,etc,and just recognize that work,ability,feat,as something done by a great person...not their gender or gender-related disposition. *sighs*

That is exactly what I would have wanted to add. We're all human, not genders.
And I believe possibly 'forcing' something into an idea for a movie that originally started out completely different, just to do it 'politically right' has nothing to do with creativity, expressing yourself or telling a great story. Cameron didn't want to make a statement about sexuality, but about society and the way they treat their environment and strangers.
He should have made Jack in Titanic female, now that would have been something ;):party:

[_Omaticaya_]

That is exactly what I would have wanted to add. We're all human, not genders.

Exactly. See, Just this One statement, makes all the other terms and debates on this topic seem pointless. All you need to do is value the individual, in my opinion.

[-Mi'niri-]

Exactly. See, Just this One statement, makes all the other terms and debates on this topic seem pointless. All you need to do is value the individual, in my opinion.

Yes, I think so too.
Sadly, people nowadays (especially politicians) have nothing better to do than use simpleminded discussion like these to distract and avoid dealing with real problems.

[Scott]

Wow, the facts presented in that article were wrong, and not just the part about the original Alien movie. Bottom line, Neytiri chose Jake. He did not seduce her. There was not a single scene where he flirted with her. The only time he displayed interest was when Neytiri got right in his face while checking his archery stance. Was he falling in love with her, sure. Was he trying to get into her pants? Hell No! She brought him to the tree of voices with the purpose of claiming his heart, soul, and body. Jake Sully is not your typical guy, he is hardwired in the head to be gentlemenly, safe to be around, and undemanding. So why dose Jake Sully have to be a female character to satisfy this writer when it is plainly obvious that Neytiri is the dominate member of the relationship. And I wholeheartedly mean that word for word. Jake isn't a pushover, he simply happy making Neytiri happy. IE, by putting Neytiri first he is in his comfort zone, his Marine self.

[Ja'k Dawsiin]

i would definitely put Neytiri first...it is my Way. hell yeahhh!!!!!!!!!!! :victory::in-love::inlove:

39833

lovely gif by AF's May'at :)

[Starskillz]

Feminists love talking about the fact that men are always the leaders, and that our paternalistic society gives no chance for females to be strong. However, the sad reality for feminists is that most people do not see it that way and are very comfortable with how things are portrayed in movies like Avatar. Yes, the main character is usually a straight male in these movies. Sorry, that's just how our perception of life works. I think Cameron made a damn near perfect movie, changing anything plot-wise or scenery-wise would be a horrible, horrible mistake.

[Ja'k Dawsiin]

I think Cameron made a damn near perfect movie, changing anything plot-wise or scenery-wise would be a horrible, horrible mistake.









i agree wholeheartedly with this statement. :good::):victory: