When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like "Avatar"?

[dublbagn]

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a235/dublbagn/?action=view&current=sexualchoc.gif

 

[general johnson]

Yeah, I posted this last night in the Avatar box office thread. How can the obvious fact that a non native saved the tribe a la The Last of the Mohicans, TheLast Samurai, be ignored? Hollywood loves to make movies where a white person is the only hope for a non white group of people.

The list is long...

Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, The Constant Gardener, The Last of the Mohicans, The Last Samurai, District 9, Avatar, Gran Torino and so on... (feel free toadd to that list)

 

[queencitysneakerqueen]

Interesting read

 

[maxelite]

I can just see the explanation: "Well, we need someone (an avatar) for the audience to connect with. A normal guy will work better than these tall blue people."

SMH

 

[freshprince]

Blacks>> whites

 

[kien]

When Will Black People Stop Crying When It Comes To Movies Like "Avatar"?

 

[hazeleyed honey]

I can see both sides of the argument. This is kind of the other end of the "White Man's Burden". Despite that this ideal was used by colonizersto go ahead and "civilize" the "uncivilized" as they believed it was their burden to do it, so it is twisted and done in another way. Ofcourse, we know that colonizers did infact plunder and steal from the indigenous and take their lands by killing them off. In these movies, it is kind of thatsame ideal but in a different spectrum. It is again this whole notion that the white man is the saviour.

So basically, the story is written to show how the indigenous cannot fend for themselves, and are like goat-herds in their behaviour and they are helplessscreaming for help. They have no capable women and men who can fight the colonizers and invaders. Enter the white man saviour who is ready and able to defendthe indigenous from the colonizers. All hail to the West and the white man!!!

 

[nash]

Originally Posted by kien

When Will Black People Stop Crying When It Comes To Movies Like "Avatar"?

 

[neighb0rh00d]

Originally Posted by FreshPrince

Blacks>> whites

 

[mytmouse76]

 

[rillo561]

I have yet to see this movie, but this article was interesting thanks for posting.

 

[kimahrioftheronsotribe]

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey



So basically, the story is written to show how the indigenous cannot fend for themselves, and are like goat-herds in their behaviour and they are helpless screaming for help. They have no capable women and men who can fight the colonizers and invaders. Enter the white man saviour who is ready and able to defend the indigenous from the colonizers. All hail to the West and the white man!!!

They do have women and men that can fight invaders. We can see that in the first few minutes when they land on Pandora and that huge truck iscovered in arrows. Also one of the clan leaders that used the flying creatures was a female, the one that had red paint all over her chest. This movie wasabout destroying the environment for monetary gains more than colonizing the indigenous.

I can also see the need for Jake in the movie or any human(of any race) that was in an avatar. Without prior knowledge about the airships or having weaponrylike grenades, the Na'vi wouldn't have been able to fend off the last attack and prevented all the explosives. If the movie was just told from theviewpoint of the Na'vi then that's game over. And you can't have the movie just ending like that.

I'll just say that hopefully this first film is just a setup for the two more possible sequels that may follow.

 

[eghckk]

The article was interesting but I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't say whether I agree or disagree.

 

[ydbounce]

Let me start off by saying rarely do I step foot into serious topics but after seeing some of the replies in this thread I have come to one conclusion =
Nt is full of babies
Whenever race or religion comes up a whole slew of you guys call reach, post a gif to show disapproval, or close yours eyes and ears ask for the topic to belocked hide like little kids. And to the dude that posted the rebuttal article - the woman who wrote the article is simply asking for a change of pace fromHollywood, she never called anything racist
She, like others, simply wants to see the native tell their story without a white savior. The author of the rebuttal article is in serious denial and seems tobe trying to deflect the racial aspect/ undertone of the film; but at the very least they took time to write an article and you took the time to post it,unlike the other NTers who panic when they're not in their comfort zone

The whole if it's not Will Smith argument is a cop out; Even the most bankable white names put out flop movies at times, you mean to tell me they can'thave a movie straight about natives
If I recall correctly Apocalypto was free of a white protagonist and faired pretty well
The main gripe here is not the fact that their are white protagonists but the reoccurring theme of a white man, often originally an oppressor/ enemy, crossingover and becoming the best and brightest and then eventually a savior of a native ppl

It comes off as demeaning, condescending, clichéd and inauthentic.
So when Paul Mooney jokingly says that Tom Hanks is gonna star in a movie called The Last N_, although funny, it pretty much sums up the message that Hollywoodhas been putting into films for quite some time

Back to the punk #%@ Nters - Why even come into the thread if your gonna post a gif, and/or do the other aforementioned acts but not contribute somethingconstructive to the thread?

I rarely type this much but u dudes acting like pansies pushed me to it
Some of you guys have obvious biases and agendas and just try to come in and shoot down anything you don't agree with; most of the time without havinggiven the article/point a chance and/or having no knowledge of the topic at hand - Case in point yesterday some dude comes into the D ick Gregory thread andasks why were we paying attention to a man preaching in a basement without knowing who D ick Gregory is; C;mon NT we can do better than that

 

[frankie valentino]

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey

I can see both sides of the argument. This is kind of the other end of the "White Man's Burden". Despite that this ideal was used by colonizers to go ahead and "civilize" the "uncivilized" as they believed it was their burden to do it, so it is twisted and done in another way. Of course, we know that colonizers did infact plunder and steal from the indigenous and take their lands by killing them off. In these movies, it is kind of that same ideal but in a different spectrum. It is again this whole notion that the white man is the saviour.

So basically, the story is written to show how the indigenous cannot fend for themselves, and are like goat-herds in their behaviour and they are helpless screaming for help. They have no capable women and men who can fight the colonizers and invaders. Enter the white man saviour who is ready and able to defend the indigenous from the colonizers. All hail to the West and the white man!!!

The Na'vi fend off the humans pretty well for a while, but with the weapons technology the humans possessed, they had no chance.

 

[DeadsetAce]

wow...

 

[crazy ebw]

This is way beyond me.

 

[hazeleyed honey]

Originally Posted by Frankie Valentino

The Na'vi fend off the humans pretty well for a while, but with the weapons technology the humans possessed, they had no chance.

I know...But, it is all intertwined into the storyline that way. No matter how the storyline is, since it is Hollywood and written by a caucasian,the "white man" is the saviour.

 

[harlemkickdiva]

^^^ She speaks truth

 

[kimahrioftheronsotribe]

(WARNING: SPOILER)

Initially I shared your concern regarding the racial subtext of a "great white savior". However, while Avatar may have similarities to The Last Samurai or Dances With Wolves, I believe there are some important differences that require a closer look at specific plot details.

The most important difference is that in the end Jake Sully (the main character) physically becomes a Na'vi. Unlike John Dunbar (Dances With Wolves) or Nathan Algren (Last Samurai) Jake Sully is not an "accepted white man living among the natives" he IS a native. The sci-fi nature of the Avatar allows the protagonist to shed everything of his former life -mind, soul and body-and be born again as Na'vi. As Sully says the closing moments, "I don't want to be late for my own party; it is my birthday after all." He has accepted that the Na'vi are the superior culture and decides to give up not just his race, but his entire species.

Second, nothing about Sully's "white education" gives him an advantage in fighting the company mercenaries. He doesn't do anything the Na'vi can't do for themselves (the "last shadow" has been ridden five times before) and in fact he does nothing but get a lot of Na'vi killed. In reality it's Eywa (the planet) that fights back and wins the day against the company. Sully's only real role in the victory is his plea for Eywa's help in which his previous culture and education is only a hindrance, "I'm probably only talking to a tree" he says as he kneels down.

 

[crumbs]

$%%% avatar

 

[optimusprimeaphia]

Originally Posted by Frankie Valentino

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey

I can see both sides of the argument. This is kind of the other end of the "White Man's Burden". Despite that this ideal was used by colonizers to go ahead and "civilize" the "uncivilized" as they believed it was their burden to do it, so it is twisted and done in another way. Of course, we know that colonizers did infact plunder and steal from the indigenous and take their lands by killing them off. In these movies, it is kind of that same ideal but in a different spectrum. It is again this whole notion that the white man is the saviour.

So basically, the story is written to show how the indigenous cannot fend for themselves, and are like goat-herds in their behaviour and they are helpless screaming for help. They have no capable women and men who can fight the colonizers and invaders. Enter the white man saviour who is ready and able to defend the indigenous from the colonizers. All hail to the West and the white man!!!

The Na'vi fend off the humans pretty well for a while, but with the weapons technology the humans possessed, they had no chance.

YOU'RE MISSING THE F-----' POINT!

 

[ac4three]

No way I'm reading all that...

 

[drunken cow]

cliffnotes

 

[justscoreda100]

Originally Posted by YDBoUnCe

Let me start off by saying rarely do I step foot into serious topics but after seeing some of the replies in this thread I have come to one conclusion =
Nt is full of babies
Whenever race or religion comes up a whole slew of you guys call reach, post a gif to show disapproval, or close yours eyes and ears ask for the topic to be locked hide like little kids. And to the dude that posted the rebuttal article - the woman who wrote the article is simply asking for a change of pace from Hollywood, she never called anything racist
She, like others, simply wants to see the native tell their story without a white savior. The author of the rebuttal article is in serious denial and seems to be trying to deflect the racial aspect/ undertone of the film; but at the very least they took time to write an article and you took the time to post it, unlike the other NTers who panic when they're not in their comfort zone

The whole if it's not Will Smith argument is a cop out; Even the most bankable white names put out flop movies at times, you mean to tell me they can't have a movie straight about natives
If I recall correctly Apocalypto was free of a white protagonist and faired pretty well
The main gripe here is not the fact that their are white protagonists but the reoccurring theme of a white man, often originally an oppressor/ enemy, crossing over and becoming the best and brightest and then eventually a savior of a native ppl

It comes off as demeaning, condescending, clichéd and inauthentic.
So when Paul Mooney jokingly says that Tom Hanks is gonna star in a movie called The Last N_, although funny, it pretty much sums up the message that Hollywood has been putting into films for quite some time

Back to the punk #%@ Nters - Why even come into the thread if your gonna post a gif, and/or do the other aforementioned acts but not contribute something constructive to the thread?

I rarely type this much but u dudes acting like pansies pushed me to it
Some of you guys have obvious biases and agendas and just try to come in and shoot down anything you don't agree with; most of the time without having given the article/point a chance and/or having no knowledge of the topic at hand - Case in point yesterday some dude comes into the D ick Gregory thread and asks why were we paying attention to a man preaching in a basement without knowing who D ick Gregory is; C;mon NT we can do better than that

They don't want to hear it though

It's threads like these that remind us that the majority of NT'ers are 14 years old and don't know much about life or history.