So I'm definitely not a big fan of sci-fi movies. In fact, I generally dislike them, and only watch them when in a mixed gender group, where they tend to usually be chosen over intensely violent films or sappy love stories. Sci-fi seems to meet somewhere in the middle I suppose. But a few months back, I heard about this so called "epic" movie, Avatar, and I decided, why not? It's getting rave reviews, it's in 3D which is supposed to be the new thing, it will probably be some gamer's sexual fantasy come to life or something, but who cares, I'll check it out. So, somewhat reluctantly, I went. I would subsequently go to see it twice more that same week.
What I found when I went to see this movie was an incredibly stunning array of imagination, scenery, and a depiction of a way of life that seemed to me to far surpass my own. This movie was so moving to me. The cast did a superb job, especially considering they worked mainly with green screen, but that was really beside the point. I felt like I was taken to a world, and shown something that I couldn't have, but wanted desperately, and I left thinking, "My God! What are we all doing here? Why do we live like this? Something isn't right here." (And simultaneously, it crossed my mind that I would be the next generation of Trekkie if I wasn't careful.)
I went again, and again, and each time I left having seen yet another detail that I loved, yet another subtlety about this movie and its message that felt so overwhelmingly important that I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. I was in awe, really, genuinely awed by James Cameron's imagination, and the depth of thought that he put into this movie, and its basis. I couldn't imagine how the writer/director of Titanic, and other movies that I have little respect for, could possibly have come up with something like this. I mean, incredible.
Well, by my third viewing of this movie, I was feeling rather desperate. I obviously couldn't go on watching this movie three times a week (which yes, though crazy, was tempting), and I couldn't expect this world or any other real place to be anything close to what this movie was demonstrating. So, I sat down with my mother, and with my good friend Sharaya, and we talked about this movie, and what it was that ultimately was the message hidden beneath the beautiful scenery and the beautiful bodies that these creatures inhabited. What we came up with was this: this movie demonstrates a great deal of what I, or we, call connection; connection with one's own body, connection with one's environment, connection with one's partner ("I see you"), and it is this deep connection that I found so moving, and so incredibly liberating in the viewing of this film. These creatures, though fictional, demonstrated a quality that I would like very much to strengthen in my own being; to really see myself, and those I love, in a deeper way. These creatures would get together, and through the phrase "I see you", demonstrate their love and understanding for each other, for their community, for their land, and their values.
And not only that, these creatures also had a good deal of equality between the sexes that was genuinely liberating as a woman. Women were expected, just as men were, to learn to protect themselves and care for themselves physically, and to brave dangerous events in order to gain a deeper connection with their peers, their land, and the other animals that inhabit it. It's something that you don't see much of in our society, and something that is talked about but rarely demonstrated.
Regardless of whether this world will ever be anything near the reality that I so enjoyed in this film, I feel like watching it taught me something about myself. As an individual I greatly value connectedness in my life; connectedness with my body, with my loved ones, dead and alive, with the earth, and with God/Allah/Whatever you wish to use to fill in the blank here. So the truth is that this neediness I was experiencing wasn't about the movie at all, and this realization actually lessoned the awed reaction I felt when I thought about this movie. Connection is something that I would like to attempt to be more aware of in my busy life, schedule, day, week, month, year, and I'm going to make a larger effort to stay aware of this connectedness, and how it is operating in my life.
That is all for now. But I leave you with this photo, which is purely for comedic value, I assure you.
No comments:
Post a Comment