COMMENT | While the first 'Avatar' movie has many themes, one of the most obvious ones has perhaps been largely ignored, despite the fact that it is the issue around which the whole plot revolves. 'Avatar' has generally been presented as a critique of imperialistic foreign policy, the notion of humanity being in balance with nature, and a simply fight between good and evil.
Yet the primary driving force for the whole operation which is at the centre of 'Avatar' has not been discussed thematically to quite the same extent. Two factors drive the human intervention in Pandora; the first is the depletion of resources which necessitates the manic search for the unobtanium element, while the second is the economic situation that the human race finds itself in.
Both of these themes find their source from the contemporary world. The depletion of finite energy sources is a massive problem for the human race, and one that is largely being swept under the carpet. It is possible that peak oil production has already been reached, and even if this is not the case, it is fair to say that in a world in which fracking, drilling through the Antarctic and exploitation of shale oil are all taking place that there are serious worries about how many conventional sources of oil are left to be tapped into.
Of course, the economic malaise of the last few years hardly needs to be mentioned, and overall it is easy to see 'Avatar' as a parable for the situation that the human race will be facing over the next few decades. Unfortunately, the movie predicts that we won't resolve these problems at all, and will still be facing the same basic issues a couple of centuries down the line! Which is somewhat depressing...
We hear the desperation of the situation for the human race, and the limitations that it is still placing on human discovery, invention and implementation of resources, when Jake's voiceover narration explains that his "spinal injury is fixable, but not in this economy". Could the economic and resource situation of the earth then become a bigger theme of the 'Avatar' sequels?
There has been a real appetite in the present social, economic and political context for fictional works which are dystopian in nature, and while draw from the real in order to entertain, yet elucidate. The 'Hunger Games' series of movies are an obvious example of films which actively reflect the present realities of planet Earth in a fictional environment. With its huge, panoramic scope, 'Avatar' has the opportunity to explore these issues in a profound fashion, and I think it would be extremely valuable for the sequels to address social issues which are of concern to audiences in the contemporary world unflinchingy.
