Books & Movies: Avatar

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/avatarmp3/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><ul><li><i>Avatar </i>is a term from Hindu theology, though it is also common in computer and virtual reality applications. Click <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar." target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a> for the origins of the word.</li><li>"Jake" visits Pandora through an avatar, a 10-foot tall blue-skinned alien, though in fact it is Jake and his American friends who are the real aliens! The plot centers around the exploitation of a pristine planet by Americans, and how their efforts are ultimately thwarted, but only after they have brought tremendous destruction.</li></ul><p><strong>What was cool</strong></p><ul><li>Extremely visual, colorful. Special effects excellent.</li><li>Just as the main character, Jake, enters the world of Pandora, so we feel like we are entering that world.</li><li>Emphasis on ecology.</li><li>Depiction of the connectedness of all life.</li><li>Brutal exposé of the US military-economic machine.</li><li>Symbolism:<ul><li>Navi (like Hebrew and Arabic words for <i>prophet</i>)</li><li>"Unobtanium"</li><li><i>Eywa </i>(the deity) sounds like the Hebrew word for Eve, or living.</li><li>The planet named Pandora patently portends problems for those who ignore etymology.</li><li>Parallels between Joshua/Rahab and Jake/Neytiri. Click <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/religiondispatches.org/blog/mediaculture/2168/avatar%3A_a_subversive_reading_of_the_bible/" target="_blank">here</a> for more.</li></ul></li><li>Jake as incarnation – develops empathy. Effort to understand others.</li></ul><p><strong>What was off</strong></p><ul><li>Mother earth (<i>Gaia</i>). Worship creation in place of creator—Romans 1. The Bible teaches that idolatry puts us on a slippery slide, morally.</li><li>Creator is a <i>she</i>. While occasionally in the Bible feminine imagery is used of God, usually it is masculine. Not that God <i>is </i>mascu