User:AniRaptor2001/Themes in Avatar

Avatar is primarily an action-adventure journey of self-discovery, in the context of imperialism and biodiversity. The film has earned widespread success, beating a number of records and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time. It has garnered attention for the messages and philosophies it portrays, intentional or interpreted. Criticism of the film has come from sociopolitical groups, religious authorities, and advocacy groups.

Similarity to other works
The film owes a large debt to the body of work of science fiction. Director James Cameron has said that inspiration was "every single science fiction book I read as a kid. And a few that weren't science fiction." Russian commentators have noted similarities to the work of the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, which includes the Noon Universe sci-fi setting.

The "going native" plot device, where a battered soldier finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighting against, has been widely pointed out. In Avatar, Jake Sully, a veteran soldier in the 22nd century, is initially sent to infiltrate the Na'vi, but ends up switching his allegiance. In the 1990 epic Dances With Wolves, John Dunbar, a soldier in the American Civil War, is assigned to a frontier outpost and encounters the Lakota people, whom he eventually fights to defend against his own army. Cameron has acknowledged the connection, which was satirized in the South Park episode Dances with Smurfs (poking fun at the choice of blue for the alien characters' skin). The title of the episode has become a derogatory nickname for the film on the internet.

Imperialism and militarism
Cameron has also said that Avatar shares themes with the films At Play in the Fields of the Lord and The Emerald Forest, which feature clashes between cultures and civilizations. The film touches

Consumerism, capitalism militarism

Environmentalism
Ferngully

Religion
Pantheism

Hinduism (blue)

Guilt
White guilt, going native. Pocahontas