Well this is a take if I've ever seen one.
And yes, this is an actual film critic. You know, one of the ones paid to certify a movie as "fresh" on review sites.
From Fox:
Film critic Kathia Woods offered what many called an "offensive" and "racist" take on Twitter Sunday night by claiming that the "Avatar" film series is an example of "cultural appropriation."
"Avatar: The Way of Water," the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron's 2009 film "Avatar," officially hit theaters on Friday after several delays and nearly five years of production. Since "Avatar" is the highest-grossing film of all time with more than $2.8 billion in global ticket sales, anticipation was high for what the sequel could bring.
However, Woods offered a less excited perspective of the film, suggesting that it's an example of "cultural appropriation" with White actors portraying the fictional alien race the Na'vi.
Woods is essentially arguing that white people can't play tribalistic blue aliens because the blue aliens remind her of black people.
The comments were great, of course:
It amazes me. Yes, of course "Avatar" is pulling from different tribal customs. The entire thing is a dive into a discourse of nature vs. civilization and humanity's role in the mix. It's literally Disney Pocahontas in space.
But associating primitive societies with non-white people, which completely ignores human history, is about as racist as it gets!
If you want me to get really technical, James Cameron does a decent job of staying away from Rousseau's 18th-century image of the "noble savage," the ideological framework that liberals have obsessed over for two centuries. Rousseau longed for an idyllic society, believing a simpler, less industrial civilization was more morally pure. This elevated the natural world and made man subservient to it, which is why our political leaders are obsessing over cow farts.
But Cameron depicts the war between the blue aliens and humans in a more complex way. The aliens are divisive, dogmatic, and often bent on revenge. A good number of the humans are the good guys. Working together, they can build a society that benefits all while caring for the world around them.
There's actually a pro-Christian, pro-capitalistic message in there, even if Cameron is not what you'd call a conservative!
Wokies can't see the greater nuance of a story that makes you think about the beauty of Eden and our role as fallen kings and queens that were meant to rule over it wisely, but often abuse it for our own greed.
