Our Avitar

[waldopaper]

Our Avitar: Their Movie, Our Matrix

Avitar: embodiment; a new personification of a familiar idea; "the embodiment of hope"; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar
of cunning"

Sanskrit avat ra, descent (of a deity from heaven), avatar : ava, downtarati, he crosses; see ter- in Indo-European roots.] +

--Web definitions

First of all, who are “they” and who are “we?” In the largely artificial “left-right-liberal-conservative” paradigm
dividing humanity- particularly the USA, “we” are the ones who wish to
find ourselves “…hugging trees, dancing in the woods with a loincloth, singing kumba....” Very
well, then, let’s draw the line there. And who are “they?” Describing
themselves as paragons of “self reliance,” they claim to detest a
“heavy-handed government” that deprives them of their “freedoms,” like
gas hogs and central air-conditioning. Back atcha, “conservatives.” “Yes, “Avatar” is cinema for the hate America crowd.”

Second, how could anybody “hate America?” It’s a very nice land mass. They are referring to the USA, which they claim anyone
not lock-step with their own addled dogma is “against.” Such is
standard patter in the State of Stupid where public discourse
beyond pep-rallies and parades is forbidden. Let’s not go there.
Instead, we need to seek out real Conservatives, who have some concept
of what “conservation” means. Hard to find, they do exist. They talk
about “localist principles,” Community Supported Agriculture, and
things like: “Harmony with nature, respect for food sources,
sensitivity to the earth, liturgical vitality, rites of passage,
lifelong marriage commitments, horse whispering…” which would also
sound “tree-hugger” to the bullet-heads in their drywall suburban
cracker-boxes and ChurchMarts.

Third, it’s only a movie. It’s not “liberal blood lust,” even though we can’t deny delight in seeing violent mercs getting their
ass handed to them. It’s what makes Avitar a successful “take-me-away”
adventure movie that director Cameron describes.
He’s no raving activist, just a movie merc in the business of making
movies that make money. Why would cracker-box “conservatives” have a
problem with that? Maybe it “took them away” to a place they didn’t
want to go. It’s been hard for them ever since John Wayne headed for
the last roundup. They can’t even enjoy delightful eye-candy any
more. And that’s all it is.

Sure, one could argue that the plot is warmed-over “Saint Kevin and the Indians,” aka “Dances with Wolves,”
but that’s where our Matrix comes in. We Redpill Folk (yeek!
Socialism!) simply have a different Matrix. Every bit as isolated in
our condos and computers as any cracker-box, we tend to recognize the
primacy of Earth and Community (aaagh! Kommunism!) a little bit more.
That makes us “kumbaya-singing tree-huggers” and “statists” just as
much as their kitsch “patriotism” makes them seem like knuckle-draggers
to us. We must recognize that not all the folks who willingly apply
the “conservative” label to themselves are stupid. We need to realize
that self-applied labels are, unfortunately, part of the evolutionary “Human Spark.”

It is unfortunate because in our heavily-mediated Matrix, many of the labels are manipulative memes. If we bend the silly
“right-left” paradigm, it becomes a circle. Many of us meet at COTO ,
the Coalition Of The Obvious, where an awareness of deep “conspiracy
theory” is a natural outgrowth of the “post-modern paradigm,” or
“incredulity at meta-narratives.” In other words, no mater where we
come from, our bullshit-detectors
are still active. We can still recognize bullshit when we see// hear/
it. So many things are “obviously” bullshit… like the “left-right”
paradigm… or the “two-party system” in the USA. That’s why there is a
strong emotional connection for many of us in the movie, Avitar. It is
instinctual recognition that “we are all one.”

This “oneness” is a hard pill to swallow for self-perceived “rugged individualists” who need piped-in energy and
water. Scientists are now speculating that dogs have more of the
“Human Spark” than even chimps do. No surprise there. The Great
Paradox is our desire to cooperate, not just tribally, but trans-label,
and even trans-species. That is the endearing quality of the Na’vi,
the inhabitants of Pandora, and the human protagonists who are able to
do so as well. The key is empathy. We must continue to use this in
spite of their seeming inability to do so. We must think like dogs.
We must rely on other senses. We must learn how to “smell fear.” We
must learn how to sense fear as easily as we sense bullshit. Maybe
they’ll join the “Reality Based Community.”

Fear is a major component of bullshit.

[waldopaper]

I just saw this thing last night on dvd and was blown away.

I didn't see it 3d big-screen when it came out... because of my dislike for crowds... and wasn't sure with my 1-1/4 vision that I could see 3d anyway... altho I'm still interested in that... but still don't like crowds. Ms. waldo just informed me that people having the same "surgery" i have develop an aversion to "crowds." I already had that... and haven't noticed that it has gotten more (or less) intense.

Anyway, we just bought a little flat-screen TV... because our big bedroom tube blew out some time ago... and for some reason, I can't easily drift off to sleep without PBS playing in the background. So we got this little digital-compatible TV with did built in... made in fucking China, of course-- like everything else is-- and on the way out, we picked up the Avitar dvd for 20 bucks.

I LOVED this fucking movie... even tho the "plot" was "unoriginal," it was sooper-dooper eye-candy... even for an old fuck with 2d vision on a teeny screen. But I HAD read... nearly a year ago... about how its popularity freaked the stone-heads out.

I figgered that was a GOOD thing... and now I see why.

[BO]

" I LOVED this fucking movie..."

That's why we love you Waldo. Yer the only one with enough chutzpah to admit it.

Personally, I've become allergic to CGI. To much noise and 'eye candy' and my hypothalamus goes right to sleep.

For some reason my brother liked it too. And he's the smartest guy I know. Go figure...I thought it commercialized crap. Nicely done. But crap just the same.

I loved the Matrix though. Still do.

[pan]

Loved your article - was so-so with the movie. For oversold, extra-hyped commercial crap it was OK. I had very low expectations as it had been marketed as the most expensive movie ever (that must mean its good!) by the Titanic director (enough of this plot - sink the damn ship already!).

CGI reminds me of all the technology in sound studios for making the eye-candy "singers" be on key - now it is the style to synthesize everyone's voices, even the good singers. Overproduction leads directly to soul death.

Loved the first Matrix. The third movie got a little tired though. Fight Club is still one of my all-time favs.

[BO]

Yep. To criticize the movie is probably missing the point of Waldo's article. My bad.

[waldopaper]

Nah BO... I was really clumsy in trying to get the point across- which was basically reaction to the perceived narrative. That, and the small screen and mono-vision probably greatly decreased the assault on the ol hypothalamus. Altho ms. waldo also liked the movie, she got "kinda bored with all the flying around," which naturally- probably increased the 3-D illusion in the theater.

But it's gonna get "realer," what with the infrastructure starting to go dark.

The labels we use to separate "us" from "them" creates a sense of "us," and that's a good thing. Unfortunately it also creates a "them," which is usually a bad thing. How could you NOT be angry with any fool who mocks "Mother Earth?"

[Rady Ananda]

okay, well I loved the movie - took my entire family to see it 'round christmas time. but cuz we got there only one hour early, we got the worst seats. That meant we all found individual seats in the back of the theatre. (I stood, cuz it was still too close what with the 3D flying making me dizzy)

I thought Alex Jones' reaction to the film was was hysterical - he called propaganda for a One World Religion. You touch on this a bit, Waldo, when you mention the rugged individualists. I had to wonder if he's on BP's pay after that comment.

[curt]

I liked it, saw it on a wall in 2-D but it was good, uplifting but not intoxicating. Cool Sci-Fi.

Of course you nailed it with this "The key is empathy. We must continue to use this in
spite of their seeming inability to do so. We must think like dogs.
We must rely on other senses. We must learn how to “smell fear.” We
must learn how to sense fear as easily as we sense bullshit."

Trick is, we can smell fear. We never really lost our senses. They've been clouded over or burried but they're not lost.

Some say the movie has something to do with the The Dongria Kondh. Avatar is a film. Niyamgiri is real.

[Mouse]

India's Environment Minister has blocked the plans to mine the sacred hills http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6385

Haven't seen Avatar. Someone thought my latest painting I can't finish and have barely touched for a year was influenced by it. Haven't been to the cinema for a few years. The interminable farewells at the end the Lord of the Rings trilogy did for me.

Avatar is on in 3D extended version about 15 miles away. I don't like crowds either. It is in a modern shopping centre that alienates me. Cement and tarmac, windowless burrows.