Environmentalism and the "Ecological Indian" in Avatar : A Visual Analysis

Justin Fritz
{"title":"Environmentalism and the \"Ecological Indian\" in Avatar : A Visual Analysis","authors":"Justin Fritz","doi":"10.18357/TAR31201211530","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster, Avatar , is a tale of Indigenous resistance to environmental destruction. In the film, Earth moves outward to distant planets in order to satisfy its resource hunger. In their search, Earthlings arrive on Pandora, a biologically rich planet with a diverse and complex ecosystem. In defence of their home planet, the Indigenous people of Pandora (the Na'vi) engage in combat with the earthlings over which aspect of the planet is more important: the life above or the resources below. The environmental message in Avatar is one which promotes balance and harmony between humans and nature. However, this balance is represented by the film’s essentialized Indigenous population. Thus, as a foil for Earth's technology-dependent resource-intensive society, the Na'vi are represented as a stereotypical Indigenous population; they are cast as closer to nature in their role as the \"ecological Indian.\" By using archaic portrayals of Indigenous peoples, the film uses an \"Indigenous\" voice to propel its environmental message. This article visually analyzes how the film uses, produces, and perpetuates stereotypical representations of Indigenous peoples and how these representations effect and advance the film’s environmental message.","PeriodicalId":143772,"journal":{"name":"The Arbutus Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"1969-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The Arbutus Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18357/TAR31201211530","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5

Abstract

James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster, Avatar , is a tale of Indigenous resistance to environmental destruction. In the film, Earth moves outward to distant planets in order to satisfy its resource hunger. In their search, Earthlings arrive on Pandora, a biologically rich planet with a diverse and complex ecosystem. In defence of their home planet, the Indigenous people of Pandora (the Na'vi) engage in combat with the earthlings over which aspect of the planet is more important: the life above or the resources below. The environmental message in Avatar is one which promotes balance and harmony between humans and nature. However, this balance is represented by the film’s essentialized Indigenous population. Thus, as a foil for Earth's technology-dependent resource-intensive society, the Na'vi are represented as a stereotypical Indigenous population; they are cast as closer to nature in their role as the "ecological Indian." By using archaic portrayals of Indigenous peoples, the film uses an "Indigenous" voice to propel its environmental message. This article visually analyzes how the film uses, produces, and perpetuates stereotypical representations of Indigenous peoples and how these representations effect and advance the film’s environmental message.
《阿凡达》中的环境保护主义与“生态印第安人”的视觉分析
詹姆斯·卡梅隆2009年的大片《阿凡达》讲述了土著反抗环境破坏的故事。在这部电影中,地球向外移动到遥远的行星,以满足其资源饥饿。在他们的搜索中,地球人到达了潘多拉,一个生物丰富的星球,拥有多样化和复杂的生态系统。为了保卫自己的家园,潘多拉星球上的土著居民(纳美人)与地球人展开了一场战斗,争夺地球上的生命和资源哪个方面更重要。《阿凡达》中的环境信息是促进人与自然之间的平衡与和谐。然而,这种平衡体现在电影中被本质化的土著居民身上。因此,作为地球上依赖技术的资源密集型社会的陪衬,纳美人被描绘成典型的土著人口;他们被塑造成更接近自然的“生态印第安人”。通过对土著人民的古老描绘,这部电影用“土著”的声音来推动其环境信息。这篇文章从视觉上分析了这部电影是如何使用、制作和延续土著人民的刻板印象,以及这些表现是如何影响和推进电影的环境信息的。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信