A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

1. 

   Gary B
   December 26th, 2009 - 00:23

   LOL! You must follow politics or something…Hilarious assessment of the movie. I saw it this weekend and loved the special effects but obviously could have done without all of the garbage dialogue and anti-business rhetoric.

   Keep reviewing the motion pictures, RJ. You’re a regular Medved.
2. 

   Jim
   December 26th, 2009 - 06:07

   God, I was really looking forward to this movie. But from your review, I don’t know that I want to see it now. I can’t stand the left-wing fantasy garbage where anything business, anything white-male, anything that does not fit their world view, is evil! No matter how good the special effects are, I find it hard to get past that to enjoy films with those themes.
   I have some free tickets, but now I may save them for another IMAX film.
3. 

   CrystalsKarma
   December 26th, 2009 - 10:55

   Is there a chance, albeit a small one, that anyone with opposing political views than the ones clearly favored by the director of this movie could be moved to consider even for a tiny fraction of a moment the implications of war, the unconscious accumulation of more wealth than humanly necessary in a single lifetime, and the fact that with a different and more expansive understanding of our shared experience as living intelligent creatures on this Earth we are probably quite capable yet unwilling to seek out common ground and warless means to peaceful co-existence? Is this line of contemplation really down to left versus right? How necessary is it to so polarize a belief or view prior to allowing yourself to experience your true human response to what you know is going on?
4. 

   Frank the Tank
   December 26th, 2009 - 12:52

   Crystal-

   This is a political blog. You’re barking up the wrong tree.
5. 

   thetruest
   December 26th, 2009 - 13:12

   your review f-in sucks.

   Nothing more needs to be said.
6. 

   thetruest
   December 26th, 2009 - 13:13

   Jim — you’re an idiot.
7. 

   Jillian
   December 26th, 2009 - 16:07

   Thanks for the insight “thetruest”. I liked the part where you defended your assessment of RJ’s review.

   Here, I’ll try being as eloquent: Your review was really funny, RJ. Much more could be said.
8. 

   Msmith
   December 27th, 2009 - 07:36

   I, too, sat there DISGUSTED while watching this God-aweful liberal whiney melodrama from a man who’s carbon footprint making this movie was worse than I will inflict in my entire LIFETIME!!!!
9. 

   sweens
   December 27th, 2009 - 19:46

   I think that by polarizing the socioeconomic, political, and spiritual facets of this movie into liberal vs. conservative mantra, they unnecessarily lose a lot of their meaning. To be fair, I am considerably more liberal than the average American. That being said, I also winced at the awful “terror on terror” line, the cliche “jarhead” commander, and a lot of the other overtly environmentally-charged dialogue. I also think the hypocrisy of a major blockbuster release financed by corporate interests is duly noted. But logically speaking, a hypocritical statement is not necessarily an incorrect one. The exploitation of indigenous populations for their resources has been an undeniable consequence of imperialism throughout history. This movie wasn’t just a metaphor for Native Americans (maybe this is just the only example you are aware of). The same has happened on literally every continent on the planet over the past several thousand years. To deny this is to deny blatant patterns of human civilization, and to discount a movie because it happens to shine a favorable light on the side that you don’t happen to belong to is completely unfair. It’s like saying angels in the outfield sucked because you’re from chicago (there are lots of reasons why angels in the outfield did suck, but being a white sox fan wouldn’t be one of them). I think that there is a lot to be taken from it, whichever side of the political spectrum you happen to lie within. For example, the Na’vi would never have been able to triumph against the technologically superior humans without a human on their side who understood the limitations of the humans’ machines. If that isn’t a glowing review of Imperialism and Caucasian supremacy, I simply don’t know what is. Let’s think outside the box a little here and not be so quick to jump to the immediate (and convenient) conclusion that a person whose opinion differs from yours is automatically retarded and a bad storyteller.
10. 

    Aaron
    December 27th, 2009 - 23:31

    Seem to me that in a “free market”, the humans portrayed in the movie would have opened up trade negotiations with the Na’vi to acquire the unobanium they desired at an equitable price to both parties. Of course, that’s not what happened. And that isn’t what has happened throughout history when an indigenous population had resources an imperialist power wanted either. But I’m sure you’ll find way to defend that.

    But by all means, I’d love to see you produce a comparable movie focused on “competitive, productive, liberty-soaked forces” that people will actually want to spend $9-10 on. It must really suck going through life diving every experience into liberal vs. conservative terms. I’m sure it makes enjoying ANYTHING quite difficult.
11. 

    RainMaker
    December 30th, 2009 - 14:46

    You must be really old and not taken a plane to see outside of USA. Sure, Keep the capitalism and breath your burp when there is no oxygen
12. 

    Jared
    December 30th, 2009 - 20:14

    I felt the exact same way about this stupid movie, RJ. People like Rainmaker are so certain that they’ve got things figured out and in reality they’re not only the most clueless among us…they’re the difference between a healthy country/economy and the one we have now. An informed citizenry will be able to overcome any obstacle, bear any burden, make any sacrifice history has for us. A citizenry full of people like Rainmaker leads to socialism, communism, and totalitarianism. Empty heads, big hearts.
13. 

    Kat
    December 30th, 2009 - 22:35

    I really enjoyed the movie..and I am by no means liberal. Anyone with a heart would say that the scumbags in this movie were wrong. I find it a pity, however, that they had to use such a HUGE budget and SO MANY CORPORATE COMPANIES to produce a film with such a meaning.
14. 

    pilot
    January 2nd, 2010 - 12:04

    I totally agree. We are all guilty of messing everything up, especially James Cameron, so let’s not give notice to anything preachy here, especially coming from James Cameron. Nobody likes a hypocrite. Not to mention, we are the only ones in the Universe so the entire basis of this movie is just insane anyway. God hates Avatar!
15. 

    Stingo
    January 3rd, 2010 - 15:58

    While I would recognize hypocrisy if an RDA-type society had financed Avatar and its patrons, Aaron has it here: this isn’t a damnation of free-market economics. Rather, it’s an attack on soulless greed (you may equate the two if you wish). CrystalsKarma is spot on, IMO… Forcing this through the lens of Left v. Right (even- no, especially on a political blog) cheapens your political views and discredits your critical taste in art. I enjoyed Avatar immensely, and it ranks among my favorite films. Be aware of prejudice in reviews. As Oscar Wilde once said, “Art mirrors the spectator.”
16. 

    Joe
    January 3rd, 2010 - 21:49

    Spoiler ahead – you’ve been warned!
    RJ – you neglect to mention one critical fact about the plot – those white-male capitalists you so vehemently defend are in the act of committing MASS GENOCIDE. How can you defend that? Oh…I see, you don’t even try to defend it, instead you ignore it even happening by making no mention in your ‘critique’. I am Republican/Conservative in most respects, but I still can identify with the themes and morality presented in this movie. I truly feel sorry for those lacking the spirituality and compassion to NOT identify with this movies message.
17. 

    Zachary Elwood
    January 4th, 2010 - 14:17

    I see a lot of people making comments about the “obvious” parallels Cameron is drawing between Avatar ideas and the emperialism of America. While Cameron’s intentions on this front may or may not be true, I think people are forgetting that it is a fictional story, after all – a story about a group being taken advantage of. Would these people accusing it of liberal bias find offense in any movie where an underdog group is being abused? Also, I don’t see how you could say the movie puts down all capitalism – it is obviously putting down mercenaries and ruthless capitalism, but to say it puts down all capitalism is a stretch. I even saw a conservative reviewer bashing the movie for promoting hatred of American troops – would you say that Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men promoted hatred of the military? It’s just a story, and in the context of the story, the mercenary troops were deserving of the audience’s hatred.

    If a movie makes people think about things in a different way than they would otherwise think about them, I’d say it’s doing a service, no matter how simply or “obvious” the concepts are communicated.
18. 

    J707
    January 6th, 2010 - 12:34

    I just love seeing politicians get pissed off by art.

    Pretty sad and pathetic when people are so allied to one political identity or another of their choosing that they cant take off their campaigning buttons for whatever bought-and-paid for, blue or red retard they currently support and just enjoy works of art, passion, and imagination on their own merits. They cant laugh at something hilarious and over-the-top like “Team America: World Police” (because they see it as pro-war), sit on the edge of their seat for an intense tale like “Braveheart” or “Apocalypto” (because of whatever they think about stupid right wing poopoo head Mel Gibson), be thrilled by a story of revolt and sacrifice like “V for Vendetta” (because it “applauds terror”), or be awed by something gorgeous and moving like “WALL-E” or “Avatar” (because it has the audacity to feature plants or a story of indigenous extermination in the name of profit).

    Was “Dances with Wolves” nothing but a pinko commie liberal whiner swipe at pure beautiful glorious free market capitalism too? If the original 3 “Star Wars” films were released today, would they be nothing but a swipe at American imperialism and a pat on the back to terrorists? Is blowing up the Death Star a barbaric endorsement of 911 or something?

    It must be hard to be so enslaved to one political ideology or another that you would actually say “gee I dont know if I’ll see Avatar now since it just smells all liberal-like.” Why dont you just live on the wild side for a bit and try seeing a film that arouses your interest with an open mind?

    Here’s a suggestion: Go see “Avatar.” Then ask yourself who you were rooting for. If you think rooting for the Na’vi and the humans being villains says something about capitalism, fine. That doesnt give you occasion to blast the work of art…it gives you occasion to think about why you reacted to the hypothetical situation the work of art depicted and what that reaction says about your values and beliefs. Maybe it says nothing and maybe it says a lot, but thats up to you.
19. 

    vesob
    January 17th, 2010 - 08:02

    j707 I could not have wrote a better comment myself. These people really need to get out of the house more.
20. 

    Josh B.
    January 19th, 2010 - 15:03

    Weeks ago I said that the film reminded me of Fern Gully. I haven’t seen the movie, and I’m sure I would enjoy it for the eye candy but I will wait for blu ray.
21. 

    allan lieberman
    January 20th, 2010 - 10:45

    i wonder what native americans think of this movie. Did we need to make a movie about the future to tell a story of the past? Or will no one finance the past because we are all guilty
22. 

    Preteranimus
    May 18th, 2010 - 21:57

    The movie was beautiful as its own story, regardless of any political affiliations. I enjoyed it because of that, and I wish more people would do the same. You come off as a jaded old fool when you speak the way you do and try to apply political interpretations. Those things really don’t matter. It’s a movie… and a damn good one at that!!!

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