Avatar Book Has Nothing to Do With Activism
Millions have seen and loved the film Avatar. I personally did not like it very much, for a number of reasons. Regardless, I noticed the film’s social justice undertones in which a group of indigenous people overcomes the oppression of corporate greed and mercenary fire power.
There was plenty of room for a thoughtful, derivative work that explored the social justice themes of the film. (It was banned in ‘China’ (whatever that means these days) and then a mountain was named after it in ‘China’ too.) However, Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora has nothing to do with activism. Somewhat wedged between a Star Wars encyclopedia and a silly essay about resisting the corporation, this work feels like an amalgam of backstory and storyboarding.
I think there’s potential to extract a better story out of Avatar, and I’m sure HarperCollins will leap at the chance. Or is a good derivative work another name for ‘Unobtanium’?
–Deji Olukotun
Hm…you really did not like Avatar? Curious on why
Oh and we (okay, maybe just me) need more fiction from you. Been a while 
hey – thanks BolaB. And thanks for reading! I didn’t find the main actor convincing and it seemed like a lot of cheesy myths and tropes taken from cowboy movies. The scenery and plants were amazing, but they were created by a design team, not Cameron. I also thought the General took over the movie, when Giovanni Ribisi’s character and acting was much more interesting. It took a silly turn into a giant battle when some more subtle things were at work… Anyway, those are my two cents…
I must say I think the Academy of Motion Picture agreed with you. I am a big fan of mysticism and self-determination so the movie connected with me in that way. For me, it was less about environmental conservation or defeating the greedy corporation and more about preserving a culture and a way of life (yes, even a cheesy one. who am I too judge
). I do agree that some aspects of the movie were rather shallow or even “cheesy” but I think the movie made its point….. to me at least. Interesting how little things can make someone love or hate a movie or a book.