On a web page devoted to connecting the growing power of nature with the nonviolence of Gandhi, King, Day and Jesus, it is only natural to offer some thoughts on the blockbuster movie Avatar . I saw it in Florida over Christmas time when we were enjoying some of the beauty of nature, like sunsets at Siesta Key beech.
We saw it in 3 D and all its digital glory. It was a fascinating production, but at the end I was sad, despite the fact that the good guys, the natives on the planet of Avatar, with help of a few Americans, overthrew the nasty, violent, greedy, militarized Americans. I was sad that after the good, green creatures lost their spot on the planet to the vicious military attack of those seeking the minerals on their land, they became just like their enemy. After the defeat, at the encouragement of American-turned-Avatar-citizen, they reached out to all the inhabitants of the planet to build a force to violently overthrow the aggressors. They turned to violence to avenge the violence against them. Although the bad guys made a preemptive attack and had superior weapons the good guys, using violence and with help of the violence of their god, defeated the bad guys and drove them off the planet.
My problem with this story is that in life violence never brings peace but only more violence. In real life the bad guys would return with even greater weapons and defeat the people of Avatar. (Maybe that will happen in Avatar II). After the natives lost their first home and the sacred tree that stood tall over the spot, they had a chance to relocate, concede the minerals they had no use for, and live like the rest of the people on the planet in peace and with nature. But these natives, under the leadership of a human turned native, chose the call for arms and to adapt the same tactic, violence, as their enemy. This is the story of Animal Farm put into the high tech, fantasy world of science fiction.
I must say my wife was disappointed to hear the above and said it was because of my conditional view of violence and nonviolence that I had to offer this criticism. She is right. Life, conscience, faith and history teach me that this fantasy movie has a message that is a fantasy: that peace can be delivered by violence. This is not the way of nature or nonviolence. So the Nonviolent Cow gives thumbs down for the movie Avatar.
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