'Avatar' sequel accused of 'romanticizing' and 'glorifying' colonialism
'Avatar 2' also received criticism for alleged 'cultural appropriation'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Avatar: The Way of Water" hit theaters last week, adding a second installment to the 2009 film that shattered box office records and revolutionized cinema, but some say they are far from enchanted by the sequel's release.
"Avatar Films Have Always Been A Gross Reimagining Of Colonialism," an Unbothered UK headline read Thursday.
Author Shaznay Martin railed against the movie in the article, emboldening her claim by calling the film a "problematic analogy of indigenous oppression."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Many will remember the blue alien species facing adversity, but not many will remember (or have even noticed) that the central conflict in ‘Avatar’ is an allegory for colonialism," Martin wrote.
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"Avatar," directed by James Cameron, bowed in 2009. (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, File)
"An ignorant, aggressive, money-hungry corporation supported by military enforcement wishes to destroy the sacred homeland of indigenous communities in order to obtain valuable resources — sounds a little familiar to me. In fact, James Cameron has admitted that ‘Avatar’ is based on the colonization of Native Americans," she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Martin pulled from a 2012 Business Insider article which alleged Cameron had plagiarized the idea for "Avatar," a claim that coincided with multiple others at the time.
Cameron eventually released a sworn declaration in 2013 declaring the idea for the film was his own and had existed long before other releases had similar themes.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James Cameron attends the premiere of "Avatar: The Way of Water." (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)
"'Avatar' is a science fiction retelling of the history of North and South America in the early colonial period. ‘Avatar’ very pointedly made reference to the colonial period in the Americas, with all its conflict and bloodshed between the military aggressors from Europe and the indigenous peoples. Europe equals Earth. The Native Americans are the Na’vi. It’s not meant to be subtle," he wrote in the declaration.
"'Avatar,' at its heart, is a plea for understanding of what we have done, and continue to do, to our own natural world and its indigenous peoples, in the metaphor of a science fiction story set on an alien world," he continued.
Despite Cameron's intended metaphor, Martin says the films miss the mark in addressing a larger issue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Displays for the U.S. premiere of "Avatar: The Way of Water" at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Dec. 12, 2022. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios)
"The truth is, reimagining colonial violence and the suffering of indigenous people through the eyes of an alien species isn’t the epic story Cameron thinks it is," she wrote.
Martin is not the only critic of the new "Avatar" sequel who cited colonialism. "'Avatar: Way of the Water' is a truly stunning spectacle undermined by its colonial themes," read an NBC News article.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This first movie was obsessed with reminding viewers, over and over, that they were seeing a new world from a colonial perspective. And despite a clear effort to do better, ‘Way of the Water’ still falls back on conventional action-movie tropes, including a compulsive reiteration of colonial superiority and leadership even in a film devoted to exposing the evils of colonialism," the article, written by culture critic Noah Berlatsky, read.
Film critic Carolyn Hinds tweeted that the movies "glorify colonialism, the colonization of Native American and Pacifica lands and territories," and also claimed the costume design was cultural appropriation.
"I'm going to write a review, but let me just say that Avatar, does indeed glorify colonialism," Hinds wrote in a separate tweet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cheney Poole, a 27-year-old from New Zealand, told The Washington Post that the movie is "just another example of the same very upfront and apparent romanticization of colonization."
Poole claimed the film "romanticizes" what indigenous cultures are going through, and "downplays" the suffering.
"Beautiful visuals can't make up for the film's oversimplified view of colonialism," BuzzFeed News reporter Izzy Ampil wrote.
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"Avatar: The Way of Water" has also come under criticism for more than its colonial themes.
Film critic Kathia Woods called out the movie for "cultural appropriation" since White actors portrayed people of color.