Avatar: James Cameron’s magnum opus was a visual and narrative treat

James Cameron’s 2009 magnum opus, Avatar, stirred the cinematic world with its magnificent plot and enchanting special effects. The movie is nearly three hours long but time flies by in a rush as the captivating sequences take the audience on a magical journey. Cameron brings a fully believable, flesh-and-blood (although not human flesh and blood) science-fiction romance into existence. 

Every bit of technology and visual pyrotechnics used while filming, serves the purpose of building up to a deeply felt love story. Apart from the technical brilliance and box office success, the film also brings to the forefront important questions regarding the ecological balance of earth.

The plot takes place in 2154, thirty years after a multinational company has established a mining colony on Pandora, a planet that lies many light-years away from Earth. The toxic environment and hostile natives have forced humans to engage with the planet by proxy or to confront the planet’s creatures in highly fortified armours. 

Jake Sully (played Sam Worthington) is a disabled former Marine who takes part in the ‘Avatar’ program to study Pandora and its population. Jake must find a way to link his consciousness to a remotely-controlled biological body that looks like the native population, an avatar.

At the centre of the lives of the natives, the Na’Vi, is a holy tree where tribal memories and the wisdom of their ancestors are stored. However, this is exactly what the humans are planning to mine. Jake manages to get into the midst of the tribal community after an influential Amazonian named Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) takes him under her wing. 

She teaches him about the ways of the forest and ends up falling in love. Jake acts as a spy and provides solid intelligence about the tribe’s defences to the head of security of the mining consortium. But as he comes to understand the ways of the Na’vi, he hopes to establish enough trust to negotiate a peaceful existence between the humans and the natives. But, the selfish corporation is not interested in peace and wants the land for its valuable resources and raw materials.

Cameron’s mega-blockbuster unambiguously portrays strong female characters such as Neytiri, Dr Grace Augustine, Mo'at and Eywa. The film places its women as the cornerstone of conscience, reason and hope as the Na’vi Omaticaya clan has a matriarchal set-up. The clan chief’s shaman wife Mo'at (played by C.C.H Pounder) is the spiritual leader of the tribe. 

Mo’at also functions as the mouthpiece to Eywa, Omaticaya’s holy tree and the life force of the natives. Another powerful character is Neytiri. The graceful huntress with a nurturing self has mastered all the survival techniques in her world. Her relationship with the planet’s living creatures is symbiotic and her qualities mark her as the tribe’s next leader.

Avatar was almost like a cornerstone for films in the sci-fi genre. Following the film’s release, Hollywood filmmakers became conscious of the manner in which they chose to represent their women on celluloid. He was the one of the few who extracted female characters to play strong, decisive roles that take on responsibilities of maneuvering the narrative instead of just being a part of it as nurturing caregivers, who’re present merely to enable their male counterparts.

Avatar has, in many ways, pioneered and inspired a new wave of science fiction films. Apart from grossing galactic box office figures ($2.78 billion), the film has garnered worldwide critical acclaim that is well deserved.

Watch the film here .