Brynne Valla--Student Choice #3

For whatever reason, my family loves the movie Avatar. Personally, I think it's just okay--the visuals are pretty cool and the acting is alright. But frankly, the whole thing is just cheesy to me--especially the military endeavor to obtain "unobtainium" located on the native's land.
If you haven't seen this movie, there is no brief way to explain what it is about. Basically, the military wants natives (big, giant blue people) to move off their sacred land so that business men can descend upon the rich deposits of unobtanium that are there. Meanwhile, a paralytic and team of scientists try to befriend the natives by creating avatars that look like the natives. Somehow, the humans are able to live through these genetically engineered avatars and attempt to save them and their land.
Plot aside, the religious ideology evident in this film is clear. Although I cannot claim to know a lot about Hinduism, I can say with some certainty that this film has Hindu elements embedded in it. First, the very term avatar derives from Hinduism. I believe an avatar is a deity that comes to earth in the form of others. With this definition in mind, the humans who suit up into the avatars sort of become the salvation/deity to the natives who are being bullied by the military and businessmen.
Additionally, the natives practice some type of animism where they do not kill other creatures unless it's absolutely necessary. Throughout the film, any time an animal is killed, the natives thank the Divine Mother for giving life to the creature in the first place. The Divine Mother is rooted in the sacred ground of their ancestors. The natives worship her and pray to her. This aspect of the film is clearly reminiscent of Hinduism.
Finally there are some Christian aspects of the film. The main human character, Sully, acts similar to Christ in the standoff between humans and the natives. He sacrifices himself for the natives he has come to love. He demonstrates agape for the natives because he is willing to give up his life so they can maintain their land, uninterrupted from humans.
As you can see, there are many types of religions evident throughout the film, and I have only had time to explain a few scenes. This movie would be a good one to do a long analysis on because of all the obvious religious themes.