The Highest Grossing Movie Ever Is About Blue Kitty-Cat People

[parallax23]

I saw the movie Avatar last weekend and it reminded me of an homage to several of James Cameron's failed cinematic endeavors (Aliens of the Deep, Dark Angel, Terminator 3, etc).  It was also the post-colonial white guilt story that an article I read pointed out.  Cliche would be an understatement for the storyline, but I knew going in there it was all about the special effects.  And the blue kitty-cat people from another planet.

Seriously, what I mostly thought about after seeing the movie was that the most famous movies are about aliens and monsters and mutants, but when you're that kid that says 'I'm writing a story about aliens' or the poor dork caught reading novels with weird space adventure covers, everyone and their brother thinks you're a freak.  Tell someone you're writing about blue kitty-cat people whose home planet is being invaded by aliens and that it's a social commentary on colonialism and mercantilism and corporate greed, well, you'll be eating alone at lunch. A lot.

I don't understand the taboo of sci-fi/fantasy in society.  Growing up, I was definitely not in an atmosphere conducive to writing sci-fi and fantasy, let alone reading it.  There was always this stigma of 'normal people don't like that sort of thing' attached to my reading tastes, so I've often found it puzzling that a lot of cultural icons come from the speculative genre -- everyone knows who the X-Men are, the third highest grossing movie was about Batman, Superman is the epitome of truth, justice and the American way and all that crock.  Heck, everyone is in love with Twilight and True Blood and stories about vampires!  It doesn't quite make sense that the genre be taboo, does it?  But I digress.

Speaking of sci-fi writing and James Cameron, I haven't updated my DA fics in a while because I'm having a bit of the ever dreaded writer's block.  Last time I pushed out a chapter in spite of my blockage, it was Chapter 3 of Wake Me Up... and that remains the worst received chapter of all so far.  It was strange, I had someone review all the chapters except that one!  So, I've since decided it's better to wait for when my heart is in it to put out more chapters.  Sorry to anyone who's reading and waiting for updates, I just want the story to be its best and pushing out chapters is not going to work for me or the stories.

Comments

[pat-san.livejournal.com]

I've seen the movie two days ago myself, I'm going to make a post about it as soon as I can, but I agree with your point of view. And I couldn't agree more on this:

saw the movie Avatar last weekend and it reminded me of an homage to several of James Cameron's failed cinematic endeavors (Aliens of the Deep, Dark Angel, Terminator 3, etc).

Watching it I couldn't not think about Terminator and DA. Especially the female character, Neytiri, reminded me of Max, mostly beacuse of her way to move around and even for her look - I know she's been played by an actress who was not Jessica Alba, but she reminded me of her Max nonetheless.
But maybe it's just me and my fangirlness with this show :P

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

So I wasn't the only one? Zoe Saldana played Neytiri, she's a Hispanic lead actress like Jessica Alba. Also, let's not forget Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy, she reminded me more of Max. Hmm... I'm noticing a pattern here...

Sully in wheelchair looking to get his legs back = Logan

Deranged "Corporal" = Donald Lydecker (the coffee scene sealed the deal for me)

Giant robot suits = Terminator

PLUS X5s have feline DNA and the Na'vi are cat people...

[pat-san.livejournal.com]

Sully in wheelchair looking to get his legs back = Logan
Yeah, I'm wondering about it in these two days and it's bothering me a little. Has Cameron a thing for heroes in wheelchair? And don't even talk about the whole love story between different species... The Max/Alec shipper in me is not so delighted with this, but then again the comparison between Logan and Jake stops here, because Jake did wanted his legs back, as many people in his condition would do, I think, but he didn't become a dull because of this.

Anyway, yeah, there's definitely a pattern here. And the feline DNA is almost a give away in my opinion.

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

I don't think Logan and Sully are the same character either, but they have a few similarities. Cameron wanted Max/Logan, but FOX wanted Max/Alec from what I've heard around the net, so that would explain Neytiri and Sully. Logan became dull because of inconsistent writing and repeatedly chasing after Max like a crazy person more than anything else. Season 1 he had more depth and range.

To me, this movie was Cameron getting his last hurrah on his works that didn't pan out into the epic greatness he thought they should have had. And seriously, as a writer, it kicks ass to know you can take all the stuff you didn't think got appreciated, smash it together and make history.

I really think James Cameron is a cat person now. LOL

[pat-san.livejournal.com]

Logan became dull because of inconsistent writing and repeatedly chasing after Max like a crazy person more than anything else. Season 1 he had more depth and range.
Actually I was thinking about season one Logan when I called him a dull, because in that season he's so willing to have back his legs that after Max's blood effect on his body starts to fade first he lies to her and keeps her at arm's length, then he mess with a Manticore doctor and when he finally put his hands of the damaged exelethon - I hope I'm spelling it right - he talks Max into steal for him a chip he need to fix it telling her it's for preventing some bad guy's actions...
Yeah, Logan is more interesting in season one then he is in season two - more complex, more shadowy I'd say - but this behavior annoyed me to no end, like he thought he wasn't a whole person anymore without his legs use.
And, luckily, Sally was very far from this...

And just to make me clear, I loved Avatar (I just don't like Logan that much LOL).
It's just interesting to point out the similarities between this movie and other Cameron's creatures, especially when you're so obsessed by one of these like I am with Dark Angel :D

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Logan was very self-serving in the guise of serving 'the greater good' for Season 1, then he tried to pull the 'Max, I know that you'll be miserable without me and this is for your own good' b.s. To me, he always seemed like he was pushing her into an emotionally abusive relationship. Max and Logan lie to each other constantly, whereas Alec and Max were more upfront, and even when they weren't, the truth would eventually surface and they would be there for each other. My main peeve on top of what you listed was that he called Lydecker on Max and Ben without waiting to make sure that she was safe.

I liked Avatar too. It was fun to watch, the story was one I'd seen done several times but I wrote another post that there's nothing wrong with cliches done right. And this was the case - the characters were accessible, the story was paced well, and it left food for thought after the movie was over. It's fun connecting the dots for James Cameron and DA, because it's interesting to see how writers develop an M.O. and have a habit of returning to projects that obviously meant a lot to them. :)

[heavengurl899.livejournal.com]

:) since nobody has defended Avatar I guess I will. I don't think the plot was actually meant to be that "deep" although it was a sociopolitical movie that has a message which is hard not to agree with.
And didn't you just define how sci-fi/fantasy was taboo (although it's becoming much less so) when you said
"Tell someone you're writing about blue kitty-cat people whose home planet is being invaded by aliens and that it's a social commentary on colonialism and mercantilism and corporate greed, well, you'll be eating alone at lunch. A lot."
Something that is shunned by society is taboo.
I don't really see the "white guilt" idea but I'm not white...so maybe that's why? Wasn't it more of humans vs aliens than white vs anything else?
But a story about colonialism and the dangers of it aren't necessarily bad are they?
I mean I get if you didn't like Avatar because you're not into sci-fi/fantasy. But the movie was well done and the graphics were what made it particularly famous.
I don't know. I thought the movie was good. I understand it's not deep but movies are meant to entertain and Avatar did precisely that.
heehee yes an update would be AMAZING :D

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

Avatar was a good, entertaining movie. I enjoyed it. The point of it wasn't plot, it was visual effects and it was stunning. I'm not bashing the movie, I was being tongue-in-cheek about it and the main point of my post was that it's a huge movie that lots of people clamor to see, yet the people who write it get treated with little appreciation from the general public.

I am a sci-fi/fantasy writer, I also write fan fiction for James Cameron's TV show Dark Angel, ergo I really like sci-fi and fantasy. I was commenting on my experiences explaining to people that I write about monsters and aliens and other creatures.

"White guilt" refers to the theme of guilt in media of white colonists destroying the land they came to (usually America) and wiping out the native populations to feed mercantilism. Avatar is an allegory of Europeans colonizing America. It's a fairly common theme, like the "magical negro." There is nothing wrong with showing the dirty side of colonialism -- where did I say that? I'm not white either, for the record.

My point overall was that singular sci-fi/fantasy icons on a large marketing venue are considered acceptable because so many people have access to it, but in general it's not often considered to be a genre that is taken seriously.

[heavengurl899.livejournal.com]

aha...haha sorry I totally didn't see that. I agree though, except for a hit few (Rowling, Tolkien, Cast, etc.) that genre isn't exactly seen as "mature" reading (which is some cases is true but I enjoy a good fantasy).
Maybe I just got overly defensive because I only hear critique of it (I live amongst super conservatives so anything vilifying typical values is almost immediately shot down).

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

I think you jumped the gun and read things that weren't there and then inserted accusations that were so extremely off base, I wasn't sure how to respond.

Please be a bit more careful and read what someone actually wrote, not what you think they wrote. Thanks.

[heavengurl899.livejournal.com]

That's a very fair critique but to be fair to me if you had actually read my post a bit more carefully you would have realized that I didn't accuse you of anything.

[alliekiwi.livejournal.com]

I've not seen Avatar, yet. We have trouble getting a baby sitter and then there's the fact that we live an hour from a cinema...

One thing that interests me is that my hubby is dying</> to see it. This is the man who lived through the 70s yet didn't see Star Wars. (Still hasn't, despite me owning all the DVDs.) He's definitely not a fan of sci-fi fantasy, and in fact doesn't read fiction of any sort. So why is he so keen? I think it's because of the environmental/conservation issues the film supposedly contains.

I agree about people thinking you're odd for reading/writing sci-fi fantasy. I've absolutely loved anything of that sort, ever since reading 'The Girl With the Silver Eyes' when I was about 8. My whole family think I'm odd.

It's the same with TV programmes, actually. My mother expects me to remember not to ring during Coronation Street or the weekly Masterpiece Theatre. So I make certain not to phone during those times unless it's an absolute emergency. Yet she thinks it's perfectly acceptable to ring during whatever it is I'm watching. I've tried saying 'Mum, I'm watching a programme, could you ring back after 8.30?' She asks what the programme is and scoffs upon hearing Roswell/Dark Angel/Firefly/Dr Who/Supernatural (etc)... and keeps ringing right when they're on.

*rolleyes*

[alliekiwi.livejournal.com]

Oops, sorry about the italics. A shame I can't edit it... I should have done a preview.

[parallax23.livejournal.com]

The italics are ok, no worries. I do typos all the time.

I'm more on the light-side of sci-fi/fantasy, but as a kid my relatives thought that I was odd for liking it and a few kids at school tried to make jokes at my expense. I actually started in the supernatural horror genre then started picking up books with the same theme. Fairytale re-tellings are some of my favorites.

I think it takes a lot of creativity to be in the speculative fiction genre. My mom wasn't completely crazy about it, but tolerates my eccentricity after all these years.

I miss the glory days of the WB when they would roll out a new sci-fi/fantasy/horror show. Honestly, they had a more interesting mix than the bigger networks. I'm sure the CW would make a bigger killing going back to that, considering that Supernatural and Smallville are their two biggest shows. My friends and I were discussing that sci-fi/fantasy viewers are also the most loyal demographic to a show, which we think too many people underestimate (and the fact that it's generally the smarter end of the spectrum that watches too!).