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

[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. :)