Thoughts on Avatar

(photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox)

I finally saw Avatar yesterday afternoon. If you have not seen this movie, go see it today! It is absolutely one of the best movies I have ever seen. The special effects (I highly recommend seeing it in 3D) were visually stunning, and I left the movie wanting to get on the next flight to Pandora. I am in awe of the brilliantly creative minds that dreamed up the world of Avatar. While I still have some questions about the basic concept of an avatar, I walked away with a deep respect of the simple and yet powerful messages I feel James Cameron conveyed.

The two main messages I saw in the movie were this. 1) We are slowly but surely destroying each other through war, hate, and other means of destruction. 2) We are also destroying the beautiful planet we are so blessed to inhabit. Note that I said "we" not you-I am in no way disqualifying myself from being a part of the problem. While the Na'vi people (the indigenous people of Pandora) are certainly not perfect, they seem to highly value their community, their beautiful planet, and all of the creatures that live on Pandora. Yes, they resort to violence at times, but what group of people hasn't done so when foreigners invade its' lands? What messages did you see in the movie?

If you've read my blog before, you are hopefully starting to recognize an ongoing theme that resonates in many of my posts. We need to love each other and build each other up instead of tearing each other down. Let's try harder to take care of this amazing planet that God has blessed us with. I know we can't take it with us when we leave, but we are here to protect Earth for generations to come. We only have one shot of life on Earth, so let's unite together in an effort to love harder, give more, and use less. To borrow the lovely words of the Na'vi, "I see you." And I hope that you see me.