Comments on: I see you http://kim.southisms.com/i-see-you/ The Unproductive Years of Kim Loraine B. Castillo Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:49:53 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Jad http://kim.southisms.com/i-see-you/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Jad Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:06:51 +0000 http://kim.southisms.com/?p=42#comment-3 I loved Avatar. And I can name a whole slew of parallelisms and analogies that some critics are probably going to whine about, including some casting flaws, but I sat through an almost 3-hour length film, counting off the themes I saw and yet I was riveted. In the end, strong filmmaking and its “formulas”, no matter how disdainful to some, still works. Cameron knew that, and every sci-fi fan (the ones that read actual books) will appreciate a good tall tale, even if it’s not the first to use a particular concept. There are at least 5 books I can name that have similar (and definitely earlier) concept developments, but I am surprised to note that while it seems to be a concern in theory, it is a completely insignificant factor in application, meaning that as I watched it I didn’t give a damn who wrote what first. Regarding some parts of the story that inevitably many varied groups of people with obviously varied interests (and therefore foci) will find distinctly lacking in the movie (such as you wishing more focus was given to “dreamwalking”), the answer to that is simply: A movie cannot contain all the concepts one can think of for it, it can only hope to create a wondrous blend of them, and in the “blend” Cameron did his magic, including paying so much attention to the computer graphics that you barely care that you are inundated with it from the start. I use casting “flaws” loosely, because one may take it different ways. A consequence of the rich and magical universe that is Pandora and the Na’vi is the resulting bland contrast the human world makes in the movie. Therefore the characters are not fully developed, and may remain “flat”, or “token”. Token nerd, token scientist, token broken hero. I forgive this, fully, for the obvious advantage it brings to the special effects and graphics department. It is only logical to keep the backdrop bland in order for the effects to stand out, and it is insane to keep the backdrop busy and then raise the bar even higher for complicated effects and graphics just to maintain the balance. Jake Sully in my opinion was perfect exactly as he was as a human: unremarkable. I also disagree about his character lacking development. His human character did not, but his avatar certainly did. His matter-of-fact reaction to all the changes he undergoes isn’t a bovine lack of understanding or concern for his own well-being – it is the logical and expected behavior of a Marine, a hardened soldier who is fazed by nothing, with no legs, who has lost touch with his own humanity. That is not apathy at all. His almost instant assimilation of the Na’vi culture is reasonable: it’s easy to fill a cup that’s been forcibly emptied. The notable lack of explosions right off the bat is something that I consider positive, as well as the intimate focus given to the ways of the alien race (almost like the viewer is being given a walkthrough), considering that our generation seems to become number and number to flashy effects-driven movies each year: the future of cinema is in the storytelling, not just the plain story, not just the plain telling. Avatar may not yet be the future, but it certainly raised the bar for everyone else. I loved Avatar. And I can name a whole slew of parallelisms and analogies that some critics are probably going to whine about, including some casting flaws, but I sat through an almost 3-hour length film, counting off the themes I saw and yet I was riveted. In the end, strong filmmaking and its “formulas”, no matter how disdainful to some, still works. Cameron knew that, and every sci-fi fan (the ones that read actual books) will appreciate a good tall tale, even if it’s not the first to use a particular concept. There are at least 5 books I can name that have similar (and definitely earlier) concept developments, but I am surprised to note that while it seems to be a concern in theory, it is a completely insignificant factor in application, meaning that as I watched it I didn’t give a damn who wrote what first.

Regarding some parts of the story that inevitably many varied groups of people with obviously varied interests (and therefore foci) will find distinctly lacking in the movie (such as you wishing more focus was given to “dreamwalking”), the answer to that is simply: A movie cannot contain all the concepts one can think of for it, it can only hope to create a wondrous blend of them, and in the “blend” Cameron did his magic, including paying so much attention to the computer graphics that you barely care that you are inundated with it from the start.
I use casting “flaws” loosely, because one may take it different ways. A consequence of the rich and magical universe that is Pandora and the Na’vi is the resulting bland contrast the human world makes in the movie. Therefore the characters are not fully developed, and may remain “flat”, or “token”. Token nerd, token scientist, token broken hero. I forgive this, fully, for the obvious advantage it brings to the special effects and graphics department. It is only logical to keep the backdrop bland in order for the effects to stand out, and it is insane to keep the backdrop busy and then raise the bar even higher for complicated effects and graphics just to maintain the balance.

Jake Sully in my opinion was perfect exactly as he was as a human: unremarkable. I also disagree about his character lacking development. His human character did not, but his avatar certainly did. His matter-of-fact reaction to all the changes he undergoes isn’t a bovine lack of understanding or concern for his own well-being – it is the logical and expected behavior of a Marine, a hardened soldier who is fazed by nothing, with no legs, who has lost touch with his own humanity. That is not apathy at all. His almost instant assimilation of the Na’vi culture is reasonable: it’s easy to fill a cup that’s been forcibly emptied.

The notable lack of explosions right off the bat is something that I consider positive, as well as the intimate focus given to the ways of the alien race (almost like the viewer is being given a walkthrough), considering that our generation seems to become number and number to flashy effects-driven movies each year: the future of cinema is in the storytelling, not just the plain story, not just the plain telling. Avatar may not yet be the future, but it certainly raised the bar for everyone else.

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