The movie Avatar is a blockbuster, and now the third-highest grossing movie of all time. It is also a story about migration. In short, it depicts humans in the year 2154, seeking to extract a valuable mineral from a far-off planet called Pandora, and willing to do so at any cost, including the extermination of the local alien population.
The film’s 3-D technology is impressive, but as far as the plot is concerned, there are really no major surprises. It is a struggle between good and bad – those who wish to understand and explore the new culture, and those who view it as backward and worthless in comparison to the planet’s mineral wealth. Ultimately, with teamwork and fortitude, the forces of good prevail, and Pandora is saved.
While the movie may cause some viewers to imagine future possibilities (i.e. the concept of lifelike avatars controlled by the human mind), it leads one to consider the past more deeply. The plotline is like that which already occurred with European exploration of the Western Hemisphere, except for one major difference – in reality the outsiders prevailed and destroyed most of the local cultures.
As we well, know, from the first voyages of Columbus to the “New World” until the 1880s, millions of indigenous died as the result of disease and war. Often, it was an attitude of superiority mixed with greed that led to the callous approach of the European visitors-turned-conquerors.
Migration can lead to new opportunities. It also has its darker side, including genocide, enslavement and colonization.
For a sobering perspective on these issues, check out the following books. Admittedly they are written with a particular bias – to reveal the voices of the oppressed, as opposed to the victor who typically records history – but they are worth the read/review:
A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn (first published in 1980)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown (first published in 1970)
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, by Eduardo Galeano (first published in 1973)
