Avatar the Disco Zap fantasy
Avatar provides a world where the signs are simple, only if it was so simple, the signs on Earth are complex and can take centuries to decipher and the retribution is slow but exact. The creation of Pandora makes a complex ecosystem that gives clear signs. Earth has not been excused for being subtle, trees don't light up like it is Christmas or a shopping mall. They silently grow and have the utmost subtlety. This is life not fantasy, life on Earth has taken many forms and is always open to expansion and extinction, preservation is crucial and that is the real test. Preservation is not subservience or mastery but a solution in itself within a planet that changes through our interaction with it. It is important to modify your actions if they will have an effect on your ability to survive or you can just hope for the best which is what the character Jake Sully does. Is this the real message? Just go for broke and it will be all ok? Take a chance? Throw the dice?
To survive on Earth is hard especially when your being bombarded by microwaves and the humble cockroach made it through and shows no signs of going away. The fact that it is ugly should only make us more cautious at how unforgiving the Earth can be. Of course the window for humanity is only so big and if we can work on preservation without dealing ourselves a bad hand then we have done well. The Australian Aborigines managed to live within the natural world without disturbing it too much and they survived but of course colonisation and dehumanisation have fragmented and eroded their traditional way of life and wisdom. They are not going back to their traditional ways at least not as they had previously as they would have to start again in a new situation and most of their knowledge has been lost. Not all of it mind you has been lost but the trajectory has been changed and thus fragmented. The idea that these lost forms of knowledge can be found again doesn't give the Earth much room for dynamism and inevitable adjustments. This idea of a pure knowledge is debunked but the idea is to preserve and adjust as need be and not disregard different forms of knowledge that enhance survival. Besides making a fantastic assumption about the form that life can take we need to understand the importance of survival and any knowledge that advances the cause is good. Of course to treat knowledge as some kind of repository for survival is creating knowledge into a resource which it is not. The point is the Earth is a complex life form and we need to survive and knowledge that can be open to survival and complexity can't be ignored at least not for long as new problems present themselves and we need to solve them.
Avatar makes the point of disregard obvious but fantasises the nature of life into a disco light fantasy with ferocious creatures and a physical link is emphasised to make us see this link which helps get the story across and maybe just maybe our own Earth and its subtle nature will be highlighted. Knowledge takes many forms and they are not formed in primitive stages or whatever stage but are abstracted and expressed to enhance survival on Earth. People forget that is where they are, "You're no longer in Kansas ladies and gentlemen".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
To survive on Earth is hard especially when your being bombarded by microwaves and the humble cockroach made it through and shows no signs of going away. The fact that it is ugly should only make us more cautious at how unforgiving the Earth can be. Of course the window for humanity is only so big and if we can work on preservation without dealing ourselves a bad hand then we have done well. The Australian Aborigines managed to live within the natural world without disturbing it too much and they survived but of course colonisation and dehumanisation have fragmented and eroded their traditional way of life and wisdom. They are not going back to their traditional ways at least not as they had previously as they would have to start again in a new situation and most of their knowledge has been lost. Not all of it mind you has been lost but the trajectory has been changed and thus fragmented. The idea that these lost forms of knowledge can be found again doesn't give the Earth much room for dynamism and inevitable adjustments. This idea of a pure knowledge is debunked but the idea is to preserve and adjust as need be and not disregard different forms of knowledge that enhance survival. Besides making a fantastic assumption about the form that life can take we need to understand the importance of survival and any knowledge that advances the cause is good. Of course to treat knowledge as some kind of repository for survival is creating knowledge into a resource which it is not. The point is the Earth is a complex life form and we need to survive and knowledge that can be open to survival and complexity can't be ignored at least not for long as new problems present themselves and we need to solve them.
Avatar makes the point of disregard obvious but fantasises the nature of life into a disco light fantasy with ferocious creatures and a physical link is emphasised to make us see this link which helps get the story across and maybe just maybe our own Earth and its subtle nature will be highlighted. Knowledge takes many forms and they are not formed in primitive stages or whatever stage but are abstracted and expressed to enhance survival on Earth. People forget that is where they are, "You're no longer in Kansas ladies and gentlemen".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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