The director of the Avatar movies wants to inspire you to connect with the beauty of the real world and its natural spaces - before it is gone. The movie gives a glimpse into another way of being. You can physically experience this connectedness of all things on their planet Pandora.
Pandora is a resource-rich planet with a diverse ecosystem, and prior to the arrival of settlers from Earth, the indigenous population, the Na’vi (‘The People’ in their own language), had lived in harmony with nature.
Eywa, a guiding force of life and only deity of Pandora, keeps their ecosystem in perfect equilibrium. She connects all life together, like a network. The Na'vi respect and care for it.
This is a beautiful reminder for us humans. We are an integral part of our environment and interconnected with everything around us. We are not different from nature. We are nature and should act accordingly.
James Cameron, the director of the Avatar movies said in an interview:
“In the Avatar films, we’re creating a fantasy world through which the viewer sort of perceives in 3D giant screen Imax a fantasy view of nature, but thematically underneath all that is this idea of the interconnectedness not only of nature with itself, but of us with nature, as inhabitants, as indigenous members of nature. [...] We see these intricately interconnected animal and plant systems that have that have evolved over millions of years. And we get this jaw-dropping sense of wonder. [...]
The Way of Water, is to remind us how important nature is to us, and put us back into that kind of childlike perspective where we have this sense of wonder and connection to nature. Kids feel connected to nature. They’ll go out, they’ll come back filthy, they’ll come back having caught things and played with them and studied them. All kids are natural historians, natural scientists, and then they leave it behind and we move on and we live in an increasing state of nature deficit disorder.
So, a film like this re-creates that connection, that childlike sense of wonder, by showing us things we take for granted.”
This interconnectedness and reciprocity shown in the movie really touched and inspired me. As well as a quote from Tsireya, the daughter of the Metkayina clan leaders, that she recited like a poem in very powerful scene:
The way of water has no beginning and no end.
The sea is around you and in you.
The sea is your home, before your birth and after your death.
Our hearts beat in the womb of the world.
Our breath burns in the shadows of the deep.
The sea gives and the sea takes.
Water connects all things, life to death, darkness to light.
Ben Roth from Door of Perception summarised beautifully:
"Then this movie could potentially be something close to a psychedelic initiation, a glimpse into another way of being: The nourishment of community and belonging to a place. The life-giving connection to the Mother, the natural world. The value of diversity and cultural exchange. And its clear warning of the dangers of corporate greed and exploitation."
I would love to cut all the action scenes out of the film and just watch the rest, again and again. If you dare to go through all the emotions that come with the whole story I totally recommend you to go see it - in 3D of course.
Want to connect with nature and the more-than-human-world here on planet Earth?
Connect with your outer and inner nature at one of my events and retreats or dive deeper in a 1:1 guidance.
Here you'll find more inspiring texts and visuals - from poets, musicians, word poets and other inspiring people.
Sources
Avatar Wiki (o.J): Eywa. https://james-camerons-avatar.fandom.com/de/wiki/Eywa (accessed 12.01.2023).
Door of Perception. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm7JUj2sZzG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (abgerufen am: 02.01.2023).
Trenholm, R.(2022): James Cameron Q&A: 'Avatar' Remind Us of The Beauty of Nature Under Threat. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/james-cameron-q-a-avatar-way-of-water-reminds-us-of-the-beauty-of-nature-under-threat/ (accessed: 14.12.2022)
