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Avatar (2009)
Is Avatar a pro Taliban movie?
Now that the movie has been around for a while and the hype died down it may be time to take a closer look at some of the more worrying aspects of the Avatar plot. In effect is Avatar a pro Taliban movie? Does Avatar advocate treachery against ones own friends and military commanders in a time of war in support of an enemy monolithic religious regime? Does Avatar promote killing in the name of a blind indoctrinated religious faith over individuality and natural human rights?
Jake Sully is a disabled ex marine sent undercover as an Avatar to live among the native Na'Vi indigenous beings of the planet Pandora. He is sent in as a spy to become a local. He ends up not only becoming a local by joining in their rituals, succumbing to a honey trap and choosing a local as his mate but also trains the locals how to fight and kill his own comrades.He actively lures his former commander into a trap and kills him. In anyones book (except James Cameron's) Jake Sully is a traitor. Yet he is presented throughout the movie as a hero. At no point does any of his friends challenge him about his decisions to "go native" - only his military commander can see the danger he is in and warns him about the consequences. Which Sully ignores and continues on his self indulgent mission of human destruction by dragging his friends into the quasi religious cult he is building.
The Na'Vi clearly live a pre-civilisation lifestyle of hunter gathering rather than established farming. Their entire social being appears to be indoctrinated by a belief in an hierarchical structure that puts the priests at the top of the pile. They unquestioningly chant and wave their arms around during bizarre faith-healing ceremonies that have no basis other than intending to succumb the mass to the power of the few. The Na'Vi are clearly violent, have no belief in merit other than as hunters or warriors, at no point is intellect virtued. They claim to want to find out about the "Dreamwalkers" (Earthling avatars) but when they have one in their midst they show no interest in discovering the virtues of human existence. They do not question why the humans want their "unobtainium" nor do they see any virtue in such human traits as democracy or equality. They do not even ask about human beliefs or gods. They are, in effect, very ignorant and incredibly arrogant. The Na'Vi live in a patriarchal society where males choose their mates based seemingly upon their hunting prowess or ability to sing. There is no sense given anywhere in the film that Na'Vi in anyway care about multifaceted emotions.
But the most heinous (war?) crime committed by the traitor Sully is to proudly be seen at the end of the movie taking his ex comrades prisoner at gunpoint and returning them to what he acknowledges is a dying planet (Earth?). He sends his prisoners of war to almost certain death. The only humans allowed to stay in his dictatorial utopia worshipping the trees and believing in the dead still somehow being alive are those among his comrades that he has managed to radicalise into his own beliefs and who now so willingly carry weapons and threaten their former colleagues, including the scientist played by Sigourney Weaver.
If a former US Marine is found to have converted to Islam and fights on the side of the Taliban does he now have justification in saying "I was just following the example set by James Cameron"?
Let's see if Cameron has the guts to set the record straight in Avatar 2
Gun of the Black Sun (2011)
A Brit Biker flick in which cigarette smugglers take on Ex Nazis who possess a supernatural Luger - delicously bonkers
Gary Douglas, writer, producer and star of Gun, embodies the spirit of Roger Corman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000339/) with Gun of the Black Sun.
Tarantino reveres this kind of high energy film making but has completely lost the ability to deliver it on the kind of low to no budgets Corman and Gary so obviously relish. Quick cars, fast motorbikes and even faster women wrapped up in a glossy plot of old Nazis taking over the world with supernatural hokum involving a demon empowered Luger makes this an absolute classic for genre fans, bikers and lovers of hardcore euro action that usually stars Jason Statham or Jet Li. Like Corman Gary also delivers his action with a message and some character development but he doesn't let that get in the way of the violent mayhem that drives Black Sun faster than a twin turbo big bore V Rod after hitting the nitros button.
With Gary pulling off the classic Corman trick of casting himself in the lead (keeps the budget down and puts the producer on set every day :-) ) but then allowing an experienced genre director, Jeff Burr, to take the reins ensures that every penny of the budget hits the screen and Gun delivers a high gloss bright light feel more reminiscent Ridley Scott than your usual low budget British schlocker.
Gary has also been very shrewd in his casting of Ian Wright, the ex footballer and TV presenter, as Duke, a role he carries off surprisingly well and is clearly leagues ahead of Vinnie Jones in the acting stakes. The Cormanesque eye candy is also all present and correct with the gorgeous Mihaela Sinca playing the lust interest Lorredana and Kristina Cepraga ensuring teenage dreams are always wet as the Neo Nazi dominatrix Ms Kitty.
Black Sun is that very rare thing, a low budget British movie that is comfortable with what it is. The Ace Cafe makes a fantastic backdrop for the brilliantly shot duel of the V Rod and GSXR but it doesn't matter whether it is in London or not. The Romanian countryside is so stunning that we don't care its not Tuscany. Black Sun delivers so bang on the exploitation / action genre button that we also don't care that its not produced by the Luc Besson stable of Transporter hits.
We can just hope that Gary is following that other Corman gambit of having a whole slate of actioners ready to go as soon as Black Sun hits the screens. Britain doesn't need another Mike Lee or Richard Curtis, we need more producers with the chutzpah of Gary Douglas.