James Cameron’s new film, Avatar, tells a story we’ve all heard before; as I commented on Twitter last night, it is Dances with Wolves meets Star Trek: Insurrection, with elements of The Matrix and Whale Rider thrown in. But Avatar is grander and more epic than any of these films, and of course, it’s a stunning achievement of CGI artistry. For its sheer beauty, go see it. But critics are whining that the story is “weak” or “boring” and I think they’re rather justified in their gripes. Nevertheless, I think it raises enough questions for someone like me, interested as I am in the interface between Christianity and indigenous culture, that it’s worth commenting on.
Warning: plot spoilers abound in the rest of this review. Read at your own risk.
On the surface, Avatar looks like a Neopagan’s dream....
But I think it’s interesting to breathe through the obvious contours of this story and consider it as a parable of the intersection between sky-god and earth-goddess spiritualities.
Here’s the key: one of the main characters is named Grace Augustine....
So in the end, Avatar is probably the most satisfying integration of Christian and Pagan spirituality since
The Lord of the Rings....
