Students and alumni share their thoughts on the indigenous representation in the new blockbuster
Released in December 2022, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the sequel to acclaimed director James Cameron's 2009 science fiction blockbuster “Avatar,” has become the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time, and the top-earning film of the COVID-19 pandemic era, earning over 2 billion dollars at the box office. While both “Avatar” films have been financially successful, they have gained some criticism for borrowing imagery of native cultures around the world, according to Smithsonian Magazine. BYU–Hawaii students and alumni shared their thoughts about the movie and its use of elements and themes from other cultures, specifically Polynesia.
The story so far
The first film takes place in the distant future, where Jake Sully, a paralyzed ex-marine, arrives on the faraway moon of Pandora. The powerful corporation Jake is working for is in conflict with Pandora’s indigenous population of blue, 9-foot tall humanoids called the Na'vi. Jake has his mind transferred into an artificially grown body that looks like one of the natives, known as an avatar, and sent to gain their trust, to negotiate with them to give up their home so the corporation can mine it for valuable resources.
Able to walk again in his new body, he falls in love with Neytiri, one of the women of the forest clan, and learns to truly live in harmony with nature. Eventually, he stands with the Na'vi against the humans and fully embraces his new tribe and identity.
The first of four planned sequels, “Avatar: The Way of Water” takes place 16 years after the original film. Jake has been living a happy life and has started a family, but all this is threatened when the humans return with the goal of permanently colonizing Pandora, no matter the cost to its unique ecosystem.
The return of the militant humans forces Jake and his family to flee the forest and migrate to the sea clans for sanctuary. He, his wife Neytiri, and their four children need to adapt to a whole new way of life in order to survive, as the threat against their survival and the biodiversity of Pandora grows stronger.
The storyline of the film series, according to Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, takes much of its inspiration from the colonization of the Americas and other lands by western settlers, only this time in a science fiction setting. The Na’vi tribes in the first movie are, according to Kara Mataia, an alumna from Hauula who graduated in 2007 with a degree in fine arts, “closely related to Native American and First Nation tribes in their lifestyles, mentality towards the environment and the Earth.”
Connecting with the audience
Laie resident and BYUH alumnus William Numanga, from the Cook Islands who graduated in 1999 with a degree in information technology, gave the film a positive review. He cited the cinematography and special effects, saying the sequel to “Avatar” took everything to a whole new level.
Numanga also said his favorite characters were Jake and his wife, Neytiri. “They're both very strong. I live in Hawaii now, away from the Cook Islands. Jake, in the first movie was a fish out of water and had to adapt to a new culture. I can identify with that,” he said.
Mataia said her favorite character was Neytiri, who she described as “the epitome of what a woman/wife/mother should be, to me at least. Strong, brave and able to fight for her family and alongside her husband. I love how even though she’s strong and takes care of herself, she supports her husband and is willing to give up everything to keep her family safe and together,” she continued.
“Now he and his wife need to move to a new place and learn to adapt together. I loved how the whole movie was about Jake embracing a new culture and making it a part of who he is,” Mataia added.
Deepak Maran Reddy, a freshman from Fiji majoring in business management and finance, said he connected with Jake's journey from being a warrior to a family man. “This time, the movie was all about how Jake is protecting his family. We can connect that to our gospel as well. It’s all about family,” he said.
Reddy also said he strongly identified with Jake, especially through looking back at his mission in Kiribati and Fiji. “In part one, you have Jake and he’s human, coming from Earth, and gets to interact with the culture through the avatar. On a mission, you’re far from home, in a new culture, and start connecting with the people around you. Feeling what they are feeling.”
Alex Song, a senior student from California majoring in psychology, said he had paid attention to the online discussions about the film and its uses of cultural elements. He said he personally felt the movie was showing the story of colonization through fiction, and how it affects indigenous people. He cited a scene where the colonizing humans go out to hunt and kill a majestic-looking creature called a tulkun, which resembles a whale. “That’s something that really affected me and especially my wife. Because she is Maori, seeing them kill a whale like that was very hurtful to her to the point where she wanted to leave the movie [theater],” Song elaborated.
Use of cultural elements
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, activists and online commentators have accused James Cameron of romanticizing colonization and homogenizing indigenous people through his new movie.
Mataia said the sequel incorporated a lot Polynesian culture in its depiction of the new clan Jake and his family meet. “I felt the only part that was distinctly Maori was the Pukana they did… but other than that I felt it was representing all of Polynesia, especially Tahiti. I didn’t find it offensive but appreciated the tribute. I loved seeing the avatar version of the islanders the way they represented Native Americans in the first one,” she explained.
Elijah Lemusuifeauaali'i, an alumnus from Australia who graduated in 2022 with a degree in Pacific Island Studies, believed there needed to be nuance when looking at an issue like cultural appropriation, Lemusuifeauaali'i, whose father is Samoan and whose mother is Maori from New Zealand, said he was raised in his cultural backgrounds despite growing up in Australia. He is able to speak both of his ancestral languages, as well as Fijian, which he learned during his missionary service.
Speaking about the usage of Polynesian, specifically Maori imagery used in the film, he stated “Honestly, I feel very proud. It’s almost like a compliment to me that James Cameron would find such inspiration for his film from my people. As a Pacific Islander and a Maori myself, I do not find it disrespectful. He [James Cameron] does use facial tattoos for the aliens, but they are not exact tattoos of our culture. He’s an artist. Like any artist, you find inspiration in something else and you put your twist on it. You recreate it to fit what you like. And I feel that’s what he’s done here. He hasn’t really tainted the culture.”
“Whilst this film really highlighted Polynesian elements, James Cameron did make mention in his interview that I watched, that there are a number of indigenous cultures highlighted within the film…I thought it was really interesting in how they showed the way the Na’vi conceptualized things.”
Lemusuifeauaali'i also said a powerful part of the movie was the connection the people had to the whale-like creatures. This, he said, had roots in many indigenous cultures, including those in Polynesia, where people believed in sharing familial relations with living creatures such as plants and animals.
Reddy said that while he knew of the controversy about the use of elements inspired from indigenous cultures, he believed the movie was simply entertainment. For him, he said it was enjoyable to see things related to his culture. “When they’re on Pandora in the movie, we see them hunting and fishing. I mean, that’s the island life…At the moment, Fiji is very modernized, but if you go back through history, people would deeply rely on the sea for their food,” Reddy stated.
Song, who is of Native Hawaiian descent, said he is part of various Hawaiian activist groups. “On my own, I do a lot of research on colonization and how it affects the Native Hawaiian culture. And I think a lot of what happened in the movie, where people are taking the natural resources of another group of people and taking land sacred to indigenous people, that happened in our own history.
Song said he thought it was very cool to see the Polynesian influence on the sea clan, which included their hairstyles and how they saw the whale-like tulkun as spirit sisters and brothers.
Entertainment vs. Education
Numanga clarified that while he personally had no problem with the film, he encouraged everyone to form their own opinion. “This is not a dig at those who are cultural specialists. My opinion is: enjoy the movie. This is not the first time indigenous culture is recognized in cinema. It will highlight the beauty and some of the challenges and struggles that we've had.
“‘Avatar’ is on a big stage. Remember, the movie is a product of the entertainment industry. Of course it has the ability to educate, but that's not its draw. It has no responsibility to educate people. If you're intrigued about the face markings on the people in the movie, great! People may want to find out more, and I'm hoping this movie makes them want to ask more questions and seek to understand more about the cultural elements.”
He used the example of how Cliff Curtis, who plays Tonowari, chief of the sea clan in the movie, is a man of Maori descent. He is a well-known actor in New Zealand, having starred in films like “Whale Rider” and “Once Were Warriors.” According to IMDB, his tribal affiliations are with the Ngati Hauiti and Te Arawa tribes. His character sports facial markings evoking traditional Maori tattoos, according to Screen Rant.
Numanga said he was sure Cliff Curtis would have given perspective to the use of Maori imagery in the movie “As long as Maori culture is represented in some way, I'm happy with that.”
According to Lemusuifeauaali'i, curious parties who want to learn more about the cultures behind the fictional characters should know who to go to for accurate information. “There are a lot of places in the world today where you can go to learn about culture. But who you’re learning it from is more significant. Whilst there are a lot of places to learn, not all of those people in those places have necessarily gone through the appropriate steps and had the right experiences to qualify themselves to teach culture.”
He used himself as an example, since he will be teaching Fijian next year as an adjunct faculty member. Lemusuifeauaali'i is not Fijian himself, but said he had to go through the experiences of serving a mission and studying for nearly ten years to get to a point where he’s qualified to teach about something he did not grow up around.
He also shared about how important it was for future stories about indigenous cultures to be told by indigenous peoples themselves. “But I understand, as an indigenous person, we do not always have the luxury, tools, or means to do that. So people like James Cameron, who I lovingly call ‘western vessels,’ the mantle is very high and heavy for them to produce films that are at least something that highlights and compliments them. No one likes to be degraded, whether you’re part of an indigenous culture or not.”