“Avatar” has no cultural impact. At least that’s what viral posts on social media or Reddit would make you believe. How does the highest-grossing movie of all time have no footprint in the zeitgeist? It’s a false narrative, and it needs to end now.
This month, James Cameron has invited audiences back into the world of Pandora in “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the third movie of the $5B dollar franchise. Only a few filmmakers could have fans about characters they’ve only spent three times with since 2009. That’s the power of Cameron, and as we’ve all learned over the years, never bet against Big Jim.
Cameron’s patience paid off in 2009, as “Avatar” became a one-of-a-kind moviegoing experience. It’s rare to walk out of a theater and say, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Guess what? I’ve never seen anything like “Avatar.”
‘Avatar’ is an emotional drama stuck inside an epic sci-fi action movie
I’ll concede this: I constantly forget about Jake Sully’s backstory as an identical twin. I know that Jake (Sam Worthington) is a former Marine stuck in a wheelchair due to being paralyzed from the waist down. That’s why he’s so excited to remain in his avatar — to feel what it’s like to walk again. That detail somehow escaped my brain, but thankfully, I'm reminded of the detail within the first few minutes.
Introductory details aside, “Avatar” doesn’t get cooking until Jake is inserted into the jungles of Pandora and meets Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), the Na’vi princess who takes the former soldier under her wing. At first, Jake is a spy for Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the no-nonsense Marine who needs his new soldier to convince the Na’vi to allow the RDA to harvest unobtanium under the Hometree. As he falls in love with Neytiri and spends more time on Pandora, Jake appreciates the Na’vi way of life and comes to adopt it as his own.
“Avatar” does not skimp on the action. The battle sequences between the Na’vi and RDA — especially the final battle in the sky over the Hallelujah Mountains — are quite literally breathtaking. What separates “Avatar” from other action epics is the emotional beats. By tugging at the crowd's heartstrings, Cameron successfully convinces the audience to support the Na’vi and, more importantly, support their quest to liberate Pandora from capitalism and tyranny.
The messages about anti-war, climate change and corporate greed are direct, even more so in the subsequent sequels. No one wants to be lectured for three hours about how people suck. “Avatar” works because it's a human story, first and foremost. It’s an immigration story — a foreigner (Jake) being accepted into an indigenous society. It’s also a love story about two opposites from different sides of the tracks finding common ground.
Familial themes of honor, loyalty, and integrity are all over the Na’vi culture. I have no affiliation with the Tree of Souls, but I find myself heartbroken after its destruction. The moving score. The helpless cries. The lifeless Na'vi who die in the aftermath. All of these emotional beats trace back to Cameron, a singular talent when it comes to injecting emotion into epic stories.
A visual and technical masterpiece
How Cameron could dream of something so idyllic and picturesque like Pandora boggles my mind. Then again, this multi-time Academy Award winner crafted a cyborg assassin thriller (“The Terminator”), directed two sequels that arguably improve upon their predecessors (“Aliens” and “T2”), and constructed one of cinema’s greatest love stories on a sinking ship (“Titanic”). Nothing is impossible for Cameron when it comes to imagination.
Pandora is a gorgeous moon that plays like a stand-in for Cameron’s ideal version of Earth. Every single image — from the magnificent wildlife to the minuscule flowers — jumps off the screen. It’s unfathomable to know that “Avatar” is 60% CG elements and 40% live action.
The movie was also shot in 3D. Remember when Hollywood tried to make 3D a thing? The television companies followed suit by trying to convince the general public that they needed 3D TVs in their homes. That was fun, wasn’t it? It turns out that Cameron is in a league of his own when it comes to 3D — if you’re not shooting in 3D from the start, don’t bother because it won’t even sniff “Avatar” in terms of quality.
The art of eventizing a movie
When Cameron makes a movie, it matters. There is a reason why the 71-year-old has three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time. Cameron’s fans don’t wait for a movie like “Avatar” to hit home video. They flock to the cinemas for second, third, and fourth viewings, knowing that the in-home experience fails to recapture the magic of what they saw on the big screen. Cameron first did it with “Titanic” and then repeated that success with the “Avatar” franchise.
Did the long gap between “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” weaken its cultural impact? To those who say yes, I would counter with the box office receipts, which surpass $2.3 billion. Perhaps “Avatar’s” critics are focusing on its impact on domestic culture instead of its worldwide effect. Then again, hop on a plane to Florida and experience Pandora at Disney World, and you’ll see the thousands of fans every single day.
Had “Avatar” been a singular movie, I wonder how it would be viewed in 2025. Would people still be clamoring for sequels? Even I, someone who enjoys these movies, have my doubts that “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” will be released in 2029 and 2031, respectively. Does “Avatar” have a line as memorable as “Avengers, assemble”? No. Is there a character on Pandora more recognizable than Darth Vader? No.
Those are not the only two ways to establish a cultural footprint. Keep trying to say “Avatar” doesn’t matter, and it will only get more profitable, relevant, and imaginative in the coming years.
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