I'm Goin" in!!!

Going native was a term that was discussed in class that refers to an individual becoming a part of the culture that they are studying instead of staying back and viewing everything from an objective point of view.  I am also going to touch base on the “white messiah” term discussed as well.  Furthermore, the scene that I chose to write about is where the protagonist, Jake, takes a stand against the humans, antagonists, and their machines that are deforesting the land.  He attacks and disables their vision so that they cannot see what they are doing.  And in doing so, Jake’s face is captured by one of the surveillance cameras. 

I believe that this scene is suppose to make the viewers feel excited and anxious at the same time because Jake is beginning the resistance against the humans, but we also know that this can only bring trouble because the humans will not tolerate this as they feel they are the superior beings and that they need to “help” the native people.  Jake’s dealings convey his “going native”    

The signifiers are shown through Jakes actions, but a certain signifier that I notice was the triumphant music when Jake attacks the machines and the abrupt ominous music change when the humans realize who it is that is attacking them.  I think that this is “Melodrama”, trying to set the situation and make us feel the mood.  This is an aspect of how we are made to feel that goes along nicely with

The “White Messiah” was nicely illustrated in class.  They were the ones who would be going against a certain people or group and later end up joining that side and being their savior.  But, the ironic thing is that the problem was begun by the “White Messiah’s” side anyways.  Jake’s character is a white messiah.  He goes in and goes native with the people instead of learning about them impartially and ends up saving the Navi people from his own.

All of these factors attribute to the “going native” that Jake is experiencing.  Jake is defined by the archetype of a “White Messiah”, reinforced by the melodramatic music and physically conveys that he has gone to the other side, the side of the Navi people.