The moment in Avatar that I have chosen to look at is the immediate moments after the fall of Home Tree. There is commotion and chaos until the moment the tree finally hits the ground. The tree falls in slow motion, leading the viewer to the disaster and allowing them to soak up each second of what is about to happen.
The scene falls silent upon impact and then the viewer begins to hear soft background accompaniment of slow, somber music and finally the native sounding wails of Mo’at, Neytiri’s mother.
The first signifier in this scene is the silence; where noise can make an impact, silence can be more dramatic. Silence here conveys disbelief, shock, sadness, and anger. Nobody can react as the symbol of hope and life for the Na’vi.
The signifieds is the fact that their source of life, Home Tree, has fallen and also the implication of the inevitable fall of the Na’vi people as a population. I cannot help but compare this moment to that of the fall of the Twin Towers in 2001. The moment of the fall of the towers signified not only the fall of a monument of our country, but our freedom as a populous. Our freedom to wear belts through an airport, to carry on more than 3 ounces of liquid on an airplane, to not be victim to random bag searches, phone tapping, web surveillance, and an unconscious but ever present unanimous suspicion of each member of our country. Who is the next terrorist? This theory fits perfectly with that of fantasy. Fantasy here fills the gap between a suicide bomber and 6 foot tall blue humanoids.
The effects of the silent moments following the fall of Home Tree have the effect on the viewer of despair, anxiety of what is about to come, and sympathy for the cruelty shown to the Na’vi.
The wailings of Mo’at can be overheard above the hushed panic in the background. These wailings bring us back to the fact that the Na’vi is indeed a native tribe, different than that of humans and reinstates the presence of fantasy.
I didn't think of this at all, but it is a close connection to the twin towers. I do not think that the intention was to mimic the twin towers falling but it certainly invokes deep emotions that we all have felt and the twin towers may be where we are drawing the emotions that we felt when hometree fell. Smart again on the directors part because we feel this sense of patriotism and have a nationalistic feeling running through our bodies building up the hate and disgust against the humans which in the end this hate will be used and extinguished when the Na'vi win.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of there being a link between home tree and 9/11. Like Shawn said, I don't know if Cameron intended that link to be there, but it does bring that emotion forth from us.
ReplyDeleteThe silence also I think adds a feeling of it being surreal. In a moment like that there would be a huge amount of noise, but the silence drives home the feelings of shock the Na'vi have.
I am very impressed with this connection, because when I see this movie and read this movie, all I can think of is nature and forests. So relating it to 9/11 is a really great comparison in my opinion, whether it was intended or not. I think this is a great comparison because this tree was the center of it all, it made home home. Throughout the movie we become familiar with the tree, how it plays a role in their lives and all come to love the tree like we love the blue people and their land. This tree being gone changes and effects everything and everyone. Just as the twin towers attack effects all of us still. Great comparison and post!
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