MovieChat Forums > Avatar (2009) Discussion > I found the scientists to be loathsome i...

I found the scientists to be loathsome ingrates...

posted 6 years ago by Coleburg83 (684)
5 replies | jump to latest

Jake shows up due to contrived circumstances and all kinds of things happen to push him to do a lot of the things he did.

But Sigourney Weaver's character and the other scientists seemed like ignorant ungrateful fools. She agrees to come to the planet because the company wants to make a peaceful solution, then the Na'vi attack their resources and she gets upset when they respond. They had over 10 years and several final warnings to help make a deal and she did nothing but act superior and outraged that the company needed to remove them from the place where most of the mineral that allowed her and future humans to come there was.

The only reason the scientists were able to go to the planet is because of the mineral and the technology and actions of the evil corporation in charge. So why work for them in the first place if you are so opposed to their efforts to remain in business and save your planet?

[–] Trev (874) 6 years ago

Wasnt that the point of the movie though, to hate the humans and root for the Na'vi?

[–] Coleburg83 (684) 6 years ago

Exactly. And it didn't work for me because the scientists were only there because of the "evil" company who spent decades trying to make a deal with the Na'vi and instead were attacked constantly and they held off on a direct assault until they couldn't wait any longer. And the scientists knew damn well what happen, they were warned and given more chances over and over again.

[–] Trev (874) 6 years ago

Ah. Ya.

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 5 years ago

The only reason the scientists were able to go to the planet is because of the mineral and the technology and actions of the evil corporation in charge. So why work for them in the first place if you are so opposed to their efforts to remain in business and save your planet?

I rewatched this recently (in a VR 3D headset -- very awesome, btw), and it seems like she hates that the corp is getting greedy and wants the mineral from under Home Tree (their sacred center). She says to get it elsewhere, and to not relocate them. In a way, she kinda has a point. The Na'vi should not have to relocate and abandon their sacred home of many generations because a visiting Earth company likes the mineral deposits under their house.

Grace is aware of the funding that mineral provides, but she doesn't like the brutality and inhumane treatment of the Na'vi, whom she has become close with. Also, we never really know the actual financial numbers of this corporation. Were they running dry and literally on the edge of shutting down? Were they obscenely rich already and wanted to add $2billion on top of the $180billion they already have? Even if they were running dry, hard to argue for a reason to forcefully remove people off the home they were born on. The Na'vi may not have a written contract, but they still have the better argument for having a right to stay there.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12436) 5 years ago

I think the Na'vi and the mining company are the ungrateful fools, to be honest. Neither group really appreciated the lengths the scientists took to try and figure things out, build bridges, understand the alien wildlife, or to practice diplomacy. That's a lot of work that not everyone can do. And how do the Na'vi and the mining company repay them?

The Na'vi just barely appreciated anything the scientists did to try and build bridges, or maybe not at all, they don't care about humans improving their lives, they think teaching the kids English is amusing, as are the Avatars, but it mostly was going nowhere.

But then Sully the warrior comes along; oh boy! We like him much better! Sure, we liked learning things about humans from these scientists, who never did anything to hurt us and helped us out, but hey, we're warriors, we don't give a shit about anything but showing off how great we are at combat and how quickly we can have revenge against the humans for violating our land.

Meanwhile, the company is greedy and destructive, and they don't understand it takes time to build trust and respect between two different cultures, and they just want more and more unobtanium at all costs, regardless of who they step on. And forget about the mercs they hired to protect them. Those guys are almost literally walking guns that barely listen as to where their guns should be pointing before they shoot!

That was one reason I eventually couldn't watch the movie anymore. I don't think it was fair that nobody appreciated the hard work the scientists did, to not only figure out how the planet worked, but try to understand the Na'vi through incredible use of remote avatar technology. I mean, how many people would be willing to do what it takes to do all of that?