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‘Avatar’ is racist? That’s a bit of a stretch

Posted on January 31, 2010
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It’s racist to say ‘Avatar’ is racist

The theory that billion-dollar blockbuster “Avatar” is racist has quickly spread. Whether this film is racist is up to opinion, but in reality people looking for racism will see it anywhere. If you look hard enough, you’ll find it anywhere. I could probably find racism in faxless payday loans if I really wanted to. People will see what they want.

I don’t think James Cameron or the writers of “Avatar” intended to be racist. Basically, the logic is this: The hero is white, and helps non-white people, thus making ‘Avatar’ racist. Many people call “Avatar” a “white male savior” movie.

To the contrary

So, a white guy plays the main character, the protagonist, the “hero.” Is that to infer that every movie with a white protagonist cast in the lead is racist? Some people are even going so far as to say that the film is sexist, too, because the hero is a man.

However, it could be argued that Princess Neytiri is also a hero. She’s an alien in the film, and by virtue of the adjective “she,” a female. I won’t go into it too much, in case you haven’t seen the film, but some of the plot points prove that Neytiri doesn’t need white man Jake to save her.

Who is the real racist? The audience or ‘Avatar’?

Part of the argument is that the actors cast as blue people are all of color in real life. That said, if the casting director says they hired who they thought best fit the role, it would be believable that they were hired solely on basis of ability.

Though the protagonist is white, the honkies in ‘Avatar’ are all sort of bad. The blue people are peaceful, nature loving sorts, and the white guys make it lousy for everyone. That would make it reverse racist, but that’s a bit of a leap as well.

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