Natives call for boycott of Avatar 2 for cultural appropriation

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James Cameron’s Avatar 2 has hit theaters and is currently one of the biggest movies of this year. In less than a week, it passed the $500 million mark, an impressive feat for the sequel to Avatar, which was one of the biggest movies of 2009.

As such, the film owes much of its credit to James Cameron and the magic he created for the film with beautiful cinematography, stunning visuals, and amazing work on CGI and action sequences. The director has also spoken in several interviews about the direction and inspiration behind Avatar 2 to keep it trending on social media platforms.

Unfortunately, the film, much like the original, drew criticism from various communities around the world, particularly Native Americans, who leveled accusations at James Cameron for having a “white savior complex”.

Twitter user @asdza_tlehonaei, a Navajo artist, took to the social media platform and wrote:

“Do NOT Watch Avatar: The Way of the Water”

Expanding on her statement, she added:

“Join Natives and other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrific and racist film. Our cultures have been nefariously appropriated to satisfy a white man’s savior complex. No more Blueface! The Lakota are powerful” Do NOT Watch Avatar: The Way of Water

Join Natives and other Indigenous groups around the world to boycott this horrific and racist film. Our cultures have been nefariously appropriated to satisfy some men’s savior complex. No more Blueface! The Lakota are powerful!

Do NOT watch Avatar: The Way of the WaterJoin Native Americans and other Indigenous groups around the world to boycott this horrifying and racist film. Our cultures have been nefariously appropriated to satisfy some men’s savior complex. No more Blueface! The Lakota are powerful! https://t.co/NmHVU565u3 James Cameron’s past statements resurface online following the theatrical release of Avatar 2 Jake and Neyitri in Avatar (Image via 20th Century Studios/Disney)

According to fans and critics, Avatar and Avatar 2 were used by James Cameron to project his guilt over the way people of indigenous descent were treated by Europeans.

What is rather ironic is that the director made a white man named Jake Sully, the protagonist of both films, a person who would eventually become part of the N’avi tribe, an indigenous group that lives in Pandora . A former spy, Jake fights humans, or “white humans”, to protect the N’avi people and preserve their culture.

Both Avatar 2 and the first film were accused of cultural appropriation, and it seemed most blatant and deliberate in the case of the following film, where the culture of the Metkayina people mirrored the culture of the Maori, an indigenous group made up of native Polynesians. to New Zealand.

The Metkayina in Avatar 2 (Image via 20th Century Studios/Disney)

Additionally, in an interview with The Guardian in 2010, James Cameron said something that brought him more heat from Native Americans and other indigenous people who criticized Avatar.

Cameron was against the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforests, which had threatened the lives of Brazil’s Xingu. He said this served as a driving force for the Avatar narrative, particularly the fight between the N’avi and the “Sky People” or humans, who wanted to mine Unobtanium:

“A real confrontation with Avatar is taking place. I felt like I was 130 years back in time watching what the Lakota Sioux might have said at a time when they were being pushed and killed and told to move and they received some form of compensation.”

He further continued:

“That was a driving force for me in writing Avatar – I couldn’t help but think that if they [The Lakota Sioux] had a window of time and they could see the future…and they could see their children committing suicide at the highest suicide rate in the country…because they were hopeless and they were a society no way out – that’s what’s happening now – they would have fought much harder.”

Several netizens felt that James Cameron’s statements mean that the Lakota colonizers should fight even harder. Following the release of Avatar 2, many of his past statements resurfaced on the internet, where several people decided to no longer support him or his movies.

Yeah james cameron is basically saying aboriginal communities might have fought harder against colonization if they knew that today’s aboriginal youth suicide rate just isn’t cool on any level so no, I will never see his movies again or support him.

Yeah james cameron is basically saying aboriginal communities might have fought harder against colonization if they knew that today’s aboriginal youth suicide rate just isn’t cool on any level so no, I will never see his movies again or support him. @asdza_tlehonaei Also why didn’t he hire more native actors or POC to portray and pay homage because clearly the Na’vi are a mixture of many native cultures? The fact that you have white actors putting on ethnic accents that are supposed to sound native seemed wrong to me. a mixture of many indigenous cultures? The fact that you have white actors putting on ethnic accents that are supposed to look native just struck me as wrong. @asdza_tlehonaei @MyeongPanda the fact that a lot of water tribe is based on mori culture and majority of water tribe people are played by non-mori people is right.. @asdza_tlehonaei @MyeongPanda the fact that a lot of the water tribe is based out of the mori culture and the majority of the water tribe people are played by non-mori people, that’s just.. @ asdza_tlehonaei I admit it, I liked the franchise. But while watching the first movie, I started to notice how strange it was to see this alien race based on real natives. I won’t watch the new movie now, even if I’m disappointed, it’s the least I can do.@asdza_tlehonaei I admit it, I liked the franchise. But while watching the first movie, I started to notice how strange it was to see this alien race based on real natives. I won’t watch the new movie now, even if I’m disappointed, it’s the least I can do. @asdza_tlehonaei The first was downright “Great White Savior” and it looks like it’s just worse. @asdza_tlehonaei The first was downright “Great White Savior” and it looks like it’s just worse.

In addition to this, Twitter user @asdza_tlehonaei wrote in an open letter to expand on his criticism of Avatar 2, stating:

“This is unacceptable! Black and indigenous people are more than enough to play aliens based on us. We should have been the ones whose faces and voices appeared on screen. We are the experts at portraying our hurt, our suffering, and more importantly, our resilience.”

Adding to what she sees as Cameron’s ironic hypocrisy, she wrote:

“My Lakota parents were one of the most powerful people the United States has ever encountered. They fought. They won. Their ancestors would be proud of their descendants for thriving, living, and simply existing with their culture intact. But you don’t show that in your movies. Instead, you choose to show or glorify colonialism. White people being outsiders based on real indigenous people. That’s colonialism. That’s colonization.

She concluded her article by asking the director to get it right and hire natives and their expertise, pointing out that he was only a guest on their land and not their leader:

“Do it right. Hire us! Hire our experts in your writing rooms, as consultants, as your talent and as your leaders. Stop trying to lead. You are NOT our leader. You are an outsider A guest on our land and culture Act accordingly.

Do you think Avatar 2 is “horrible and racist”? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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