AVATAR: Noble Savages meet the White Messiah in Colonial Struggle

By Catherine Cutcher and Siphokazi Magadla


The science-fiction epic Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time. Since its release in December, box office sales have reached $2 billion. Avatar has been awarded two Golden Globes for best dramatic motion picture and best director. At the upcoming Academy Awards, the movie is expected to receive more Oscars than Director James Cameron’s other film, Titanic.

The film’s success raises several questions. If Cameron is indeed the self-proclaimed “King of the World,” why should we even bother critiquing Avatar since the rest of the world seems to be bowing at his royal feet? As one commentator sarcastically commented, “Recession? What recession?” – how can a film gross such huge profits in our so-called difficult times?

In this article, we argue that Cameron may be a genius for making a film with a message for everybody - from technological geeks, environmentalists, multinational corporations, to pan-theists – but the movie relies upon an extremely problematic plot. Avatar is based on a narrative framing the protagonist, Jake Sully, as the “White Messiah” savior of the exotic “Noble Savages” who are the Na’vi. This plot is not only inaccurate, but it reveals the age-old debate of whether colonialism was positive or negative for formerly colonized societies. As Avatar suggests, the exploitation of indigenous communities was not so bad, especially because some of the colonizers - after contributing to the destruction of their subjects - actually fell in love with their subjects and presumably, love conquered all!

Nevertheless, critics are raving over this film. The filmmakers spent over $300 million on special effects and to develop the language of the Na’vi alien culture. Science fiction fans are shocked and awed by the computer-generated imagery (CGI) and 3-D effects. Environmentalists celebrate the preservation message of the film. Critics of the U.S. military-industrial complex view the film as a statement against corporate greed and violence. Pan-theists enjoy the natural beauty of Pandora and the spirituality of its indigenous Na’vi culture.

Despite its resounding success, the film has also raised the ire of a diversity of special interest groups, including human rights activists, feminists, social and political conservatives, the Chinese government, and the Vatican. For postcolonial scholars and indigenous peoples, Avatar’s plot is highly racist, disturbing, and offensive.

As postcolonial scholars, we must deconstruct these condescending myths of the “Noble Savage” and the “White Messiah.” Avatar’s colonialist fantasy replays common themes found throughout U.S. media, including films like Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, The Last Samurai, Pocahontas, and Fern Gully. The story goes: a White man travels to a different culture, learns their customs, falls in love with a local woman, becomes disgruntled with his own culture, and goes AWOL. He then becomes the most awesome warrior in his new culture, and saves them from the greed and violence of his own people. Despite his betrayal, he is forgiven and accepted to join the clan as an honorary member or a new chief.

A major problem with this plot is that it is only the Jake Sullys and Tom Cruises who have this option of moving in and out of cultures as they please – their own and that which they choose to master. We have yet to see films of Black people or other non-Whites having the option of surrendering their cultures for those of whom they have come to love. It is only White actors who are able to do this. Certainly, few imagine that the Na’vi, or at least Jake Sully’s girlfriend, would be able to cleanse herself of her Na’viness and join Jake’s culture. However, he not only has the privilege of becoming Na’vi, he also stands a chance of being her chief after contributing to the murder of her father.

Furthermore, indigenous groups - despite their better use of the environment as compared to Western industrial economies - should not be romanticized as worshipers of nature as we see in Avatar. This is certainly not true; it does not represent the complexity of these communities. The images of the Na’vi praying and dancing away their pain does not help in the smallest way. Surely, if colonized people could dance their way to revamping their destroyed and poor communities, they could have done that already. This exoticism of cultures is not only condescending but also underestimates the brutality of war and colonialism.

The myth of the White Messiah liberating Noble Savages is dangerous. These stories reveal some of the basest anxieties of White people living in contemporary society. The guilt of racism, slavery, and colonialism weigh heavily on the shoulders and minds of Europeans. Fears are building about survival and sustainability on a dying planet. Indigenous peoples must beware of looking to the colonizers for help with liberation. Betrayal is written in the blood, sweat, and tears of history’s victims.

In Africa and the rest of the “two-thirds world,” this story should bother us. Colonialism and slavery worked to dehumanize, divide, and conquer African peoples from each other and our land. Noble Savage myths were created to justify imperialism by explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists. These racist narratives depict non-Western cultures as less than human – as aliens or animals to be admired, tamed, and controlled. These stories are not just for entertainment. Social and political policies are profoundly shaped by stories that continue to be told about Africa in the West.

This is precisely the reason why the world should not be amused or tolerate plots found in films like Avatar. The legacy of colonialism should not be the stuff of romance because very little of it is romantic! There are plenty of stories that need to be told about the plight of hegemony that need not subject some to a position of inferiority whilst easing the anxieties of others.

Avatar raises a number of important questions: Can indigenous people – or aliens – ever speak for themselves on the silver screen? Why must a benevolent White person always serve as a bridge for American audiences to understand other cultures? Why can’t we see a story about the Na’vi defending themselves from the invasion of the humans? Or better yet, through nonviolent resistance?

When will Hollywood stop making alien fantasy films like Avatar, and instead invest their resources, energy, and attention to end suffering right here on Planet Earth? If they are serious about their message Avatar’s creators should donate a portion of their $2 billion profit to organizations working for change. They do not have to look to alien moons for inspiration. They could invest in the sovereignty of indigenous peoples through organizations like Cultural Survival, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Indian Movement, or the Assembly of First Nations. They could donate to environmental groups working to end mountaintop removal in West Virginia, or toxic waste dumping on U.S. Indian reservations, or logging in our national forests, or oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Some of their massive proceeds could be given to the Red Cross, Oxfam, or Doctors Without Borders to assist earthquake survivors in Haiti, or refugees in Iraq and Afghanistan, or besieged Palestinians in Gaza, or genocide survivors in Darfur, or rape victims in the Congo.

Forget about Pandora. S.O.S. from Planet Earth!