Pandora’s environment is poisonous to humans, so Na’vi/human hybrids, appropriately called Avatars, are connected to human minds to allow unrestricted movement on Pandora. Jake Sully, one of the main characters in the film, is an ex-marine who travels to Pandora in place of his late brother. Dr. Grace Augustine is in charge of a team of scientists who are trying to find a diplomatic method of moving the Na’vi colony away from their geographic location (in order to mine unobtanium). Shortly after he arrives on Pandora, Sully joins Dr. Augustine’s team and meets Na’vi princess, Neytiri. The princess teaches Sully Na’vi beliefs, and the two eventually fall in love. Parker Selfridge’s main goal on Pandora is the mining of unobtanium. Selfridge
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Eldridge about the purpose of their mission. The setting of the scene is inside Selfridge’s office – which has a dull, businesslike feeling. On his desk there is a small magnetic device with a piece of unobtainum hovering above it. Selfridge grabs this unobtanium and holds it up in front of Dr. Eldridge and says, “This is why we're here: unobtanium. Because this little gray rock sells for twenty million a kilo. No other reason. This is what pays for the party, and it's what pays for your science. Comprendo?” (Landau & Cameron, 2009, 0:13:31). This quote clearly presents Selfridge’s intentions: to exploit nature (i.e. nature as …show more content…
The battle over nature begins. The Na’vi want to protect their colony from anthropogenic disturbance, and the humans want to expand their mining of unobtanium into Na’vi territory. Both sides, the Na’vi and humans, use their own perspectives of nature as justification for the war: preserving nature versus exploiting nature. The film’s climax, the battle between Sully and Colonel Quaritch, is a clear representation of the fundamental conflict discussed in this paper: nature as capital versus nature as Eden. Sully is fighting for his beliefs: the preservation of Pandora's landscape. Colonel Quaritch is also fighting for his beliefs, but they are the opposite of Sully’s: the mining of unobtanium which results in the degradation of Pandora’s environment. This dramatic scene takes place in the jungles of Pandora. Colonel Quaritch is in a giant metal robot that is operated from an attached cockpit, and Sully is in his Avatar body. This physical contrast between the characters helps to further divide the prominent conflict discussed thus far. In the film, there was one victor – Sully and his preservationist beliefs (i.e. nature as Eden) – but can these conflicting perspectives of nature as capital and nature as Eden ever truly be
Eldridge about the purpose of their mission. The setting of the scene is inside Selfridge’s office – which has a dull, businesslike feeling. On his desk there is a small magnetic device with a piece of unobtainum hovering above it. Selfridge grabs this unobtanium and holds it up in front of Dr. Eldridge and says, “This is why we're here: unobtanium. Because this little gray rock sells for twenty million a kilo. No other reason. This is what pays for the party, and it's what pays for your science. Comprendo?” (Landau & Cameron, 2009, 0:13:31). This quote clearly presents Selfridge’s intentions: to exploit nature (i.e. nature as …show more content…
The battle over nature begins. The Na’vi want to protect their colony from anthropogenic disturbance, and the humans want to expand their mining of unobtanium into Na’vi territory. Both sides, the Na’vi and humans, use their own perspectives of nature as justification for the war: preserving nature versus exploiting nature. The film’s climax, the battle between Sully and Colonel Quaritch, is a clear representation of the fundamental conflict discussed in this paper: nature as capital versus nature as Eden. Sully is fighting for his beliefs: the preservation of Pandora's landscape. Colonel Quaritch is also fighting for his beliefs, but they are the opposite of Sully’s: the mining of unobtanium which results in the degradation of Pandora’s environment. This dramatic scene takes place in the jungles of Pandora. Colonel Quaritch is in a giant metal robot that is operated from an attached cockpit, and Sully is in his Avatar body. This physical contrast between the characters helps to further divide the prominent conflict discussed thus far. In the film, there was one victor – Sully and his preservationist beliefs (i.e. nature as Eden) – but can these conflicting perspectives of nature as capital and nature as Eden ever truly be