Cameron rejects racism accusations
Source: Agencies |
January 12, 2010, Tuesday
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NEAR the end of the hit film "Avatar," the villain snarls at the hero: "How does it feel to betray your own race?" Both men are white - although the hero is inhabiting a blue-skinned, long-tailed alien.
Strange as it may seem for a film that pits greedy, immoral humans against noble denizens of a faraway moon, "Avatar" is being criticized by some people who allege it contains racist themes - the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.
The film's writer and director, James Cameron, says the real theme is about respecting others' differences.
In the film the white, paralyzed Jake Sully is mentally linked to an alien's body and set loose on the planet Pandora to persuade the Na'vi to allow humans to mine their land.
Like Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves" and Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai" or Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 Western "Broken Arrow," Sully finds his allegiances soon change.
Actress Robinne Lee said the film reminded her of Hollywood's "Pocahontas" story - "the Indian woman leads the white man into the wilderness, and he learns the way of the people and becomes the savior."
"It's really upsetting in many ways," said Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry. "It would be nice if we could save ourselves."
Black film professor and author Donald Bogle said he understood why people could be troubled." He said he was glad Cameron made the film and that it made people think about race. "Maybe if he had a black hero in there, that point would have been even stronger," he said.
Cameron's response was that his film "asks us to open our eyes and truly see others, respecting them even though they are different, in the hope that we may find a way to prevent conflict and live more harmoniously on this world. I hardly think that is a racist message."
Strange as it may seem for a film that pits greedy, immoral humans against noble denizens of a faraway moon, "Avatar" is being criticized by some people who allege it contains racist themes - the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.
The film's writer and director, James Cameron, says the real theme is about respecting others' differences.
In the film the white, paralyzed Jake Sully is mentally linked to an alien's body and set loose on the planet Pandora to persuade the Na'vi to allow humans to mine their land.
Like Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves" and Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai" or Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 Western "Broken Arrow," Sully finds his allegiances soon change.
Actress Robinne Lee said the film reminded her of Hollywood's "Pocahontas" story - "the Indian woman leads the white man into the wilderness, and he learns the way of the people and becomes the savior."
"It's really upsetting in many ways," said Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry. "It would be nice if we could save ourselves."
Black film professor and author Donald Bogle said he understood why people could be troubled." He said he was glad Cameron made the film and that it made people think about race. "Maybe if he had a black hero in there, that point would have been even stronger," he said.
Cameron's response was that his film "asks us to open our eyes and truly see others, respecting them even though they are different, in the hope that we may find a way to prevent conflict and live more harmoniously on this world. I hardly think that is a racist message."
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