Avatar's obvious lessons?

My sense of reality was rocked last weekend when I attended the 3-d visual delight known as Avatar. I swear I had a feeling of deja vu---or at least a heavy heavy longing to be of that lush world called Pandora. It was an emotional journey for me from the beginning. There was much violence, yet so much grace. And so much symbolism--the former marine Jake who became whole again when adopting a Na'vi (native Pandorans) body. And the scene where an animal lay dying after attacking Jake. Neytiri (A Na'vi princess) spoke such words of forgiveness, praise and blessing over the animal's body, that I fogged up my 3-d glasses. 

The beauty of the natural world portrayed by James Cameron's special effects is indescribable, but mostly, the connectedness of the indigenous peoples (Na'vi) with their physical world and all of it's inhabitants was astonishing and gut wrenching--especially when juxtaposed with the apparent disconnect of the human exploitation machine, there on Pandora to mine the planet. 

I dragged my reluctant husband to see Avatar--I think the gadgety idea of the 3-d glasses was the only draw for him.  That and it was so cold and snowy there wasn't much else on our plates that day. The embarrassment of a crying wife aside, he said it was the best movie he'd ever seen. He was thoroughly touched.

I believe this movie spoke to that sense within all of us of the extraordinary goodness and diversity of our living planet (including all of us), and another time when we were/will be as a people, much more connected. The most blatant depiction of the Na'vi's connection with Pandora was in the Tree of Souls scenes--where all of the Na'vi were gathered around this luminous tree with their tails (yes they have very expressive and interactive tails) connected into the very root system and "earth" upon which they sat.

 I have read many reviews of the movie and the naysayers mostly look to the plot as weak and the character development as weaker.  As has been said, it is all "too obvious". We are apparently a much more sophisticated lot these days and like our lessons to be cloaked in heavy symbolism, mystery, and obscure subtleties. I usually gravitate to the more subtle messages myself. 

The big message of Avatar was obvious to me, and surely obvious to all who have seen this movie. Yet as we left the theater I sadly noticed some of the aisles littered with trash--candy boxes and popcorn buckets--soda cups. Apparently there are still those who, even after a bludgeoning such as Avatar is supposed to be, do not see the obvious.