It’s not like I don’t try to switching it up, because I do. But since January’s a tough month to write anything, I inevitably fall back on old topics. Like how people are annoying me about Avatar: The Way of Water, and how so much ink’s being spilled on something with “no cultural impact”. The irony speaks for itself, but it’s telling that I can’t discuss this franchise online without fights breaking out. And it’s not exclusive to the Avatar franchise.
Take Star Wars. You know the famous claim that “No one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans”? That’s not simply because it’s a hot commodity with a toxic fanbase. No, it’s because it’s a hot commodity with a toxic fanbase…that keeps reminding everyone of that whenever it’s brought up. Type in “Star Wars” to YouTube to see how many angry rants exist. It’s not pleasant.
I’ll go further. You know how I enjoy The MCU? You know how I’ve written extensively in defence of it despite not being my favourite movie series? Like with Star Wars, people can’t leave it alone. Be it film buffs discussing its “bad filmmaking”, or fans claiming The MCU’s “gone full-SJW”, the movies can’t take a break. And like Star Wars, the proof’s in the endless YouTube rants.
But the cream of the crop of headaches goes to the Avatar franchise. For 13 years, I endured bickering about how the films “left no cultural impact”, even though IMDB indicated otherwise. Right from Day 1, people called it “overrated”, even making vapid, long-winded rants about it. And when news of the sequel surfaced, the conversation became a debate over how little impact it’d had. So is it any wonder why I was so burnt out on having a conversation that didn’t involve arguments about it ripping off other properties?
I guess people don’t recognize that they’re not always the centre of attention. The world’s massive, with roughly 8 billion people living on it. Different countries also have different cinema tastes than The West. There’s a reason China’s a huge box-office draw these days: they have many people with disposable income, far more than here. They also like our filmmaking, sometimes copying it. If any conversation about impact is to happen, it should be outside The US.
Does this mean The US doesn’t matter? No. Most of these movies are made there, so they should have a say in the conversation. But they aren’t the be-all-end-all. That not only drowns out voices that aren’t normally spotlighted, it degrades the longevity of art.
I guess people don’t recognize that they’re not always the centre of attention. The world’s massive, with roughly 8 billion people living on it. Different countries also have different cinema tastes than The West. There’s a reason China’s a huge box-office draw these days: they have many people with disposable income, far more than here. They also like our filmmaking, sometimes copying it. If any conversation about impact is to happen, it should be outside The US.
Does this mean The US doesn’t matter? No. Most of these movies are made there, so they should have a say in the conversation. But they aren’t the be-all-end-all. That not only drowns out voices that aren’t normally spotlighted, it degrades the longevity of art.
Think about it: movies have legs beyond their theatrical windows. They age, they’re re-evaluated and reassessed, and they travel outside their country of origin. This is especially true for blockbusters, which, in recent decades, have taken cues from franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, themselves amalgamations of stories and concepts from around the world. Star Wars particularly was inspired by The West (Wild West stories, Flash Gordon serials, D&D campaigns) to The East (Akira Kurosawa films, Samurai epics) and everything in-between. Because it was a hodgepodge of stories from all over, its sources should have input too.
That global perspective gets frequently ignored, however. Star Wars owes roughly 50% of its DNA to The East, but the internet largely doesn’t care about that. The MCU’s rooted in comics, many having been around for decades and having diverse fans, but, again, the internet ignores that. Even the Avatar films, which have done incredibly well in Asia, get glossed over from that standpoint. This exclusionary behaviour needs to change.
Sadly, mentioning that puts me at risk of backlash. But it shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t risk being shouted at and told “You’re wrong!” for suggesting there are other voices out there. It’s the wrong mentality, and it doesn’t have to be. It shouldn’t be “my way, or the highway” when discussing movies and their impacts.
That global perspective gets frequently ignored, however. Star Wars owes roughly 50% of its DNA to The East, but the internet largely doesn’t care about that. The MCU’s rooted in comics, many having been around for decades and having diverse fans, but, again, the internet ignores that. Even the Avatar films, which have done incredibly well in Asia, get glossed over from that standpoint. This exclusionary behaviour needs to change.
Sadly, mentioning that puts me at risk of backlash. But it shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t risk being shouted at and told “You’re wrong!” for suggesting there are other voices out there. It’s the wrong mentality, and it doesn’t have to be. It shouldn’t be “my way, or the highway” when discussing movies and their impacts.
Essentially, it’s time people become more honest about something not being for them. Because not everything’s going to appeal to everyone. I’m not big on The Matrix: Resurrections, despite preferring its dialogue to the previous three entries. I thought Mad Max: Fury Road was obnoxious, despite appreciating its dissection of the dangers of a patriarchal society. And while not a bad movie, X-Men: First Class is messy. If I can acknowledge this sobering truth with movies people love, then why can’t people do the same with movies I love? How hard is that?
Hard enough, apparently. Which saddens me. Yet that’s why it’s important to start making inroads. We’ll only get better if we try, after all! But having this conversation and changing people’s mindsets on this needs to happen eventually.
I’m not asking you to think that Avatar’s brilliant. I thought it was okay. But that’s perfectly acceptable, so long as people aren’t dicks. But they are. It’s sad because it shows a lack of maturity, and it’s sad because it shows unwillingness to be open to meaningful conversations. But most-importantly, it’s sad because it demonstrates a lack of critical thinking and engaging with media literacy. That’s unhealthy.
Hard enough, apparently. Which saddens me. Yet that’s why it’s important to start making inroads. We’ll only get better if we try, after all! But having this conversation and changing people’s mindsets on this needs to happen eventually.
I’m not asking you to think that Avatar’s brilliant. I thought it was okay. But that’s perfectly acceptable, so long as people aren’t dicks. But they are. It’s sad because it shows a lack of maturity, and it’s sad because it shows unwillingness to be open to meaningful conversations. But most-importantly, it’s sad because it demonstrates a lack of critical thinking and engaging with media literacy. That’s unhealthy.
I’ll end with a story: in honour of Titanic’s 25th anniversary, a local newspaper did a feature on the movie’s impact in Afghanistan under the Taliban. To quote it directly:
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