Avatar And The Beast Man

"Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him;for he is the harbinger of death."

Planet of the Apes 1968

It was true in 1968.
It was true 5000 years ago.
It has been true since the dawn of the modern Homo Sapien.
It is true in 2010.

I have overheard a lot of conversations lately about Avatar.
Debates going back about the social, cultural, and political meaning behind this event movie (beyond being perhaps one of the 3 or 4 for most revolutionary films ever made. One that like The Jazz Singer, King Kong, Star Wars, will actually change the way we experience a movie).

I heard talk about the American corporate and military imperialism and arrogance practiced by the Cheney gang for eight years and (as those on the left would tell you) continued by the Obama administration.

This thematic subtext of Avatar interconnects beautifully with the corporate weasels of the "company" in Aliens, and the apocalyptic inevitability of the Terminator films. And it has been a running thematic thread in all of James Cameron's work, as omnipresent as the strong female characters, the mushy romance, and the adrenaline fueled pounding kick ass action sequences.

Ironically, the one part of Avatar that has been the most praised, the stunningly executed final battle, is the only insincere part of the movie. In truth, the Na'vi would stand no chance. Those that did survive would struggle for centuries, existing as second class beings in the world of man. And Pandora would be raped for the precious mineral so the "company" and the powerful men behind it could get richer and fatter.

"...for he will make a desert of his home, and yours."

But it is not just about American neo-con imperialism, or the genocide of the the native Americans.
It is not just about recent history at all.

"Beware of the beast man..."

It is about the nature of man.

Invade, destroy, smother, plunder, profit, consume, and above all make sure these people worship the same invisible man in the sky as you do.

Yeah, sure the United States did it. Just read your history books. But so did the Persians, and the Mongols, and the Romans, and the Spanish, and the British...and every civilization or empire who has ever achieved enough power to begin to wield it against and over anyone else who might possess something they might profit from.

I have always been a big Star Trek fan. But found the optimistic philosophy of "mankind is getting better and overcoming our barbaric past" to be utter non-sense. Much closer to the truth was what Khan said to Kirk in the episode Space Seed "Technology may have gotten better, but how little man itself has changed."

I watched the Hope For Haiti event last Friday. It was a beautiful night in the wake of a horrible tragedy. And for one night, I felt a glimmer of hope for the Homo sapien race.

But then I remembered that for every one George Clooney there are ten Rush Limbaugh's. I remembered the one day at work many years ago when an educated fellow stockbroker tried to convince me the earth was only five thousand years old. I remembered that Micheal Vick was honored with a courage award last month. I remembered that the next potential President of the United States slaughtered wolves from a helicopter with an automatic weapon for sport and does not even have a sixth grader's knowledge of American history and basic science.

I remembered my human history.

"Beware of the beast man."

Then I remembered a quote from another famous James Cameron film.

"It is in your nature to destroy yourselves."

"Beware of the beast man"...indeed.