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Avatar: The West And The Rest

Decent Essays

In the movie, Avatar, the human plans to invade another planet in which the Navi, the alien, lives. This excerption comes from the beginning of the movie, and it is a part of conversation between an investor, Selfridge, and a scientist, Grace. Although the discourse of “the West and the Rest” is conveyed through the whole movie, this conversation is specifically chosen since the scene seems to foretell the movie will reproduce and challenge the discourse at the same time. The theme of “natives and nature” in the conversation reproduces the discourse by representing comparable appearance, language, and environment between the human and the natives. That is, the natives are simplified as having the different appearance and living in uncivilized environment. To illustrate, in his dialogue, Selfridge points out different outlook and language of them by saying, “If you look like them, if you talk like …show more content…

It challenges the discourse because the theme represents humanitarianism of the West; it reproduces the discourse because it asserts superiority of the West. As noticed in the conversation, the Navi has refused the human to enter their land. However, even without developed technology and science, the Navi eventually won the battle against the Human because of Jake, the human. With the help from Grace, Jake became a leader and saves the Natives. It is against the discourse that the West is forceful and merciless, asserting the humanitarian treats of the West toward the Rest. However, it also implies the superiority of the West, reproducing the discourse. In short, that the native needed help from the West and that its development is constructed with the help from the West indicate the maintained knowledge and power of the discourse among the audience. It could claim the maintenance of hierarchy order in the world with emphasis on the

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