Avatar - A 7.5 out of 10 on the Jay Wolin Movie Rating Scale

This was a tough call…..I of course liked the message, but it was just a bit over the top….I give it such a high score due to its visual beauty….the mixing of live and digital is blending almost too easily, it makes it scary….Clearly a message of anti-western consumption culture, story on how we abuse indigenous cultures for their resources, demonize others as an excuse to destroy them (Sam Keel’s work comes to mind here), how we minimize others for having different ideas and beliefs and ways of life than we do….the juxtaposition of western technology vs eastern and New Age spirituality….I even felt it was trying to tell the story that if only the Native American tribes had been able to unite they could have defeated the European invaders….It made the environmental angle, about how all things are connected…..and impacted by each other….hit the circle of life issue also....sort of a star wars meets Dances with Wolves meets Lion King.….I say this not to sound mocking…I liked the movie, It made its point well, its just that it lacked any subtly….and of course, well the good beings won in the end which was nice....Although I think it cynically showed how we use science and good people as deception for merely winning the hearts and minds of those we would subjugate.....and of course as in any good movie it touches on redemption.....I'll see it again, and it made me think which in and of itself justifies this rating...