Nakamura uses The Matrix to show that “racialized identity marks race itself as an essential quality of being ‘real,’ or being human, with whiteness occupying the null zone...represent themselves as having no race and no culture.” (104) The agents in The Matrix are interchangeable, having no personality of their own, they are like clean slates waiting to take orders from one man, Agent Smith. This lack of realness makes them stand out from everyone else. The blacks and Asians in the film have distinct personalities and serve as guides for Neo, pulling him into the real world from the fake world he didn’t really fit in. They serve as Neo’s connection to the real world.
In Avatar, Jake Sully is much like Neo. Both took on other identities to better fit into their new worlds, Thomas Anderson became Neo and Jake Sully became a Na’Vi. Both were separated from the whiteness in their films, Neo by choice, Sully thorough an injury. It is the Na’vi who represent the real in Avatar and who serve as Jake Sully’s guides to Pandora. While the Na’vi represent an alien race, some of their visual representation calls to mind that of African tribal people. The Na’vi show Jake how to survive and interact with their world, the real world. By becoming one of them through the avatar and living among them, he learns to appreciate their individuality and culture and takes it as his own.
The marines, and a majority of the scientists, represent the whiteness in Avatar, with Colonel Miles Quaritch as their version of Agent Smith. The marines are trained to act as a unit, to put personal opinions aside and to follow orders without question, becoming blank slates. When Jake begins to pull away from them, Quaritch tries to pull him back, and when that fails he tries to kill him.
In both films, those with a strong culturally identity are able to stand together and those without one fall apart when challenged.
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You bring up some very good points. Avatar really does match up quite well to the Matrix trilogy. You can view the humans as a type of "machine" due to all the technology and power they possess compared to the more down to earth Na'vi. Jake Sulley even has to learn his new body in a similar way to how Neo has to learn to use the Matrix to do whatever he wants.
ReplyDeleteUnlike in the Matrix though, the race battle in Avatar is definately much more obvious and central to the story rather than being the underlying theme in The Matrix. Nice work with your points.
I agree with what Neil said, Avatar was a little bit obvious with the points they were trying to get across. However,The Matrix as I have learned from this class has so many deeper meanings to its story. Nice Work
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of a race battle in Avatar. I see more of a nuetrual period. The fact that we look at black as edge and cool seems to sprount from our multimedia influences as aposed to actual thoughts from withh in
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