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Avatar: The Most Forgettable Blockbuster of All Time

      Here’s a quick question for you, how many Star Wars characters can you name off the top of your head in ten seconds? Okay, are you done? Good, now name as many characters from Avatar (2009) as you can off the top of your head (don’t look it up on the internet, no cheating). Can you even name the lead character? Think for a moment, how come you could name over a dozen Star Wars characters but not even muster up one character from Avatar? That’s because despite the fact that Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time and is getting four sequels that will cost a total of a billion dollars to make, Avatar was a movie with no cultural impact.
     Avatar is a film with phenomenal visuals that still look great even in 2010. If there’s one thing that can be said about director James Cameron is that he’s a trailblazer when it comes to visual effects. Cameron pioneered new technology with Avatar in terms of motion capture. This film is absolutely gorgeous visually and is one of the most colorful I’ve ever seen. There are two drawbacks to this though. The first is that because the movie was filmed in 3D, Avatar is not nearly as visually stunning when you’re watching it on your TV. The second thing is that James Cameron has boxed himself into a corner in terms of innovation. He has to raise the bar every time he makes a movie in terms of pioneering visual effects.
     Even though Avatar is a beautiful film to look at, it has very little else to offer. Great visuals do not make a film a cultural touchstone, a great story and great characters do. Avatar has neither of those. The plot is a clichéd and not so subtle critique of America’s foreign policy where the white American oppressor ultimately realizes that he’s wrong to exploit the native aliens on the planet he is occupying. He does this not though introspection but after sleeping with one of the native alien girls. As if Hollywood hasn’t made enough movies like this. One would think James Cameron would know that great characters and a great story are the most important qualities of a film. However, this is the same trap that George Lucas fell into when he made the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Lucas became so enamored with the new technology he had at his fingertips that he forgot he had to make a good movie.
      When Star Wars (1977) was released in theaters it was an immediate pop culture phenomenon. Fan conventions were held and merchandising was released shortly after the film was released. Did any of this happen after Avatar was released? Despite making nearly three billion dollars at the box office, Avatar did not develop a fandom like Star Wars did. By the time, Avatar 2 comes out it will have been eleven years since the first film was released. Is Avatar really a movie worth waiting a decade for? Is any film worth waiting a decade for? Had The Empire Strikes Back been released in 1987 instead of 1980 would it have had the same kind of impact and would the original Star War’s cultural impact have receded?
      Avatar is an utterly baffling film in this regard. It is the highest grossing film ever yet had no impact on our wider culture. In a way, Avatar signifies what modern blockbuster filmmaking has become, incredibly expensive, visually impressive, and highly profitable but utterly disposable. By the way the main character for Avatar’s name is Jake Sully.

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