ZeTomes

Excuse me, but if Avatar is meant to be an analogy for European expansionism in the Americas - casting the European as the detestable, cruel, and tyrannical colonizer devastating the purity of native peoples who supposedly lived in peace and harmony with nature - we should remember that this is science fiction and a fictional analogy. Historically, the native populations in the Americas were far from peaceful when the Europeans arrived; they were often engaged in warfare and brutality among themselves.

For example, the Iroquois Confederacy, known for their inter-tribal wars, often fought for territorial control. The Aztecs were notorious for their ritual human sacrifices, capturing enemies from other tribes to offer to their gods. Similarly, the Incas expanded their empire through subjugation and assimilation, often waging brutal campaigns to maintain control over their territory.

This narrative, which paints the "evil" European and "progress" as the core problems of our world while idealizing alien civilizations that supposedly live in a sort of prehistoric state (perhaps the Stone or Bronze Age, as we might speculate from their technology and culture), is growing tired.

Ironically, what makes Cameron's Avatar truly exceptional is precisely the advanced technology and science that brought its stunning visual effects to life - everything the fictional Navi civilization fundamentally opposes.