Nature Strikes Back: A Post-human Gaze into Eco-critical Narratives of James Cameron’s Avatar

Year 2021, Issue: 1, 77 - 105, 28.10.2021

Sutirtho Roy

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15881794

Abstract

The success of James Cameron’s Avatar can be located in its stunning visuals, imaginative world-building and a straight-forward narrative propounding colonial and ecological concerns, which culminate in the oppressed successfully rooting out the white, Eurocentric oppressor. However, such allegorizing is limited by a gaze that locates the “human” as separate from the “animal” and “nature”. This study aims to analyse the speculative biology of Pandora and its symbiotic ecosystem, which is posited as “better” than the ‘invading’ humans’ metal-based technology. It questions the romanticised idea of nature as an assemblage of indigenous people, fauna and flora. Finally, this paper investigates the various anthropocentric currents running through the film, critiques the Na’vi’s subtle ‘humanistic’ dominance over other fauna, and delves into the possibility of adopting a truly unbiased lens to encapsulate the experiences of the marginalized non-human.

Keywords

Avatar , post-humanism , anthropocentric , animal , nature , deep ecology , non-human , human

Doğanın Geri Dönüşü: James Cameron’ın Avatar'ının Eko-eleştirel Anlatılarına İnsan Sonrası Bir Bakış

Abstract

James Cameron’ın Avatar’ının başarısının sırrı onun çarpıcı görsellerinde, hayali dünya inşasında ve sömürgeci-ekolojik kaygıları öneçıkartan beyaz ve Avrupa-merkezci tahakküm kuran bakış açısında bulunabilir. Ancak bu tür bir alegorik anlatımın, “insan”ı “hayvan” ve “doğa”dan ayrı olarak konumlandıran bir bakış ile sınırlı olduğu açıktır. Bu çalışma, Pandora’nın yoruma açık biyolojisini ve “istilacı” insanların metal-bazlı teknolojisinden “daha iyi” olduğu öne sürülen ortak yaşama dayalı ekosistemini analiz etmeyi amaçlamakta ve yerli halkın, faunanın ve floranın romantize edilmiş doğa tasavvurunu sorgulamaktadır. Son olarak, bu makale film boyunca görünür olan çeşitli insan merkezli tasavvurları değerlendiriyor, Na’vi’nin faunanın diğer bölgeleri üzerindeki kırılgan “hümanist” hakimiyetini eleştiriyor ve ötelenmiş insan-dışı tecrübeleri gerçekten tarafsız bir mercek ile tahayyül etme olasılığını araştırmaktadır.

Keywords

Avatar , post-hümanizm , insan-merkezlilik , hayvan , tabiat , derin ekoloji , insandışı , insan

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