Jake just pulled himself out of the water that he jumped into after being chased by an ugly, black creature thru the Pandora jungle. After crawling onto an embankment, he immediately finds a stick and takes to sharpening it as his weapon before he starts to wander thru the thick forest. As Jake walks, he cautiously turns at every sound, ready to fight if needed. As he passes under a tree, the camera tracks him from a higher angle, and we notice Neytiri crouching and hidden against one of the tree’s branches. She notices that he is an avatar and stealthily draws her bow to kill him. Adjusting her angle one last time, she is about to release when a “woodsprite” floats down and gently touches her arrowhead. Taking this a sign, Neytiri relaxes her posture and retreats back into the jungle.
This is the first glimpse the audience gets of the native people on Pandora, and just in a few moments, the differences between them and an avatar like Jake are all but cemented. Jake noisily staggers thru the forest, nervously jumping at every movement of leaves or far-off sound. He armed himself and looks prepared to battle if it meant surviving this night. Neytiri on the other hand is completely silent, comfortable traversing thru the jungle like she is a part of it. It is interesting that both of their first reactions are to fight. Jake to fend off whatever is ahead of him because his mind is already set on killed-or-be-killed mode; and Neytiri to protect her land from intruders. Jake relies on his instincts to survive, as does Neytiri, but with the way she reacted to the mysterious ‘woodsprite’ it is clear that she also respects a higher force. This scene does a great job of establishing the key differences between the two of them, that even though they look like each other, they are literally worlds apart.
I think that this scene was trying to make us feel like Jake was an intruder. While he is walking thru the forest, the camera follows him much like a predator stalking its prey; moving in and out of leaves and brush, tracking him from behind. There is a definite feeling that he is not supposed to be there, especially when Neytiri sees him and just in a few seconds decides to kill him. In the end she doesn't because she reverently obeys a sign from Pandora's deity, but this scene does set up the future problems that they will come in between each other.
Cool scene to analyze! When you think of this scene it reminds you that its a 'kill or be killed' world out there and you have to be prepared for the worst. It also almost saddens me that no matter what we have to be on the defence. I liked that you pointed out how Jake's presence in the forest disrupts the environment. His attire and weapon create and big disturbance with not only Neytiri but the animals and plant life as well.
ReplyDeleteThis point you make of Jake being made out to look like an intruder is an interesting observation. This device they use imediatly puts us, the viewer, on the Na'vi people's side. Without this first encounter creating this position for the viewer to take, the rest of the movie would be confused and backwards of the point it is trying to make. I like what Becky is saying about how his appearance offsets the environment of the forest. Good reading!
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