A more abstract look at the scene from Avatar relates to when Jake attempts to prove himself to the Na’vi by bonding with the Toruk, the large flying creature which is very rare for the Na’vi to be able to bond with. The scene can be interpreted as viewing handicapped individuals as capable and even superior in their mental ability and what they feel they could do physically, but are bound by their body’s inability. The scene attempts to do this by giving Jake an almost god-like quality amongst the Na’vi when he returns with the animal and having successfully bonded with it by their reactions to him, and how they once again trust him after being ‘betrayed’. Thus according to what is significant in this scene, the individual should look at others for their mental capacity and determination and not just what they are physically capable of. This argument however has a few holes in it overall. For one, the notion that the avatar would contain the same biological capacity as the Na’vi to actually link with animals is somewhat farfetched, as it is still a construct as opposed to a genuine individual. Furthermore, Jake is not actually risking his life to attempt to bond with the Toruk, but simply his avatar. This throws out a lot of what makes the stunt so significant as he would not lose anything by ‘dying’ in the process, since his own people have no further use for the avatars and the Na’vi (at the time) did not trust him, thus rendering the construct useless. This takes away greatly from the message that Jake is in some way being heroic or exceptional as he does not actually risk anything. This is simply comparable to an individual playing a video game in which they are unable to perform their character’s actions in real life, but still attempts to give off an atmosphere of exceptional ability and command respect as such. There is no major fallback to being defeated or overcome by the challenge Jake attempts in this scene, and thus it cannot be helped but question the significance of the rhetoric and whether or not it has any true merit.
This is a great reading of this scene, it's the first time I thought of Jake's avatar absent of Jake. You're analogy of the video game is perfect. He tries to do the impossible because he feels invincible in this body, and that break from his reality allows him enter a fantasy world, just like the audience.
ReplyDeleteYour description of the scene is interesting in terms of Jakes absence of any sort of actual risk. I think besides your point, the director attempts to establish Jake as the actual messiah/savior due to the fact that he is the 'one' who is able to bond with the all 'powerful' Toruk. As a result, the tribe views of Jake change significantly as he lands on ground while they are singing and the idea of Jake being something other than just some human in avatar form emerges among all of the tribe members.
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