I've chosen the scene where Neytiri brings Jake Sully to the Navi tribe for the first time. I think the scene is interesting because it seems to remind me of when a girl brings home a boy for the first time. The father is protective, the mother is skeptical, this goes for the same in this scene.
When Jake and Neytiri first enter the tribe, Omaticaya, we see the Navi people (signifiers) climbing trees, moving like animals and making animal like sounds (signifiers). We also see them dressed in "traditional" clothing (signifiers), similar to what we would stereotypically see on native people (signified). This portrays them as savages (effects) to the audience. We also see that the Navi people (signifiers) have a shrine to "The Shadow" (signifier) which allows us to believe that they have a history and belief of some sort (signified). This makes the audience able to relate to this situation because it involves things we would stereotype a typical "tribe" to embody (effect). When we compare Jake to the Navi people we can draw many differences. We notice that Jake is definitely the minority. Jake stands up straight and walks like a human while the Navi people move like an animal would. Jake also is dressed in a tee shirt and shorts, but what's interesting is that the shirts and shorts are ripped and Jake is very beaten up. This makes us believe that he's not used to living in this world and an outsider to the terrain because Neytiri, comparatively, seems unharmed and comfortable. What is also apparent is that Neytiri's parents are aware of Jake's kind, namely, the "Sky People". This brings in the "White Messiah" aspect to this scene. The audience can gather that people like Jake have encountered the Navi people before and by the tone of Neytiri's mother's voice, it was not a welcomed one. Near the end of the scene Jake has been introduced to the tribe and is walking among them, along with Neytiri. We, again, see Jake uncomfortable and awkwardly making his way through the crowd, stepping on a few tails along the way. He's following Neytiri, which allows us to think that he doesn't know what he's doing. The Navi are also giving Jake some pretty mean glares that seem to say "Wtf are you doing?" Which confirms that they view Jake as an outsider.
The message in this scene is that Jake is an outsider here. He is a "White Messiah" to the Navi people. The scene made me feel for both the Navi people and Jake. I think that it represents the two worlds coming together because it really doesn't exactly portray either race in a negative light. More that the scene is just comparing the two. This scene is so important because it's what firsts introduces us to the Navi people and the culmination of the two races (human and Navi). Which is why I think it's so easy for people to want to live this fantasy. The fact that Jake is able to enter into their world makes us believe that we could too. We can live through Jake's account, so why not us too? It instills envy pretty easily from this scene on out. I mean, I was definitely envious!
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