Jake Sully, a paraplegic, takes the spot of his brother, who recently died, in a project placed in Pandora, a distant planet. Colonel Miles Quaritch promises Jake a pair of legs if he assumes the position as an Avatar and falsely gathers information on the Na’vi land of where the resources they need are located. The Colonel is planning to take over the Na’vi (those who live in Pandora) and take over their land to use for needed resources on Earth. Jake agrees and begins his mission. However, Jake soon falls in love with the Princess of Pandora, Neytiri, and establishes himself as one of them. As a result, instead of fulfilling his mission for the Colonel, Jake transfers to the Na’vi side and Battles against his own people to protect the Na’vi land from take over.
Paradigm is abundant in the film due to the (or our) worldview of not being able to live without oil. Scientifically, humans believe a world without oil isn’t a habitable world. The first scene in which Jake and Neytiri meet shows the assumptions each culture has of the other. Because the Na’vi are close to nature and take pride in everything living, the Humans believe they are not fit to live among them because they lack the wisdom of knowing how to be civilized. Where as the Na’vi believe Humans are the one’s who lack wisdom. For they have no understanding that they themselves are part of nature and lack the honor, nobility and wisdom it takes to be a man. The dualism of human and nature are 2 key elements presented in the movie. Humans believe they are not part of nature and are, therefore, hierarchy above all things that are not Human. The Na’vi see themselves as part of nature, because they are - as are Humans -, and take pride in everything living. The Na’vi believe land is sacred and should be treated as so. Therefore, both the Na’vi and Humans see the dualism of human/nature as complete opposites. The difference in their beliefs distinguishes much of how and why the Na’vi and Humans interact with each other like they do. Humans are very anthropocentric, in that they believe they are more important than anything or anyone else in the universe. The narrative of each, Neytiri and Jake, makes one understand them and who they are as individuals and how they are different but also how they might be the same. It distinguishes them from being unlike any other. Going back to the part of the movie where Colonel Miles is talking of taking the resources that belong to the Na’vi, you begin to see part of the masculinity in the movie. You can also link the idea of humans taking over Na’vi with a quote from a reading, “In random tyrannies, beings may be selected for oppression in arbitrary and random ways” (Plumwood, Ch 2, pg 42). He talks of how he wants to take over the Na’vi land and take over the Na’vi themselves as well. The randomness of the selection of Na’vi is due to their abundance of resources that the Earth is running out of. Therefore, the men - the strength of our society - plot against the Na’vi to retain those resources. The Colonel’s aggressiveness shines through his strong personality and suggests his strength as well. In contrary, femininity is prevalent as well in one of the first scenes Dr. Grace Augustine is in. She is angered over the fact Jake is taking over his brothers place when he has had no training what so ever. Selfridge, the greedy corporate figurehead who firsted came up with the plan to drive off and take over the Na’vi land and people, could care less what Dr. Grace thinks and disregards her anger while telling her to deal with it. This shows the dominance in male over female. When looking back at the Na’vi tribe, there’s not much difference in this aspect of male vs. female. The Na’vi is led by a man, also the idea of patriarchy, and men are the strength of the tribe. They are the hunters, the food gathers, and the strong stability of their people. Women are chosen by them and have no say, ultimately, in who they marry. Women are seen as being below the men, just as they are on Earth. The mapping of male and female within both societies can be defined as one, out of many, linking postulates within those societies. The master narrative becomes clearly apparent towards the end of the movie when every event comes together as one. The Na’vi are seen as the worthy opponents that deserve, more than anyone, to live among the universe. The way the Na’vi live is in itself a unifying society. You see the history of the world - the loss of resources; the present structure - panic and aggressiveness; and due to the war among the Humans and Na’vi, you see the ultimate purpose of the world and all of it’s abundance - that we are to live among nature and cherish each living organism as if it were part of our own bodies. The Master narrative brings together the idea of oneness, instead of individualism.
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