Looking back at the movie, I can now start making connections with both the environmental and ecofeminism concepts present in the film. Throughout the movie we get to know the Na'vi, the native people living on the planet Pandora. The Na'vi acquired a very strong connections with the earth and the environment around them. As the movie goes on we acknowledge the trees surrounding Pandora are in fact like networks and the Na'vi are able to connect with them and the spirits of their ancestors.
Throughout the movie the character Neytiri, one of
the members of the Na’vi, teaches Jake how they live and respect the planet
Pandora. Although Neytiri dislikes the so-called “Dreamwalker”, her and Jake
end up forming a bound toward the end of the movie. Jake learns about Eywa, the
Na’vi’s divinity, and learns to be thankful for what the earth and the animals
around Pandora have to offer them. Learning about this new way of life, Jake sees
the different value the planet Pandora has to offer other than the main reason
why the human kind decided to come to this planet, the unobtainium present in
the ground.
Ecofeminism plays an important role in this film
when it comes to the conflict between the Na’vi and Parker and the Colonel who
only have eyes for the unobtainium. The humans are trying to take over Pandora
simply to have access to that particular resource and make a lot of money. In
the process of obtaining the unobtainium, Parker and the Colonel are oppressing
the earth as well as both the Na’vi and the scientists trying to protect the planet
Pandora. On the other hand, both the scientists’ women and one of the army
women are going against their own people in order to protect Pandora. Such
behavior truly shows that throughout our history nature
is portrayed as feminine and women are often thought of as closer to nature
than men.
Throughout the movie, we also
acknowledge that Neytiri treats both the earth and the animals surrounding her
environment as her equal, and believes in thanking on every occasion that she
takes from it. In this film, every Na’vi women have a strong connection to the
earth as well as to Eywa and will do anything in order to protect them.
Although I was familiar with this movie, focusing
on ecofeminism and the environmental concepts helped me realize the amazing
transformation of Jake, who came to Pandora with the idea of helping the human
kind conquer the planet for money purposes in mind rather than the
environmental value. Throughout his transformation Jake grows to resent his own
kind and helps the Na’vi take back their home from the humans. An interesting website:
http://www.thegreenfuse.org/ecofem.htm
