Is Avatar Racist?

Dan Koelsch,

The political and social message of James Cameron’s Avatar is not exactly subtle. The premise of a big corporation (or government) willing to kill natives (or invade a weaker country) for a natural resource has been used in many films before, and the Internet has been a buzz for months about this unoriginal story. This has been one of this film’s few criticisms, with it going as far as some right wing conservatives saying it’s anti-American, but there have been some other outlandish arguments since the film has been released.


You may remember that a few weeks back someone actually claimed Avatar was homophobic, though the argument was thin at best and absurd at worst. While that blogger continues to make that point, the more recent and popular concern has been whether the film is actually racist, as mentioned in a Telegraph article. Is this argument any more reasonable?





The detractors say that the Na’vi are portrayed as helpless, dumb, religious folks who need a white male savior to rescue them. Again, this is a very common theme in movies for decades (Pocahontas, The Last Samurai, and Dances with Wolves are given as prime examples), and a stereotype racial activists have been fighting against for just as long. What makes this argument stronger is that the main Na’vi actors (including Zoe Saldana and Laz Alsono) are black. Many are arguing that someone should make a movie where the natives/minorities can actually save themselves without the white man.


What does Cameron have to say about all of this? Here’s his quote in the Telegraph.

Cameron strongly denied any racist intent. He said that his film “asks us to open our eyes and truly see others, respecting them even though they are different, in the hope that we may find a way to prevent conflict and live more harmoniously on this world. I hardly think that is a racist message.”



What do you think? Is this story racist or just unoriginal? Let us know in the comments below.

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Comments (27)

  1. Though I haven’t seen the movie, the basic premise just seems a little unoriginal. It’s like a sports movie about minority kids using sports to rise above the cycle of poverty – it’s just a set idea that viewers are familiar with.

    If you look at Cameron’s past works (particularly “Dark Angel”) it’s not likely that the guy has any racist issues. “Dark Angel” itself is more or less an analogy for racism. Maybe “Avatar” is just about a guy who gets another chance to use his legs. Or maybe it’s just about blue aliens. Has that occurred to anyone?

  3. Yes, Avatar is anti-American in the sense that it depicts the truth about both USA military and USA economic mindset and business interests. The Earth has been very seriously damaged, perhaps perminantly,by the high-tech abuse of the envionment for economic profit..largely instigated and spread by the USA from the post-WWII era until the present. De-forestation in Brazil and all Latin America has lead to erosion and poisoning of rivers. Pollution from USA and US financed companies, and now the exploding industrial development and accompanying pollution in China has poisoned the atmosphere so that now we suffer the very real threat of global warming…which will be a catastrophy. The ruthless destruction of the beautiful world of Pandora in “Avatar” correctly depicts the mindset of both USA “big-business”, and the former Bush administration….which had no interest in the enviornment or protecting our world. Destruction for profit was fine with them.
    So was the brutal supression of native peoples (Iraq, Iran, Afganistan), imposing USA will on a resentful and rebellious people who are much weaker, and the only means they have to fight is so called “terrorism”.
    “Avatar” is not racist. But is does depict the typical ignorant undereducated American (the Marine General), who is contemptuous of the Na’vi and their culture and religion. He reminds me of the right-wing Christians in the Bush administration, and religious zealots and flag-wavers like Sarah Palin etc. who think that the USA and America is the best culture in the world, and everyone else who isn’t like them is garbage.
    “Avatar” is unconfortable for right-wing nutjobs, like former President Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin etc., because those who want to destroy Pandora and it’s culture are exactly like Palin, Bush, Linbaugh, etc.
    They hate this tremendous and epic film, because it puts them in a very negative light.

  4. How could it be racist ? Besides the movie’s good buy, the main bad guys are both white males as well. And the Na’vi are portrayed as having things our industrial society does not. I mean GEEEE.

    I get all paranoid when I see this discussed on the front-page, and I mean, front-page of newspapers in the grocery store. Some big noses have been twisted by Avatar’s clear and accurate message, that’s for sure.

  5. … typo in my comment above, ‘good buy’, should obviously be, ‘good guy’ (protagonist)… [though the movie certainly was a good buy at the ticket price I paid, indeed ..]

    Also, loved the previous comment (by Kenjiro Shoda). I think most thoughtful people understood this already (the movie’s key message), but Avatar needed to keep the message simple and blunt for those that don’t think a lot, and need to learn to fast, if humanity is going to survive without massive, massive pain. (It’s possible it’s already too late for our species … climate change tipping points, etc.)

  6. Yep. American soldiers are all uneducated. Because NO military officers go to college or anything like that. Oh, and those damn successful businessmen too. Boo capitalism. And let’s all fear that “Global Warming” that actually makes the Earth COLDER. Man, “right-wing nut jobs” (Read: Republicans) sure are stupid.

    /sarcasm

  7. Since Cameron is asking us “to open our eyes and truly see” non-Caucasians as simpler and closer to the earth and more pacifistic (read: passive and helpless) than Caucasians, um, I’m one to reject his reality and substitute, you know, reality. I can’t believe the entire script got through production without him realizing it’s white supremest clap-trap.

  8. I would say it was not ‘racist’, however there were aspects of the film I wish were different. An alien species would have had zero probability of having an African accent (I could determine the race of the voice actors, not having known beforehand– which I should not have been able to do imo). If anything the Na’vi should have an accent that mirrors their teachers (and the cast is mainly dominated by Americans, therefore they should have had an American accent), or it should have been an unidentifiable ‘Alien’ accent.

    To further my point, imagine what it would of been like to hear the Na’vi with Russian, British, Australian or Chinese accents. Then why is it okay that the aliens had African accents?

  9. When are we going to REALIZE that the entire world of creation DOES NOT view everything from the perspective of American social/racial politics? The movie’s broad and fundamental meanings are being LOST (but hopefully not destroyed).

    Because us Americans are…we….SICK, we can’t even IMAGINE the possbility that a HUMAN BEING could act out of…JUST THAT!–being a human being! Besides, Sully SUBMERGED himself into (if you simply must!) another race. He BECAME Na’avi. As such, how can it be claimed that the movie was projecting a “familiar sterotype” of the “white male” who saves the “natives”?

    I mean, can we let it rest SOMETIMES!!?? Also, has anyone ASKED Cameron what his intentions were (I supposed he wouldn’t be believed, though)? Yes, he was asked, and he spoke to the obvious broad themes of the movie:

    1. Love
    2. Human brotherhood
    3. Respect for cultures and religions
    4. Respect for nature
    5. The need for non-aggression.

    THAT’S what the movie was about. Besides, suppose, for instance, “white” male library employees participate in a literacy program at a black library, in a black neighborhood, tutoring old blacks who have yet learned to read? Is that “white” male…what? A “savior” who’s helping “helpless natives”? Or just a HUMAN BEING trying to help another human being?

    I’m an African-American [although I prefer to be called black]. And, it tripped me out when I read all the commentary form blacks and whites about “racist stereotypes.”

    When I was a kid, the reason I liked The Lone Ranger was NOT because he was a white man who saved the day. In fact, I didn’t even SEE his “whiteness.” I liked him for the following reasons:

    1. He could SHOOT.
    2. He could KICK ASS
    3. And while he was fighting, his hat NEVER came off his head!

    Some black folks said that our people were “brainwashed” by all those white heroes we saw on TV. Weeeel, MAYBE some where. But, me and my partners liked The Lone Range because he could THUMP!! (Kick ass).

    So, LIGHTEN UP!!!

  10. This movie is a matter of good intent, with some negative implications in the writing. Avatar hints at the concept of the outsider perspective, and notes that an alien could not fully understand another culture completely. The only objection that I can see is how we’re meant to believe that Jake has completely acquired the native culture (In a matter of what, a few months?) and can claim insider perspective.

    Could Cameron have created a similar story without this faux pas? I don’t know. Did he respond to the risk he was taking in the story itself? Absolutly. From giving Jake a native body to obviously stating the insider perspective dilemma (when Jake is introduced to Hometree) and utilizing his alien status and the perspective dilemma as a major plot element in the movie, it prompts the viewer to consider the matter. The other key element to consider is that the plot’s result does not support “protecting lower cultures” but rather independent existence. There is no protectorate status (The West is superior, and allows native culture to function under the plans the West creates for them), and viewers quickly realize that the story diverges from the Native American history in its net result (how it does so is a bit of a spoiler). Cameron is extremely conscious of the risks he takes in displaying the story as he does. I think the only way Cameron could have eliminated the racial objection altogether would be to remove the element of the main character being human – but if that occured, Avatar as a movie would not have achieved the popularity and interest that it did (because as an audience we want to associate with human characters)… and that also would have changed the entire plot in ways I can’t think of right now.

    All in all, the intent is positive, and the reason why we hear objections is to make us aware that even though the US and many other countries have taken great leaps in eliminating racism, it is easy to fall into “dominant culture” implications without realizing them. This would make for a great sociological study, because the racially questionable elements of this film deserve some debate.

  11. I am a Native American. I believe the movie is one step in the right direction for my people. The United States of America committed genocide when they eliminated most of the Native American Nations. To this day my people are at War with America to take back what’s ours.

  12. It may be a surprise, but a movie can be both anti-american and racist at the same time. These are not opposite concepts. Abolitionists in the 19th century America often were both anti-slavery and racist. This movie in a very simplistic fashion attacks both America’s past of conquest over Native Americans and more broadly western corporations’ abuse of the environment. But the racism comes from the ignorance of the storyteller as their view point is that of a middle schooler taking their first American history course. The vibe of the entire movie was a westerner feeling sorry for the poor, helpless, and less civilized alien planet natives. It takes a western soldier to save them. but before that he has to learn to appreciate their culture. Like their culture is an acquired taste that he must get used to in order to see any value in it. But in the end, one must realize that this is an action movie and that this movie is meant to sparkle. The quality and consistency of the script are not that important in comparison to the computer animation of swinging through trees and riding alien horses and shooting arrows at cliche mech warriors.

  13. This is typical of the arrogance of humans. As soon as we see another species, be it animal or alien, we instantly try to force human traits onto it – anthropomorphism. Dogs aren’t human, yet we try to give them human emotions. It’s the same with the alien race in Avatar. In our arrogant big-headed way we instantly expect the Na’vi to behave exactly the same way we do, yet where is the evidence for that assumption? Just because we suffer from racisism, there’s no way you can transfer that onto another sepcies without evidence.

  14. I do think the movie had racist overtones. However, I do not think the brunt of the insult fell upon the “people of color” in this movie, but upon the virtually all white villains.

    To be conventional, I will begin with the infamous “white savior” trope. It is, definitively, an overused and patronizing storyline to have a “white” (or somehow mixed race) person come into a previously perfectly competent group of indigenous people and “lead them to salvation.” As this racist theme is well explored, I will end it there, with acknowledgment.

    The “race” that bore the brunt of the insult in this movie, in my opinion, were not the “people of color,” but the whites. An equally tired and worn trope is the “Souless white man (and the virtually always are men) who is totally incompetent to deal with nature, and is ruthlessly intent on raping and plundering the natural world.” C’mon. Really? Again?

    Once again, whites are portrayed as being a monoculture, with no ethnic diversity, as if we all come from some “Whiteland” and all share the exact same values, which is to say, the value of plundering mindlessly and greedily every natural thing. Although in Avatar, there is a small group of people who “turn” on the corporate white raiders, it is notable to me that that group who “betrays their race” are a two females, one of whom is Hispanic in appearance, one male who also has an “ethnic” appearance, one who is clearly “white” but is a nerd, and our red blooded Marine, who goes to his “savior role” painfully slowly and rather stupidly. It is only after he completely sells out the Na’vi, and gets himself a little booty, that he has the realization that “Hey, maybe I shouldnt be doing this.”

    Our Hero is portrayed as rash, impulsive, relatively stupid, completely incompetent to deal with nature, and “like a baby” in terms of relating both the the environment and other intelligent beings. The “people of color,” on the other hand, are portrayed as living in complete harmony with nature. No apparent warring from them, either with one another, or with other species, they are painted as Saints. Clever, (except in dealing with the soulessness of the whites,) spiritual, environmentally friendly, loyal to one another, the difference between them and the mostly white humans is as stark as “good and evil.”

    The problem with this of course, is that it is utter and complete rubbish. Not only do whites have a history that includes pagan nature loving spirituality, and awareness of and appreciation for the natural world, (including the taming of species such as horses,) but the “people of color” themselves have a history of violence both against other “people of color” and the environment. Humans just arent as different as we like to pretend we are. Non-whites arent sainted, and whites are not evil. All races have within their groups a pretty good selection of individuals that fall at either end of the spectrum, and the range in between.

    Although the movie was beautiful, the storyline was not only tired, worn, and recycled too many times, but it is just insulting to both sides of the artificially created “divide” of race. Because I care so much that we dont destroy the natural beauty and function of our planet for ourselves and all other species, I hate to criticize any movie that brings environmental awareness to people, particularly our young people who stand to lose the most if we do not learn to curb our relentless hunger for resources. It is a message that we NEED to internalize. I just deeply question what portraying whites as sinners and “people of color” as saints is going to do to further that worthy message. It seems to me that any message that divides people seems to make it that much easier for those intent on plundering to do so. It sends a message that one “race” of people are irredeemable evil, when they arent, and another “race” of people are natural saints, when they arent. We are all just human, and if we are going to live in harmony with the planet, we need to begin by looking at ourselves honestly, and adjusting our trajectory accordingly. Not by playing the same old divide and conquer blame game that we have been playing since the beginning of recorded history and probably even longer than that.

    Who benefits from the blatant stereotyping this movie engages in? It seems to me only the very same corporate sociopaths this movie pretends to chastise. Dividing those with common interests has been a great strategy for economic conquer for as long as we have had written language to record it as a strategy. I can only hope the racist and divisive storyline, if seen for what it is, doesnt detract from the environmental message that we really need to hear.

  15. Seems to me that you prople have WAY too much time on your hands. Why can’t the movie just be ENTERTAINMENT as it was intended to be. You are going to see in a movie or anything else that you look at what you want to see. if you want it to be racist then it will be, if you look at it with anti-government eyes then that is what you will see. but it seems that everyone is busy pointing fingers and nobody is taking it for what it is, a movie, entertainment 3 hours out of the house, a reason to hug your girl in public. Oh well I have said my little 2cents worth and now I guess it will be torn up by all the negitave people but remember not everything has a reason , some things just are and let them just be

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