Is Avatar Racist?

So I’ve finally seen the movie “Avatar.”

I remember the movie “Titanic.” And it has nothing to do with the fact that both movies were mega hits and both were directed by James Cameron. I remembered “Titanic” after watching "Avatar" because I went to see it (Titanic) only on its fifth week of screening, just like I did now with "Avatar. Why was I not so eager to see it like the rest of the world did? Because it was known to be a very tragic movie... shows a super-sized ship with multitudes of people on it sinking. Then came the fact that it’s been over a month and it was still showing. So I finally gave in and went to join the madness. Let’s call it a worldwide phenomenon and I just wanted to be a part of it. If only out of curiosity.

Fast forward to the present. “Avatar.” I was not so keen on seeing it even if I read that it took the makers 15 years to finally complete the movie. And it has been a much talked-about movie even long before it was released. Why am I not so keen on seeing it? Because Im not really a big fan of fantasy films. I have already seen two movies which are being simultaneously shown with “Avatar.” “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Morgans,” the latter being a new year’s treat of my Thai friend to me…

Then I went to finally see the movie today. And it was good. Really good. But not only did I want to be a part of this another worldwide phenomenon in the film industry, but also want to see for myself how true were the comments that I read about the film.

Mostly, it was the allegation and interpretation that the movie consists of racist theme… Since the film opened to widespread critical acclaim, hundreds of blog posts, newspaper articles, tweets and YouTube videos have said things such as the film is "a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people" and that it reinforces "the white Messiah fable." Much like Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves" and Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai." A white man visits another culture, learn their ways and become their hero. They even go further to saying that the film also is an obvious metaphor for how European settlers in America wiped out the Indians.

But regardless of how some view it, I was actually completely entertained with the movie. Racist or not, some people (like me) just want to go to the movies to relax and escape from the real world for at least two hours of their lives. (In the case of “Avatar” it’s close to three hours). I just didnt like the ending. It's not just Jake apparently leaving his human form to be one with the what-do-you-call-them-again? (Depends on you'd interpret that part). But it's more of the typical hollywood way of ending movies like this... It's always like this, the last quarter of a hollywood film, follows a very typical, predictable formula. (Rememebr 2012?) But what they hey, that's why it's called Hollywood... Love it or leave it kind of movies.

ASEAN countries in 2009's corruption index

im getting off the personal track for this time and go a little bit global... i came across this old post from one of the blogs i follow and i was kinda prompted to re-post it here. it's about The International Corruption Index in 2009, with focus on ASEAN countries. corruption has always been a global problem, though it's basically an internal affair. some countries have bigger problems with corruption than others. and corruption (or lack of it) is somehow proportional to a country's overall econmy and it's people's living condition. that's my theory, at least. but im not so sure of this. some countries have big corruption problems but somehow manage to advance economically. so anyway, here's what i got...

How did ASEAN countries rank on Transparency International's Corruption Index in year 2009?


•The top ten least corrupt are the Nordic countries, plus New Zealand (#1), Canada, and Australia. (Netherlands isn't exactly Nordic, but it comes in at #6. Singapore (#3) is perceived as the least corrupt country in all of Asia.

•Brunei (#39) is perceived as being no more corrupt than South Korea.

•Malaysia (#56) is perceived as being about as corrupt as some major Eastern European countries and South Africa.

•China (#79) and India (#84) rank similarly on corruption. India is tied with Thailand.

•Egypt has the same perceived level of corruption as Indonesia (#111), but the "land of baksheesh" is perceived as being less corrupt than Lebanon (#130) and Syria (#126) and even Vietnam (#120).

•Pakistan and Philippines are tied at #139.

•Laos and Cambodia are tied at #158.

•Only Somalia and Afghanistan are considered less corrupt than Myanmar (Burma).

new year... fresh start. [or something like it]

fresh start... everybody hopes for it. everybody desires it. and when are people more motivated to make fresh starts than when new year comes? when calendars move back to january. when everything seems to reset to ground zero. when another year offers 12 full months for us to work on our new goals and plans.

last year has truly been tough in many avenues of the society. economic recession. natural calamities. political instabilities. things that have affected our perosnal lives one way or another. me, included.

then comes another year. so we try to be hopeful. optimistic. having this goal and vision and determination to make up with whatever opportunities we missed and clean up whatever mess we created. truthfully and personally speaking, life has been rough and tough. lots of winding turns and ups and downs. and for good measure, i quit my job because i knew somehow that that would be the only way to keep my wandering sanity back... to keep me from completely going mental. you'd do the same if you were in my shoes. [dont worry, i wear mostly hush puppies and sketchers. ok, they're not the really expensive brands but they have cool designs that suits my style. ops... im not trying to advertise!]

the one who hired me [but not necessarily my boss] asked me some weeks ago when we had a brief chat if i regret quitting my job. i said i regret not being able to earn regular salary, but i dont regret leaving cause i was certain that it was the right thing to do that time...

that was the past. the year that has passed, at least. some of us might have screwed up big time in more ways than one. but here's to another year... here's to new beginnings. here's to the start of the new decade. here's to the future days... sure im still anxious of what might happen, torn between the will and what will be... sure im still aware that new year doesnt change the fact that the economy is still waiting to get better... that the earth is still going through alarming climate changes... that corruption still exists in some countries... that war and rumors of war still linger in some places.

but there is hope. that life can still see change for the better one day at a time. everyday is still a winding road with many twists and turns... but all these will help us build faith and character if we allow these difficulties to teach and shape us. if we allow God to lead us the way... fresh start. they do happen... in which im determined to find it.

no new years resolutions. no impossible dreams. just the will and determination to be hopeful and cheerful... and to let God lead me every step of the way...

here's to the future days... cheers. whatever.