An interesting difference of opinion about the message in the current blockbuster Avatar. Eminent domain mavens Gideon Kanner and Rick Rayl initially agree that it’s not about eminent domain, but diverge on their philosophical approaches to the issue.
Rather than attempt to summarize their respective positions, it’s probably better we just refer you to their back-and-forth posts. Start with Rayl’s “Is Avatar Really a Political Commentary on Eminent Domain Abuse?” Follow that with Kanner’s “Is the Movie ‘Avatar’ a Story About Eminent Domain?” Finish with Rayl’s reply, “Response to Professor Kanner About Avatar.”
At least one other commentator thought the film was about property rights and eminent domain:
“Avatar” is like a space opera of the Kelo case, which went to theSupreme Court in 2005. Peaceful people defend their property againstoutsiders who want it and who have vastly more power. Jake rallies theNa’vi with the stirring cry “And we will show the Sky People that theycannot take whatever they want! And that this is our land!”
Is it? I don’t know. Once the CGI visuals are put aside, I thought the movie was Dances With the Last Samurai with a dash of the director’s own Aliens thrown in.
To cleanse the palate after watching Avatar, we popped Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America in the DVD player to remember that CGI is not necessary to evoke a distant time and place, or to tell story. Next on the list is a revisit to Malick’s The New World.