Raise the bar with Avatar?

"But Tim, this looks like something you wrote for class in 20 minutes, and posted because you were too lazy to legitimately update your blog..."

Why yes, correct you are my astute reader, but fear not, these petty attempts to create the illusion of continuity will shortly end. I swear - blame debate.

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Raise the bar with Avatar?

James Cameron's recent sci-fi epic, Avatar, has been said by many to be a fine film. Following the experiences of a physically handicapped marine, Jake Sully, the flick charts conflict between a futuristic, greed driven mining corporation, and the native alien population of the planet that the organization seeks to plunder. Critics have forcefully and in great numbers voiced their pleasure for Cameron's brainbaby, and their case does appear to be rather complete.

For his work on Avatar, reviewers have included such effusion of Cameron as; he “might be a megalomaniac, but I bow to his titanic will. In Avatar, he’s king of a world he made from scratch.” , “he restores a sense of wonder to the movie going experience that has been missing for far too long.”, and “he is, with “Avatar,” also making a credible attempt to create a paradigm shift in science-fiction cinema.” (Edelstein)(Turan)(Dargis) Of Avatar itself, their comments range from being just as pleased, to better.
From all this it might be readily ascertained that the critics have reached a consensus, that Avatar is simply a very well crafted film, and that the story holds no more. I say that they just don't like it enough.

It would be no rash assumption to posit that, Avatar is the best thing since sliced bread. Yes, the computer, does take a close second, but no, it does not quite catch up. Avatar is like a forest full of bright and playful creatures, rolled up in a war movie, heavily slathered in CGI, dragged through a moralistic plot, then lightly simmered in genius. Avatar makes it seem almost as if Pocahontas, Braveheart, Rocky, and 300 had a child. And that child was blue. As a basic illustration, there are fan sites on the Internet whose sole purpose is literally to comfort those individuals who feel depressed over how poorly their lives compare to this movie.

But why exactly are the critics such misers even in the face of so much praise? Theme and content I say.

The themes of Avatar constitute one of its sole points of rebuke. Many of the same critics who speak so highly of its ambition and bold creativity also quip that its plot is simple, and that its message of peace and acceptance contains merely “New-Age truisms”. (Biancolli) Perhaps these same critics fail to realize exactly what these so called “truisms” stand for. In two hours and forty six minutes, Avatar manages to take decisive, progressive advocacies on issues ranging through cultural subjectivity, heteronormativity, conservationism, and the ability of all to pursue greatness regardless of impediment. It would be peachy if solutions to these problems were in fact truism, but from the present state of global affairs the opposite is painfully obvious. Avatar sends a socially constructive message, while assuming a form that succeeds at being pleasing and non intrusive. For this I forecast that Avatar will either compel world peace, or become president by the year 2012.

But greater still than its tendency to spark spontaneous global plenty and prosperity, is Avatar's core content, its graphics. If I were to hear a rumor that James Cameron considered releasing his film unedited, but on ardent plea from his staff agreed to apply an industrial grade dulling lens to the entirety of the work, for fear that it would cause viewers to lapse into awestruck blindness, I would feel nothing but vindication. The level of technological prowess evidenced in Avatar is simply unprecedented. When a vicious looking cat-beast leers out of the jungle towards our unsuspecting protagonist, we can see the minute beads of dew glistening on its hungry fur. When thousands of screaming blue people ride their Jurassic flying pterodactyl creatures into glorious battle, the sunlight gleams off of their irises. When the thousand year old home of the indigenous population is ruthlessly razed by modern technology, the heart-wrenching solidarity we feel towards its inhabitants is propelled onwards by perfectly rendered particles of ash and debris coasting gently through the still air. Every emotional moment, and every racing step of Avatar is punctuated with a howling scream by the artistic vision of Cameron and his crew. Our critics may utter the beginnings of these thoughts, but their positions and fan-base dictate that they may not finish. I will say it. Avatar plucks our eyeballs gently from their resting places, keeps them as its private reserve for its all too brief tenure, and once the Cinderella story of jungles and jubilee ends, leaves them lonely and stranded back in our world – a world which will never, no matter how hard it may try, be quite as shiny.

One could spend their time calling Avatar a solid production. One could spend their time proclaiming it a work of art. It could be said that this film, like only a few special ones before it, captures in a fleeting moment the perfect intersection of technology and vision. These words would, and have however, done insufficient justice to the visual and thematic juggernaut that is this film. When watching, for the second time, the endless wild and timeless tale that constitutes my favorite film, I found myself enthralled and wondering. Wondering how best to pay full tribute to such a perfect set of leaves in a field full of marred clover. As I pondered this question, I began to set a few brief words to cloth. In this short praise you have found my answer to those who would merely say of Cameron's work, such mute obscenities as “Good”, “Above average”, and the dreaded “Nice”. But ultimately, even text is hopelessly doomed to fail in homage, for only one thing can truly emulate. Yes, such vibrant greens, such apt placing of foreground objects so as to create a mild illusion of depth, such curative coverage of complex and critical contemporary issues can only be rendered in full through a single, solitary means. Color.

To you my dear readers and listeners (Who I earnestly hope can detect overblown language, else there should by now be a deliciously awkward silence over our fine 1:00 class) I say this. You could call avatar good. You could call it great. You could call it gods gift to our irises. Or, you could do better. For 10$, you have it in you power right now to don a stylish pair of 3D glasses, take up a ready position, and pay the best homage available to a well appreciated, and yet sorely abused piece of art.

Carbon MONOXIDE!

College students everywhere, you are being poisoned! Do you feel constantly tired? Do you feel depressed on occasion? Are you a chronic sufferer apathy and non-motivation? Get headaches? Then, undoubtedly, you are being poisoned by the rarely feared scourge of modern society, carbon monoxide.

A wise man once introduced to the grapevine that Rome was ended in large part due to toxic lead present in their water system. Well we have one upped their error, and have poisoned our air. Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when a defective utility system ,such as a space heater, (Like the one in your house/dorm?!!) emits carbon monoxide into the air of a household. This gas is colorless, and odorless, and inhibits healthy oxygen uptake, thus bringing about a bevy of undesirable symptoms ranging from drowsiness to death.

This nefarious presence cannot be recognized absent symptoms or bloods tests. Most vexingly, its symptoms overlap in large part with those corresponding to attending college. So... take a good long look at the vent leading in to your room, and wonder, how old exactly is that heater?

In all fairness you probably are not being poisoned, I just think that it is mildly humorous that there is a plausible life threatening condition that actually happens with frequency in the states, but that has the same symptoms as going to college.

Not funny at all? Blame the air in my house.

On the utility of liberal arts

A skulking suspicion has begun to sneak around after me. It flits between trees when I walk alone, sneaks up and breathes in my shadow, disappears whenever I abruptly turn to look it in the eyes. The beast affects me not through any direct contact, but through the murmurings it instills now and again when I let it. It mentions figures of money, segments of time, and all the while smiles goofily, with a leery, disconcerting grin.

My beast is the embodiment of a question, one that no doubt many a prospective collegiate BA bearer knows too well. It asks time and again, what exactly is the purpose of a liberal arts degree young man?

I would like to say that I swiftly slay it - lay it to rest with an unbreakable and ready answer. This would be dishonest. In fact, I haven't the slightest.

When it becomes hungry, I tell it "Well critical reasoning will be useful in fields related to business and law." It laughs quietly, and slurps back off into the shadows. When it stares unwaveringly, I stammer "An English degree provides vital insight into the underpinnings of our social system." It smiles and chortles off again. Sometimes, it pokes around the corners of my bedpost, pushes itself between the pages of some trivial book and myself, and I must try to brisk it away. I observe "I am learning here in a unique way that no other end could accomplish." This most of all amuses it, as it forces me to picture the myriad other options, all perhaps enriching, and most of all, free.

What this beast has led me to believe, is that one solitary reason keeps me in place and forms my foundation here at college. A title. You see, a degree does offer something that time spent otherwise could not. In our society, a college degree proclaims baseline competence, and begs higher wage.

As for the rest, I am presently of the opinion that, while interesting, and perhaps valuable by parts, there is little of it that is a necessary product of wholehearted daily devotion, and immense financial commitment.

Perhaps this is an essentialization of something far more valuable, but regardless of truth, the beast is alive and well for me, and for many others. How to put it in its place?

As a point of inauguration, why Blog at all? This question I think, is an important one, as it provides the impetus for further posting, and discloses to the reader a little more context to go with coming words.

To me, blogging is a performance act. It differs from writing to myself late at night only in that someone will eventually read whatever ramblings find their way to this medium. With an audience comes the call to a higher level of quality. Absent this, nothing checks the tendency to ramble incoherently, and nothing will demand for writing to evolve and become something more than mediocre. Frankly, I feel compelled to provide at least a baseline of quality when you are there, dear reader.

Also, I am lonely, so please do feed that sweet sweet redemption that calls itself comments.

Now I do acknowledge that you are yet to exist. Presently I have zero subscriptions. However, I may say whatever I wish here, for if you are reading, then I have gained an audience, and if not, well, incoherence is hardly a problem. Trees and mittens.

-Tim W