Comparative Striking Similarities between Avatar and Pocahontas and The Last Samurai
Though its innovative visual effects, James Cameron's Avatar has striking resemblance with two earlier movies: Disney's Pocahontas and Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai. Though they were released nearly eight years apart, these movies feature identical thematic aspects and narrative devices that have drawn parallels and criticism. Though Avatar's creative world-building and visual spectacular have won praise, its narrative techniques and framework resemble those of prior movies.
These parallels draw attention to how some narrative rules and concepts endure in mainstream film, even when they do not lessen Avatar's accomplishment as a visually spectacular and powerful movie. Investigating the possible for cultural appropriation and the "white savior" cliché, this study looks at the shared narrative features, thematic parallels, and critiques around these three films.
The Last Samurai in How Avatar's Story Follows 2003
Though their environments differ, Avatar and The Last Samurai have a same story framework. Both movies center a former American soldier who discovers he is in a strange land and first struggles to fit the local way of life but finally welcomes it. Algren adopts the bushido code and samurai practices in The Last Samurai; Jake Sully picks the Na'vi language and customs in Avatar. Falling in love with local ladies helps both characters to confirm their dedication to their just discovered homes.
The turning point in both movies finds the heroes teaming together with their new allies to combat the forces they once served. Their military background enables their particular clans to conquer their adversaries. Both movies explore the spiritual link the indigenous people have with their surroundings, which finally leads the heroes to achieve peace following lives of strife and tragedy.
How Pocahontas in 1995 Also Reflects Avatar's Story
Captain John Smith in Pocahontas travels the New World looking for local resources, just as Jake Sully's first goal was to compile intelligence about the Na'vi to enable corporate mining on Pandora. After spending time with the people, though, both characters grow to respect the cultures they had aimed to profit from. While Smith changes upon meeting Pocahontas, the daughter of the native chief, who has a similar position to Neytiri, Sully falls for Neytiri and sees Pandora through her eyes.
Between following their initial goals and standing with the Indigenous people they have come to value, both heroes discover themselves divided. In the end, both heroes follow the moral road, supporting the Na'vi and the Powhatan in their different battles against colonists, therefore bringing peace and harmony back to their territory. These common narrative points of reference have sparked debates about cultural appropriation and the "white savior" cliché by means of analogies.
Avatar, The Last Samurai & Pocahontas All Faced Comparable Story Criticisms
Performances, images, and original compositions of Avatar, The Last Samurai, and Pocahontas have all been hailed. They have, meantime, also drawn comparable criticism, mostly on the "white savior" cliché and cultural appropriation. Critics contend that these movies minimize the Indigenous cultures they depict by oversimplifying and romanticizing them, therefore rendering them into stereotypes. Indigenous agency is diminished when the heroes—who first stand in for colonizing forces—become leaders of the Indigenous people.
Although these objections draw attention to the dubious features of the stories, Avatar cannot be called a straight replica of The Last Samurai or Pocahontas. The movies vary greatly in terms of lore and world-building even if they have same story patterns and the protagonist's metamorphosis as their common topic. It's important to recognize that there are few archetypes in film narrative, hence it's not shocking that Avatar has tale similarities with other movies.
Cultural Appropriation in Film and the White Savior Trope
The "white savior" cliché is a common storytelling device whereby a white figure saves or rescues a group of people of color from danger or injustice. This cliché usually reduces the agency and capacity of the underprivileged group, so sustaining the belief that they are unable of looking after themselves. The cliché sometimes perpetuates negative preconceptions about people of color, thereby distilling their experiences to a single, simplified story.
Conversely, cultural appropriation—the use of aspects of one culture by people from another—often without regard for or knowledge of the original culture. This can entail using clothes, music, language, or other cultural expressions without appropriate permission or acknowledgment. Cultural appropriation can reinforce negative preconceptions and help to marginalize the culture under use. Many movies that try to show different cultures have these problems, which begs significant concerns about authenticity and portrayal in narrative.
