Slog
News & ArtsMonday, January 11, 2010
Life / Film Give Me Avatar or Give Me Death
Posted by David Schmader on Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 9:13 AM
Take it away, CNN:
James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope.
I felt the same way when I realized I couldn't really visit Romy & Michele's boutique in LA.
2
I'd say this is just Darwinianism in action, if all Avatar fans are killing themselves before reproducing. If only Phantom Menace fans had done the same thing...
4
When the world I'd created in my head surrounding my first experience viewing 'FAILURE TO LAUNCH' faded into the bleak drudgery of everyday existence, I too pondered the meaning of it all. If I can't have world where a shirtless McConaughey sits atop a surfboard, WHAT CAN I HAVE?!?
5
Last month they all wanted to become sparkly vampires. If they ARE going to off themselves, they'd better not become undead. That shit would just be annoying.
6
i used to get depressed at the end of the yearly televised 'wizard of oz' when i was a kid. it wasn't until i was a grown ass man before i could figger out why dorothy wanted to go home so damn bad.. chick killed peoples so she could get back to KANSAS...
9
You mean I can't go frolic on Endor? But, but they shot a movie there! There are Ewoks there! That means it's really real, right?
11
I feel bad for these people, because depression is awful. But there are obvious solutions to what sounds to me like a failure of imagination. Take up scuba diving -- instant Pandora. Learn about art and start visiting art galleries -- takes a bit more thought-work, but that seems to be what these people are lacking. Read books. Visit a rainforest. Read National Geographic and learn about the actual world. Try surfing, windsurfing, kite-surfing, hang-gliding, even mountain-biking, for god's sake. DO NOT treat this problem with drugs or video games. The answer is to use your mind and body to do things and create things, and sensitize yourself to the beauty of the world. Hey, and maybe even do something useful for it, instead of being a passive infant crying for the virtual tit.
12
What I want to know is this:
If I get that new Pandora HD service, will I hear the crystals on the radio speaking to me and get to fly the red dragon?
If I get that new Pandora HD service, will I hear the crystals on the radio speaking to me and get to fly the red dragon?
13
@11 Actually treating depression with drugs is often precisely what needs to be done. And your hobbies are not better then ones that are more electronic, that's just being elitist and closed minded.
These people however need to be treated with a solid slap to the face.
These people however need to be treated with a solid slap to the face.
15
Not to go too far off-topic, but I just watched "District 9" last night, and so far as I can tell its basic plot is almost exactly the same as that of "Avatar" with the exception of some relatively minor details - and of course the lack of a romantic sub-plot. But, I don't recall the former film generating anywhere near the outrage as the latter. Is that because it was a foreign made film? Because its allegorical theme (white colonialism, essentially the same as "Avatar") didn't resonate as strongly with American audiences who either didn't get it or assumed it was solely about South Africa?
Just wondering...
Just wondering...
17
@15 The comparison has been made numerous times.
District 9, like a lot of good science fiction, challenges many assumptions a viewer may have had about alien life and the concept of "humanity." Thinking is required. May cause feelings of uneasiness.
Avatar comfortably slides into well-worn tropes that the average viewer is already comfortable with. Thinking is unnecessary, discouraged even. May cause feelings of zeal or devotion.
In many ways, I see the two films as coincidental opposites. Seeing District 9 first ruined Avatar for me.
District 9, like a lot of good science fiction, challenges many assumptions a viewer may have had about alien life and the concept of "humanity." Thinking is required. May cause feelings of uneasiness.
Avatar comfortably slides into well-worn tropes that the average viewer is already comfortable with. Thinking is unnecessary, discouraged even. May cause feelings of zeal or devotion.
In many ways, I see the two films as coincidental opposites. Seeing District 9 first ruined Avatar for me.
18
@15, the essential difference:
Aliens in Avatar = perceived as hot
Aliens in District 9 = not perceived as hot
Aliens in Avatar = perceived as hot
Aliens in District 9 = not perceived as hot
20
@15 and @17,
...or it could be the rainforest scenery in Avatar is much more visually pleasing than the slums shown in District 9.
...or it could be the rainforest scenery in Avatar is much more visually pleasing than the slums shown in District 9.
21
Would it be weird for me to point out that these feelings of depression are actually just a crude reflection of the human desire for an intact natural word that we have utterly destroyed? So, while these complaints are funny, they're also a reflection of a complete economic and social tragedy.
22
Being around trees and nature is proven to fight depression. No I'm not citing the studies, but I have read them.
People that play video games are more likely to be depressed.
It would be great if this film inspired people to get involved in environmental advocacy. Maybe they could give some money to Nature Conservancy.
When capitalism brings about the global environmental collapse there won't be a conveniently nearby jungle moon or faster than light ships to get magical substances to save the world.
People that play video games are more likely to be depressed.
It would be great if this film inspired people to get involved in environmental advocacy. Maybe they could give some money to Nature Conservancy.
When capitalism brings about the global environmental collapse there won't be a conveniently nearby jungle moon or faster than light ships to get magical substances to save the world.
23
I would love to drink a few caucasians w/ the Dude, and perhaps get shot at by Walter.
Alas, I can...!
Alas, I can...!
25
@13,
I should have made it clear that I meant recreational drugs like acid and pot, not prescription medication. Antidepressants should definitely be considered if someone is feeling suicidal.
Bullshit. This has nothing to do with morality or status, it's about what works. These people are depressed by the unreachability of a virtual world; to suggest they spend more time in a virtual world is bad advice. An effective treatment for depression is actual experience in the actual world, with actual goals accomplished.
Oh yeah, and since when is mountain biking or surfing more "elitist" than owning an Xbox? Then again, your advice was "a solid slap to the face," so obviously equality and respect are really important to you.
I should have made it clear that I meant recreational drugs like acid and pot, not prescription medication. Antidepressants should definitely be considered if someone is feeling suicidal.
And your hobbies are not better then ones that are more electronic, that's just being elitist and closed minded.
Bullshit. This has nothing to do with morality or status, it's about what works. These people are depressed by the unreachability of a virtual world; to suggest they spend more time in a virtual world is bad advice. An effective treatment for depression is actual experience in the actual world, with actual goals accomplished.
Oh yeah, and since when is mountain biking or surfing more "elitist" than owning an Xbox? Then again, your advice was "a solid slap to the face," so obviously equality and respect are really important to you.
27
@15 in District 9 the transformation is also not voluntary and in fact is whole reason for helping the aliens is so they can go back and get a cure for him. He is also not nearly as badass.
28
@21: So, while these complaints are funny, they're also a reflection of a complete economic and social tragedy.
I agree. These people are not losers, they're symptoms of a much larger problem that has an impact on all of us.
@22: It would be great if this film inspired people to get involved in environmental advocacy.
I'd go one step further and say that if it doesn't inspire people, if all the attention it's getting only leads to more video game sales, then it is an utter failure. Just a sales tool for new technologies.
29
@25, it is not more elitists to do those things or even to enjoy them. It is to argue they are superior to forms of entertainment you seem not to enjoy. I could care less what people like, but it is juvenile to play the my hobby is better than yours game.
And plenty of depressed people and people with other mental illnesses have found great help from virtual spaces. Autistic people often have an easier time relating to people online. Same with people suffering from social anxiety disorders.
Sure if something is making someone unhappy they should stop, but that can equally apply to 'real world' activities.
And plenty of depressed people and people with other mental illnesses have found great help from virtual spaces. Autistic people often have an easier time relating to people online. Same with people suffering from social anxiety disorders.
Sure if something is making someone unhappy they should stop, but that can equally apply to 'real world' activities.
30
I feel the same about Romy & Michele. In addition, I will be in Hawaii when season 6 of Lost premieres and I so badly want to just walk out onto the beach and see the action happening right in front of me. Can't say I'd complain if Sawyer swaggered by.
32
On one of the "bonus discs" in the new Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition DVD, John Waters reminisces about how, when he first saw it, he couldn't figure out why anyone would want to leave Oz to return to a dusty farm in Kansas. Amen!
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (32) RSS