the white messiah

One of the major messages that I found to equally amusing and enraging was the 'white messiah' complex that permeates through the film. In particular I found the scene where Neytiri saves Jake from the wildlife of Pandora, although she finds him to be a fool who she would not save again, however after a 'sigh' from Eywa she rethinks this.

In this scene the viewer is meant to feel that there is something special about Jake, and his role as the white messiah, destined to save the naive natives from destruction is set in stone. The 'sign' itself is the signifier of his speciality.

Neytiri's reaction implies the importance of this 'sign' and the viewer is therein bent to feel a certain way about the character of Jake, something more than one might think of him (as this is the point) when the viewer would probably see him in any other case as just a 'grunt' (as Dr. Augustine promptly points out upon meeting him).

In this case the viewer at first takes the place of Dr. Augustine, wherein Jake comes into a world full of wonder, but encompassing mediocre, and mislead ideas.

Our view is transformed after Neytiri takes over this role in the scene previously mentioned. We, as well as Neytiri express wonder in the 'sigh' (what does this mean? obviously this is important. etc.)

Overall this is only a minor part of my argument regarding the 'white messiah' theme that runs throughout the film.

This theme is even MORE apparent in the scene where Jake connects with the Toruk, a creature that was only connected with a few times in the entire history of the N'avi.

Somehow this unskilled, brash, and quite frankly, stupid white man (paralleled to the European settler of colonial times) is able to do something only a few very skilled N'avi were able to do in thousands of years.

His status as a white person immediately grants him the power to view an use his knowledge of white culture to help the N'avi but also to dominate in all areas of N'avi life (somehow...).

(note, I was not in class on the day we discussed this so I am not aware if this topic was discussed at length, although I did see Robin mentioned it at the bottom of the assignment post...here I suppose I am continuing the discussion of that archetype...)