Clinching Best Drama at the recent Golden Globes award, Avatar, is THE movie to catch. Directed by James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of “Titanic”, this 3D action-adventure movie will definitely keep you on your toes throughout the entire duration.
For those who have not gotten the opportunity to watch this awesome show, here’s a synopsis for you, to get a brief idea on what it’s about.
Through this movie, I finally have a concrete idea of what the social constructionist perspective, where communication creates individualists, is about. Jake Sully, an ex-marine, was given an opportunity to ‘serve’ his country and replace his slain twin brother, Tom, on a mission to mine valued ore on the planet of Pandora. Enticed by the outcome that it’ll bring him (pragmatic approach!), Jake agreed to take on the role. Before going to Pandora as his Na’vi self, scientists, army colonel and basically everyone who worked for the mega corporation, warned him about the Na’vi, the humanoid natives of Pandora. When he actually experience living in that world for himself, Jake discovered that the humans were wrong about the Na’vi. What he expected to experience was far from what he went through. The social constructionist perspective of communication is no doubt apparent here. Jake formed his own impression of Pandora through what has been communicated to him about it, without even questioning the reliability of the sources. Only after he directly experienced the world of Pandora, he saw the vast difference in what has been communicated and what is ‘real’.
As the movie proceeds, Jake finds himself in a dilemma – to help his human race or to help his adopted race, the Na’vi. He knows that it is not right for the humans to be invading the homes of the Na’vi but if he helps the Na’vi, wouldn’t he be betraying his own kind? Influenced by logos (appeal to reason), pathos (appeal to emotions) and ethos (persuasive appeal to his character), the social constructionist in him eventually intervened and he ended him helping his adopted race.
Here, we see that Jake chose to let his believes and sets of roles/rules decide his next move, when his attempt at a pragmatic approach failed, even if it means to turn his back on his own kind. If you were to be in his shoes, would you do the same? Honestly, when I watched this movie, I truly hated the humans. Granted, they did not exactly have an accurate knowledge about Pandora as what they know is the things that have been passed on from person to person and not what they directly experience for themselves. However, when Jake recounted his experiences with the Na’vi, the humans chose to brush it off. So forgive me for hating them at that point of time.
This leads me to question the world that we live in. As the model of social constructionist states, we are surrounded by communication, which holds our world together. With that, are we really living our lives or are we merely living like we’re told to, based on symbolic codes, our cognitive customs, cultural traditions and the set of rules that guide our actions? Is our world truly unreal?
I guess we would never know for sure but I'd like to believe that we eventually form our own sanctuary in our minds through our experiences.
Feel free to comment!(:
Great linkage to what we've learnt during Comms.
ReplyDeleteYour blog entry did give me a better understanding of looking at the social constructionist's point of view.
Jake was made to believe that the Na'vi were blood thirsty savages until he became part of them 'through other divine factors at work-much to his advantage' was he made to realize how 'humane' they were indeed. Much more than the humans, portrayed in the show.
Here we see the human race as a very insensitive, money driven monster hungry for profits alone. As such in this case, I would have done the same because they failed to accept any form of compromise unless it was to their advantage.
In understanding that the movie had many intended objectives at work: destruction of environment, human greed, unethical policies etc. You did bring up a very interesting viewpoint to the table as well. Kudos to you on your intelligent way of inter linking comms to the hit movie of the year!
I guess, I would say we are living our life that were told to, at least when you are in Singapore. To survive in Singapore, our parents will be telling us, forget about everything else and concentrate on you studies, as long you have your certificates, you will survive. It is way harder to find a job you love compared to the countries in the west. Take sports for example, the route of becoming a professional athlete will be much difficult. We are often constraint by the outside factors and all we are doing is just playing along with the "script" that is written for us since birth.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, this movie appeals greatly to the emotions of people. After the screening of this movie, news reported that some people who watched this movie went into depression. They lost all hopes in life, they like you, sees human as an ugly creature.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, "Nothing is perfect". Neither are we too. We lived in an imperfect world that creates the imperfect us. We are the product of this world. Thus, I believe if humans accept pandora and after much interactions the pandora make with us, humans, they will eventually be as ugly as we are.
Movies may be a depict of the actual world. However, by lying down in a container, waking up to be a blue tall gaint is something that will only happen in the fairytale. Don't you think so? Therefore, only naive people will buy the logos of this movie. As for me, I fell asleep halfway through the movie. :)
Joyce Tan
I watched Avatar, and it was superb. I could totally relate to your approach to the communication principles, like how they employed logos, pathos and ethos in the movie.
ReplyDeleteWhen communicating to the other party, it is inevitable to face conflicts and dilemma of some sort and in the movie, it can be seen that Jake had to make some difficult choices. By choosing to help the Na’vi people, he has defied orders from his superiors in the army, which had dire results. In doing so, he has proved that Aristotle's "We are repeatly what we do" and "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind" may not necessarily apply to today's context.
Good point bringing up how this film looks at what is "real" to us. But what is "real"?
ReplyDeleteI feel that this film, instead of placing what is communicated to us versus what is real, it looks at the two definitions of real that Man holds.
What is real to Man in the modern context is blatant in the movie: power, money, and being stubborn. It depicts Man as one who has absurd disregard of anything other that himself, especially to the environment.
But one must not forget the relationship that Man has with nature in all its glory. Our earlier ancestors depended on nature as much as the modern man depend on financial tangibles. To these ancestors, Mother Nature was real. Just look at the native aborigines in Australia to the various native tribes in Africa; people who considered nature to be sacred.
This film thus shows the struggle between what is real between then and now, what has been lost within ourselves as we progressed and evolved. Jake somehow gets the chance to grasp this link that has been missing, something we must all strive towards.
I didn't watch Avatar so I can't really comment relative to it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you brought out an interesting point about the realness of the world we live in and that we're just living based on what has been communicated to us and our past experiences.
To me, I think that what you said made sense since we do form constructs of people and situations through what people say. However, what has been conveyed and what we experience later on may not be similar, just like Jake in the movie.
Honestly, after reading this entry, it got me thinking on my life and whether I'm living in a web of lies that's been communicated. If so, then I can never fully understand life and the pure "uncommunicated" version of it.
Your entry's really sick and it made me think that I'm living in an unreal world.
ReplyDeleteThat said, kudos for evoking an emotion in me.
I really can't see how you can link your comms module to a MOVIE but since you're my sister and you're weird like that, I'm not really surprised.
Annyway, I guess we do have the social constructivist perspective as I agree that somehow, we are mould from what has been communicated to us. We'll keep adapting to these communications and this I assume forms an individual.
I have yet to watch this movie. You speak about this EPL, no not this English Premier League but Ethos Pathos and logos. Its nice to see how you managed comms and this movie together shows that you understand the topic really well.
ReplyDeleteVery insightful entry about the social constructionist level of living.
ReplyDeleteI think that it isn't quite a question if we are living our lives as we are told to. Instead, it is more accurate to think that the lives we are living are held together by factors like symbolic codes, our cognitive customs, cultural traditions and the set of rules that guide our actions.
Through these factors, our lives appear to be governed by some sort rules. These kind of rules then brings on a sense of order in our actions. Say for example, we are culturally taught that stealing is bad. It becomes a moral virtue and we obviously try not to steal.
Love this post! Avatar is indeed stepping into a whole new world like we've never seen before. It takes us into a different dimension and I must say, Great rhetoric skills done through the movie. Even though it's only a few hours of taking your soul out for an adventure, you still let your perception control your mind and come up with a conclusion.
ReplyDeleteAmazing post =)
Honestly, I really can't believe that you learn all this in school and your entry made me even more confused about life than I already am.
ReplyDeleteI am really curious as to how you could really dissect what you've watch and link it to your module.
I think life is just the way it is and just thinking about how people think/view it is already creating your own perspective. We act and behave according to what has been taught to us. So I guess you are right in a sense that we live according to what has been communicated and as such, we're mould that way.
This is really an insightful post!
ReplyDeleteI watched Avatar and I'm really amazed at how you literally shred it and place your communication theories in it.
Like you, the movie made me feel ashamed of my own race and I don't see how they couldn't look pass their constructs of the Navis.
HEY!!
ReplyDeletegood job in making me feel so confused about how i see my life right now!
I agree with what you said despite how creepy it sounds. We do form perceptions based on what others communicate to us and through this, we accommodate that knowledge and adapt and through this, it creates who we are. So communication does form individuals.
hey babe, I can't believe we haven't talked in ages and you hit me up just to comment on your entry?! tsk.
ReplyDeleteAmazing post! 8D
I'm honestly baffled by how you could string your theories together into this epic movie.
Like all the others here, your post got me thinking about how I'm living my life right now, whether is it real or it is just all a web of communications crafted to mould who I am today.
I do agree in that communications help us put to light many situation and experiences of ours. But I find it difficult to completely agree that we are who we are based on what's been communicated to us. It makes us seem so gullible in a way!
Your point's really valid but I don't really agree that we become what we are today based on what has been communicated to us.
ReplyDeleteYes, people communicate to us about cultures and what not but I feel that communication is that way because of who we are, not the other way round.
That's just how I feel!
-P