The whole movie takes the perspective of a narcissistic father. Everything is about him and everyone else sacrifice for him, in the name of “protecting the family”.
In psychoanalysis, what neurotics do is that they create an obstacle for themselves and then try very hard to overcome it. When a neurosis believes that “protecting the family” gives him meaning then guess what obstacle he will create? Danger. Without danger, he has nothing to protect against, he has no meaning.
In the first movie, Jake Sully betrayed his original human identity because as a human, he is disabled and achieved nothing. As an avatar, he not only has an over-functioning psychical body that could jump between trees, and more importantly, he matters. He matters as the one who lives among Na’vi (the natives) for RDA (humans); later on, he becomes even more important as the one that understands humans for Na’vi. All his decisions are guided by the question “will I matter more to others?” The need for self-importance created the whole drama with danger.
In the second movie, Jake Sully’s self-identity is”the father that protects” but who does he really protect?
He first gives up on his people. His explanation is “I leave them to protect them.” but later on Colonel Miles Quaritch and his team threaten and burn the houses of innocent village people by the sea. The movie didn’t say what they did to Jake’s people. There is no reason why they would not torture Na’vi to find Jake’s family. So did Jake run off to the sea to protect his people or just to save himself? That’s paradox one in the story.
He forces his family to move with him to the sea village, even his wife expressed objection. I’m not convinced Neytiri (his wife) left her people willingly, as a daughter of the previous chief, and someone who grew up in the jungle. The way Jake convinced her is by saying “you left your people (give up your identity) for the family.” It sounds quite familiar in many households. Jake himself does not have much difficulty moving as he already gives up his original identity by his own will. That’s why he can not empathize with his wife and children. When he tried to convince the leader of the sea people that his family could survive here, he said because I wasn’t a Na’vi but I survived that just fine. Again, because he did it (by his own choice) then others should not have any difficulty doing it as well (even it’s not their choice). So did Jake move to the sea to protect his family or did he just impose his own wish on his family? That’s paradox two in the story.
The movie ends with the sea people accepting Jake’s family and offering them shelter. but why? Just because his son is buried in the sea? it’s a very far-fetched reason. Too many people died in the sea, are they all sea people now? It sounds more like something Jake tells others about why they could stay. Because the leader of the sea village admires Jake as a leader and warrior in the jungle? but Jake is a leader that gives his people up and he is there to hide, not to fight. Jake brings nothing but misery to the sea village people. He hides among innocents, using them as a shield, refusing to face the revenge that he created until he could not hide any longer. So did Jake a protector or a coward that hide? That’s paradox three in the story.
In the end, it seems the only person he ever protected is himself and he is able to give a narrative that makes him look good, which is a pretty common tactic when a narcissistic try to manipulate others.
Apart from the storyline of Jake. Other storylines are also quite messy.
One interesting new character is the human boy Spider. The movie did try to demonstrate the complicated emotions of the boy towards his biological father Colonel Miles but he still inevitably becomes a character just to serve Jake’s storyline.
Colonel Miles as someone who didn’t even know that his son was left on Pandora, apparently doesn’t care about the boy. But when Neytiri threatens to kill Spider as a hostage, he suddenly cares and he cares so much that he is even willing to let Neytiri’s daughter go. On the other hand, Neytiri threatens to kill a boy that grows up around her and is very close to her kids. What is the message? The message is that doesn’t matter whether you are completely absent from the boy’s childhood or watch him grow up with your own kids, the only thing matter is if he is your biological descendent? Then why did Jake adopt Spider and say “a son for a son” in the end? Spider is his son now or just a hostage for his next encounter with Colonel Miles? That’s paradox four in the story.
It would be interesting to have a movie from the boy Spider’s perspective. Born as the son of the biggest villain, and growing up as an outsider of all his friends, what he has been through could be more touching. How did he really feel when he spend time with his father as someone who never belong to his peers? How did he feel when Neytiri tried to kill him? If Colonel Miles refuses to release Neytiri’s daughter in exchange to save his life, what would Spider feel? maybe he feels that there is no one in the whole universe cares about him? It is understandable why Spider saved Colonel Miles under the sea but why did he choose to go back to Jake’s family? What does he identify with himself? Does he believe he belongs to the human side or the Na’vi side? Can you really feel you belong to a group when that group outcast you? How did he feel about Jake’s family after everything? admiration, fear or resentment? It’s strange that the movie talks about how Kiri (born from Grace Augustine’s inert Na’vi avatar) feels lonely because she is different from others but not mentioning how Spider feels. At least Kiri has her blue skin, while Spider has to paint blue stripes on his body. This could be counted as the paradox number five but there could be a much deeper struggle from Spider’s perspective. The movie about Spider could be themed after “how everybody in avatar messes me up” lol
End notes: I understand this is just another Hollywood entertaining movie and nothing shall be taken seriously. but I think people underestimate the power of the story, especially the popular ones. A story delivers messages. When you watched a movie, the messages were absorbed in your unconscious, changed how you see yourself and others, even just the slightest. The messages are not necessarily only from what the characters said in their lines but also from the plot itself. The world needs better stories. Stories that would help people.