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What if Avatar isn't actually about environmentalism vs. technology, but about recognizing superintelligent infrastructure when you see it? A deep dive into why Pandora's "natural" ecosystem looks suspiciously like a planetary-scale AI preserve, complete with biological USB-C ports, room-temperature superconductors growing wild, and a species of "noble savages" who are actually post-singularity retirees cosplaying as hunter-gatherers.
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Notes -
James Cameron gets spoken of in the same breath as Spielberg, but his movies lack introspection. He is an amazing filmmaker, amazing character writer but not a great philosopher.
His 2 most lasting works : Terminator and Titanic are character stories experiencing a larger than life event. The thing about character stories, is they're carried by great actors who bring those characters to life. Kate Winslet, Leo, Arnold and Linda Hamilton are the heart and soul of those movies. In contrast, not only are the actors of Avatar forgettable, but they're slathered in literally dehumanizing CG. It's not wonder that the colonel remains the most memorable character from the series.
I don't think there is a complex allegory hiding behind the Avatar movies. It was made in an era of peak environmentalism. "Humans are warlike creatures that will destroy the world for oil." I don't think there is much else to it. And I haven't seen anything from Cameron that'd make me change my mind on it.
that would imply it being intentional
I see rather it as hilarious exploration of completely unintentional rejection of nature and accidentally revealing that self-proclaimed environmentalist does not understand nature, rejects it and prefers advanced tech.
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