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Title: Jim Cameron eager to mix it up with 'Avatar's' right-wing critics
Source:
latimesblogs.latimes.com
URL Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the ... p-with-right-wing-critics.html
Published: Feb 13, 2010
Author: Patrick Goldstein on the collision of en
Post Date: 2010-02-13 00:44:24 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 1930
Comments: 41
You can always tell that the Academy has sent out its final Oscar ballots by the sudden reappearance of gaudy full-page Oscar ads in the trades, my paper and the New York Times. It also means that most nominees, fearful of making a horrible gaffe, are especially careful not to say anything that could possibly be viewed as controversial in their interviews with the showbiz press. Except, of course, for Jim Cameron. He's on the cover of this week's The Envelope and he's clearly eager to mix it up with the multitudes of conservatives who've been trashing "Avatar," claiming that it's dumb, sanctimonious, anti-military, nuttily pro-environment and, as Big Hollywood's John Nolte memorably put it, a "Death Wish'' for leftists. Cameron isn't the sort of guy to take those brickbats lying down, even if means alienating a few Oscar voters, either because they agree with the conservative take on the film or prefer to vote for films that are free of any political leanings. As he told Glenn Whipp: "Let me put it this way. I'm happy to piss those guys off. I don't agree with their worldview." As for his detractors' contempt for his environmental consciousness, dramatized in the film by the callous destruction of the Na'vi's pastoral world, Cameron says that the film's environmental message is a lesson for all moviegoers to digest. He explains that our planet "will be a dying world if we don't make some fundamental changes about how we view ourselves and how we view wealth .... We're going to have to live with less." Cameron admits that many people will wonder what a fabulously wealthy filmmaker ensconced in a Malibu mansion knows about living with less, but he says that "I think there's a way to live and raise your kids with a set of values that teaches them the importance of hard work, the importance of respecting other people and the importance of respecting nature." Cameron says he did have second thoughts about using an explicit "shock and awe" Iraq war reference in the film, but he insists that it reflects a bigger point he was trying to make. "What I really was saying was, 'Listen to what your leaders are saying. Open your eyes. And understand what the run-up to war is like, so the next time it happens, you can question it." People have debated for years whether message-oriented films actually have an effect on filmgoers' consciousness. Seeing a movie is such an internalized, diffuse experience that it's hard to know how much of an influence it leaves behind. But I would say this: You could not have spent 150 minutes immersed in the world of "Avatar" without coming away with a new respect for how much we should treasure the natural resources of our world -- or any other. Poster Comment: I am in complete awe of this film. It is a movie that will revolutionaize the industry and bring people back to the theater. More importantly this fim maker is spot on with his message on culture, the need for more focus on the environment, and I completely resonate with it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lives, and the Na'vi and Pandora have captured my imagination and heart.
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Human rights activists are turning up the heat on British company Vedanta Resources over charges that its operations threaten the existence of India's Dongria Kondh tribe. Cast as a "David versus Goliath" fight by the tribe and its supporters, the Vedanta story comes at a time when stakeholders continue to look for a firm definition and application of a community engagement concept known as Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC), to benefit indigenous peoples around the world. Survival International has appealed to the makers of the blockbuster movie "Avatar" to help the Dongria Kondh fight off mining plans and the pollution resulting from Vedanta's operations in Orissa state. Vedanta and its subsidiaries already have government approval to expand current aluminum refinery operations and move forward with plans to mine the Niyamgiri Hills for bauxite. The Dongria Kondh hold the Niyamgiri Hills sacred, and view themselves as protectors. "The fundamental story of 'Avatar' -- if you take away the multi-colored lemurs, the long-trunked horses and warring androids -- is being played out today in the hills of Niyamgiri in Orissa, India. . . . The [Vedanta Resources] mine will destroy the forests on which the Dongria Kondh depend and wreck the lives of thousands of other Kondh tribal people living in the area," the group's director Stephen Corry said in a public appeal to "Avatar" creator, James Cameron. Amnesty International also released a recent report on the Dongria Kondh case (.pdf), blasting the government for a failure to provide area residents with enough or accurate information about Vedanta's operations. "People are living in the shadow of a massive refinery, breathing polluted air and afraid to drink from and bathe in a river that is one of the main sources of water in the region. It is shocking how those who are most affected by the project have been provided with the least information," AI's South Asia researcher Ramesh Gopalakrishan said in a press release. For years, indigenous rights and human rights activists as well as socially responsible investment entities have been working on developing a framework for obtaining a local community's informed consent to development and private sector projects, with mixed success. Many within the business community have questioned FPIC implementation over concerns that it is too broad and without any measurable guidelines. The role of government in protecting a country's inhabitants is also an implementation concern. Many expect the efforts of the U.N.'s special representative on business and human rights, John Ruggie, to clarify the roles and expectations of the various players involved in protecting indigenous communities' rights. Ruggie is building his case for action based on a three-pillar framework: Respect, Protect and Remedy. But Ruggie's presentation of concrete guidelines isn't due until 2011, which could be too late for the Dongria Kondh. http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/blog/show/5104 Not to mention there is a real life, here on Earth fight pitting indigenous people against a mining corporation out to destroy their land, way of life and just as evil and ruthless as the fictional entity mining on Pandora.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestIndian Tribe's Supporters Liken Battle to 'Avatar' Juliette Terzieff | Bio | 10 Feb 2010
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