A culmination and a new frontier. Explore the elements that inspired James Cameron's Avatar

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2019.05.29Ikuya Takamori

Interspersed with religious elements

The religious rituals of the Na'vi, who worship Eiwa, the god who resides in Pandora's Tree of Souls, are reminiscent of those of the indigenous peoples of Africa and the New World, but Cameron sprinkles in other elements that suggest connections with existing religions. There is.

First, the Na'vi's blue skin tone was taken from paintings and statues of the Hindu god Vishnu. Additionally, the word Avatar originally came from Sanskrit and meant "the incarnation of God (Vishnu)," but it later became generalized and was also used to refer to the player's "alter ego" in The Game. is.

In Cameron's works, the protagonist's ``unexpected allies'' are often given Christian-related names. This includes the android Bishop (bishop means ``bishop'') in `` Aliens' ' and Ensign Monk (monk ``monk'') in `` The Abyss '' (89). Dr. Augustine in "Avatar" and others look down on Marine Corps officer Jake, but her last name is taken from Saint Augustine.

I mentioned in my article about ``Alita: Battle Angel'' that Cameron is extremely particular about initials, and he often gives ``J'' to the initials of heroic protagonists and important characters. I don't think this is unrelated to the fact that Cameron's own initials are ``JC,'' the same as Jesus Christ. In `` The Terminator '' (1984) and `` Terminator 2: Judgment Day '' (1991), JC's John Connor is the one who saves humanity in a future dominated by machines, and in `` Titanic '' (1997), the name of the main character who saves the heroine is also Jack. . Jake from Avatar also throws himself into the fight to save Na'vi and Pandora.

Cameron's idea of Jake as Christ is clear from the fact that in one scene near the end, the composition in which Neytiri holds Jake is a reproduction of Michelangelo's sculpture Pietà . "Pieta" refers to a work of art with the motif of the Virgin Mary holding the body of the crucified Christ, but considering that the New Testament describes Christ's resurrection after being executed, it is similar to "Avatar". The connection with the last part of this becomes even clearer.

In this way, Cameron weaves together creatures and landscapes that actually exist on Earth, past events and stories, science fiction culture including his own creations, and many religious elements to create a story that feels nostalgic and familiar even though it is a completely unknown environment. Created a world of ``Avatar'' that you can remember. In the next article , I would like to focus on the film's visual challenges such as CG, motion capture, and 3D.

【reference】

1. “ James Cameron: The Man Who Looks to the Future from the End of the World ” Written by Rebecca Keegan Translated by Shuntaro Yoshida Film Art Publishing

2. " The ART of AVATAR The World of James Cameron's Avatar " Written by Lisa Fitzpatrick Translated by Yumi Kikuchi Shogakukan Shueisha Productions

Text: Ikuya Takamori

Freelance writer, English-Japanese translator. Mainly contributes movie reviews and columns to web media, and translates news articles. The translated book is ``Science of Star Wars--Thorough verification! From the true nature of the Force to intergalactic travel” (written by Mark Blake and John Chase, published by Kagaku Doujin) and others.

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