# Avatar: Now that you've actually seen it. No spoilers in OP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626 "2009-12-17T11:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/642 "2010-01-12T07:42:38Z")
I can buy it. If anyone I was pissed at ever landed near me on a giant dragon I would still quickly attempt to get on their good side. After what happened last time. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/643 "2010-01-12T07:48:53Z")
He didn’t cause the death and destruction, it would have happened without him. He was sent in the first place to try and get them to move away from Hometree, minimizing the death and destruction. Edit to add, ok, not the destruction, but definitely the deaths. The big bird was yet another, and by far the most spectacular, sign that he’d been “chosen/approved” by Ewya, for them to listen to him. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/644 "2010-01-12T12:02:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > We saw it in IMAX 3-D tonight - oh. my. god. I have never seen anything like that before. My beef (like I said in the mini-rants thread) is that my eyes don’t seem to like 3-D - my head is still aching. But, oh, what a spectacular movie! > > I don’t want to read 13 pages - did anyone call it “Dances With Aliens” yet? 🙂 Not worded so eloquently but references were made to Dances with Wolves and Aliens. Sorry it was physically hard to watch. I’d like to see it again on an Imax screen but I would have to travel an hour and put up with the 2 1/2 hours of missing plot. I don’t know if I have the energy. What I don’t get is the [depression](http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html)some people are experiencing. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/645 "2010-01-12T14:25:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > What I don’t get is the [depression](http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html)some people are experiencing. The Hell? _“The bright side is that for Hill and others like him – who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron – becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.”_ Some people are too stupid for words. Also, have too easy a life, apparently. Sheesh. However, I note that they actually saw a different film than the one that’s playing in theaters: _“peace-loving race of 7-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na’vi”_ Yeah, “peace-loving”: _warrior_ culture with giant bows that has had to have a Toruk Makto to unify the tribes no less than five times in their history. Oy. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/646 "2010-01-12T15:19:24Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Wait. You felt it necessary to single out the Star Wars _prequels_ when complaining here? > > Star Wars _the original movie_ was stock characters and a retread plot through and through. It’s about a Magical Farmboy meeting up with a Rogue With A Heart Of Gold and an Old Wizard to go rescue a Princess who’s being held captive by an Evil Knight, for heaven’s sake. > > Even when I saw the first Star Wars movie, at the age of 10 I could tell right away that Luke and Han were going to rescue Leia, and that the Empire wouldn’t win and that the Rebel Base wouldn’t be destroyed. About the only surprise was that Obi-Wan died (it was some time before I read about the Hero’s Journey)… and same thing happened with Jake’s mentor Grace in Avatar. > > This sort of cardboard cutout characters and plot didn’t just suddenly show up in the Star Wars prequels. It’s been in Star Wars all along. And in Avatar, too – although the latter had a bit more nuance; Quaritch isn’t as over-the-top eeeevil as Darth Vader, and Grace wasn’t as all-knowing and wise as Obi-Wan. > > Still, with Avatar you get the alien princess in bikini from the _first_ movie. Obviously superior to the Star Wars oeuvre, QED. All I have to say is FUCK FUCK FUCK the heroes journey. That shit is so lame. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/647 "2010-01-12T15:24:16Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Not worded so eloquently but references were made to Dances with Wolves and Aliens. Sorry it was physically hard to watch. I’d like to see it again on an Imax screen but I would have to travel an hour and put up with the 2 1/2 hours of missing plot. I don’t know if I have the energy. > > What I don’t get is the [depression](http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html)some people are experiencing. You know, in the vast majority of cases depression _isn’t_ funny. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/648 "2010-01-12T15:43:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t want to read 13 pages - did anyone call it “Dances With Aliens” yet? 🙂 I prefer “Dances with Viperwolves,” (which is what those black pack animals are called). ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/649 "2010-01-12T16:09:40Z")
Anyone who thinks that Avatar was a Noble Savage story missed the point. The humans were repelled by Eywa’s auto-immune reaction. Not by the Na’vi or the Magical Anglo’s not-so-clever plan. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/650 "2010-01-12T16:24:04Z")
Exactly. Jake and the Na’vi _lost_ against the marine mercs. It was Eywa who stomped all over the Earthlings. > [@Malthus](#): > > You know, in the vast majority of cases depression _isn’t_ funny. 😉 This would be one of the rare exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Truculent\_Gentleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@The\_Truculent\_Gentleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Truculent_Gentleman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/651 "2010-01-12T16:25:50Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t want to read 13 pages - did anyone call it “Dances With Aliens” yet? 🙂 I prefer South Park’s ‘Dances with Smurfs’. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/652 "2010-01-12T17:31:48Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > This would be one of the rare exceptions. My point exactly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/653 "2010-01-12T18:34:49Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Exactly. Jake and the Na’vi _lost_ against the marine mercs. It was Eywa who stomped all over the Earthlings. And lost badly at that. Just shows that you don’t get a grunt to handle tactics. “so you guys are all about running/hiding in trees etc. I know, you should get on the groound and just run at the mechs/machines guns” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/654 "2010-01-12T19:02:11Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > You know, in the vast majority of cases depression _isn’t_ funny. 😉 I think the depression here is funny like a guy crying is funny - when that guy is [Chris Crocker.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc) (Link to “Leave Britney Alone” video.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/655 "2010-01-12T20:23:17Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Combining human DNA with alien DNA is one example. How does _that_ work? Well, the answer is right there in your question, plain as day - they’re both _DNA_. If we can insert our insulin genes into _E.coli_, this doesn’t seem so weird. What’s weird is that they use DNA, unless you buy some manifest destiny theory for universal genetics. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/656 "2010-01-12T21:27:01Z")
Why is that weird? The universe is made up of the same elements no matter what star system you go to, it’s entirely believable that organic life if it existed elsewhere would be based on the same chemical processes. Not saying it would have to be, just that it could. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/657 "2010-01-12T21:42:14Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Why is that weird? The universe is made up of the same elements no matter what star system you go to, it’s entirely believable that organic life if it existed elsewhere would be based on the same chemical processes. Not saying it would have to be, just that it could. 🙂 I have no problem with the general idea, amino acids seem to be pretty universal, after all. But DNA is a specific structure and set of bases, I’m not 100% comfortable with saying it is universal. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/658 "2010-01-13T02:01:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I have no problem with the general idea, amino acids seem to be pretty universal, after all. But DNA is a specific structure and set of bases, I’m not 100% comfortable with saying it is universal. DNA actually has some unique enough properties that I would not be at all surprised to find that it was also used as genetic material by completely alien life forms - or at least, that they used related compounds such as RNA. (Many scientists theorize that the earliest life forms on Earth used RNA.) Now there could be some variation in the sets of base pairs used, but the compound would still be DNA. What would be virtually impossible would be for the same DNA code to develop independently on different worlds. The code specifies which triplets of bases specify which amino acids in the synthesis of proteins, and is basically arbitrary. It would be even more unlikely to find an alien race to use the same genetic code as to discover that they used the same alphabet as us. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/659 "2010-01-13T02:11:18Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It would be even more unlikely to find an alien race to use the same genetic code as to discover that they used the same alphabet as us. Well, judging by the subtitles, the Na’vi alphabet is the Papyrus font. So… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/660 "2010-01-13T03:40:03Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Well, judging by the subtitles, the Na’vi alphabet is the Papyrus font. So… What, exactly, is people’s problem with the use of the Papyrus font for the subtitles? It seemed like a perfectly acceptable font choice to me. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/661 "2010-01-13T03:53:28Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > What, exactly, is people’s problem with the use of the Papyrus font for the subtitles? It seemed like a perfectly acceptable font choice to me. I am not one of those people, but I’m under the impression that people react that way to Comic Sans or Papyrus in general, possibly due to over-use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626.md?page=34)