# Avatar - The Way of Water
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** movies, disney-hulu
**Created:** [December 13, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471 "2022-12-13T18:13:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/101 "2022-12-30T15:36:28Z")
Yeah they ignored Unobtanium (I half expected a throw away line that Unobtanium was a nickname for a valuable mineral that has a real, not silly name, but they didn’t do that). The new stakes are they are prepping Pandora for full scale colonization and extracting the fluid from the Not Whales.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/102 "2022-12-30T17:47:30Z")
> [@Biffster](#):
>
> She was the general, yes, but she didn’t die as far as I know. She just seemed to disappear from the movie.
There are multiple other movies coming that were shot at the same time. She’s still in charge. I expect to see more of her. This was just an introduction to the character.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/103 "2022-12-30T23:50:32Z")
> [@Quimby](#):
>
> Yeah they ignored Unobtanium (I half expected a throw away line that Unobtanium was a nickname for a valuable mineral that has a real, not silly name, but they didn’t do that). The new stakes are they are prepping Pandora for full scale colonization and extracting the fluid from the Not Whales.
So are they now going after Unobwhalium? Did they they at least give it a name and a reason for the expense of space travel in order to stomp some more Smurfs?
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/104 "2022-12-30T23:55:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> are they now going after Unobwhalium? Did they they at least give it a name and a reason for the expense of space travel in order to stomp some more Smurfs?
The whale brain goo thing was mentioned rather late in the film; it wasn’t given as a justification for the whole shebang, just that it was valuable. The only other motive for being there was that “Earth is dying - Pandora is the future” or somesuch.
I mean, just go see it. This is a “middle” movie and being treated as such. Not everything is explained, which I thought was fine.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/105 "2022-12-31T00:24:44Z")
The whale oil prolonged lives. Not too sure how this was discovered, who thought “let’s shoot Pandoran Brain Oil into my veins” first, but then, in our world, someone worked out how to rot a steak to perfection. Just go with it.
(I would like to note that I’m not too sure the humans have been on Pandora long enough for a longevity potion to have any notable effect, but hell, maybe it makes you look younger too.)
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### Author:  [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/106 "2022-12-31T02:42:19Z")
Didn’t they say the whale oil was worth something like 18 million. I didn’t catch if that was Altarian dollars or latinum or just plain old American dollars. In any case, 18 million whatevers doesn’t seem like a lot to me, not enough to finance such a big operation.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/107 "2022-12-31T06:12:43Z")
I heard $80 million. Gonna assume the dollar has been… adjusted… between now and then. I think in _Aliens_ Paul Glaser mentions the blown up ship in _Alien_ was a $42 million loss for the company. Aliens is set in 2122, Avatar is set in 2154 - are these shared universes?
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/108 "2022-12-31T06:24:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> (I would like to note that I’m not too sure the humans have been on Pandora long enough for a longevity potion to have any notable effect, but hell, maybe it makes you look younger too.)
The guy extracting the brain goo says it stops aging. Not slow it down but completely stops aging.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/109 "2022-12-31T06:32:39Z")
I hope it was branded Unbelievium. Or Bullshitium.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/110 "2022-12-31T08:57:22Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#):
>
> In any case, 18 million whatevers doesn’t seem like a lot to me, not enough to finance such a big operation.
At no point do they say that they’re doing it to finance the whole operation. They’re there to prepare the planet for colonization. The whaling is just capitalism - a way to make some extra cash along the way. Here on earth, colonial enterprises were always accompanied by entrepreneurs and adventurers who were there to exploit resources, often with a special license from the main colonizing body. There were probably dozens or hundreds of such enterprises across the planet.
Also, we don’t know how many whales they hunted. They may kill 3 a day for a 3-week voyage - that’s $5 billion. That could finance quite a lot.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/111 "2022-12-31T18:37:36Z")
No, I’m pretty sure Ridley Scott holds the rights to the Alien universe, unfortunately.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/112 "2022-12-31T18:45:22Z")
Would not be surprised if, in Cameron’s head, they were…
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/113 "2022-12-31T19:00:37Z")
Problem there is that in Aliens, they are fairly well established as an interstellar civilization, where in Avatar, this is the first time humanity has left the solar system.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/114 "2022-12-31T19:05:23Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> (I would like to note that I’m not too sure the humans have been on Pandora long enough for a longevity potion to have any notable effect, but hell, maybe it makes you look younger too.)
I’d guess they studied it in a lab, maybe gave it to some animals first? Rats only live about a year. If you’ve been giving this stuff to a rat for five years, and it’s still as healthy as it was when it was six months old, well, there you go. Presumably, there’s also a physiological reason this stuff works (prevents cellular decay, or makes sure cells duplicate without errors, or something) that can be observed in a human in a shorter period of time than waiting decades to see if they get old.
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> I hope it was branded Unbelievium. Or Bullshitium.
We’re a lot closer to figuring out how to markedly slow or even stop the aging process than we are to figuring out FTL travel. Unlike FTL travel, there’s nothing inherent in the laws of the universe that demands that biological organisms must age and then fail, and indeed, there’s biological life on earth that appears to be effectively immortal.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/115 "2022-12-31T19:09:46Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> Problem there is that in Aliens, they are fairly well established as an interstellar civilization, where in Avatar, this is the first time humanity has left the solar system.
Good point, that.
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/116 "2022-12-31T19:16:35Z")
> [@Miller](#):
>
> I’d guess they studied it in a lab, maybe gave it to some animals first? Rats only live about a year. If you’ve been giving this stuff to a rat for five years, and it’s still as healthy as it was when it was six months old, well, there you go.
I’d think it odd that it would have the same effect on a rat as on a human, but significantly less odd that it has any effect on life that comes from an entirely different solar system.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/117 "2022-12-31T23:44:46Z")
Cameron has to know the plot is thin. The money spent on the screenplay can’t be much compared to CGI expenses. It’s seems like an intentional insult on his part.
Add a nickle to the ticket price and pay some writers…
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/118 "2022-12-31T23:56:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> Cameron has to know the plot is thin. The money spent on the screenplay can’t be much compared to CGI expenses. It’s seems like an intentional insult on his part.
Cameron, wrote, directed and produced the film. You may not like it, but it’s precisely the story he wanted to tell.
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### Author:  [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/119 "2023-01-01T00:00:44Z")
Have you even seen this movie yet?
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-way-of-water/976471/120 "2023-01-01T00:04:56Z")
No, I’ve based it on the comments of people above who liked it and said the plot was thin. I saw the first one and the plot was non-existent.
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