Avatar: The Way of... Whatever?

Yes, that is a clickbait title. Now let me share with you how I feel about the cultural impact of Avatar, my career and beyond.

I wouldn’t normally share a film review I've written on LinkedIn, and nor have I written anything long form on here before either, but I feel this film, and this series, for me has sparked deep thought, creative inspiration as well as some reflection on my career to date.

Standing up for these films isn't considered very 'cool' but who cares, I love them and what they stand for, so here we go.

2009

Before I jump in to my thoughts on The Way of Water I want to talk about the first Avatar, released 13 years ago in 2009 and the highest grossing film of all time.

Much has been said in the intervening years about the apparent lack of cultural impact the film has made since then but I'd argue it has, and in deeper ways than just using a line like "I'll be back" in general conversation. For me personally the first film left a deep impression and now, reflecting back on it, I've realised how much of an impact the film has had not just on the film industry, but culture worldwide and on my own personal career.

The technical innovations are hard to ignore. Photo–real CGI beyond the uncanny valley? Tick. Performance capture used now in every major blockbuster? Tick. The pioneering of virtual production that has revolutionised the use of game engines in filmmaking (see Star Wars and The Mandolorian)? Tick.

I was obsessed with the technical marvels at the time, and whilst film had always been a burning passion of mine I'm sure it was Avatar that inspired me to really go down the route of film and animation.

For my final major project in 2011 I made a stereoscopic stop motion animation (which sparked quite a breakdown) where the words of a book leapt out from the page into the real world. I probably should have become obsessed with VFX and CG (I sort of did eventually) but rather it influenced my desire to create big conceptual ideas using the right tools and medium for the job.

The environmental message is the film's real achievement.

More than anything though, its the environmental messages of the film that's had the deepest impact on myself. It's the themes about our connections with nature and the rest of all living things on this planet, of how we use resources and of how we treat our one home. If it influenced me then, as the biggest film of all time, I'm certain it's also played a huge part in a rising shift of consciousness and awareness of our relationship with nature across the planet.?

Not to mention also how the film takes head on how the role of imperialism and colonialism has shaped our modern economy and international power dynamics. To have that all wrapped up in the biggest piece of commerce driven entertainment ever is an important milestone to acknowledge, whether you like it or not.

To paraphrase James Cameron, his Fox executives at the time asked if he could take out all that 'hippy, dippy, nonsense', and the answer was a resounding NO from Cameron who stood firm in his creative vision knowing the importance of the messages wrapped up in his movie. I'd say almost $3 billion at the global box office is enough vindication for keeping it in.

2022

So I look at myself 13 years later, with the experiences I've gained, the values I hold and the job I have now and I realised I've come full circle. From my upbringing as the son of a renewable energy engineer in Guernsey we had some pretty progressive conversations about energy and the climate crisis 20 years ago.

Leaving the island and?seeing Avatar whilst at university, to the work I made in response and the career path I ended up taking in creative writing, filmmaking and motion design I now find myself making work with a 'purpose'.

This year I've made a campaign film for ClientEarth, the announcement film for WWF's Living Planet Report 2022 and a film targeted directly at world leaders to take action at the COP15 Biodiversity conference this December.

I am immensely proud that my career has led to this point and seeing the success of things like Avatar and now its sequel validates my decision to dedicate my working life to these causes.

I often wondered, should I stay at home and help my Dad achieve his mission to transition Guernsey, and the world, from fossil fuels to renewables and I'm finally at peace knowing I've carved my own path and I'm now contributing from an entirely different angle.

What now?

Whether the film actually sparked something across the globe or it was just the tip of a huge (unsinkable ship piercing) iceberg, it feels to me as though you can look back at 2009 as the moment where we could no longer ignore the challenges we faced in front of us.

In the years since we've seen the rise of Greta Thunberg, protesting school children, Extinction Rebellion, vegan food go mainstream, electric cars, conscious brands and products, a large wind farm built off the coast of my now home Brighton, widespread media coverage about all of this and much, much more.

Meanwhile it's all still getting worse, so the need to take action, apply pressure and change is vital – as is the role of creativity.

Films like these, the conversations we have, the art we make and the marketing, services and products we produce and provide all have the power to shift culture and influence the decisions and habits of people from our world leaders and CEOs to the average consumer.

Where once people like us were the ones having crazy conversations about a better future, we're now having them daily about the things that are happening, the things we need to change and defining entire business strategies and ways of working to solve these issues.

Coming back to Avatar: The Water of Water for a second – sure, having a laugh at the hippy blue alien people movie is probably quite fun for some but for me it's not a joke. What's on display here is an excellence of artistry and creativity, a group of people working together at the top of their game to make finely tuned original blockbuster cinema that examines our cultural flaws, the things we're taking for granted and the destruction we're doing to our planet.

All these things together resonated with me so much I cried, sometimes in awe of its achievement, of what it was saying and how it made me feel about my life and my family.?

It might not be 'cool' to admit any of this but to anyone else who felt the same, I see you.

My review on Letterboxd.

Thanks for reading and please do check out my review on Letterboxd if you're at all interested in hearing my thoughts on the film specifically:

https://letterboxd.com/jgrfletcher/film/avatar-the-way-of-water/