The anticipated return to Pandora took 13 years, but now that Avatar: The Way of Water is finally here, it’s not all smooth landing. Just like the 2009 original, Avatar: The Way of Water follows the story of the Na’Vi, the species native to Pandora. In the original film humans attempted to take over Pandora in order to access a valuable mineral. Jake Sully, a former Marine and human from Earth is rescued by Na’vi princess Neytiri, and the two eventually fall in love with Sully remaining on Pandora. He becomes a key figure in the Na’vi tribe, helping to drive off the humans trying to inhabit Pandora. In Avatar: The Way of the Water, Sully is the chief of the Omaticaya clan, and once again, must battle against humans for the sake of Pandora.

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While the films’ underlying themes are open to interpretation some Indigenous activists believe that Sully is representative of a white savior and that the film romanticizes colonization. Speaking with The Washington Post, Cheney Poole (who is Maori), says the film shows “very upfront and apparent romanticization of colonization.” Director James Cameron has stated before that the film is about imperialism, and many others have noted the coincidences between the films and the European military and Native American conflict during the colonial period. Scholar of decolonization at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver Autumn Asher Blackdeer has a different issue with the film, and feels it lacks Indigenous representation. She told the publication:

Online, Indigenous activists are also taking to social media asking that others boycott the film while calling it out for cultural appropriation.

“I’m so tired of hearing Indigenous stories from a white perspective. We don’t need Hollywood big-budget movies. We could tell our own stories.”

James Cameron Responds to Criticism

     20th Century Studios

Cameron has addressed the issues that groups are seeing with the film, and the director says his intentions were never to offend. He recently told UNILAD:

Cameron added that his goal was to celebrate “the wisdom keepers” and that he believes that those living in “urbanized civilization” can learn from the indigenous people who remain “connected to nature.”

“Here’s my philosophy in general. The people who have been victimized historically are always right. It’s not up to me, speaking from a perspective of white privilege, if you will, to tell them that they’re wrong. I have to listen. I have to say, ‘Okay, if that’s what you’re feeling, that’s what you’re feeling.’ And it has validity. It’s pointless for me to say, ‘Well, that was never my intention.’”

“The movie is intended to celebrate those philosophies, that spirituality. If we offend anybody in the process, I can only apologize, but we’re doing the best we can.”