Avatar inspires peace camp

Coming home last night from the cinema, I found out that "Avatar" has served as an inspiration for the weekly demonstration against the Separation Wall in Bil'in, that same morning. Demonstrators dressed as the N'ibi people from James Cameron's film sent out the message of a universal struggle against colonialism:
http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/testimonies/Bilin-weekly-d...

For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Bil'in is a Palestinian village in the West bank. It is a site of weekly demonstrations against the Separation Wall and the occupation, for almost five years. Over these years, Bil'in has become a symbol for a popular struggle of Palestinians, Israelis and international activists. http://www.bilin-village.org/

Peaceful demonstrations and injured or killed demonstrators are no longer news. And so, the creative element of performance certainly helped the demonstration to draw some public attention to their messages. Nowadays, blue people with pointy ears and long tails can actually attract more sympathy than real people under real occupation, struggling to live their lives in safety and dignity.

There are some thoughts I would like to share after watching "Avatar". Please do not read further if you intend to watch the movie and wouldn't like to encounter spoilers.

"Avatar" is considered a breakthrough in 3D movies. People in the movies were amazed by the magic of the 3D glasses and the ability to see beautifully made nature landscapes in 3D. I couldn't help thinking about the actual nature and its resources, which are being destroyed as I write these lines. Forests which are being destroyed, lakes being dried, nature reserves wiped out to be used for real estate projects. All of them are also in 3D. I am afraid that sooner than we think, the only forests we will be able to see in the world, are those that require special 3D glasses. Hollywood – the cultural production of the capitalist order – extends us the courtesy of being fascinated by the process and ignoring the actual 3D worlds passing by, never to return.

So far about the format. But then, there is also the content. "Avatar" does tell a story of "happy end" colonialism. It is Hollywood, after all. The natives remain on their planet, and the bad guys (capitalist corporations and their military units) go back to Earth – after causing some irreversible damage, of course (but they will come back, bigger, stronger, with deadlier weapons – they always do). Hollywood is not there to educate about history. It is there for entertainment. And it is not at all entertaining to face the true consequences of colonial projects: violent erasure of histories, cultures, human lives and human worlds.