Comments on: Birth of a Planet* http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269 Peter Sagal is an author, playwright, screenwriter, essayist and the host of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:44:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Marc Healy http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14880 Marc Healy Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:21:16 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14880 I'm an anthropologist, and this is what we, thanks to Renato Rosaldo, call "imperialist nostagia." You hanker for what you have destroyed. Dances with Wolves was a prime example, and figured prominantly in Rosaldo's explication of the concept in his eponymous essay (which can be found in the excellent 1993 volume "Culture and Truth." This movie is wrong, wrong, WRONG anthropologically on certain levels, although it does an excellent job of highlighting anthropological themes like rites of passage, acculturation, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, symbolism, environmental/cultural interactions, etc. This move is neither vapid nor clever, but it is to a degree naive in its ideological stance. It's on solid enough footing though that people can identiry with it, and ambiguous enough that people can argue about it, so I think it's great. I loved the movie, and pondering the implications of the characters and what is actually says about US as a species and ourselves as individuals- maybe Cameron was onto something after all! I’m an anthropologist, and this is what we, thanks to Renato Rosaldo, call “imperialist nostagia.” You hanker for what you have destroyed. Dances with Wolves was a prime example, and figured prominantly in Rosaldo’s explication of the concept in his eponymous essay (which can be found in the excellent 1993 volume “Culture and Truth.” This movie is wrong, wrong, WRONG anthropologically on certain levels, although it does an excellent job of highlighting anthropological themes like rites of passage, acculturation, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, symbolism, environmental/cultural interactions, etc. This move is neither vapid nor clever, but it is to a degree naive in its ideological stance. It’s on solid enough footing though that people can identiry with it, and ambiguous enough that people can argue about it, so I think it’s great. I loved the movie, and pondering the implications of the characters and what is actually says about US as a species and ourselves as individuals- maybe Cameron was onto something after all!

]]> By: Dave von Ebers http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14825 Dave von Ebers Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:05:18 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14825 I just can't believe you spilled the beans on that whole Dunkin' Donuts bagels thing! I just can’t believe you spilled the beans on that whole Dunkin’ Donuts bagels thing!

]]> By: Josh http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14816 Josh Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:40:20 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14816 Avatar isn't anti-technology- it's pro-technology!! Only through continued technological advancement can anything like Pandora ever evolve <a href="http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3" rel="nofollow">Evolution, Immunolgy and Religion in James Cameron’s Avatar</a> Avatar isn’t anti-technology- it’s pro-technology!! Only through continued technological advancement can anything like Pandora ever evolve

Evolution, Immunolgy and Religion in James Cameron’s Avatar

]]> By: Travis http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14815 Travis Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:39:48 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14815 I just have to comment about the limbs. While in the back of my head, I realize that the Navi being standard humanoid in shape is most likely about not weirding out the paying public, I choose to view it as an part of the world development. I am intrigued by the back story. The Navi are likely not native to Pandora, so how did they get there? Did they somehow engineer themselves to have the USB ports, or did Pandora "change" them. And those arches over the Tree of Souls are very regular and not very organic looking. Ancient ruins maybe? But who built them? Or maybe I just want it to have a plot to match the incredible visuals. I just have to comment about the limbs. While in the back of my head, I realize that the Navi being standard humanoid in shape is most likely about not weirding out the paying public, I choose to view it as an part of the world development. I am intrigued by the back story. The Navi are likely not native to Pandora, so how did they get there? Did they somehow engineer themselves to have the USB ports, or did Pandora “change” them. And those arches over the Tree of Souls are very regular and not very organic looking. Ancient ruins maybe? But who built them?

Or maybe I just want it to have a plot to match the incredible visuals.

]]> By: Ceolaf http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14814 Ceolaf Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:26:10 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14814 It's really more like European colonialism in Africa and Asia than the American treatment of native Americans. Furthermore, the navi have more African have more African physical features. It’s really more like European colonialism in Africa and Asia than the American treatment of native Americans. Furthermore, the navi have more African have more African physical features.

]]> By: Nate http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14813 Nate Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:57:57 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14813 I was more bothered by "only two eyes" than by "only four limbs" but I did notice that. I was more bothered by “only two eyes” than by “only four limbs” but I did notice that.

]]> By: Don http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14810 Don Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:31:13 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14810 You just don't understand. Mankind's reliance on and need for unobtanium are essential to our national and global survival. Abandoning our efforts to obtain it will have a disastrous effect on our economy at a time when it is most fragile, putting millions out of work world-wide. There is also very little actual evidence that the presence of humans on Pandora is causing any of the ill effects that liberals claim. When measured as an average over the last twelve years, many unbiased scientists say that conditions on Pandora are actually improving. Please, don't shut down our essential unobtanium industry over unproved junk science claims. You just don’t understand. Mankind’s reliance on and need for unobtanium are essential to our national and global survival. Abandoning our efforts to obtain it will have a disastrous effect on our economy at a time when it is most fragile, putting millions out of work world-wide. There is also very little actual evidence that the presence of humans on Pandora is causing any of the ill effects that liberals claim. When measured as an average over the last twelve years, many unbiased scientists say that conditions on Pandora are actually improving. Please, don’t shut down our essential unobtanium industry over unproved junk science claims.

]]> By: I told my buddy I want to be a senator. Will the Trib please put that on their home page? | Bubbly Creek | blogs.vocalo.org http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14808 I told my buddy I want to be a senator. Will the Trib please put that on their home page? | Bubbly Creek | blogs.vocalo.org Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:47:06 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14808 [...] Finally, a semi-bad review for Avatar. From Peter Sagal: ‘It’s species-ism at its [...] […] Finally, a semi-bad review for Avatar. From Peter Sagal: ‘It’s species-ism at its […]

]]> By: Gwen http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14807 Gwen Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:51:32 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14807 Actually, take a look at the scene again where they pan through the military personnel while they are receiving the big pep talk. I definitely saw women and I think there were non-whites in the military scenes as well. The plot line of Avatar reminded me of Ferngully... special tree, clueless guy who is helping cut down the rainforest, but then decides it's wrong... What I thought about while watching the movie was that Pandora was so far away from earth that the other earthlings didn't know (or wouldn't find out in time) about the carnage happening on Pandora (they were in cryo in the beginning of the movie for the trip to Pandora, right?). I was hoping the humans on Pandora were not the only humans left in the universe. (as Bill says above - I'm just reading upwards and catching up...) Actually, take a look at the scene again where they pan through the military personnel while they are receiving the big pep talk. I definitely saw women and I think there were non-whites in the military scenes as well.

The plot line of Avatar reminded me of Ferngully… special tree, clueless guy who is helping cut down the rainforest, but then decides it’s wrong…

What I thought about while watching the movie was that Pandora was so far away from earth that the other earthlings didn’t know (or wouldn’t find out in time) about the carnage happening on Pandora (they were in cryo in the beginning of the movie for the trip to Pandora, right?). I was hoping the humans on Pandora were not the only humans left in the universe. (as Bill says above - I’m just reading upwards and catching up…)

]]> By: Philip http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14806 Philip Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:40:41 +0000 http://petersagal.com/wordpress/?p=269#comment-14806 Great post! Keep it up for the new decade :) Great post! Keep it up for the new decade :)

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