Defeating the Odds of Love

A monumental scene that stood out to me in Avatar was one of the fighting scenes when Jake was fighting one on one with Colonel Quaritch. The music is so dramatic here, so fast, loud and intense. In this scene Colonels secure glass was broken by Jake and Colonel was starting to lack oxygen. Colonel says “hey Sully, how does it feel to betray your own race?” at that instance you could see Jakes face, it was furious. Colonel then proceeds to ask, “You think your one of them? Well it’s time to wake up.” Colonel then starts to break the glass of the lab that was holding Jakes Human body. Not only does Jakes real body feel the effects of the lack of Oxygen but also his Avatar body. This is scene is so real to me, I was so caught up in the movie, the fighting, the drama and even the love story, that I started to forgot how fragile Jake really is. He is not a 10ft Avatar, he is a handicapped human. This scene is a signifier of not only reality and how Pandora is not possible for Jake to live in but, its showing me that once again, this isn’t a world for humans, this isn’t a world that I could live in.

Moving forward, a few minutes later in this scene Neytiri runs over to Jakes Avatar body and

try’s to save him, only realizing that she is losing him, she quickly runs over to the lab and finds what she thinks is Jakes Human body and holds him. This is a HUGE scene; a 10ft Avatar women is holding a frail human. Jakes body looks so small, as if she is cradling a baby back to health. Once again I am put in my place, being reminded that I am not an Avatar, Jake is not an Avatar, and although he may have an Avatar body, he fully depends on his Human body in order to function in either world.

The music starts to tone down even more, as if the scene will now take a turn for the worst. Neytiri continues to hold jakes body screaming “My Jake”. I can’t help but feel as If I have seen a scene similar to this before, and I’m right I have! This brings me directly back to what we have even discussed in class, Titanic, when Roses holds on to Jacks (Not jakes) frail cold body and screams Jack (Coincidence?-I think not! This is Intertextuality at its best.) The music in both of these movie scenes is so heart wrenching, so dramatic and sad. Though unlike Titanic, Neytiris man does come back and Jake begins breathing again, starting to realize that Neytiri saved him. He places his small hand on her face and says “I see you”, Neytiri beings to cry and says “I see you”. Wow what an amazing moment here. It’s as if the movie and director are shoving all of my negative thoughts of how I or Jake could never live in Pandora in my face. Trying to prove me wrong, that regardless of Neytiris or Jakes bodies or where they come from, they love one another. They see each other for their flaws and differences but still are in love. This is what the viewers, alright; mostly women viewers hope to see. A happily ever after love story of two opposites attracting, beating the odds and making something magical happen.

Man, now I think I might even have post-Avatar depression.