Avatar or Avatar?

[Slargos]

Caught it in 3D today. It certainly improved the viewing experience, but I wasn't overwhelmed.

[Neil]

3D does seem to have come at just the right time for cinema in the west.

The early 1950s?   

eh?

3D is actually a pretty old technology.  The first "wave" of 3D movies came out in the 1950s, and there have been various attempts to produce 3D flicks since then.  Now Avatar (and a host of CGI technologies) may now make 3D popular and mainstream, but it's not a new technology by any stretch.

Yeah, but it's essential in cinema's war against piracy.  It's pretty much the only weapon they have.

[Neil]

3D is actually a pretty old technology.  The first "wave" of 3D movies came out in the 1950s, and there have been various attempts to produce 3D flicks since then.  Now Avatar (and a host of CGI technologies) may now make 3D popular and mainstream, but it's not a new technology by any stretch.

Is 3D a technology?

I think I understand what you are saying, but my understanding is that this version of 3D is based on a different technology than any of the others.

Technology:  The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.

I think that 3D qualifies.

[Siege]

Have they ever saved themselves?

I can't recall right now.

Haiti, for starters.

Did you say Haiti?

[Siege]

Yi is the new Prophet Of Doom here in Languishtan.

[Slargos]

[sbr]

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/feature/avatar-perfection-causing-depression/story-e6frfnv0-1225819063598

Avatar perfection causing depression

* From: The Daily Telegraph
* January 14, 2010 8:04AM

AN IDYLLIC planet populated by blue aliens is an ideal setting for cinematic escapism. But the world of the sci-fi epic Avatar is so perfect people have admitted being plagued by depression and suicidal thoughts at not being able to visit the planet.

Set in the future when Earth's resources have been depleted, director James Cameron's film tells the story of a corporation trying to mine a rare mineral.

The humans clash with the natives - a peace-loving race of 7ft tall, blue-skinned creatures called the Na'vi, who exist in perfect harmony with nature.

Fans have flooded the internet with their confused feelings. On the site Avatar Forums, the topic 'Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible' has more than 1,000 posts.

In a similar forum, one user wrote: "When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed grey. It just seems so meaningless.

"I still don't really see any reason to keep doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

On another site, one fan was even more affected, admitting: "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora."

On the Avatar site Naviblue, a fan calling himself Jorba has even asked others to join him in starting a real Na'vi tribe.

The incredible visual realism of the film could mean viewers become particularly attached, the Daily Mail reports.

Dr Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Centre for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York told CNN: "Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far.

"It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."

But not everyone viewing the film has been hit by the 'Avatar Blues', as a small but vocal group have alleged it contains racist themes - the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.

Since the film opened three weeks ago, hundreds of blog posts, newspaper articles, tweets and YouTube videos have said things such as the film is 'a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people' and that it reinforces 'the white Messiah fable'."

The film's writer and director, James Cameron, says the real theme is about respecting others' differences.

DEALING WITH THE AVATAR BLUES

On the official Avatar website, David Scott Jaggers posted:

"I can totally relate [to people feeling depressed about having to leave the world of Pandora]. I think most us can here.

"For me, getting to talk to you guys online allows me to feel closer to the movie, or maybe closer to you guys because we can share our feeling and thoughts and friendships.

"So many things from the movie, like for example the idea of brotherhood we can bring to this very real world of ours."

Saw this on EUOT, too funny.

[Neil]

Waterheads like that do us all a favour by ending themselves.

[Martinus]

I normally get dizzy when I see 3d or surround screens but I didnt have any trouble with this - probably because of the high quality.  Your brother should give it a try.

Same. Didn't have any problems. Boyo had problems watching it in contact lenses, though.

[Slargos]

Is there ANY movie lately that hasn't been attacked for having a racist message?

[Syt]

As said in the movie thread - saw it in 3D last night. It appears that the 3D quality in the theater I was at wasn't too good (worked in some scenes well, not so well in others), as a friend remarked who had seen the movie before in a different theater. My eyes felt, despite the break, like I had worked in front of an old 14" screen, even though our seats were pretty much dead center and eye level with the middle of the screen. Could also be influenced by my normal glasses, though. I will have a chance to compare with IMAX on friday.

Yes, the movie's story was not exactly novel, but it played all its tropes and clichés well, and the visuals made it seem very fresh and new. I didn't expect much, but I was thoroughly entertained and for me it's a movie that - probably by being more visual than plot driven - stayed in my head the whole following day.

Actually, it's probably as well that the story wasn't too deep, because the visual information combined with an elaborate, intricate plot with plenty twists and turns might be a bit much.

Still, glitzy action adventure movies with polished CG effects and easy to follow plots come about aplenty, and yet this one seems special. Possibly because it's one of the few movies that uses its effects not primarily to create images of awe inspiring destruction (Transformers, 2012, ...) but for rather awe inspiring (yet deadly) beauty and vistas, creating an "I'd like to be there!" effect.

[sbr]

From EUOT:

Source

TAIPEI (AFP) – A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke likely triggered by over-excitement from watching the blockbuster "Avatar" in 3D, a doctor said Tuesday.

The man, identified only by his surname Kuo, started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month in the northern city of Hsinchu and was taken to hospital.

Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was haemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said.

"It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," he told AFP.

Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, and the China Times newspaper said it was the first death linked to watching James Cameron's science-fiction epic "Avatar".

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of "Avatar" and other movies rich in 3D imagery.

James Cameron - 1  Over-excitable Taiwanese men - 0

[Syt]

TVtropes has a comment likening Avatar's success to the first Star Wars.


Off the top of my head:

The similarities:
- well known, easy to understand story concepts and tropes
plus
- two dimensional characters (the Star Wars characters didn't really have much depth till Empire)

- splendid visions of a heretofore unseen world (at least not seen in such detail), pushing the boundaries of special effects/movie immersion
- unexpectedly strong box office success (there were plenty people predicting Avatar would quickly tank after an initially strong opening) ... can't remember many recent movies that were shown on the main screens of most multiplexes for 4 weeks in a row over here

The differences:
- budget, obviously
- marketing (the original Star Wars became known more by word of mouth than by studio driven marketing at first)

Whether or not Avatar will achieve a similarly iconic status in pop culture as Star Wars remains to be seen. My initial guess would be no, because I think on the whole the original Star Wars was more "quotable" in scenes and dialogue.

[crazy canuck]

Whether or not Avatar will achieve a similarly iconic status in pop culture as Star Wars remains to be seen. My initial guess would be no, because I think on the whole the original Star Wars was more "quotable" in scenes and dialogue.

I agree, Star Wars was a cultural force.  The music from the movie sold in record numbers and  as you referred to the dialogue was quoted far and wide - "May the force be with you" was said by everyone.  I cant think of one line from Avatar the stuck with me or that I hear being repeated nor do I find myself humming an Avatar tune. 

[Barrister]

It's hard to say.  The movie only came out a month ago.  Did people realize how much Star Wars would resonate one month later?  Were people able to quote large portions of the movie after seeing it the first time?