I don’t know if you’ve been following this “eco” / “depression” Avatar madness or not, but I have and it’s seriously getting out of control. In case you have not heard about all the eco-weirdness surrounding this film following is a round up…
First off Avatar has been labeled as a recruitment for eco-terrorists by some industry groups and right wing pundits. The most insane post I’ve read related to Avatar’s sinister eco-motives is over at Red County where Dr. Richard Swier writes that Avatar, among other things, is, “Pure eco-propaganda released to coincide with the end of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.”
Secondly in this freak show of a situation is the case of the Avatar fan forum site “Avatar Forums.” At said forums there’s a topic thread entitled “Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible,” that according to CNN, “Has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope.” The topic is reportedly so popular that a second thread has been opened up on the topic. People are seriously depressed that the imaginary world in the movie is their idea of ideal eco/harmony ethics while real humans continue to kill the planet we actually live on.
WTF?
Ok, one, it’s a movie! A movie. The people who think this movie is eco-propaganda are pushing it big time, and as for the folks who are depressed over the film, it’s not at all necessary. Being an eco-writer I review a lot of green-minded films and documentaries, and while yeah they make me think, I never come away feeling totally hopeless. Disappointed in how many humans act – sure. Disappointed that we even need a movie about saving the planet – yes. But utterly hopeless? NEVER.
Flow for example, was an excellent film, but fairly depressing (if you like the idea of clean water) but rather than feel hopeless about it, I came away from Flow with a feeling of what can I do to create change.
At the risk of sounding mean, my main take on all of these shenanigans is get a grip people. Avatar is very likely not at all about people selling their soul to “eco-terrorists” or about how humans bite it big time when it comes to being good stewards of the earth. It’s a movie; an entertainment tool; a money maker for James Cameron for sure – but all this eco-madness surrounding it, well, that’s just silly.
I should add that plenty of the forum members at the Avatar fan forums (luckily) aren’t on board with killing yourself or even getting yourself too worked up over a flipping movie and have now opened up a thread to discuss what other people are saying about it. Many forum members appear to have a great grip on reality and have spoken out to the people posting about depression and have offered support or simply told them to focus on reality and what you can change, which is exactly what I suggest.
It’s funny because we just discussed green guilt here recently. If you’re interested in creating change instead of feeling guilty or depressed over the state of green then it’s a good post to read. Remember if you zone out or become overly depressed over a movie you aren’t being productive and it’s not helping any eco-friendly cause.
Lastly, while I do find all of this Avatar stuff incredibly odd, I do get that people take things they love seriously. If Avatar really has depressed you to the point where suicide sounds appealing then you need to talk to someone now. Right now.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. NSPL is a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service that’s confidential, free, and a much smarter choice then going it alone if you’re depressed.
What do you think about all this Avatar craziness?
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree