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Karma Comes for James Cameron, ‘Avatar’ Franchise

Woke director once cheered attacks from Right. Now, the Left is savaging him

James Cameron makes messages movies these days, and he has no qualms admitting it.

The “Aliens” director told the L.A. Times that back in 2010, weeks after his sci-fi epic “Avatar” conquered the box office. The film extolled the beauty of Mother Nature, cursing those eager to plunder its resources.

Avatar | Official Trailer (HD) | 20th Century FOX

The film’s messages drew conservative angst on several fronts, something which tickled the Oscar-winner. The film, according to select conservative outlets, delivered an anti-American, anti-human message.

“I’m happy to piss those guys off. I don’t agree with their world view,” he told the far-Left newspaper following right-leaning critiques of “Avatar’s” agenda.

Cameron disagreed with naysayers, but anyone watching the original film or “Avatar: The Way of Water” will see the human race depicted in the worst possible manner. And they’re all speaking English with colloquialisms you wouldn’t hear from English or Canadian characters.

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Conservatives have softened their attacks on Cameron’s franchise following “Water’s” release.

Why?

The film is a full-on advertisement for strong, nuclear families. That message got little attention in the press, and Cameron didn’t elaborate on it during various press interviews.

Now, it’s the Left that’s attacking Cameron, and it’s unclear how he’s taking the barbs from his own side.

In recent weeks animal rights activists scorched Cameron for attending an “Avatar”-themed dolphin event featuring the aquatic creatures performing for the public. Cameron apologized to his critics, contending he didn’t know what was planned for the event.

Native American activists vowed to boycott “The Way of Water” for so-called cultural appropriation.

Even when Cameron attempted the ultimate virtue signal over gun violence he caught heat. The director said he snipped out 10 minutes of what he considered gratuitous gunplay from “The Way of Water” because real-world gun violence is so upsetting.

He also apologized for his older, classic films like the “Terminator” franchise which featured extensive gun violence.

“I look back on some films that I’ve made, and I don’t know if I would want to make that film now. I don’t know if I would want to fetishize the gun, like I did on a couple of Terminator movies 30-plus years ago, in our current world. What’s happening with guns in our society turns my stomach … I’m happy to be living in New Zealand where they just banned all assault rifles two weeks after that horrific mosque shooting a couple of years ago.”

Enter Gizmodo, which blasted Cameron from the Left on that stance. The outlet called the director “self-righteous” and noted how much gun violence remains in “The Way of Water.”

Jake Sully, a former marine, and one of the main characters of the Avatar franchise, is a character who notoriously loves a gun. When the rest of the Na’vi are reaching for bows and arrows, Jake’s hiking an AR onto his shoulder and aiming it at the nearest target…Later, Jake even explains to the Metkayina people that human technology, aka guns, will wipe them out easily. (Which is probably why Jake almost exclusively uses a gun during the big whale battle, so he has a fighting chance.) If Cameron really wanted to avoid fetishizing guns, maybe they shouldn’t have been such a huge symbol of power.

The irony?

Cancel Culture and the woke revolution didn’t exist in 2009. It does now, though, and its proponents don’t stop with critiquing art – always a fair and respectable process. They often want it censored or punished so aggressively the artist will think twice before creating similar art again.

Take your poison. Censorship or self-censorship.

Conservatives would be the first ones to defend Cameron’s right to tell his story, his way. They may critique his motives and agenda, but their barbs aren’t meant to silence the filmmaker.

Can all of Cameron’s progressive critics say the same?

117 Comments

  1. Cameron said he cut the guns down, but there quite a lot remaining on the screen. If he wanted no guns, he could have used laser weapons. The only conclusion is he didn’t think that much about it. His virtue signaling is an empty gesture. As for cultural appropriation of native cultures, what?

        1. James, the last time I checked guns don’t have hands and feet to go walking around shooting at people. So you can’t say guns are dangerous and I know lots of people including myself whom own guns and don’t go around killing people. So please know your facts before making a false statement.

          1. Well no. Guns are still dangerous, because they can be missfired or shot through something. To say they Arent dangerous in any way is a long stretch

          2. Lots of things are dangerous in this world, your argument is simply political nonsense.

      1. Laser guns are a fantasy. That’s how you find a compromise with a plot that pits a battle between humans and aliens.

        1. I really hate to correct you , but LASER weapons are real, they can kill and destroy physical objects. When we finally decide to live in harmony with everything instead of modifying nature to fit our requirements then and only then will we be welcome to the rest of the universe.

      2. Laser guns are not available. Unless you something, I don’t. I grew up with avid hunters and I don’t recall anyone owning a laser gun.

        1. Laser weapons are exclusively owned & developed by the military right now. They are real weapons, used mainly for anti-drone manuevers

          1. Yes they are and they are far more dangerous then any conventional gun you will ever be able to buy they can heat a human from the inside out and can be pinpoint targeted they are readily used in law enforcement and military applications today and have been for some time not to mention the misuse by law enforcement already many cases in courts over this

        2. Bro why are you so ignorant. Ships nowadays use laser guns to defend themselves from missiles. Go do some research

      3. …but maybe if” they was pushed out windas”? Archie Bunker.
        Seriously though, a laser might even be more painful,only ever been hit with birdshot, so, no actual bullets, or lasers. But, I love watching woke eating woke. Very whitepilling.

      1. Do you not understand anything or know that movies like Avatar 1 and 2 are mase up like other movies. Its not based on real life. So tell That to George lucas that laser guns aren’t guns. In movies it doesn’t matter what type of weapon is being used star wars does pretty good using laser guns which I’m Gonna guarantee that you aren’t complaining that they use laser guns and i guarantee you that if james Cameron did use laser guns you wouldn’t be saying anything about it or complaining that laser guns are not guns. If the movie being made has laser guns or any kind of weapon then there is nothing wrong with that. Nobody is saying that laser guns are real weapons all They are saying is laser guns should have been used. And if they did so what nobody is going to care or say after the movie that why would they use laser guns that they are not real. Well guess what the blue Navi people are not real either those giant whales called tulkens are also not real because its a movie any weapons being used in an6 movie being made don’t have to be real. Its called fantasy so I hate to burst your bubble laser guns will be used in many movies over the years coming out. If they used laser guns in Avatar 2 you would never walk out of the movie and say that was so stupid that they used laser guns because they are not real nothing is real in the movies you watch and they don’t have to be real to be used

        1. Is Cameron just virtue signaling? His gun comments is coming from his Progressive politics that wants gun control, but his movies are full of guns with lots of bullets flying about.

          But laser guns are not real. LOL.
          They will be an effective replacement for the icky guns that Cameron suddenly tried to remove from the movie.

          You’re a weirdo. Your diatribe is bull.

        2. You want them to change something that played a huge role in the first one because you think guns are scary?

        3. Do you really think something so poorly written can be a compelling argument? Nobody that’s halfway literate should think they’re such a mental titan.

    1. Cultural appropriation in of itself is racism. Stop saying people are part of cultural appropriation. It’s ridiculous. It’s like saying that only people of color can have afro hair styles, it’s dumb.

      1. What’s the non people of color name for “afro hair styles”?
        You get the “afro” part is short for African right?

        1. If you were trying to make some coherent point, you failed miserably.
          So what “afro” has an African association? That doesn’t mean that it’s afros are the exclusive property of Africans. I’m English. That doesn’t mean that my kind are the only people who can eat English muffins.

          1. Hair ain’t food stupid. Yes people of color are the only ones that can wear across. White people and others just get a perm. Big difference

          2. Afro is an actual worshipped woman at a certain time (wanting a man, safety thru labour, giving birth), love goddess.

        2. If we had hair that resembled an afro, our word for ourselves which takes nothing from the word or what became of it with Afro was Frizzy, when I had the equivalent length of hair in the 70’s my black friends actually called it a jew fro but back then we all laughed and hung out we didn’t parse all this s*** to continue dividing people further.

      2. 100% agree! So is it cultural appropriation if I make tacos or pasta? When can we start celebrating the blending of cultures versus keeping everything separate?

      3. Now Benjamin you gotta know that it’s actually weird when it’s not lmao can’t really name anybody with an afro who doesn’t have some kind of afro-heritage. I think you should look into the meaning of the word lol . I literally have never seen anyone else with an afro , curls maybe but only our Jewish cousin’s have them. Because yeah Afro means from Africa.

    2. “His virtue signalling was an empty gesture ” so just like anyone virtue signalling then. I’ve watched tonnes of movies with tonnes of gratuitous gun play. I still haven’t gone out and callously murdered complete strangers. It’s a movie!!! Not an instructional message, also what was done to the native Americans by people over a 100 years ago was terrible but i cant imagine that them boycotting the movie will damage its return at the box office.

    3. It’s nothing wrong with the guns because it’s showing people the energy that America culture brings ( ego) this is what America has done to the aboriginals of the planet come through guns blazing and taking all the resources for material gain

      1. No other countries, races or cultures have done that to others ever, right? Only the US to the entire world. Never ever in human history a more advanced country or race attacked, invaded, conquered or exploited another, all the conflict and the evil in the world started when the US was created, everybody else was getting along and singing kumbaya before. Gotta love people with higher moral ground, judging entire cultures and historical events by today’s standards.

        1. Nice ad hominem, pardner. “Other empires did imperialism so America gets to do imperialism too.” Solid refutation there. 10/10

          1. Yet today America is a free country. That’s the difference. But increasingly America is less free from Leftist fascism.

      2. America wasn’t the only country with guns. Look at history. People in power are the problem. They are inherently evil and will use any weapon to take power. I’m tired of the whole world blaming the US for guns. Just because we allow the freedom of the weak to protect themselves. As for cultural appropriation we are the melting pot and all cultures are shared here. The only people crying about it are those trying to divide us.

      3. You act like it was America not the UK that went out colonizing everything. What the duck has America gone and colonized or taken over.

      4. The British, Mongolian, ottoman, Persian empires and the Chinese dynasties appreciates your ignorance given their centuries of exploitation, conquest, slavery vs the United States 250 yrs of existence.

      5. You must be joking? Right?
        Historically it’s been happening forever.
        You do no African countries had and still have slavery right?
        Every country and area has plundered area that were less able to defend their resources.

    4. Oh he had guns in his movie what a bad person he must be!!!
      Millions of people starving and homeless in this country and your focus is on what someone did or said in a movie that you didn’t even have to watch.
      Dude get a life alright geez smdh

    5. Stfu as a actual native american I dont give A F*** I thought the movie was fantastic quit being stuck up and learn to enjoy life

  2. Can someone explain to me the moral difference between firing a gun and shooting a bow and arrow? The bow and arrow is the weapon of choice of the Na’vi so it’s morally superior while the gun is the weapon of choice of humans so it’s morally inferior. They are both designed to take life. Doesn’t it come down to who’s holding the weapon. If you gave Gandhi an AK-47, no one would be injured with the AK-47, but if you gave Charles Manson a bow and arrow, dozens of people would be killed

    1. Seriously? Choice of weapon is morally superior/inferior?
      Technology has no morals, just humans that use the tech. Higher tech doesn’t incluide morality, it is merely an aid to win.
      So. Is “winning” moral? Or is morality influenced by the people trying to “win”? Or is it simply the goal itself that is the morality?
      Can you have moral people with an immoral goal?
      All rhetorical questions, merely some things to think bout before you anthropomorphize choice of weapon technology.

      1. He’d tell one of his people to shoot the bow. He is actually suspected of killing some. If you use your logic Hitler didn’t kill anyone either. He just told others to do it.

  3. “Native American activists vowed to boycott “The Way of Water” for so-called cultural appropriation.”

    Now that’s going to hurt.

    1. I will never see this stupid movie but I’m curious: Which culture was appropriated? The Comanches, who stopped cold the Spanish advance into North America? The Iroquois, who wiped out the Huron nation? The Incas, who kept other tribes as domesticated sources of the victims of their bloody sacrificial rituals?

  4. I mostly stay way clear of BOTH you far right AND far left, narrow minded whiners. I actually clicked on this by accident, I was after the search result above or below this….but it’s interesting how it hooked me to keep reading. Not because it makes sense or it’s motivating or entertaining in the way it’s intended….but just because you try SO DANG HARD, lol. Biased thinking makes you extreme folk work SO DANG HARD. It’s like watching someone trying for all they’re worth to run in deep mud…..but without any intelligent direction.

    “right” “left” Everything is us and them. You’re all like 4th graders……and it’s just so frustrating because the LARGEST group of people in this country are NOT extreme. They just can’t get anything done without at least SOME participation by one side of the other. But you “sides” people want no part of moderation, or compromise, or even genuine PROGRESS. You’re just obsessed with beating the OTHER extreme.

    1. You’re right in one respect… “Everything is us and them.” The thing is, citizens are “us” and the unelected bureaucrats who actually run the country are “them.”

      1. So, marginalized people of different races, and sexual orientation finally get to a point where they have some sort of representation in film. And your response is (stop pushing your woke agenda down my throat)? How about you just Don’t watch those films? Wow! Crazy concept. You just don’t watch something you don’t enjoy. But no, that’s not an option for you because you feel it’s your right and responsibility to stop anything you don’t like, understand, or agree with. Grow up and stop trying to ruin things for others, that have nothing to do with you.

        1. Actually it’s u people and the LGBTQ Community that is ruining things and pushing their agenda on Everything

        2. Representation is a red herring. It’s not even obvious what the baseline is for when the goal would be complete, and more to the point, you’ve got Native American activists who claim to “represent” their communities who actively detest the “representation” given.

          If “representing” marginalized communities means virtue signaling whites putting them in movies so that they can get a pat on the back from other virtue signaling whites, while making the actual communities become a political football and collateral damage rather than just living their lives, I don’t want representation. I don’t want virtue signalers to get the moral profits of representation while externalizing the costs onto innocent individuals left in their wake.

          I just want cool movies.

    2. You’re really clueless. It is “us” vs “them”. Us…. being law abiding, patriotic Americans. Then……marxist, authoritarian idiots that want to force their stupidity d down everyone else’s throat. Does that clear out up for you?

      1. Marx called for the annihilation of state but Marxists are authoritarian?
        Where do you think the roots of anarchism are? Imperialists?

        1. Yes the marxists destroy the STATE and then set up their own imperialist authoritarian state. Even in China and Russia there are rich and oppressed. No equal division.

      2. Yet the Right forces their idealogy down everyones throats as well. Literally do NOT have a leg to stand on in this regard. Try harder next time.

    3. Speaking of “trying too hard”…. Your post appears to be the longest in the thread by a considerable margin. Just relax…

    4. When they chop your child’s penis off without your consent you’ll be looking for some people to back you up, right? When you’re rejected from college because of your skin color you’ll be looking for some friends won’t you Dave? The fact is you can’t sit on the fence with these binary issues. Sure you can tolerate people’s choices that you don’t agree with but when they cram them down your throat or discriminate against you because you’re not them well then you’re going to need some friends Dave…

      1. Well (at least in the US), they can’t legally “chop off your child’s penis without your consent”… so the rest of your post kinda loses any credibility after that comment. This just shows you’re repeating the far right talking points, not actually possessing any real understanding of the process/laws surrounding the topic lol.

    5. The enlightened centrists are the REAL purveyors of PROGRESS. Let’s have a moment of silence for all of the brave fence-sitters out there. They’re doing God’s work!

  5. It’s an economic decision, just like most of those made in Hollywood. But you can’t be all things to all people. Nice try though.

  6. JG40’s right. It’s always amused me, reading the reason a movie is rated PG-13: “fantasy action & violence”, “sci-fi action & violence”. What’s the difference? Doesn’t matter if characters are killed with a bronze sword, steel sword or light saber. It doesn’t matter if a character is killed with a flintlock pistol, .44 magnum, or blaster. I guess the MPA(A) like hairsplitting. So does Cameron.

  7. Black people have been indulging in cultural appropriation forever. They have lip reductions, hair straitening, white girl wigs clothing … shoes etc.
    The native Indians also appropriate white culture … how would they like to have no guns, no power boats, no electricity, tons of government largess, etc.

    The modern culture which black and brown people enjoy is the creation and development of white christian capitalist culture.

    Trans people are expropriating alternate genders.

    Everyone takes from other cultures, styles, habits and appearances.

    It used to be called monkey see, monkey do …. we all copy what we need and want.

    let’s stop this nonsense right now. It’s stupid.

    1. Only an American would think a tool like a gun classifies as part of “white culture” or technology that’s used throughout the world like boats or electricity where also somehow “white culture” while implying they’re purely American inventions.

      1. It seems like a really stupid notion.. Cameron is a moron across the board he doesn’t speak for Americans.

  8. I think this movie did very well in the box office, just like Top Gun. The reason for this, is that most people are tired of the woke agenda that just want to sexulize kids in schools and make every tv show about same sex agendas. I do not care witch way you swing, just stop the harassment of pushing this agenda down others throts. Keep your beliefs to your self and stop attack those that do not care about your beliefs. I am a parent and enough is enough.

    1. Sexualize children? Someone didn’t do their homework! Every tv show about same sex agenda? Which ones? 99.9% has nearly only straight people in it. Good try there. Plus the fact you say woke agenda just means you are not worth listening to. Nice try though!

  9. What difference does it make whether the weapon is a Gun or a Lazer. It’s about the level of harm to life (human or non human).

  10. Lol. It’s hilarious to watch you clowns fight over fake violence in some stupid MOVIE. One can only imagine how worked up you get if it’s actually an important subject.

  11. Right: “we want more guns you lefty idiots”. Left: “can’t you see we need more lasers?” Moderates: “why can’t we compromise on this”

  12. The irony is rich. Both avatar movies depict most humans as horrible and surprise surprise, both sides are proving exactly that. That’s who we are. Also, for the record there is no material difference between gunships and poison tipped arrows. It’s a matter of scale and also the fact the navi don’t wantonly destroy their fauna like the native Americans (megafauna) and European settlers did.

  13. Laser guns,no..but..directed energy weapons ARE real( crowd suppression,non- lethal they say,anyway,))..annnd..remember..the humans came back to Pandora for vengeance,so the nav’ HAVE to protect themselves,right??

  14. Guess what. Avatar 2 is approaching 2 billion globally. What does that tell you?? This story is FALSE. Click bait.

  15. This end of this article is as pathetic as both the right and left. The conservatives blasted the first avatar. They are attacking anyone who tells a story in a way they don’t like. Both sides are braindead and need to be erased from existence

  16. I love my guns….why not go our to your nearest gang neighborhood and tell them you are there to collect their guns…when you are runn8ng from them…do not call anyone that owns a gun legally to protect your idiot pea brain

  17. I watched “Avatar 2:the way of water”.

    It sucked. No real story, no emotional depth, no interesting characters or events.

    Mostly just a “hey look at my neat CGI backgrounds! …For an 2.5 hours with 30 mins of story shoehorned in.

    (Big “sky people return and burn down forest” scene.
    The “Indigenous Population” analog raid a train.

    Dead Space Marines get reincarnated in Navi (blue alien) bodies.
    Space Marines do a raid, capturing a left behind human baby who “went native”
    Jake Sully gets scared for family, runs away.
    Lots and lots of scenery for a travel to the “water tribes”.
    Get taken in.
    Kids fight with water tribe bullies.
    Kids fight again with water tribe bullies.
    Bullies lure sully’s teenager to dangerous part of ocean to be killed.
    More cgi water scenes
    CGI “run away from space killer whales”
    CGI ride flying fish scenes
    CGI swimming/diving scenes
    CGI “make a giant fish buddy” scenes
    Space Marines raid villages
    CGI swimming/diving
    CGI “teen boy says ‘bro’ 250 times a day” scenes
    CGI “kill whales for a liter of magic brain juice” and leave the rest to rot scenes.
    Battle to save whales.
    End.

    1. I enjoyed the movie but I also agree with your point. TBH it felt pretty much like the same exact things that were going on in the first, not really a “true” continuation of the story. All the pretty effects were the star of the film imo.

  18. This is why we can’t have nice things. It’s always going to offend someone and they’re going to try to ruin it for everyone else. Is it that hard to just enjoy the damn movies?

  19. honestly it’s bad enough that you people who cannot construct a sentence have to be here, it’s mindboggling that someone might actually be paying you to to blather this garbage

  20. These conversations are only revealing how everyone is literally focused on something somewhere that hurt them in the past… now I’m hearing a lot of racist remarks said to white people in tv and film and noone knows the depths of that persons heart, who taqhey are or aren’t friends with and yet paint with broad brushes very Serious imaginings about who they are and how their lived experience somehow has any impact on their own lives and they dont…. Everybody needs to stop sweating all of these woke narratives and simply live as good decent people outside of the Woke hive mind…. You have woke ideas, but stay grounded…oh and the ones that are screaming the loudest, they are usually the ones that want the most attention because they missed out on feeling important as a child and are now hijacking movements such as this to promote and better their own social standing and social class and for Social Media…*•its all for social currency…so you see the idea of virtue gets lost really quick when you see what it is all truly about and finally we are left with the truth of it all , The Woke Mob isn’t helping anymore than an alt right mob did….reach the real people in the middle thats where the thinking takes place, the feelings are authentic, and where whats closest to the truth as to where we collectively all are with regards to this moment in history exists.

  21. Who wrote this article.. is it satire?
    No one on the left is coming from him and whoever wrote this nonsense needs to just quit writing and basically do anything BUT write !!

  22. I guess I’m stupid. I just go to these movies and I don’t think anything about anything. Just enjoy being off of my couch watching mind-numbing things on that format. Thanks for the once-in-awhile relief I can feel by going to the movie house…

  23. I go to movies to be entertained, not to be beat over the head with some Marxist’s hateful ideology.

    Stop funding this crap and eventually they’ll make some movies worth seeing.

    Cameron is garbage and so is every movie he’s made since Aliens. Stop giving him $$.

  24. I love it not the movie mind you the liberals eating their own. If humans can travel to new world where are the energy weapons at?

  25. Hahaha, I stopped at calling L.A. Times “far left” then looked at the title of this site. Conservatives have mental constipation, nothing of value at all to say except projecting their own ugly insecurities. Literally, everything. Disinfecting my Google recommends of this poopsack.

  26. As an old person himself, surprising that the only culture where he depicted elders was the “sky people”. Only a few will survive to be “Camerons”. He’ll have to hug a spirit tree, he shot up everyone else by locking them in combat against each other.

  27. Once more a good guy with a gun saves the day, seems to be James Cameron’s go to storytelling motif.

    I love the Avatar movies, the director is a virtue signaling leftist. But a capitalist at heart so for that I respect his movies. Hopefully they decide to make the rest of them considering how well it’s doing in the movie theaters.

    As for the crazies that are talking about cultural appropriation, take a good look around your house. Get rid of everything that doesn’t come from your culture and move back to your country of origin. Wouldn’t want to be caught appropriating now, would you?

  28. This is Cameron’s movie from start to finish, yet he discovered it had 10 minutes of “gunplay” he didn’t like?

    Come on.

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