Let's talk about Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite [a character analysis]
[Contains spoilers & Cinematic-context]
1. Neytiri's wholeness as a character
2. Neytiri; Avatar: The Way of the Water
It's very important to acknowledge that Neytiri is a trauma victim. So I guess it's only fair to list down the list of pain she went through:
• Witnessing the death of her family and people first hand. The Na'vis are known to have a strong sense of community so losing lives in the Ometicaya clan is easily devasting. Neytiri witnessed the death of her sister, father, Seze, Tsu'tey, and her firstborn.
• The destruction of her home. Neytiri is a very spiritual and naturally connected Na'vi whose life is centered in the forest. Watching her home be burned and destroyed is a violating and traumatic experience. To add that she had to witness this multiple times.
• Leaving her people/home. Neytiri sacrificing her home will always be heartwrenching. She's not just leaving the place and people she grew up with, she'd have to leave her culture. She is forced to leave for the sake of her family's safety.
• She was betrayed. I know Jake had already redeemed himself but it is important to understand that when Jake revealed his true intentions of Neytiri, it was a form of colonization or violation on her part. Na'vis can only mate once in their life and she felt used, taken advantage of, and wasted. It might not be a big deal to everyone but she has spent 3 months with Jake and she shared a sacred and emotional part to her to someone who could contribute or add to the future pain and agony that her people will soon face.
Even though Neytiri faced all of this, she wasn't a helpless damsel. She took part in defeating the people that brought destruction, killed Quaritch, and avenged her losses. She was dutiful, spiritual-centered, nature-inclined, strong, and independent. She was a survivor in many ways and even after meeting Jake, she didn't lose her ways or become submissive to a man. She was empowered even more to have gained an ally, teammate, and partner in life.
Neytiri is a feminist. She is one of the prime example that a powerful woman is not empowered by having or needing a lover. She has a lover and still maintained her powerful and strong traits. Her whole life did not revolve around Jake, instead, Jake's life revolved around Neytiri.
From love at first sight (as mentioned in the second movie), learning the Na'vi ways, being connected to Eywa, becoming Pro-Navi – overall transferred his consciousness to be able to live a life with Neytiri.
Motherhood did not make Neytiri lose her warrior-ways. She was still an accurate and fierce hunter who saves her children and takes down enemies (without injuries as well!). She was an impressively-skilled woman. Even as a wife, Neytiri wasn't someone Jake brushes off or invalidate after living a domestic life with one another.
Neytiri was always the one who wanted to fight back and stand and fight along others. What makes it better is that she wasn't numbed out of emotions. In fact, Neytiri was very emotional and showed her pain, sorrows, happiness, and love. She does not repress her feelings or mask her emotions to be seen as a strong woman.
It was kind of an issue how Neytiri only had minimal screentime in the film. One of those issues was that how come Neytiri did not learn how to dive or ride a skimwing or ilu.
According to the Avatar Visual Dictionary under Ronal's chapter, Neytiri actually studies under Ronal on the Tsa'hik medical way. It was also mentioned that Neytiri was resistant to change.
It was quite understandable since leaving her clan means that her nobility rights was just stripped off from her. Being called a baby by Tonowari was degrading for Neytiri since she had to lower pride for refuge. Jake had no more dignity left in him but Neytiri was the one who kept his pride up by bringing up that he was Toruk Macto.
In Act 3, we get to see Neytiri unleash all of her anguish. Neytiri unallowed herself to become a doormat to her trauma and the people who caused her trauma. Her justified killing spree and breakdown after losing her son displayed how much a mother can rage. She lost so much and she's not going to let the people who hurt her continuously take away from her.
She did not forgive and forget and that's okay.
• Neytiri & Quaritch. Whenever Quaritch sees her arrow, an ominous sound plays to display Quaritch's horror he feels towards Neytiri. Quaritch, the one who is used to the hunt, is being hunted by Neytiri.
Neytiri took down Quaritch in his armored suit/mech suit. It's not unbelievable that she can kill Quaritch as many times as she has to.
Quaritch only provoked Jake but he feared Neytiri even more.
• Neytiri and Spider. Many people mention that Neytiri despises Spider or is unfair to him. Well, comically-wise, she does. It can't be helped. In the analogy of Hitler's son, it's really hard to live with someone when your parent is the origin of mass death & destruction. This applies to both movie and comics.
However, comparing it to the movie, Neytiri was surprisingly civil with Spider and she wasn't unfair at all. How so?
• She kept the issue she has with Spider between her and Jake. Throughout the film you don't hear from the kids how Neytiri dislikes Spider. Yes, Neytiri's grudge is implied.
• Her kids hang out with Spider. The sins of the father are not the sins of the son, Neytiri allowing her kids or not restricting her kids from continuously hanging out with her kids despite the conflict she had with Spider's father has so much magnitude in it.
• Neytiri didn't complain how Spider was in the base. I know that the humans are also in the base but the scene where Mo'at was treating Neteyam, Spider was stepping foot on the Sullies' home. When they arrived from the raid, Spider even took care of Neytiri's ikran while listening to Jake scold Lo'ak.
The fact that Spider knew/recognized Neytiri's call during the hostage rescue means that he was included in training. Spider was basically clothed like a Na'vi (appropriation) and was provided by a bow.
However, that does not mean Neytiri consent or is obligated to become a parental figure to Spider. Literally it was one-sided how people assumed that Spider was part of the Sullies to begin with. The closest thing we see from Spider being treated as an actual member is Lo'ak calling him 'bro' and he didn't even mean it literally!
Neytiri was a bigger person for bluffing on killing Spider. After releasing him, she released Spider behind her and not towards Quaritch. Neytiri was also desperate for saving her daughter from the person who got her son killed.
Many antagonized Neytiri for going for extreme measures when she is a mother who would literally do anything for her children. It did not cost Quaritch Spider's life from Neytiri but it did cost Neytiri Neteyam's life from Quaritch.
[Next analysis: Spider Soccoro]
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