Slang saying about Quaritch that, ‘the more Na’vi he becomes the more human he becomes’, and in turn his character change is being primarily driven by his human son who was born and raised on Pandora……
Wish we could’ve seen what surely would’ve been Jake’s pure uninhibited joy the moment he realised that ‘jerk a knot in your tail’ is an earth analogy he can use on Pandora and it actually works even better
I feel like Varang's tattoo has so many layers to it
Foremost it seems intended to evoke the concept of the 'eye of Eywa' itself. In rejecting her goddess, Varang has created her own symbol: through tsaheylu, or when taking (what i can only assume are) hallucinogens, as seen in the scene around the fire, you must face her eye.
It is the dark inverse of Na'vi spiritual practices, accessing the forces and using the creations and works of Eywa but in a subverted form. I think it shows that Varang Sees, but not truly or fully. Hence, she has an eye, but it is corrupted and false, and therefore also blind. And indeed, the Mangkwan live in a place 'the eye does not see' in their dead landscape. In this blind spot of Eywa Varang has fashioned her own eye, she is (to quote the visual dictionary) her clan's 'Mother' now, supplanting the Great Mother. She is a 'blind witness' to the fate of the Mangkwan - one of the few left that saw the eruption first-hand, but who, scarred and in pain, in its wake chose a dark, unseeing path.
Also, the specificity of it being on her right hand I'd argue is also symbolic. For the Na'vi, the appropriation of Eywa's eye would presumably be immediately obvious. Less so for human audiences. The eye on the right hand evokes real-life iconography in a way which seems supposed to convey imo - either consciously or subconsciously - the corruption of the blessed alike to how the Na'vi would interpret it.
The Hamsa is an eye on the right hand. With fingers spread and upward (and please if I’m wrong correct me!) it’s protective, and wards off the evil eye. Varang of course uses and positions her hand in the same way.
The right hand can also be culturally connected to cleanliness and purity as i understand it?
There's also some biblical imagery with the sacrificial scene between Jake and Spider which, as has been pointed out, evokes the Abraham and Isaac story. so considering that, I don’t think it’s necessarily beyond the realm of possibility that the symbolism with Varang here might also be a wee bit reminiscent of some Christian iconography? It's the right hand which is associated with the sacral. More than that, others are made to kneel before Varang as she raises her right hand above them, which mimics the relational positioning of a blessing itself. Obviously bringing Christian imagery into a story of Indigenous people needs to be incredibly sensitively handled. But in this case the choice of the eye on the right hand specifically (with all its meanings across various cultures) i think is just supposed to evoke in human audiences the perversion of the sacred, something which is meant to bless and protect, and therefore elicit the same emotional and intellectual reaction that the Na'vi would feel upon seeing Varang's hand suspended above them.
Varang's eye has so many connections to Eywa, and in trying to cast off her influence really just speaks to how deep the Great Mother's roots stretch into everything. Everything they're doing to stake their own claim is really a response to her, an opposite, not true disentanglement. Even in trying to reject her, they use her language. The silence and absence itself speaks, the negation is nevertheless itself an unintended, tacit acknowledgement of her power, necessity, and presence.
I need to talk more about this scene because omds, the acting is wonderful
It’s a genuine attempt at connection here imo. The ulterior motives casting a shadow over their interactions in twow - Spider having information on Jake - are obviously a moot point by this stage, Quaritch doesn't need him for that anymore. So you see real emotion bleeding through (like in that ‘man, did she love you’). There’s a softening of the voice, such a gentle tone, and he talks slowly. There's a lightness in it. Add to that the pause between 'difficult to live with' and 'but I loved her' with that faraway expression - maybe with a slight sadness in the eyes? It’s as though he disappears into himself for a moment. Slang you are entirely too good at this! To me it suggests he's genuinely fondly reminiscing and speaking authentically, for a change. I've talked about Spider's more engaged reaction to information about his mother before, that he's so desperate for a family and meaningful connection that hearing about someone he's similar too, that selflessly loved him, is too much to resist, even though he knows she can't have been a good person. He ignores Quaritch entirely up until Paz is mentioned. But i wonder whether Spider is also responding to that quality in his father's tone and demeanour a wee bit - this is probably the first time he’s ever truly connected with his son in any meaningful way.
But then, it doesn't last. The whole atmosphere shifts when he starts talking about how Paz ‘died a hero’. Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say. And Quaritch knows what he’s doing. His expression hardens, the shutters come down again, and his voice drops into something much more severe, taking on a sharp flint edge. (i'll say it again lmao, i think Slang does such a good job). You can see the propaganda switch on in real time. A moment of genuine emotional connection is lost to manipulation, like every time before this. he probably does believe Paz died a hero, but the stress he places on that sentence lets you know it’s calculated, and what response he wants it to elicit.
And, Spider does react to this conversation, just not in the way Quaritch would like. again i do think hearing about his mother had an impact on this very vulnerable child, desperate to belong and to be deeply loved. But i think that final moment snaps him out of it entirely. The way he went from engaged, to his eyes dropping to the floor, and then asking for the dog tags? the ‘died a hero’ in that tone and with that expression is where the poor kid is reminded exactly who this man is, like a bucket of ice water over his head.
And on that note, I think Jack Champion's acting in this scene is also very good. the way Spider hesitantly turns at the mention of Paz, his expressions from that first moment and throughout the scene - curious, uncertain, vulnerable. His kind of shifty, fidgety demeanour, as if he's very reluctantly actually interested in what his father is saying, and is uncomfortable with that fact. His face and body language imo are communicating a whole lot without words.
(I’ve seen some posts (not on here) being very hard on him re his performance. The only moment where I think James Cameron really, really should’ve done better by him was the one with Jake in the forest. You’re there to literally direct and guide actors, especially inexperienced children, and you couldn’t get a better take out of him than that? Honestly? Seriously? But anyway. He did very well here imo, especially when you consider that he was working against a giant blue mannequin, essentially. And I think you see him handle an important emotional beat delicately)
I made a post a wee while ago about how Jake and Payakan are mirrors for each other
But just to expand on it a little more. I think Jake lashes out at his son so badly in this film because (seeing his own actions repeated in another) Lo’ak standing up for Payakan is by extension a justification for his decisions as Toruk Makto in A1. A title he is unwilling to accept again
So from Jake’s perspective, who feels such guilt and pain over those deaths, Lo’ak is defending the indefensible
Wait wait wait Ardmore has an octopus tattoo??! and it’s deep-sea, squid-like creatures which end up killing most of her team, - particularly the Tulkun hunters - coming up from the depths to judge souls. jaMES CAMERON
Shoutout to my parents for taking me to see the first Avatar in the cinema when I was only little - they’ve made childhood me and present me very happy haha. I was so desperate to see it. Feel very lucky to have watched all three films in theatres
(Although I’m not gonna pretend I remember a hugeee amount about watching A1 for that first time since it was ages ago now and I was only wee. the final hour or so I can scrounge up memories of. But one thing I’ve never ever forgotten is that moment when Jake opens his eyes at the end, and the feeling I had then. It’s as clear as when I was there).
This clip made me consider the scene between Jake and Spider a bit further
Afaa spoilers
Obviously the film sets it up very blatantly, plus Lo’ak's narration tells you it outright - there has to be 'another way', and it's clear Spider is the tipping point where they feel there is no other choice.
But more than that, Jake rejects his identity as Toruk Makto because of his fear, a guilt and a horror that it'll consume him entirely, he'll lose himself and he'll hurt those closest to him. He doesn't want to 'become the beast' again. There were so many Na'vi deaths in the battle, which he feels responsible for and still haunts him.
(It might also call back to Jake's actions as a marine potentially too? "You don't want that kind of blood on your hands, believe me". I wonder if it's guilt not just from the recent past but also his life on Earth).
So you have this moment where he can't bring himself to sacrifice Spider, he and Neytiri make the decision to protect him. And that's when he is able to go to Toruk.
He puts down the knife, and in that way runs counter to his terror that 'no blood is enough’.
This tweet made me think, is that the difference - at least partly - as to why Varang and also Kiri, in the end, are able to control/force people to move how they want, to cause them pain etc? Because rather than the kurus entwining one engulfs the other?
I just thought of twin scenes between these two. It’s only a small moment, but this in way of water:
You see again in fire and ash, but this time the fight is with Quaritch, and it’s Spider aiming the bow, trying to get Jake’s attention so he can shoot.
A matching pair of scenes to show they’re both looking out for Jake when he needs it most?
(It’s a sweet detail really after their arc together through this film)
It seems pretty symbolic, and thematically connected to the rest of the film, that it’s due to Quaritch and Jake’s brawling that Spider gets knocked over the edge as opposed to him just slipping on his own. Saving Spider's life meant his father had to turn away from the fight.
If Quaritch wants his son, if he doesn’t want to lose him forever, he’s going to have to let what he has with Jake go
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