Idk if this is just me but like, it’s a little wierd seeing people animalize the Na’vi just because they hiss, or have sharper teeth.
Like I know a gesture in Liberia where you snap your teeth at someone while pulling at the corners of your mouth (a way to call someone an asshole).
Māori people use haka (a sort of dance with fierce facial expressions) as a way to display courage.
Some Inuit scrunch their noses up to convey agreement.
Hell, there’s even some sub-Saharan tribes that ritually sharpen their teeth.
My point is that it’s a little odd seeing those features in the Na’vi be used to justify making them purr, go into estrus, among other things. Like yeah their design is loosely based on cats, but that doesn’t feel like a “justification” (idk the word here) or basis to de-“humanize” them even further.
