Critics Say 'Avatar 2' Romanticizes, Glorifies Colonialism

The directors behind Avatar's sequel are "romanticizing" and "glorifying" colonialism, critics say.

"Avatar Films Have Always Been A Gross Reimagining Of Colonialism," an "Unbothered UK" headline read Thursday.

"'Avatar: Way of the Water' is a truly stunning spectacle undermined by its colonial themes," read an NBC News article. 

Some native tribes are also criticizing the Avatar sequel for relying on tired tropes and its "white savior" narrative, reports CNN.

The original film follows Jake Sully as he's dispatched to the moon Pandora during an imperialist mission. While there, he inhabits a new body that mimics the appearance of the Na'vi, a species indigenous to the new environment.

Sully is forced to choose between both worlds and chooses Pandora. In the sequel, he is chief of the Omaticaya clan as he and his family prepare to fend off humans who return to Pandora to seek retribution.

Director James Cameron "might be telling that story of colonization, but he's telling it through the lens of a white male," Crystal Echo Hawk, president and CEO of IllumiNative, told CNN.

"All that’s left anymore with those films is the non-Indigenous desire to be Indigenous or to have some sort of connection to Indigenous people," Adam Piron, a filmmaker and director of the Indigenous program at Sundance Institute, told CNN.  

Noah Berlatsky of NBC said the first film was "obsessed with reminding viewers, over and over, that they were seeing a new world from a colonial perspective. And despite a clear effort to do better, 'Way of the Water' still falls back on conventional action-movie tropes, including a compulsive reiteration of colonial superiority and leadership even in a film devoted to exposing the evils of colonialism."

Added film critic Carolyn Hinds: The Avatar movies "glorify colonialism, the colonization of Native American and Pacifica lands and territories."

"I'm going to write a review, but let me just say that Avatar, does indeed glorify colonialism," Hinds wrote in a separate tweet.

• James Cameron Details Clashes With Studio Over Original 'Avatar'