Movies - TV
James Cameron Carried A Core Theme Of The Abyss Over To Avatar: The Way Of Water
By JEREMY SMITH
James Cameron has set himself apart from others in Hollywood by using his violent action films as cautionary tales criticizing the country’s militarism. The director’s 1989 sci-fi action movie, “The Abyss,” acts as a warning against nukes, and although his message was cut from the film’s theatrical release, it would later find a home in the “Avatar” franchise.
The filmmaker noted that “The Abyss” was “a function of my Cold War angst, and a comment on how an alien super-intelligence might judge rather harshly the way we mistreat each other and our beautiful world.” However, the conflict in the movie is the opposite in “Avatar,” where the audience sees the alien native population fight against human invaders.
Cameron explained, “In ‘Avatar,’ we are the invaders from space, and the common theme with ‘The Abyss’ is that we are judged harshly by a more evolved alien culture, in that case, the Na’vi, who live in a harmony with nature in a way that we have forgotten.” Unfortunately, the message about dangers the world faces in films like Cameron’s often go unheeded.