Pope Pot Shots at Avatar

Is it not odd that the loudest voices of protest are normally where the actual problem begins? The newest voice of protest for James Cameron's "Avatar" is not as loud as the "Right Wingers" of the Conservative persuasion but loud enough to be comical.

The newest voice of discontent for "Avatar's" imagined theme is the Vatican. L'Osservatore said the film "gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." "Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship," according to Vatican Radio.

We now have the Pope and all his robed cohorts worrying that "Avatar" may lead the masses to Paganism. Personally, I think that would be wonderful but realistically I would have to say that the Pope and other religious zealots open the door to all forms of ridicule and jokes about the Catholic Church by even having a decided opinion such as this before the movie even opens in Italy. Could it be that the Pope is attempting to persuade people in Italy not to see the movie? The Vatican Newspaper calls the movie "sappy" and "bland". If this is so, why even bother to note the movie at all? Why the concern about Neo Paganism? Is it because most Pagan's are better "stewards" of the Earth than what the Christian Bible says that the church should be?

This raises a few questions for me since I am a Pagan. I have to wonder why the Catholic leadership that lives in absolute grandeur in the Vatican City would even bother to concern itself with a review that calls the movie "bland" if the Church was on solid footing. I have always wondered how the Pope and others that reside in the Vatican City can resolve themselves to such opulence when so many of their followers live in poverty...just curious. I also have to wonder what is the religious agenda for having such a comment.

I always thought it would be some obscure scroll found in the desert that would eventually get under the skin of the Catholic leadership, but I find it shocking that a fictional movie could start them scratching.

If a fictional group of people that live in a purely fictional place love their home and wish to defend and preserve it, what could that possible do to undermine the Church? Why would the Church be afraid of the repercussions of people seeing this movie? Has the Catholic Church not followed through with their obligations to their God or their followers?

I'm just stumbling in the dark here...why would the Church have such an opinion but try to disguise their disapproval as something else?

Another fantasy film comes to mind in which the theme is not so different. In February 03 the same Vatican Newspaper, the L'Osservatore, gave a glowing review of "The Lord Of The Rings";

"The fantasy world of Tolkien's work is "like a projection of the real world, where men are agitated by passions, driven by sentiments, slaves to egoism, but open to values of friendship, loyalty, generosity, love-- stronger than the will to power that devastates mankind." ".

The People of "Middle Earth", as I recall, were nature loving people as well, yet the Vatican review of the movie did not merit a disclaimer from the Pope that there could be any type of temptation for Neo Paganism.

Personally, I have watched The Lord Of The Rings trilogy several dozen times in the extended versions and it is a fact that the beliefs of the peoples of Middle Earth, human, elf, dwarf and all others, were Pagan in nature. It was full of magic as well, which the "Religious Right" condemned the Harry Potter series for and you see how much good that did.

The theme of "Avatar" is not 100% original, as the Vatican paper stated. There have been many movies over the decades that have to do with one group invading someone else's homeland to take what they want by force. It is a common occurrence throughout the history of mankind, unfortunately. "Avatar" does open new doors to the art and science of movie making, though, and that is undeniable. The technology used for "Avatar" has never existed before. The 3-D experience has never been as sharp nor precise before. There has never been such an immediate feedback for a director before. It is all brand new.

The basic theme/plot may not be totally original or unique but nobody has ever seen ten foot tall, blue people before. There has never been a world such as Pandora before. You have to admit, the floating landscape is extraordinary! There has never, to my knowledge, been a splicing of a human DNA to alien DNA to create a hybrid being such as this before. Some would argue that it has been done in one of the "Alien" movies but it was not. "Avatar" is a brand new place with brand new people, some created under brand new circumstances, made with brand new technology. Great visuals, good "moral to the story" and so much more to enjoy, yet there's always got to be someone on the fringe chomping at the bit to ruin it for someone else.

We have "right wingers", conservative hawks and religious hierarchy that are all having fits over this movie without one valid reason to do so. I would like to tell them all "Thank you very much". "Avater" has made Box Office history and, believe it or not, you are part of the reason why. Unlike the people of Pandora, the three groups listed above are not likely to accept a person as they are but, because of all the noise they are making over their discontent, more people are going to the theater to see it. This fact may be seriously ironic but it is also extremely humorous

Making a spectacle out of small minded grievances only enhances the desire of most people to do the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish.