Avatar in China

Herald reviewer Peter Calder calls Avatar “inane and implausible”. Dim-Post responds:

I had similar concerns, feeling that the scenes in which the soldier inhabiting the body of a giant blue alien used his magic powers to beseech the planet’s aid via a giant glowing tree were not handled with the care and factual accuracy appropriate to the material.

Looking slightly further afield, Andy Yee at Global Voices reports that some Chinese viewers also object to what Calder describes as “cringingly stereotypical noble savages who apparently know the meaning of life but still must be saved by the lantern-jawed Marine”. A sample:

男主角得是一个外星人, 当然，他会是外星人的叛徒。在这部
电影里，某个拥有高度文明的河外行星，由于那里的人们肆无
忌惮地发展经济，他们的家园被污染得无法继续生存，只好选
出一小撮人做种子，跑到地球来。由于贪恋他们的高科技以及
地球人的同情心，地球人打算接纳他们并打算合作搞某一个注
定要对环境造成巨大破坏的能源基地。

Oh all right, here is the translation:

From Madame Chrysanthème to Last Samurai to Avatar, when could Westerners stop seeing foreign cultures as female and themselves as male? And when could they stop the cross-cultural narcissism that, no matter how unsuccessful the Western man is, he will be loved by the Oriental woman?

Two comments at EastSouthWestNorth:

Some Chinese movie critics think that while the movie is not bad, parts of the plot were too mundane. I completely disagree, because brute-force eviction is unimaginable for audiences in other country because they think that it can only happen on alien planets or in China.

Avatar let me realized how far our movies are from simple perfection; how far our movies are from crystal-clear purity; how far our movies from passionate dreams; how far from genuine sincerity are we who are embroiled in grim entanglements and dim vulgarity! We ought to ashamed in the face of the purity of Avatar. This is a complete defeat that we Chinese filmmakers must collectively witness and concede.

And four from ChinaSmack:

Strongly condemn the Western director for using Avatar to allude to China’s current situation!!

China’s demolition crews must go sue Old [James] Cameron, sue him for piracy/copyright infringement.

Seeing Pandora’s beautiful scenery, I think of the environment around me that has suffered serious destruction.

Seeing the main character’s dauntless energy in fearlessly raising the resistance against the powerful, I think of the LZ and similar people reacting to society’s injustices only by hiding here [on a BBS forum] and spitting [their complaints].