Why So Blu?

Avatar the Therapist

James Cameron’s Avatar continues to blow the doors off of the competition at movie theaters around the globe.  The film presents a world of incredible sights and ingenuity while developing a conflict between man and nature.  The world of Pandora is nothing less than spectacular and love or hate the film, that seems to be one aspect that both sides seem to agree on.  It is also an aspect that seems to be causing some anguish on at least a handful of movie-goers. 

When this story first broke on the news last week, I wondered if I had heard that right.  My vision is no longer 20/20, but I can still hear like a dog so I was pretty confident I understood the headline correctly.  People are suffering mental duress after seeing Avatar.  If your first thought after hearing that was something, “What the hell is the matter with them” or “You’ve got to be kidding me,” then you are in the same boat as me.  Was it because they disliked the movie and cried over the price of admission?  Was it from a disorienting effect of the 3D glasses?  Or maybe was it due to an idiot behind them who kept kicking their chair?  The answers are no, no and no.  Apparently it’s due to one’s realization that as beautiful of an environment as Pandora is, it doesn’t exist.  Well Bobby Jo, you go out and organize a lynch mob and I reckon we’re gonna track down this here James Cameron fella fer tryin’ to entertain us. 

Yes folks, this from the most advanced (to be debated) species on the planet.  You can file this under the ‘loser’ category that goes along with people getting violent from video games and using a sword on someone because they thought Dungeons & Dragons was real.  Are some people that far removed from reality that they are mentally unprepared and thus unable to deal life after the credits?   I don’t recall any horror film-loving friends of mine donning goalie masks or razor gloves and developing a bloodlust after watching Friday the 13^th or A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Good grief, if that were the case, then that would mean at least half a dozen visits to the local shrink for me, one for each Star Wars film, after realizing that Jedi are fake. 

I can see why Avatar has struck a chord with so many.  Some movies aren’t just movies and are a little more powerful than a reel of celluloid.  I thought, for the most part, society had a decent grasp on things.  Nevertheless, some continue to experience depression-like symptoms from the paradise appearance of the Na’vi homeworld.  If people are having this much of a culture shock from the film’s environment, I can’t imagine how they are going to react in real life when something truly bad happens.  It would be interesting to see how many of these poor individuals were home-schooled.  Nothing says sheltered like a good twelve years away from hall passes, bullies, relationships and cheerleaders.  It’s okay if little Preston Hunter Tyler Taylor Yuppie Yuppie hears a cuss word or is educated that, yes, Earth is the only damn place people live.