Choose one of the following to respond to:
1. Why might Palestinians living in the West Bank or Gaza identify so strongly with the themes expressed in "Avatar"?
1. Why might Palestinians living in the West Bank or Gaza identify so strongly with the themes expressed in "Avatar"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdxXPV9GNQ
2. Comment on Vice-President Biden's visit to Israel. What are your thoughts on Biden's position related to Israel's announcement of a new construction project in East Jerusalem?
44 comments:
Certainly, there are reasons for Palestinians in Israel to identify with the issues presented in Avatar. The movie tells of a native population encroached on by a militant nation who wanted their land for superficial reasons. Palestinians probably view Israel as their territory, stolen from them by the Israelis as Pandora is stolen from the natives. There was violence involved, as in the movie, and sacred places were destroyed, just as Palestinians lost access to some of their holy sites. In the end, the natives win their land back, which is exactly what the Palestinians want to do, as well.
I think they can identify with Avatar because native people in Avatar were attacked and killed over a land that was theirs. Since the people in Gaza and the West Bank view the land that has been taken from them as theirs then of course they would identify with the people in Avatar.
It is only expected that Palestinians would identify strongly with themes expressed in "Avatar".
Avatar is a movie that's based on a Pandora, a planet inhabited by the Na'vi. The planet contains a large amount of precious resources so much so that a private army is hired to infiltrate and extract.
The movie goes quite indepth in the lives of the Na'vi and their culture as the main protagonist delves deeper within their society.
The quick refusal to listen to experts and even swifter resort to violence is probably especially easy to relate to for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians feel as though their land have been invaded for an extremely valuable resource (in this case, holy land and property) that is rightfully theirs. In parallel, there have been way more violence conflicts in the area than peace talks and treaties which also flow a decent bit fluidly with the movie.
Even though many races can identify strongly with themes expressed in Avatar. The beauty of identifying with specifically Avatar is that the indigenous people win after the conversion of a couple people. There is an ending, and it is good.
1. Why might Palestinians living in the West Bank or Gaza identify so strongly with the themes expressed in "Avatar"?
I've never actually seen this movie, but from what I've heard its plot is very similar to Dinsey's Pocahontas. I can understand how the Palestinians would identify with this kind of story because it tells about a culture being invaded and treated unfairly by outsiders. Many Palestinians feel that they are in this situation, which is why they identify with Avatar so well.
I think Palestinians can identify so strongly with Avatar because of the way their land was taken from them to form Israel. They were kicked out of their land violently and without much concern for their rights or wellbeing. Also, the theme of land takeover because of valuable resources is fitting in the Middle East where there's lots of very valuable oil. The Palestinians probably also feel like there's no respect for their culture or history from the people taking their land.
Palestinians can identify with the movie and characters from Avatar because both in real life and this movie share many similar situations. Both groups were kicks out of their home lands and treated as if they were never there. Whom ever was taking the land acted as if noone had been there before and didnt care to think where these people would go once they invaded their native lands. As in the movie the humans were trying to move the native blue people, whatever they are called, out of their land for a mineral found in mass numbers under the tree of life, which was their hub for life. In current times there is the needs for oil which sits under where many humans call home, in the East, and to get this oil actions must be taken that are not seen as "the right way to do things." Although i may be wrong i dont think the situation will ever get to the point where both sides are happy with where they are within the situation and this will go on for many years to come.
I haven't watched the movie either. However, in the movie, the aliens are being invaded out of their homes just like the Palestinians who are being invaded in Gaza and the West Bank. I think it would be difficult for this to change in the future just because it has been this way for such a long time. Many Palestinians want to go back their homeland and have peace, and I think that's what exactly the alien/blue people were trying to do. They are trying to fight for what is theirs, even though nothing good will come out of it.
I think the Palestinians relate to Avatar because the natives from Pandora, in Avatar, were experiencing a similar situation as the Palestinians. outside forces were trying to take over Pandora and destroy their homeland to make it their own, and kick the natives out. The Palestinian's probably feel the same way about the Israeli's coming into their homeland and invading Palestine making it a segregated country, that the Palestinian's believe should belong to them and the Israeli's should leave. I see the correlation they find in Avatar.
The Palestines and natives in Avatar feel are being forced from their home. The natives in Avatar are being forced out by the government, and the Palestines in West Bank or Gaza are being forced out by the Israelis. Both groups feel unfairly encroached on.
I think that the Palestinians are able to identify with the characters in Avatar because they feel that they are also being kicked off their land. The Palestinians feel that they are unfairly having their land taken away as do the characters in Avatar. It seems that the characters in Avatar resort to violence and physical force to remove the humans, as have the Palestinians and Israelis. I think the feeling of desperation has encouraged the use of violence.
Palestinians identify with Avatar because they feel that their land is being threatened by outsiders who do not understand the significance of their homeland. The Israeli army draws some parallel to the humans in Avatar, a more advanced army backed by foreign interests. The message of hope in Avatar is something that the Palestinians desperately need.
I saw Avatar before we began discussing the Arab Israeli Conflict and when I saw it I saw both sides of the situation in Pandora, just like both of the sides in the Arab Israeli Conflict. In the movie, the natives in Pandora are being pushed out of their home where they have lived their entire life as well as where they have created memories and families. The natives are being pushed out of Pandora because the humans wanted to destroy it for money. The humans in the movie didn’t even ask the people of Pandora about it or tell them of their plan, they just began to invade. This is very similar to the situation in Israel. The Palestinians have been living there for a while now but the Israelis have just come in and attacked them and have been forcing themselves onto the Palestinian land with their own motives. The Palestinian’s, as well as the natives of Avatar, both have been fighting back and trying to keep their land.
These situations are incredibly homogenous and it is almost like the Palestinians and natives of Avatar are fighting for the same cause.
I do not think that Vice-President Biden's visit to Israel means anything. The Israelis and Palestinians have demonstrated in the past and continue to demonstrate that there is no possibility of a compromise or peace. Both sides want the entire country, and truthfully, it is probably not large enough to accomodate both of them without creating tension, even if they do agree to ceasefires and stay out of each other's portions of the country. I think it is a terrible idea for the United States to "hold Israel accountable" for allowing settlements in Palestinian territory. It is an internal matter that Israel should handle for itself. Israel is our most importnt ally in a region in which we are currently militarily involved, and in which we may become even more involved in the years to come. We should respect our ally's sovereignty in this matter.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza can easily be identified or relate to the themes that were portrayed in the movie "Avatar". The natives are fighting for the land of Pandora against the citizens of earth. The people from earth who invade Pandora use their military power to take over the land. Just like in reality, the Arabs and Israelis are fighting against each other for Israel and using violence. One of the main characters in the movie "Avatar" is a soldier from earth who doesn't realize and learn how to see from the Pandora native's perspective until he becomes one himself. The movie has the message the means no one can fully understand another's point of view until they stand in their shoes or become one of them. The Palestinians have the perspective that the Israelis took over their land.
The Palestinians can draw a lot of similarities with the natives of Pandora. The two groups are being invaded and pushed out of the only place they know as home by a superior force over land both sides claim is theirs. The invaded, in each situation, put up a harsh resistance but it is hard to go up against greater military advances. The Palestinians have every reason to be motivated by Avatar. In times of such dire circumstances, Palestinians draw on a group with similar struggles, only in this case, it’s fictional.
It did not occur to me as I watched the movie, but I can certainly see why the Palestinians might identify with the movie, Avatar. In the movie, human beings came into Pandora and essentially took over the place. The Palestinians also feel like the Israelis took land that rightfully belonged to them. Some of the humans tried to make friends with the natives on Pandora; the same may be true in the West Bank or Gaza. On Pandora, the natives have not driven out the foreigners, but are forced to live together. The intruders are essentially in control, but the natives are still a present force to be reckoned with. There are many parallels that can be made between Avatar and Israel.
I would have liked to see Vice-President Biden commit to a position that more strongly reprimanded Israel for its decision to continue construction in east Jerusalem. The Israeli government argues that the building project does not violate the partial building freeze agreed upon in November of last year, but the efforts to continue construction nevertheless demonstrate a lack of respect for the peace process. This behavior suggests that the Israeli government is in little rush to revive peace talks; yet while negotiations are put off and building continues, the risk of outbreaks of violence and the loss of human life increases. Although Israel is an important ally of the United States I think it is long past the point when it became appropriate and imperative for the United States to take a more aggressive stance and stop tolerating actions that defer the peace process.
The Palestinians are an oppressed people who have been driven from their homes by foreign invaders. The Na'vi are in a similar situation, although for them it is not just one territory but an entire planet that they fight for. However, there are many things that are exaggerated or simply not true in such a comparison. The Jewish people are far from being as dastardly as humans, the enemy of the Na'vi, are portrayed in the movie. However misguided their actions might seem to be, they are not done out of greed but out of self-preservation. The Israeli has never actively sought to destroy any Muslim holy sites, as the humans did in the movie, and Jerusalem remains incredibly diverse in its religions. One can still argue that the Israelis have destroyed the sanctity of the Palestinian homeland by barring Palestinians to return. In my opinion, this comparison is flawed, mainly because the villains of the movie are far too one-dimensional to represent any group of people in the real world.
I believe that there are many reasons Palestinians identify with themes expressed in Avatar. The Palestinians, like the Na'vi, feel that their homeland is being overtaken by violent, oppressive people, the Israelis. In Avatar, humans try to become a part of the Na'vi community to get the Na'vi to leave their homeland. Palestinians feel that the Israelis have come into their homeland and seized their property by claiming that they have a right to it. In both cases, one group of people is oppressed for the benefit of another group.
There are many ways that the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza can easily be identified or relate to the themes that were portrayed in the movie "Avatar". There are two groups that are being pushed out of their homeland and their homeland is being invaded, just like the Palestinians who reside in the West Bank or Gaza. In the movie Avatar, the native people are attacked and killed over the issue of who the land belongs to, which is the mani issue in the Palestinian Isreli conflict.
Palestinians living in te West Bank or the Gaza strip are mostly living in relocation, and refugee camps. In Avatar, while the native people are living in thier initial homes they are facing a similar struggle. Humans descend on thier planet Pandora and are trying to take advantage of thier rich resources. This is similar to the Zionist movement, where the Jews descend upon Canaan and try to make it thier own. While they also were seeking refuge from the horrors of the Holocaust, in doing so the Palestinians were rooted out of the homes they had occupied for generations. Similarly, the humans discover a valueable element under the home tree of the natives of Pangea, and in order to get it the destroy the natives home tree.
Palestinians in Israel identify with the issues presented in Avatar for many different reasons. The movie is about a native population invaded by a militant nation who strived for their land for the wrong reasons. Palestinians view Israel as their territory which stolen from them by the Israelis like how Pandora was stolen from the natives in the movie Avatar. Certainly there was violence involved, and in order to gain control sacred places were destroyed by the militant nation (The Holy Tree of Ancestors), just as how Palestinians lost control over some of their holy sites. Over all, Palestinians believe that Isreal is their land, as the natives believed Pandora was theirs.
Though I have not seen Avatar, I believe the basis of the movie tells a story of a village of natives who fight to perserve their land; Pandora against Humans. The Palestinians perhaps can relate to this due to their struggle and hardships to protect and perserve the land they feel strongly was given to them; Israel. This I believe is why the Palestinians can relate to the movie Avatar.
I believe that the Palestinians identify with the movie Avatar because of the situation with the land. The natives have had a sustainable life with many natural resources. They are in competition with outsiders for an element to make them stronger. This element is paralleled to the holy land the Palestinians live in. They are being kicked out of their homeland and being replaced by other people with conflicting religions. I think that is why they identify with the movie Avatar.
The movie Avatar hilights the lives of an oppressed group of peolle...their land is being threatened by outsiders, as is their way of life. Palestinians face the same type of issue regarding the Israli ocupation. They find themselves being removed from their homes and possibly losing the land that matters to them and their families.Avatar must hit close to home for Palestinians who are bitter or lost in the conflict over their homeland.
kai
i think the native people in Gaza and the West Bank can relate with the natives in Avatar because the natives in both places are getting there land taken over.
Palestinians feel strongly about the movie because what happened to the Na'vi essentially happened to the Palestinians. They had land that was once theres and when some forgein invader comes to the land they force the previous owners out. This causes tension and violence will frequently break out. Palestinians lived in their land and when the Jews came and populated the area, instead of living peacefully with one another they decided to fight and ultimately destroy each other through senseless war. With Israel continuing the expansion of its territory, violence will still continue. If Palestine retaliates to the violence, the violence will continue.
Palestinians have a connection to the Na'vi in "Avatar" due to the fact that outsiders are coming onto there land and by military force are kicking them out of there land.
The Israeli's took over Palestinian land without real compensation. The equivalent to land in "Avatar" is an expensive substance which the humans are willing to kill and remove the native Na'vi's for.
Palestinians relate due to the Zionist removal of them from Israel which they occupied first.
I believe that Biden should have reprimanded Israel more strongly for their continued efforts to build Israeli homes in territory claimed by the Palestinians as the location of their future state. Although Israel says it is justified in building the homes as the land was not technically frozen by the November partial building freeze, I don't believe that is a coincidence that Israel is planning construction on land already claimed by the Palestinians. It is an open and blatant denial of the Palestinian's future state and will severely undermine the peace talks. I am alarmed by Biden and America's dismissal of the severity of this action by the Israelis. America has given Israel it's consistent support ever since the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict and therefore I believe Israel has gotten too confident in the assumption of our continued support. If we want to be able to make any progress in bringing about peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, it is our duty to either ensure that no matter which country we are backing, we are using our influence to aid in resolving the conflict for both countries our either back out of the conflict entirely. It is not enough to say we won't be held accountable for Arab-Israeli actions that jeopardize peace but not take any steps other than a tap on Israel's wrist to prevent these actions from occurring.
One of the biggest themes in "Avatar" was about oppression and about people being kicked off the land that was theirs for the greed of others. While I can see why both sides feel like the land is technically "theirs"-I can slso see why the Palestinians feel a certian connection to the Na'vi. The People of Palestine feel that they were unesarily kicked off their own land to make room for people who are not welcome in their eyes. They feel like others are gaining at their expense and it's not right. The Palestinians are treated like in most places in Israel like strangers when they were originally from their in the first place. Much like the Na'vi who were attacked and made assimilate to the "dominant" people just because they just ahppened to be on land that was considered valuble to someone else.
I think Palestinians living in Gaza or the West Bank are able to identify with Avatar simply because their situations mirror each other quite perfectly. They are able to enjoy a story incredibly similar to theirs, with one exception; the native race won the battle in the movie. This is a dream that every Palestinian is hoping to be realized and greatly enjoy the way it is portrayed in the film.
1. Because the humans in Avatar are invading a pillaging the planet of the aliens. And then the humans make avatars of the aliens so that they can spy on the aliens. Thus the whole point of the "friendly corporation goes straight down the drain as soon as the big bad men who are in charge take the wheel and make things go their way (aka the violent way). The people of palestine probably feel the same way about being forced to live in israeli controlled settlements, b/c they believe that israel is their land and that the jews have invaded their land a and imprisoning and persecuting the palestinians.
his diamond=deb metz
(btw)
palestinians can relate to avatar in several different ways:
first off, they feel like they were the original inhabitors of the land that is so holy to them.
they feel like the israelies stormed their home and wanted to use it for unholy things whereas the palestinians wanted to live in harmony with their homeland
and Navi also have only rocks and spears and that which they can find in nature; the palestinian's main weapon is the rock, and israel is associated with having the big guns and long range missiles.
also in the end the navi managed to overthrow the humans with sheer numbers, which is what the predicted outcome for israel is seeing as how vastly outnumbered they are.
there may also be some stereotype of the greedy jew in there; the humans care only of profiting off the land they conquered from the navi.
This similarities between the story of Avatar and the Arab-Israeli conflict are very clear: both involve a native group that inhabited the land originally (Palestinians believe Israel is their land) and a new, oppressive group that wants the land for selfish reasons (representative of the Isaelis, according to Arabs). The Palestinians saw Avatar as a display of the producers'/writers' opinions regarding the land ownership issue. They were quick to decide that this movie was actually a political statement in their favor.
The stories of Avatar and the Palestinian conflict are alike in that they are both about a group of people whose land is being taken away from them. I could completely see how the Palestinians could relate to the native group in Avatar. Both had their land taken away from them, their home rather, in a harsh and inconsiderate nature. There was no concern for anyone's wellbeing at all. The Palestinians felt as though they had been persecuted and pushed out of their homeland wrongfully and without reason. This is very similar to the story in avatar, where the humans take over the land which is the aliens'.
The stories of Avatar and the Palestinian conflict are alike in that they are both about a group of people whose land is being taken away from them. I could completely see how the Palestinians could relate to the native group in Avatar. Both had their land taken away from them, their home rather, in a harsh and inconsiderate nature. There was no concern for anyone's wellbeing at all. The Palestinians felt as though they had been persecuted and pushed out of their homeland wrongfully and without reason. This is very similar to the story in avatar, where the humans take over the land which is the aliens'.
I think that Palestinians can relate to the issues presented in Avatar because the people of Pandora, were taken from their land. The Palestinians felt that they were also taking from their homeland, so they can realate to the struggle of the people in Avatar.
I think that Palestinians can relate to the issues presented in Avatar because the people of Pandora, were taken from their land. The Palestinians felt that they were also taking from their homeland, so they can realate to the struggle of the people in Avatar.
Palestinians are able to identify with themes from Avatar because of the ties they have to their land. The home of the indiginous people in Avatar is being taken over because of a valuable resource it contains, much like oil in Palestine. Another common theme is that the people living on the land have to be moved, like Palestinians did when Irsael absorbed the land.
I believe that Palestinians can identify with the themes in Avatar because they share a similar story. They're both being deprived of their land, violence has erupted, and both the natives of pandora and the Palestinians have lost people and sacred sites.
The Palestinians can connect with the themes in Avatar because their life and homes were also violently taken over by outsiders backed by foreign interests. When confronted with such large powers (in Palestine's case, the US, and in Avatars, corporate interests), they had little hope in resisting.
They also view their land as a utopia or holy land as you could see being compared to in Avatars Pandora.
Honestly, I don't think Vice President Biden's visit to Israel did a single thing. I know he's trying to revive peace talks - but that is obviously not working. Telling the people of Israel and Palestine that they need to just stop and negogiate isn't doing any good. I think it's necessary for Biden to man up (probably not the most appropriate word in this case, but it fits) and pick a side. Israel is an important ally of the US, but our country needs to tell Israel to stop when they go to far. As a friend, it's our duty to tell them they've taken these construction projects too far and they need to stop before more violence ensues.
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