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Khuutra on 29 December 2009
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donathos said:
Khuutra said:

So have you never heard of the West India company? Because that's basically what this was

And the humans had been there for a quarter century already

Edit: To clarify, it's mentioned in the script and the source book that the company wanted to exploit the Na'vi as a source of cheap labor... at first.

Point being that it's about colonialism more than corporations, though the part that corporations play in colonialism is (rightfully) ragged on.

While I understand and agree with what you're saying, I also strongly sympathise with Mafoo.  It often seems implied in media that because corporations want to be profitable, they will always descend to immorality/violence/raping & pillaging.

Aside from generally painting business people as immoral jerks, which seems unfair given that they're as individual as anyone else, it also carries the message that--from a business standpoint--such tactics make sense.  As Avatar demonstrates, there's a hefty potential downside to calling in the mercs.

And while I don't begrudge Avatar, or any other individual work, from having villainous corporations, it does seem to be an archetype that's pervaded popular culture without much to counterbalance it.  You don't often see heroes who've come from the business world, or if they do, it's usually that they're escaping it or fighting against it.  And that's too bad given that, in reality, so many of us will wind up in business.

As Mafoo pointed out, all of this amounts to reinforcing an idea that seeking monetary success is bad.  Which... I don't think is a great message, really.

This is a fair point, but approaching colonialism without this perspective would be disingenuous, or even dishonest. That's just what the corporate role in colonialism has historically been.