Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Any Topic, Any Time...Welcome! - Avatar: Racist or Genius?


Happy New Year! 2010 to be exact. Well, it's been one year since we've last posted on In Our Hands. As many of you know, what began as a political blog has since evolved, due to an overwhelming disinterest in anything politically-related this year (yes, you too Mr. President!).

That's right. Why box ourselves into just politics when there's much more (sports, pop culture, current events, hip-hop, fashion, etc.) to be discussed? So in the spirit of diversifying our coverage, expect commentary on issues of the day - at least the ones we care about - with no filter, no mercy, and lots and lots of bias. Welcome to the new and improved (pardon the cliche)...In Our Hands!

First up, the first phenomenon (sorry Susan Boyle *Kanye shrug*) of the New Year has generated quite a stir. The second-highest grossing film of all-time has been declared typical Hollywood movie-making with a white guy once again declared "The Savior" of an alien (at least that's how they describe them) nation. Many see James Cameron's epic film as a theatrical-version of the Pilgrims traveling to new land and violently murdering its native inhabitants, The American Indian. While others say "chill out, it's only entertainment. just watch the damn movie and enjoy!"

In Our Hands take: Avatar is a truly revolutionary film that deserves the acclaim and box-office dollars it has generated over one month. Racist? No. In fact, Avatar more closely resembles the colonization of Africa by French colonists then "The Savior" coming to "save" an alien nation. Or better yet, the U.S. invation of Iraq (considering they only wanted their land for the income it was worth). Ha!

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