Set in 2154, the film Avatar explores the mining of precious minerals called "unobtanium" on Pandora. Jake Sully is a Marine whose consciousness has been transferred to a genetically modified hybrid body of the Na'vi, a sentient humanoid species, native to Pandora. He is ordered to interact and integrate with the Na'vi to gain their trust and ultimately persuade the Na'vi to move and mine the ore. After the humans fail to compromise with the Na'vi, they decide to conquer the land by force. During the battle, Jake and the team he leads join the natives instead of the humans. Ultimately, Jake abandons his human body and has his consciousness transferred by the Goddess to make him a true Na'vi. This essay discusses how the film Avatar represents colonialism, ethnocentrism, and romanticism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Colonialism is the policy or practice of a wealthy or powerful nation maintaining or extending its control over other countries, especially by establishing settlements or exploiting resources (Dictionary of American Heritage, n.d.). In the film, humans kill and displace the indigenous population of another planet or location to obtain a valuable mineral. From this parallels can be drawn as the Na'vi can be seen as a romanticized version of indigenous peoples who also experienced colonization by Europeans. Beneath the surface of this film, there is also a deep undercurrent of ethnocentrism which is the belief in the inherent superiority of one's ethnic group or culture. (Collins English Dictionary, n.d.) The humans and Na'vi in ​​the film think that their culture is superior to each other. This can be seen when humans address the Na'vi as "blue apes", "savages", and "the natives", while the Na'vi refer to humans as "stinky aliens", "creatures", and "demons". (Cameron and Landau, 2009). Avatar also showed the concept of romance which is linked to ethnocentrism. Romanticism implies that traditional people are seen as representing a better past in which humans were one with nature (Lundberg, 2016). There is a lot of evidence in the film. One of the main characters, Grace Augustine, the biologist in charge of the Avatar study, criticizes the armed soldiers, who can also be described in another way as people who abuse technology, in the film almost most of the time. This can be seen from his jokes such as "trigger-happy idiots" and "gun-wielding idiot". Beyond that, his acts of teaching the Na'vi, caring for them, and trying to protect them even after losing their trust and love showed his romantic view of the Na'vi. It's clearer when Grace says she was with the Na'vi goddess, Eywa, before she died. The romance is especially evident when the Na'vi interact with nature. They pray for the killed animals and feel their sadness. They use their braid to build bond with animals and feel their emotions and mind instead of forcing them to obey. There is a scene where Neytiri and Jake are surrounded by the Tree of Souls and hear the voices of the natives' ancestors and spirits. They sense the spirits of nature and listen to them. The Na'vi treat nature as an inseparable part of themselves which shows a dramatic dissimilarity to humans. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, Avatar is one of the largest number of films that criticized and reevaluated the concept of colonialism and ethnocentrism..