James Cameron had some unique inspiration when developing the characters of the Na’vi for the Avatar films.
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These days, what everyone is saying is that James Cameron has seemingly done it again. The award-winning director may have waited over a decade to release the follow-up to his all-time box office chart topper Avatar. But based on the critical acclaim and the billion-dollar box office performance of Avatar: The Way of Water, the wait has been worth it.
This time around, Cameron also ventures into his fictional world of Pandora more as Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri and Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully are now raising a young Na’vi family (which includes Sigourney Weaver as a 14-year-old). And now, as more become drawn to Pandora and the Na’vi, Cameron is also revealing why he chose to make these inhabitants blue.
The Na’vi Was Inspired By Indigenous Cultures, Which Caused Backlash
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Cameron introduced Na’vi back in 2009 and even back then, he knew he wanted to emphasize that this community is not from this world. “I wanted to do a story set on an alien world that was both beautiful and terrifying,” he explained. And to create the Na’vi, Cameron looked to the indigenous community for inspiration.
“So, I did a lot of research on Indigenous cultures all over our world, and tried to draw some common denominators, such as their innate reverence for the living world around them, and their methods for cooperation and conflict resolution, as well as their spiritual traditions. I wanted the audience to side with the Indigenous people and see the humans as the invaders from space who were ravaging their world.”
During an interview for Avatar, Cameron may have also specified Lakota Sioux as his primary inspiration.
“I felt like I was 130 years back in time watching what the Lakota Sioux might have been saying at a point when they were being pushed and they were being killed and they were being asked to displace and they were being given some form of compensation,” he once remarked.
“This was a driving force for me in the writing of Avatar – I couldn’t help but think that if they [the Lakota Sioux] had had a time-window and they could see the future… and they could see their kids committing suicide at the highest suicide rates in the nation… because they were hopeless and they were a dead-end society – which is what is happening now – they would have fought a lot harder.”
Since then, Native American groups had called for a boycott of Cameron’s first Avatar film. They also since called for a boycott of Avatar: The Way of Water.
“Join Natives & other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrible & racist film,” Yuè Begay, the co-chair of Indigenous Pride Los Angeles, tweeted. “Our cultures were appropriated in a harmful manner to satisfy some [white flag emoji] man’s savior complex.”
Amid the initial backlash, Cameron stayed the course, eventually giving the Na’vi “expressive tails and ears.” “I wanted relatability. I figured we can relate to dogs and cats emotionally,” he explained.
Here’s Why James Cameron’s Na’vi People Are Blue
Once Cameron and his team have figured out the right look, the director knew that “their most alien features” would be “their scale and their color.” As far as color, however, Cameron knew from the start that he couldn’t go with his first choice.
“As for the color: green was taken. There was a long history of green aliens. Plus, the Hulk,” he pointed out.
“And the human colors, pinks, and browns, weren’t alien. SpongeBob was yellow. That pretty much left blue and purple. Purple is my favorite color, but I figured we’d use that for one of our main bioluminescence colors, which we did, associating it with Eywa and anything sacred to the Na’vi.”
Cameron also settled on blue for another special and more personal reason. “Also, my mom told me about this dream she had where there was a ten-foot-tall blue woman with six breasts. Cool image,” the director continued.
“I drew her, but the six breasts thing didn’t come out looking as good as it sounds, plus would mess with the rating. So, anyway… blue.”
For Avatar 3, James Cameron Will Show The Na’vi ‘From Another Angle’
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Meanwhile, a few years from now, fans can expect to see Cameron’s next installment, Avatar 3. Here, he plans to show “different cultures from those I have already shown.” And this time, the director hinted that the Na’vi won’t necessarily be the good guys.
“The fire will be represented by the ‘Ash People.’ I want to show the Na’vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides,” Cameron told the French outlet 20 Minutes.
“In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite. We will also explore new worlds, while continuing the story of the main characters. I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before serving the meal.”
Avatar 3 is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 20, 2024. It is expected to see the return of the Way of Water cast with the addition of Michelle Yeoh as Dr. Karina Mogue.
Source: thethings.com
