First off, I’m feeling in the mood to blog again.
Second off, Avatar Rocks.
(THANK you thambi, and your generous friend!)
Third Off, I met Danny, A Jovial Taxi Driver who makes me realize a lot of things.
Uh… Now I’m reading the above lines… and the “….off” do sound weird, LOL!
I’ve been away from blogging for quite some time.
Paeds was hectic, and I didn’t quite put much effort into writing.
Ortho was less so, but I was caught up with the Environmental Carnival.. and since my Blog is about pushing for change, about opening eyes and minds, and I’m doing that much better by etching the Carnival out than writing here… I let resonating-ripple rest a bit :p
What made me blog? Avatar Did!
I really have to say, It’s the prettiest movie I’ve ever seen.
Especially those biolumisnescent Jelly Fish- Dandelion chimeras… They are so… dazzlingly beautiful…
And despite their size and short on-screen time, I’m made to believe they’ve each got their own personality.
The 3D rendering of the world,
- the waterfall that dropped off into misty sprays
- the tubeworm like plants
- the “TOUCH-ME-PLEASE because I glow pretty” plants (touch me nots, you’re a shame!)
-the communion dance around the tree, pulsating waves of light and energy going to the heart of Eywa…..
Ever felt like going to a place you’ve seen in a movie?
This movie is so SAD because It’s a place you can’t go to! I so Wanna Go there!
James Cameron,
I give you credit for
-Out Lucas-ing George Lucas! You’ve achieved your dream.
And as Sam Worthington Said “ It feels like that’s real, and this world is a dream”
-Sending a message so subtle yet so clear
-Doing all That in Style.
15 years was worth the wait. Salute, Salute.
Why?
Jimmy had his own fantasy movie in his head since he was 17.
He grew up drawing fantasy characters in his notebook with his Maths textbook shield-up in front during lessons.
He pictured his planets, his characters, his heroes, their powers….
Then he saw Star Wars… he went home.. and punched the wall.
He felt that he should have been the one to make that movie. Lucas Stole his limelight!
Fast forward his teenage and young adult years…
Now He’s in the Director’s chair of Titanic..
Building half a cruise liner on solid land only to blast it away…
But the time, 1994 I believe, was a sad time for America…
the mood of country at that time was sombre .. for economic and other reasons..
His movie went over budget by twice the original amount
Titanic’s Screening date arrived and went and they needed more time for post-processing so they had to make the Cinemas worldwide wait and change their release dates
If that wasn’t bad enough, He made a movie that in which Everyone Died!
“OH GOD!” He said to himself… “WHAT WAS I THINKING!”
He was given the ultimatum by the powers that be to wrap it up …but he persisted and relinquished his pay as a statement, a guarantee that he would see it through…
And Titanic Rose above the waves of doubt and became the best selling movie of the decade.
His reputation intact… and confidence building… he set out to film his dream movie…
ONLY to discover that technology couldn’t catch up with his imagination.
He had to wait, and he had to push
-push SONY Japan to Come up with a camera the world had not seen
-push Silver Screen conglomerates to accept Modifications in their cinemas worldwide to be 3D ready..
-Push Directors, Companies, Disney to come up with movies that sell so that the Conglomerate bosses would see that People want 3D movies..
(and that’s why we have Spy Kids 3D, Bolt 3D, Journey to the centre of the eath 3D, and yes, a Christmas Carol 3D…but of course, these were just appetizers.. coz he was cooking up a hell of a main course )
Through many trials and tribulations…
working with Weta Digital NZ (the company that made LOTR’s spectacles possible)
with Oxford Linguists- he made them craft out an entirely new language..
with biologists and scientists- Who thought up Common names, Scientific Latin names as well as Navi’ Names for each and every plant, animal and rock you see on screen, and catalogued all of that into an encyclopedia many times larger than Star Wars’.
He came up with this! And what a ride that was!
Back to the movie, It’s… groundbreaking, it’s Awe-inspiring.. it’s……. drool-inducing LOL….. and heart-breaking
Love it.
I mean, to come up with a technologically advanced movie is no mean feat…
But to add on to that a meaningful story, romance, action, adventure, all in beautifully rendered 3D…counts for much.
It certainly will be the movie of this Decade.
there are many messages woven into the storyline,
but the one I elaborate here resonates with the conservationist in me.
Human greed knows no bounds.
what you see happening on screen, is but a miniscule part of what is happening on our world.
In Malaysia,
Palm Oil plantations, Timber Merchants, Government Officials with pockets waiting to be lined up with Bakun dam overspending are all rubbing their grubby hands in glee while Malaysian Forests disappear off the Google Earth map that you see, hundreds of acres each day.
The Natives , the real bumiputras.. as I have so often said before
are the ones who suffer. Their lands get bulldozed over, their food, their home, their livelihood destroyed, their ancestral graves desecrated, their young women raped…their culture lost…
Nothing is left when $$ is allowed to rule.
Money is the root of all evil. Before you entertain the notion that I’m about to spew crap,
hear me out.
Humans started out like all other beings on earth, only taking what they need: food, and shelter.
Overtime, they traded through barter exchange what they didn’t produce…but because there is only so much leftover that you can swap…all is well.
After the invention of currency. EVERYTHING CHANGED.
With money you could buy a lot more that you need,
You end up with a lot of items non-essential for survival… take the mobile phone in your pocket, the Ipod your kid listens to while he ignores you, the multiple shoes your daughter keeps in her museum…
with the invention of money, people start to amass wealth, to indulge in frivolities,
and in the process, take away what once belonged to others.
Our tribesman drink from streams, from leaves
The healthy American drinks only bottled mineral water, but having dried up their own aquifers long ago, they are now globe trotting to Africa to pump away the land’s underground water supply, to be transported back home.
How much damage does that make, you ask? TOO MUCH.
The ground water having run dry, Africa’s Saharas threaten to evolve into more and more deserts and the land can no longer support vegetation. People have had to migrate from their homeland, and hman-animal conflicts become commonplace when food becomes scarce.
Is it fair? It is not. For someone to enjoy something on the expense of the suffering of another is unjust, and is not right.
For the rest of us using paper, timber, fuel, electricity,
remember that what you are enjoying isn’t guilt free.
I know these luxuries are now essentials and we really can’t live without them..
but the keyword here is moderation, and sustainability.
With each piece of paper that you use both sides, you are aiding the welfare of your countrymen by slowing down the destruction of their home.
With each kilometer travelled replaced by cycling or walking, you are reducing the need for petrol, the need for bio-fuel which comes from palm oil, the amount of green house gases and you exercise for your health at the same time.. Is that not a fair bargain?
With Each Kilowatt of energy saved by not putting the television on standby or leaving your computer on to download illegally, you are reducing the need for a new hydroelectric dam, or even worse, a coal plant to be built.
That is what you can do... for the sake of your people, for your children and grandchildren and it really is very easy to do.
I'll be writing on Mr Danny in the next post, considering it is 4am now.
If you've read this far, please do come to our See Green, See Life! carnival,
details at http://seegreenseelife.weebly.com
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