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Technological piece de resistance, and the story may have surprising insight

Posted by Bambi B (A) on August 28, 2009 at 15:57:53

In Reply to: Avatar--- posted by patrickU on August 24, 2009 at 03:56:18:

PAINTING: "Optical Experiment with "g" (Newton)

Patrick,

I believe Avatar will be an epochal movie for technical reasons as the -3D digital video is amazingly innovative, something Cameron has worked on continuously since about 2000. The two "cameras" for both live action and as virtual p.o.v.'s are set apart the same distance as a person's eyes and as they focus on objects, the angle between them changes- narrows as distance reduces, thus creating a realistic shift of depth of field in 3D. Trust me, when you see this in full effect you will be astounded and reality will seem flat and uninteresting!

The story has been left quite an unknown, but in my view may have an emotional depth beyond previous Cameron movies. As far as I understand the plot, it moves from a person having a vicarious experience to a sublimation of personality into an alien personality and establishes an an empathy for a political struggle. In this sense, the attempt seems to me, a portrayal of "living in another's skin" as a way of assuming empathy and demonstrating the way personality may be shifted and blurred in virtual realms. This seems like a potentially interesting sci-fi version of such films such as "Black Like Me": James Whitmore poses as a black man, and "Gentleman's Agreement" in which Gregory Peck poses as a Jew and they both are drawn into the emotional world of conflict and oppression based on prejudice. There may be unique insights into the lines between reality, fantasy, and the virtual world.

However: My expectations have been very high, but if the trailer I saw contains actual footage from the movie, it appears really artificial and as cartoon-like as Spiderman and the other heavily CG movies. However, the trailer in a tiny window on a computer monitor can't be used to pre-judge it. Seen on the large screen and in the innovative 3D video format may be as dramatic as the shift from silent to "talkies" and I'll wait to see it. For sure, it will not translate to the television machine!

Cameron is one of the most brilliant- and volatile people- I've known. He has a genius for technology coupled with a pervasive interest in expressing the- I hate to use this word but it fits here- interface of humans and technology in different and dramatic ways. The irony of a technological tour de force used to express the ways in which technology is reshaping individual personality and society is enough to get me in line to see it!

I think Avatar will be an important movie technically at the very least.

Cheers,

Bambi B

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