The buzz around the Internet is that James Cameron's epic fantasy is an insult to the disability community because it does not accurately portray life with a disability. By that logic, Avatar should also be an insult to the extra-terrestrial population of the galaxy for its portrayal of the Na'vi. After all, the writers have never actually visited Pandora or met a Na'vi. Their portrayal is a work of pure imagination.
Is Avatar an Insult to the Disabled?
There are many articles, blogs and disability chat room posts floating around the Internet that say yes, the movie that has made over $200 million in ten days is a big insult to the disability community for two major reasons. The first reason being that the fantasy film - and the key word here is fantasy - does not give an accurate portrayal of life with a disability. The second, surprisingly less important, reason is that Sam Worthington, who plays paraplegic Marine Jake Sully, is not actually a paraplegic.
One blog post on the subject is particularly interesting. It is a guest commentary on FWD/Forward written by Este Yarmosh and it is not clear from her writings whether she has, indeed, seen the movie.
One paragraph of Yarmosh's article, in particular, stands out as a dismissal of the movie.
"Avatar does not even confront disability in an honest and upfront way. The film … takes the easy way out by putting Jake in a completely different body and thus, completely bypasses any meaningful efforts for dealing with Jake’s disability and the issues that arise from it."
"Jake is seduced into believing that an alien body is better for him than his real, disabled one and he gleefully decides to participate in the military’s little experiment."
It is true that Avatar does not confront disability in an honest and upfront way, for the sole reason that there is nothing to confront because the movie is not about disability. The main character is in a wheelchair, true, but it has nothing to do with the plot of the movie.
Movies such as My Left Foot and The Waterdance discuss their main character's disabilities at length because the disabilities are major plot points in the story. Jake's paraplegia in Avatar, on the other hand, is not relevant to the story at all. It is totally and completely a secondary characteristic in a fictional character and is only mentioned in passing, not discussed in depth.
Jake joined the mission to Pandora because he was no longer able to serve his country in the capacity that he wanted to, but he was able to carry on the work that his deceased brother had begun. He did what he did because he believed in the mission, not because he believed that his body wasn't good enough.
There is also the issue that the actor who portrays Jake isn't really in a wheelchair. Surprisingly, though, the disability community has not raised as big a fuss about this as they did with Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump or Christy Brown in My Left Foot.
There is nothing that Jake does in the movie that would require the use of legs, such as Lt. Dan walking, and therefore no reason that a truly disabled actor could not have been used. This was most likely simply a case of the best actor for the job not being in a wheelchair.
A Movie for Entertainment's Sake
Avatar is a fantasy film that was made for no other reason than entertainment. It has no deeper meaning to it. It was not meant to teach people a lesson about living with a disability. There are lessons in it if you choose to see them. Even at that, however, everyone will take what they want from it.
Not all movies have a deeper meaning than pure entertainment. Audiences who can get past that fact will find the enjoyment James Cameron's Avatar is meant to bring.
Megan Abrams - I have lived with the effects of a childhood stroke for more than half my life and offer a uniquely personal perspective on disability.
