Classical Archetypes In James Cameron's Film Avatar

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Mythology has existed since the stone age, and with it came classical archetypal characters and mythological elements which have influenced and continue to influence the work of modern writers. Classical archetypes and mythological elements allow readers and watchers to relate their own personal experiences to the story by connecting to their primal thoughts and feelings. Classical archetypes are used in all writings and especially can be seen in James Cameron's hit film Avatar. Classical archetypes are basically a form of stereotyping, something that every person natural does, so by including classical archetypes into stories characters are more relatable. In order to save Jakes life Neytiri is forced to kill a wild animal that is trying …show more content…

Neytiri shows Jake a native secret and key to their religion, a tree that allows the natives of Pandora to feel and see the memories of their ancestors, “We call this utraya mokri -- the Tree of Voices. The voices of our ancestors, who live within Eywa” (Cameron). The natives of Pandora see the “Tree of Voices” as a direct connection to the deity that they worship Eywa, and so James Cameron made the tree glow, producing light even during the day. Following the mythological elements of Jungian Archetypes, and thousands of other archetypes that associate light with good. By making the tree produce bright light the audience is able to directly associate it with good becuase it is in the human's subconscious to do so. Light allows humans to see, while darkness blinds them making it bad, and light good. When Jake is getting use to the new interstellar military base on the planet of Pandora, he speaks with the military leader about the facility, “I pulled your record, Corporal. Venezuela -- that was some mean bush. Nothing like this here, though. You got heart kid, coming out here, I figured -- just another hellhole”

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