Way of Water Frustrates Me

 Ephraim Belnap

What’s frustrating is that Cameron has said many times that this film is really a means to relay thoughts about what’s most important to him (the environment, family, technology) using simple story beats we’re familiar with - the “going native” and the kind of Native American cultural cues Western audiences are familiar with. And yet he doesn’t use these tools to the best of their ability. 

In a conventional reading of the films, it is right for the Na’vi to protect their homes, and the humans are wrong to practice violence on them. That’s cool. But with context, this story is just recreating the beats of Native American exploitation. And Native American exploitation ended with the Natives losing. I expected maybe we’d see more elaboration in Way of Water - if the Na’vi are the good guys, surely he doesn’t want them recreating the moves that led to the Native Americans losing most of their land and means. But the sequel shows them doing the same old thing. So it’s like, what’s the point?