Avatar needed a better script

LEELA YELLESETTY writes in her letter on Avatar that "whether or not something 'works as a total piece of art' is necessarily subjective. The point of looking at art from a socialist standpoint, in my opinion, is more about reflecting on the social significance of a certain work of art at a particular time" ("Avatar is a great starting point").

But a socialist critique also ought to explain how and why a work of art succeeds or fails. Otherwise, this is simply a formula for judging a work of art primarily on its politics.

This bears itself out in her comment that "the fact that [Jake Sully] was paralyzed and then denied treatment by the military...speaks to the genuine objective basis for solidarity between soldiers and occupied people, very much on display in Iraq and Afghanistan today."

But we should not give the film more credit than it deserves. In fact, Sully's paralysis--like his dead twin brother and the ridiculously named "unobtanium"--is primarily a plot device to get him into an avatar. The movie portrays these issues at a fairly superficial level, as it does with the characterizations of the dull Jake Sully and the stock Hollywood bad guys.

The individual Na'vi characters do not fare much better, but we can at least sympathize with them after the devastating assault on their homeland and root for them to resist their colonizers. Still, for a science fiction film, their connection to Native Americans is quite literal, and the movie could have taken more creative license in portraying them. Instead of being subtle and surprising, the conflict is fairly predictable.

Given that a Hollywood blockbuster is going to be seen by millions of people, I agree that I would rather it critique U.S. imperialism, the genocide of Native Americans and environmental destruction than not. But given Avatar's $237 million budget, it would also be nice if it had a better script.
Scott Johnson, Oakland, Calif.