Avatar 3D
Last week Emily and I went to see Avatar in 3D at the local cinema here. The movie was pretty good and in 3D it was awesome! If you are going to see it and you can, definately see it in 3D.
The story was better than I thought and might even be good for church groups as there are plenty of themes that could be drawn out, even if it is a bit animistic overall. The feeling of a utopian world over a broken sinful one, the idea of living in communion with God rather than trying to glorify ourselves for our own greedy pleasure, the renewal of body and mind that Jake went through entering into the eutopia through the god-like “Eiwa” (excuse the spelling, just took a guess!)
Plus the action was great and it was good fun to watch.
The 3D was especially interesting to me though as I studied stereoscopic technology when I was at uni for my final year degree project.
The technology the cinema we went to was the same shutter glasses tech that we used at uni, it means wearing a bigger set of glasses, but it’s an easy install for the cinema as there is no need to polarise the on screen image, as long as their projector is up to it. If 3D takes off the way some people think it will this will probably be the most common way to retro fit prebuilt cinemas to display it… If you understand what I mean you’re doing well 
But yeah, the sensation was just as it was when I was at university, and it was pretty good there. The drawback still comes for me in focus, in 2D my eyes can tell how far away the screen is and know how to focus(ish) to watch, plus I’ve had plenty of practice. But in 3D the image looks closer or further and my eyes want to focus that way, but the screen is the same distance and so focus doesn’t change, I think this is what tires my eyes. It was a bit of a talking point when I we studying 5 years ago and still seems to be.
But actually as I relaxed into the movie and forgot to take special notice of the 3D it became easier, though my eyes were still tired by the end, but that might be because it was a late show that went on to almost 1am!
Emily enjoyed it, but the glasses were a little awkward over her regular glasses and she felt a bit motion sick during the longer action scene in the middle…
But definately see it in 3D if you can!
I hear it’s doing well at the box office too, perhaps on it’s way to becoming a record breaker!
February 12th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Hi John,
I was just reading your PNB for February and thought I would make a quick visit to Flat 3D. I saw Avatar twice over Christmas holidays; once with Irene and then another time with my Dad and brothers. A fantastic spectacle is how I would describe it; the 3D is breathtaking. You really feel some of those creatures are flying past your nose.
Also very pagan as you hinted at; Eiwa is like an old mother nature figure, which is really just an oft-used figure of speech here but had been transformed into a spiritual power in the movie. All very like the Canaanite religion we studied for OT theology with Asherah being the dominant female deity whose fertility was essential for a fertile earth and fertility amongst humans.
It was interesting also to hear the words used. Avatar is someone who embodies an idea but is also the incarnation of a Hindu god. The ‘navi’ are the inhabitants of Pandora. A bit of OT Hebrew there, the word for prophet. The dragons were ‘banshees’ which is a ghoulish spirit from Gaelic mythology and a name which we grew up knowing in Ireland. You have the Hallelujah mountains and, you have to admit that ‘Eiwa’ does sound like a play on ‘Yahweh’.
James Cameron and his production team were sending out a strong spiritual/pantheistic message. Are we back to the old days of subliminal messages in rock songs? Should we be worried? Should we write a book and warn the children?
February 12th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
I am not sure we need to write books any more than we would about Star Wars… Having said that I am sure people have written books about star wars…!
I guess I think it is unlikely a movie about lanky blue folk running around a glow in the dark forest is likely to influence peoples beliefs directly. But the themes it touchs might cause some to stop and think about things beyond their everyday life, which can only be a good thing…