In 2011, Avatar became the highest grossing film of all time and was nominated for nine Academy Awards. As you may know, it’s about the relationship between humans and the Na’vi, a humanoid species that inhabit the planet Pandora. Humans want access to Pandora’s valuable mineral, unobtanium, and try a number of tactics with the Na’vi to get it. The film is also allegorical on a number of levels and it could be argued that it is really telling the story of the relationship between industrialized nations and indigenous peoples around the world here on Earth. The fact that it is so popular is interesting from an anthropological perspective.
For this assignment, you will watch the film (it’s available at the SMIL) and, using readings from the course, those included under the assignments tab on Moodle, and the reviews linked below, you will write an essay dealing with the following questions:
1. If the Na’vi are metaphors for colonized people, what assumptions or stereotypes are apparent in how they, and the human colonizers, are portrayed?
2. What tactics do the humans use to try to get unobtanium? Do these reflect real human history in any way?
3. Why, in your informed opinion, is the film so popular in North America? Why did it resonate with so many people?
This essay is pre-researched for you. There are a number of sources available under the Assignments tab on Moodle, a few reviews linked below, and you can use any of the assigned course readings too. You are welcome to do further research though it isn’t required to get an A. You are required to cite and reference all materials you use, even if they are course materials. You should use at least five sources but you may use as many as you like. You are required to formulate a thesis statement (I will argue that…) to structure your essay. You can answer the three questions above in any order throughout your essay and should not simply use sub-headings to deal with each question independently – the essay should flow logically and smoothly. You should refer to specific scenes or dialogue in the film to prove your points. The challenge of this assignment is to be able to think critically about a number of contemporary issues addressed by the course and reflected in the film, and to think independently about why certain stereotypes and assumptions resonate with so many people.
Getting started: Go see the film (again?). Read the articles posted in the assignments tab to see if they spark ideas.
Reflect: Draft out some of your answers to the questions above. See the film again, but this time, take notes about specific scenes or dialogue that prove your points. Think about the questions again and whether you have sufficient evidence to make your case. If not, do some research in the York library database. When you think you have solid arguments and sufficient evidence…
Write: Outline your essay and craft a thesis statement: “I will argue that…” to end the first paragraph. Write at least one draft long before the deadline to have a chance to edit it and make sure the body of the paper actually does argue what you say you will argue and that it includes both a summary of the problem and concrete policy recommendations. Double and triple check spelling, grammar, citations and references and re-check that you have followed all the formatting guidelines (see tips above and below).
Online Reviews of Avatar
Slavoj Zizek:
http://www.newstatesman.com/film/2010/03/avatar-reality-love-couple-sex
David Brooks, NYT:
S. Brent Plate:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/2228/something_borrowed,_something_blue%3A_avatar_and_the_myth_of_originality/
Writing Tips
These few tips cannot take the place of proper guidance in writing so do use the resources on campus if you haven’t had to write an essay before. If you are comfortable with writing but want to improve, make sure you do the following:
- Outline your essay and use the outline to structure paragraphs.
- Introduce your essay in the first paragraph and end that paragraph with a thesis statement (I will argue that…). Note that anthropology uses the first person to refer to the author of the essay. The introduction should do just that: introduce the ideas of the essay but no arguments or referenced points.
- Conclude your essay by reiterating the introduction, summarizing your main points and saying clearly what you have proven or demonstrated. No new material should be introduced here.
- Don’t use subheadings in short essays like this; instead, use linking sentences at the end of paragraphs to lead the reader to the next point. Use topic sentences at the beginning of the paragraph to tell the reader what to expect. Each paragraph should cover one main point.
- Don’t rely on computer spell check to catch errors. Use Canadian spelling conventions and if you’re unsure, look the word up.
- Use words you know well even if they don’t sound official or academic. If you want to use a word you’re unfamiliar with, look it up first to make sure you’ve got the right meaning and spelling. Avoid Latin words if Saxon ones will do the job just as well (eg. utilize, use).
- Unlike this document, avoid the use of contractions (I’m, don’t can’t etc).
- Avoid gendered language: mankind, his/her, etc.
- Use rhetorical questions and exclamations (!) sparingly in academic work.
- Most important of all, re-read the essay before finalizing it. The best tactic is to finish writing a day in advance, leave it for a few hours and then come back and check a printed version for formatting problems, typos and problems with syntax or style. Reading aloud is the best way to catch awkward constructions, repetition and grammatical errors.
Simplified Citation/Referencing Guide
(see course website for full AAA Style Guide)
Citations: Intra-textual citations should appear in the form (Godelier 1973:116-119) or [author, year of publication:page number(s)]. Note that there is no comma following the author and no space following the colon. Page numbers should be used with direct quotations and when citing general arguments or ideas as in:
Exchange is essential for good kin relationships (Godelier 1973:116-119).
If the author’s name already appears in the text, it is sufficient to indicate the year and page as in:
Godelier argues that exchange is essential to good kin relationships (1973:116).
To distinguish between multiple entries by the same author published in the same year, use letters (1973a, 1973b). When several entries by multiple authors are cited, they should appear as follows with commas between works by the same author and a semi-colon between authors:
(Godelier 1973a, 1973b; Poulantzas 1978)
In terms of frequency of citation, you are obligated to cite every point or piece of information that is not your creation with the exception of common knowledge. If you are writing a whole paragraph based on the same author’s work, you can save yourself the hassle of citing every sentence by formatting the paragraph as follows:
Smith (1999) makes many interesting contributions to the debate on homelessness. He argues that… His main idea is… Finally, Smith makes the point that homelessness is rarely a choice (1999:25-32).
If you’re not sure, it is better to cite than not since failure to cite another’s ideas or words is plagiarism.
References: The list of references must conform to the citations perfectly (every citation is referenced, every reference is cited in the text). The list of referenced works is alphabetical by authors’ last names. It appears at the end of the essay as “References” and follows the formats below and/or in the detailed guide on the website.
Articles in journals:
Augé, Marc
1986 L’anthropologie et la Maladie. L’Homme 26 (1-2):15.
[author’s last name, first name
year of publication title of article. title of journal volume(issue number):page range.]
Books:
Smith, Gavin
1999 Confronting the Present: Towards A Politically Engaged Anthropology. Oxford: Berg.
[year title of book. place of publication: publisher.]
Schneider, Jane, and Rayna Rapp, eds.
1995 Articulating Hidden Histories. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[note the second author is listed first name first and ed. or eds. is added for edited volumes]
Chapters in Books:
Muratorio, Blanca M.
1995 Amazonian Windows to the Past: Recovering Women’s Histories from the Ecuadorian Upper Amazon. In Articulating Hidden Histories. Jane Schneider and Rayna Rapp, eds. Pp. 322-335. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[year title of chapter. In title of book. Editors names, eds. Page range of chapter. Place of publication: publisher.]
So the reference list including all those used in examples above would look like this:
References
Augé, Marc
1986 L’anthropologie et la Maladie. L’Homme 26(1-2):15.
Muratorio, Blanca M.
1995 Amazonian Windows to the Past: Recovering Women’s Histories from the Ecuadorian Upper Amazon. In Articulating Hidden Histories. Jane Schneider and Rayna Rapp, eds. Pp. 322-335. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Schneider, Jane, and Rayna Rapp, eds.
1995 Articulating Hidden Histories. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Smith, Gavin
1999 Confronting the Present: Towards A Politically Engaged Anthropology. Oxford: Berg.
Last Completed Projects
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