Colonel Quaritch vs Jake Sully

The scene I chose from Avatar is the scene where Col. Quaritch is viewing the battle from his main quarters. This scene is during the initial invasion. The scene captivated me because it really gets to the heart of Jake. Does his allegiances fall with the human race, or his newly adopted tribe. It appears the Col. learns of Jake's betrayal when Jake begins attacking one of the machines attempting to invade the planet. He becomes infuriated and pulls Jake's "cord"- like in The Matrix- Jake's new body becomes unconscious and he is met with Col Quaritch's fist upon his arrival to the real world.

The first time I watched the film I was totally taken off guard, I was thinking something along the lines of, "Oh great, how the hell is Jake going to fight against the human race now, surely the tribesmen will not be able to fight them off." I feel this is essentially what the director wanted us to feel. He wanted us to go on the roller coaster ride, and fight to get back into the other world with Jake. Col Quaritch's character is based off the same military character as a million and one other military themed movies. He is a complete asshole and his whole entire life revolves around the Marine Corps. As we have seen in his "safety briefing", (or CO's call for us Navy folk) he is a fit individual with presumed combat wounds as you see his face, this gives his character credibility as being someone who has "been in the shit", if you will.

I will argue that this scene forces the viewer into a position of even questioning themselves. We are pushed into a sympathetic emotional state and we do not want the planet to essentially be raped for its resources, because, much like the rain forest, we would kill off everything in the process of retrieving the precious resource. Since Col. Quartich's character is such an antagonist in this film, we are easily put into the position of being with Jake, especially after he gets sucker punched by him when he barely comes to upon returning to his human body. We then want to see him return to the magical world that is only possible through returning to his Avatar body. We also want to see him return because, as we all know, Jake is crippled and his other body allows him to be normal again and live with a purpose.