I think this scene is crucial because it displays a direct comparison between being an Avatar and a human. We can see firsthand the physical differences between a human and an avatar—the height, the body, the face, the general movement, and the emotions and feelings. We also see the medical and science aspect of the world of Pandora. When Jake wakes up in a medical room with doctors around him and wires everywhere, it is shown how very much this is a scientific process. The clear, handheld computers and general sense of breaking technology and avatars floating in their embryos adds to the effect.
When Jake wakes up in his new blue body, we see for the first time an avatar in motion. At first, he seems like a monster because he is not quite yet in control of his body and does not know what to do with it. While in his new body, Jake also experiences difficulty with the new sense of movement and flails his body around. Jake lacks the control of his new body, and knocks over expensive medical equipment and rips off tubes, making the doctors nervous because of his quick and excited response. When he is running and leaping across the field, his joy becomes contagious.
I think this scene tried to make you feel really what it was like to be an avatar and to experience the emotions Jake was feeling. We see all the emotions and feelings going through Jake as he wakes up in his new body. We see the scenes through Jakes eyes (both as he is in his real body and actually through his eyes as he wakes up) to really feel what he is feeling. It also made me feel a little fearful of everything that was going on and the feeling of the lack of control and uncertainty Jake felt with the newness of the situation. We are clearly able to see the joy Jake feels at being able to walk and run again, and he quickly adapts to the sensation and runs and leaps all over the land. Compared to the other avatar in the room, Jake woke up and recovered much more quickly. Jake’s skepticism turned into belief was very evident in this scene. At once, he turned into a firm believer of the program and his attitude from then on changed drastically and made the succeeding plot what it is.
I too loved this scene because it was his second chance at being able to walk. Given that opportunity is something that I cannot honestly pretend to be able to imagine, but being told not to get up and walk much less run when you have not been able to do so in your own body would probably fall on deaf ears for most of us. I enjoyed watching the joy he felt when he was once again able to do something we all take for granted. Right before this scene when we see the Avatars floating in the tanks in the lab is where I found it easiest to compare the human and Na'vi body. The blue bodies were so much larger and standing next to each other the differences were much more pronounced.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this scene as well! Much like Beth said I think the director wanted us to feel like it's like to be a paraplegic and then to regain full control of your legs again, and it is quite amazing indeed! What I was confused about was when he was tripping about the room in this scene if the director meant it from a Central Nervous System standpoint and Jake was knocking off the rust from not being able to walk, or if he was adapting to his Avatar body and was just very clumsy, much like an overgrown puppy bumping into things.
ReplyDeleteIn this scene it also shows us that there are others that undertook this experiment, but besides this scene you never really see any of these Avatars in the fight scenes to fight back against them. It is only Jake and Dr. Augustine, if I am not mistaken, that enter the domain of the Avatar world.
I also really liked this scene because of how it shows Jake's reaction to having his legs back. This is one of the few scenes where we get to see a comparison of the sizes of the Avatar and human bodies, which gives a better idea of what it's like to inhabit an Avatar.
ReplyDeleteIt also showcases Jake's recklessness and fearlessness in the Avatar body. He bypasses nearly all the tests they are attempting to run on him and springs for the outdoors to test his new legs.
Surely part of the reason he is so reckless is due to his personality, but I wonder if part of his reaction (epically later in the film, such as when he's fighting the dogs) comes from the fact that if the Avatar is killed, he still survives. Given that I could not die as the Avatar, I think my fear of death would be considerably less.
Of course I agree with everyone else with this scene being emotionally charged for Jake because he now has a second chance to walk. But what I saw was not just him adapting to his new body. He took the time to really feel his legs and his feet and the joy that overpowered him. I think when he wigges his toes you realize,'oh this isn't just him adapting to his avatar body,' but then you get past tht nd look at him as an avatar again. I took the mindset of him as a human. He was overjoyed by the fact he could walk let alone feel his legs and if you look at his actions, everything he does has something to do with trying out his new kicks. He just wants to stand at first, then walk, and finally run. He digs his toes in the dirt and you can feel exactly what he is at that moment. Cameron does a great job of bringing you back into the body of the character by using different techniques such as this one. It's the little things that make an impact on a movie like this.
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