Imperialism began during the 19th century as a way to expand territories and continue the Industrial Revolution. Powerful nations such as the United States and Great Britain have taken control of less developed areas for several reasons. This era of imperialism has shaped the world today and is the only reason we can afford goods from all over the world today. In some places it is still widespread today and, as such, films and novels have been made about the event. One such film is Avatar, made by James Cameron, which beautifully illustrates the motives and effects of imperialism through the use of film. It involves the people of Earth colonizing a Na'Vi planet that parallels the motivations of imperialism that occurred a century ago. The motivations for imperialism by the European nations and the people of Heaven were the same. The Europeans wanted rubber, gold, and wood to fuel their industrial revolution, and the Sky People wanted unobtanium to solve Earth's energy crisis. Furthermore, they are racist. However, the most significant result of imperialism was the result of the people who were colonized, and is reflected in the story and Avatar alike. The indigenous people were exploited to steal their lands and many were killed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When Jake Sully is first introduced to the program, it is revealed that the main mission of colonization on the foreign planet is to harvest a resource known as unobtainium. This resource has an abundant amount of energy and can be used to solve Earth's energy crisis, which explains why they are willing to destroy the homes of the Na'Vi people. As Jake Sully is brought into the operation's headquarters, he meets Parker Selfridge, one of the lead directors of the Avatar mission, who argues with Doctor Augustine who favors making peace with the Na'Vi: "That's why we're here; unobtanium, because this little gray rock sells for 20 million a kilo. That's the only reason. It's what the whole party pays for.” (Cameron). European aimed to obtain resources that were not available to them at home. These resources included rubber, gold, copper, tin and many others that were expensive and could help continue the industrial era that the nation was going through where they extracted these resources was Africa which was considered inferior similar to the Na' Vi people. As a result of the expeditions to Africa, raw materials were discovered and the leading explorer of the time, Dr. Livingstone, recorded his thoughts and reactions. in his diary “Travels and Missionary Researches in South Africa”, “My observations on this subject make me extremely desirous of promoting the processing of the raw materials of European manufactures in Africa”. This evidence would suggest that the desire for raw materials was, in fact, a major motive for imperialism in Avatar and European imperialism. The Sky People sought the raw material found under the Na'Vi people and since this was precious to them they tried to take over their land and the Europeans also did the same to the African people with their raw materials. The people of imperialist nations do not have the feeling that the indigenous people are on the same level as the colonizers. In both European imperialism and the colonization of the Na'Vi, rulers see them as savages and therefore have the right to kill and use force against them. They have no remorse and feel they have the right to take what they want.A popular belief during the period of imperialism was social Darwinism, or the belief that Western civilization was far superior to other civilizations. This came to be called "the white man's burden" in which Europeans saw the natives as childish and uncivilized, and felt it was their duty to educate them. The Sky People ignore Na'Vi culture and feel they can destroy, kill, or take whatever they want because they are inferior. It is with this racism that they can massacre many natives and burn their home and connection to the forest. Jake Sully and Doctor Augustine, after seeing the rich culture and life of the Na'Vi, recognize them as a community and not, in fact, an inferior race. However, Parker doesn't think the same way and only wants the resource the planet has: “No! They are savages bitten by flies that live in trees. Okay, look around. I don't know about you, but I see a lot of trees. They can move!” (Cameron). The ideas of the Europeans and the Sky People are the same, although the natives are completely different. The feeling of nationalism and superiority towards Native people was racist and led to ignorance of the important culture he despised. The Sky People and the Europeans both had unremarkable opinions about the culture and lifestyle of the indigenous peoples and harbored racist ideologies towards them. The white man's burden and the savage vision against the Na'Vi are the same, which demonstrates a parallel between European imperialism and the imperialism in Avatar. The result of imperialism was beneficial to the nations that were imperialistic because they received resources, land and power, however to the natives it was often harmful. Their culture was destroyed, leaders were killed and their homes were taken away from them. This is prevalent in both the stories and Avatar. When Jake accidentally reveals that the Na'Vi want nothing from humans and that nothing will make them displace or assimilate with the Sky People, the Colonel provokes all-out war and destroys their home: "The hostiles believe that this mountainous territory is protected from their… divinity. And when we destroy it, we will blow a crater in their racial memory so deep, that they will never come within 1,000 kilometers of this place again” (Cameron). European imperialism was brutal, as it had access to automatic weapons that decimated the natives when they refused to cooperate with the needs of the British. As is often the case, the history of imperialism was full of brutality and much blood shed Canton's people did not want to assimilate and chose to rebel, however, the results for them were devastating with one Canton's report writing: “Truly, the English barbarians kill us all what they can. They are dogs whose desires can never be satisfied. Therefore we do not need to investigate whether the peace they have made now is real or fake. Let's all get up, arm ourselves, unite and go against them." This evidence demonstrates how the effects of refusal to assimilate can be devastating and the results of imperialism for natives are always negative. The impact of the people in Avatar parallels that of European imperialism. The superior technology devastated the natives, killing thousands in a single battle. When they refused to assimilate, they were forcibly met with confiscation of land and people. The movie Avatar and European imperialism have many parallels which are the reason for the raw materials, the use of force when the natives refused to assimilate and the impact it had on assimilation. the indigenous people. Avatar was created to be a fun satire on European imperialism and also the practices that continue to this day. Imperialism, despite.
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