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Humanity places a large value on natural resources. From an economic standpoint to an international relations standpoint, the quest for resources is prevalent. The U.S. is no exception to this pursuit. While wanting resources is not an inherently bad thing, the way in which countries like the U.S. attain them is sometimes morally questionable. These moral and ethical questions surrounding the attainment of resources are reflected in our pop culture. One of the most popular examples is the wildly famous movie Avatar (2009) (( Cameron, James, director. Avatar. Twentieth Century Fox, 2009. )). Set in 2154 on the alien planet called Pandora, Avatar explores the value of resources and the lengths to which earthlings are willing to go to attain them.
The planet Pandora, inhabited by the Na’vi aliens, is rich with the mineral unobtanium. This mineral is an extremely potent energy source that Earth desperately wants because Earth has run out of sources of energy. Over the course of the film, viewers watch how the earthlings on the military base initially try to obtain the resource diplomatically and peacefully. However, as time passes and people grow impatient, the military leaders decide to take violent action and start a war with the Na’vi. In the transition of thought from peaceful tactics to violent ones, respect and appreciation for life dwindle in pursuit of greed.
This, of course, begs the question, “Are resources worth all the death and destruction it takes to get them?” According to Avatar, the answer is no. While not a perfect movie, Avatar does provide some insight into the tragic consequences of violent resource theft. Avatar’s depiction should make American audiences question just how we get some of our natural resources in the first place.
Pandora And Our World
Pandora is an alien world filled with futuristic technology, but it’s not so different from our current Earth. For example, both Pandora and our Earth are populated with humans who want resources that others have. As time goes on, and as humans grow more impatient, humanity’s tactics become more and more violent. Much like humans from our world, the humans in Avatar take advantage of and steal from other beings instead of choosing diplomacy or developing their own sustainable resources. In Avatar, the military base located on Pandora initially allows the scientists and cultural experts to try and work with the Na’vi.
However, as time goes on, the military and business leaders on the base start a war with the Na’vi by deciding to get the unobtanium by any means necessary. In the process, the Na’vi’s Hometree, which is their home and culture hub, is destroyed because a lot of unobtanium is located underneath. The destruction of Hometree is a devastating loss for the Na’vi, and many die during the attack.
The military and firepower that the humans possess on Pandora are more developed than the technology the Na’vi use. Apparently, the superiority that humans feel they have due to their technology makes them think they can take what they want when they want it. This mentality represents a complete lack of respect for life, which Avatar condemns, as seen in the crushing defeat of the human military forces at the end of the movie.
The U.S. In The Iraq War
James Cameron, Avatar’s writer, and director has said that he used the U.S.’s involvement in the Iraq War as a basis for the conflict in Avatar (( Whipp, Glenn. “Is ‘Avatar’ a Message Movie? Absolutely, Says James Cameron.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2010, Is ‘Avatar’ a Message Movie? Absolutely, Says James Cameron. )). In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq as part of a continuation of the “War on Terror.” The troops’ mission was to remove Saddam Hussein from power, which they achieved in 2003. However, the U.S. government kept troops in Iraq, and some are still there today.
The majority of events that have occurred between Iraq and the U.S. have largely been due to the U.S. trying to maintain political power in Iraq (( Berger, Miriam. “Invaders, Allies, Occupiers, Guests: A Brief History of U.S. Military Involvement in Iraq.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 Jan. 2020, Invaders, Allies, Occupiers, Guests: A Brief History of U.S. Military Involvement in Iraq. )). But why does the U.S. have such a vested interest in Iraq? Why did they not leave after ousting Saddam Hussein?
Oil In Iraq
The answer is simply that the U.S. wanted one of Iraq’s most valuable natural resources: oil. As Antonia Juhasz from CNN writes, “Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq’s domestic oil industry was … closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms” (( Juhasz, Antonia. “Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Apr. 2013, Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil. )). How did this happen?
Well, according to Juhasz, “Saddam Hussein and the nation’s legal system” were the two main things preventing Western business from getting their hands on Iraq’s oil (( Juhasz, Antonia. “Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Apr. 2013, Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil. )). When the 2003 invasion removed Saddam Hussein, the only thing left in the way was Iraq’s laws. The U.S. decided to pressure the Iraq government into writing the “Iraq Hydrocarbons Law, [which was] partially drafted by the Western oil industry” (( Juhasz, Antonia. “Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Apr. 2013, Why the War in Iraq Was Fought for Big Oil. )). Now, the Western oil businesses have their foothold in Iraq’s natural resources.
The Violence Behind Resources
While the change in Iraq’s laws was not overtly violent, the Iraq War that overthrew Hussein and established a U.S. presence in Iraq was violent. Thousands of U.S. troops died in the conflict, while about half a million Iraqis, both civilians, and soldiers alike, died in the Iraq War. Some even speculate that the number of killed Iraqis is higher, but the exact number remains unknown (( Bump, Philip. “Analysis | 15 Years after the Iraq War Began, the Death Toll Is Still Murky.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/03/20/15-years-after-it-began-the-death-toll-from-the-iraq-war-is-still-murky/. )).
Both the humans in Pandora and the U.S. government in Iraq seem to think that because they have the firepower, they are entitled to everyone’s resources. But don’t take my word for it. In 2016, one of outgoing President Trump’s campaign platforms was that the U.S. deserved the oil in Iraq:
“We go in… what happens is we get nothing. You know, it used to be to the victor belong the spoils”
(( Borger, Julian. “Trump’s Plan to Seize Iraq’s Oil: ‘It’s Not Stealing, We’re Reimbursing Ourselves’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21 Sept. 2016, Trump’s Plan to Seize Iraq’s Oil: ‘It’s Not Stealing, We’re Reimbursing Ourselves’. ))
Here, Trump displayed a mindset that paid no mind to the lives and well-being of the people in Iraq who actually own the oil.
The violence and destruction seen in the Iraq War are also seen in Avatar. In both cases, one of the big goals of the invasion of someone else’s land is for the invaders to get their hands on resources to make money. In both Iraq and Pandora, the people native to the land are attacked and their culture is mocked, as the invaders show little regard for life.
What We Can Learn From Avatar
Avatar is not a perfect movie by any means. With undertones of the white savior complex, the noble savage character, sexism, etc., this movie clearly has its flaws. However, it does demonstrate the lengths to which some people and countries are willing to go to take what others already own. In regards to both the U.S.’s lust for oil and humanity’s fictional greed for unobtanium, the morality of their decisions deserves to be questioned.
All around our current Earth, countries like the U.S. have strong footholds in resource-rich foreign countries. Avatar asks its audience to question why that is. Not all of the U.S.’s humanitarian initiatives in foreign countries may be actually focused on helping people or eradicating evil. Perhaps, the U.S. is actually after resources and control.
As Americans, we have a civic duty to ask questions and hold our government accountable and honest. Avatar shows us an example of how far some people are willing to go for resources, but it’s up to us to recognize these same patterns and actions in the real world. The world of Pandora may be a fictional planet, but the U.S. and Iraq are real. Let’s keep asking questions.
