Inro to the Misson

The scene I chose to analyze is when Jake first arrives on Pandorm and his mission is explained to him. In this scene Jake is told that the reason for the military occupation of this alien world and the reasons he is there is to obtain one of the world’s natural resources. Many film critics have argues that through this film James Cameron is making a comment about how we misuse the environment in our society. This scene argues that if we continue in this pattern we will reach a point when we have depleted The Earth of everything.

This scene also makes an argument about the nature of capitalism and its influence on the military. In this scene it is explained to us as a viewer that Unobtainum is worth billions of dollars. Like many historical examples of colonialism Unobtainum is a value source of income so one group feels the need to have it, despite the fact that they have no right to the resource. The scene goes on to explain that the largest amount of Unobtainum is located underneath Hometree, the center of The Navi society. Again, like other times in history, the group that is in the way is viewed as a lesser and standing in the way of capitalism. This is where Jake comes in. Jake is instructed to engage with The Navi and convince them to move of face military action. This scene makes some stinking comments about the relationship between private industries and the military, auguring that in this society (and our own) that rather than fighting for safety the military can be used to fight for commerce.