this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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[–] four@lemmy.zip 179 points 3 days ago (2 children)

In my circles it's "avatar" and "avatar (the blue one)", which is also quite telling

[–] Hozerkiller@lemmy.ca 75 points 3 days ago (1 children)

In my circles it's "avatar" and we haven't needed a way to distinguish space smurfs. Literally never comes up, even when one is in theaters.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 26 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Yeah, the only reason the James Cameron one is ever brought up is to talk about how it's absurd how much profit it makes or to talk about how stupid it is that they're making a series. Often context is enough to know you're talking about that one, and not the real one.

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It's weird how the sequel (Way of the Water) came out and it made so much money and it seemed to just not permeate any conversations or memes or anything. At least in my corner of the Internet.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago

Yeah, I don't keep up with movies or series, but I know that the non-blue sequel is called "Korra" or something. Never heard "Way of the Water" before.

[–] athatet@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I thought this new one was the sequel… did another one come out sometime? I’m on the internet a lot and had no idea.

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It apparently had the most impressive cgi water ever, with technical breakthroughs being the only interesting part of the series to me.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

James Cameron would like that you said that

Technical reasons are the entire backbone of why it took owning the IP for as much time before it was made as it has now been after it's release

He also is fine having movies for the studios if he didn't have a passion for the project but off it lets him do one.

Remember this is the guy has long had a fascination with the water

I don't know anyone who can even remember what the story part of Cameron's Avatar actually was, let alone anyone who liked the story part. The part about the regular human's consciousness taking over the artificial blue critter is completely forgotten, and that's the whole reason the movie was called Avatar in the first place.

[–] Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Avatar "Pocahontas in space"

[–] KraeuterRoy@feddit.org 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Aka Big Blue Man (from Little Big Man).

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Tells me you don't know, or that you don't care about why that movie was ever made. And why the second one got made either.

The story is about being an avatar.

Not about fern gully as well

[–] Rusty@lemmy.ca 42 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I like both Avatars: The Last Airbender and the Cameron's one. I don't understand why in so many people love for one thing transforms into hate for some other thing. It reminds me how much lotrmemes subreddit hates G. R. R. Martin, despite the fact that he told people numerous times that he himself loves LotR and considers it an inspiration for his work.

Having said that the name trademark is unfortunate.

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I don't hate Avatar blue people, I just find it to be mid.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

The Cameron Avatar films are great spectacles. They should be experienced in the theatre.

And they know what they are. They don't have much cultural relevance, but they make stupid money because they're event films.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I can help you understand it better from a film making perspective if you are willing to watch some of James Camerons other works.

Might upgrade the value of having watched it and knowing what is about. Even if it doesn't make the story any better if you ever watch it again it might just give you a different relationship with it

Or could be a complete waste of your time lol

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I went to film school, so try me. That said, I haven't actually watched the newest one, but it seems to have had a similar reaction in culture, so I imagine it's similarly mid. Mid does not mean bad, it just means not as good as his other stuff.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I went to film school, so try me

Egads I'm probably going to waste your time then!

But I'll put together what I think was going to help reframe it any ways. (I'm super nervous now!) I'll get back to you In a few days because now I'm all self-conscious about what ill actually be able to offer now. Ahh geez open mouth insert foot!

And I did understand the way you used mid as a description, I hope

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Don't know bout You, but when I hear Avatar, my first thought goes to the Swedish metal band. Then the series, then the movies.

[–] Phegan@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Many many years ago, a song by an artist called avatar came across my ears. Likely via audiogalaxy where could send you shit. It's a guitar song called Baba Ava by Avatar. It's chill but good and still in my music library to this day. Any time I try to find more songs by the artist, I get the swedish metal band.

It could have also appeared because that was my swedish metal era listening to a lot of in flame. So maybe I mixed them up and was left with some chill guitar to show for it.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 28 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

I'm surprised people give enough of a shit for that much (EDIT : FAN CONTENT) to be made

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 34 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I don't think anyone can stop James Cameron at this point. It could bomb and he'd probably still make the next one

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 days ago (5 children)

But they don't bomb, which I don't understand.

I've never once heard anyone talk about them, except to make a joke about James Cameron. Literally never even hear mention that they went to see a movie and it was Avatar. The fact that those movies make money confounds me.

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 25 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I do watch and enjoy them, it's just, the reason they're enjoyable isn't really the plot. In my view, they're basically tech-demos for how much you can push cgi tech, with a relatively simple and chiche story to tie it together. They're very pretty, and enjoyable for that reason, but once the movie is over there's little to bring them up because they don't inspire the same interest in the characters or plot or worldbuilding that a lot of other popular media franchises do.

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[–] pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 days ago

I mean, they're good. Saw both, enjoyed both, will see the next one. There's just not much to talk about though. The stories are pretty self contained, there's no source material, so there's not a lot to go off of. They're also not trying to build/pander to fanbase, look at the amount of star wars merchandise and events out there. They're just what I want out of a blockbuster movie, interesting, fun to watch, cool setting, have an anticapitalist moral, and you don't need to have watched a ton of other movies or tv shows to make sense of it.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 7 points 3 days ago

I've seen both. Happy to talk about them if you want. Way of Water had a lot of really cool moments but a lot of weird visual choices. They swapped between 24 and 48 fps (idk if it was 48 but it was definitely higher) seemingly at random. You'd think it would be something like 24 for dialogue and 48 for action, but it wasn't that straight forward. Some scenes looked like they needed more time to look good. A boat crash in particular stands out. Other scenes were incredibly gorgeous. The young one (name escapes me) swimming to rescue her family stands out there.

I think my biggest gripe about Way of Water was that they said they get this valuable thing from the whales. But the number was orders of magnitude less valuable than the material they were mining from the first one. It made it seem silly. They could've just given a bigger number and it would all make sense. Maybe it's something about the initial investment to get to Pandora being the biggest cost so now they can pursue things that make less money.

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The first one was a big event and I remember everyone going to see it. Shit movie but lets not pretend it wasnt treated as a phenomenon at the time.

[–] AlexanderTheDead@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

My (four) friends went and saw the 2nd one while tripping on acid lol. They don't remember the movie. I saw it like last year on netflix or some other streaming service. I know of nobody else who has ever seen it.

[–] protist@mander.xyz 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The first Avatar grossed $2.9 billion, and the second grossed $2.4 billion

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

yeah, he's got enough money to make whatever he wants

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Think he got a deal on doing four of them. They've also made BANK the first grossed nearly 3B and the second still grossed around 2.3B. Those film executives do not care about comments on the stupidity of the plot or their rotten tomatoes score they can't see or hear it over the waterfall of money printing.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm talking about fan content. no one gives a shit about avatar the world/story so how is it about as quarter as popular as the animated Avatar series?

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

It still was a big production, right? Also has a lot of room for the good old fixit fanfics to flourish! So Blue Avatar gets something! The animated ones just get a lot more because easy more world building. And ship fanfics.

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

It's the internet, porn and drawing practices.

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Somehow the sequel made billions. I have no idea how.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm talking about fan content. no one gives a shit about avatar the world/story so how is it about as quarter as popular as the animated Avatar series?

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 days ago

James Cameron writes all of it under pseudonyms

[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Can't wait for the Christmas cross-over special.

[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 15 points 3 days ago (5 children)

(no love for James Cameron, but) are fans of a Nickelodeon series first released in 2005 really complaining about the existence of other media using the name Avatar? 🤔

[–] optissima@lemmy.ml 33 points 3 days ago (2 children)

If they are preventing better series from using it… yeah why not I can be grumpy about a lot of things at the same time.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 9 points 3 days ago

this guy gets it

[–] dariusj18@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Like the band Atreyu. The name deserves so much more.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Love for James Cameron! You should watch the documentary about him designing and building a submarine, done the right way vs the titan submersible.

I actually really like many of Cameron's movies, it's just that Avatar is so mid and forgettable, even compared to a crowd pleaser like Titanic.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ironic, isn't it?

Edit: that page is broken at the moment. If anyone can post a screenshot that would be great

[–] Xenny@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Now James Cameron needs to make an avatar adaptation. Not the blue one