Analyzing how aesthetics drive compassionfrom @internet.anthropology

Transcript

Why did the Avatars have to be hot? It's always kind of bothered me that the Na'vi have characteristics that are seen as stereotypically desirable to humans. Would we still have the same compassion for the plight of the Na'vi if they were short, green, hairy, round, clunky, ugly with weird little voices? How much of this movie wouldn't work if they weren't hot? This is Internet anthropology and indigenous critiques of Avatar have very importantly called attention to the white savior complex and the caricature of indigenous life portrayed in the movie without real input from indigenous people. Another core trope that occurs in this film is the protagonist falling in love with the beautiful, enchanting indigenous woman. These narratives do raise the question, would he still be trying to save these people if he didn't find this woman hot? Even as viewers, Avatar fetishizes the Na'vi way of life to us, specifically through their beauty and their grace and their deeply aestheticized cultural practices. Why does our ability to find them aesthetically desirable provoke our empathy and our compassion? This is kind of a huge issue that we have as a culture. This is research reported on by The Guardian that finds that in conservation fundraising, the concept of charismatic megafauna describes how animals that are visually appealing or emotionally engaging receive disproportionate amounts of attention and funding. As a result, 83% of conservation funding is directed towards mammals and bad. Species more likely to be perceived as charismatic and photogenic. This aesthetic bias diverts resources away from less visually appealing better ecologically critical species, ultimately putting our ecosystems at risk. These are things like algae, snails, mollusks, flies that don't look good on a t shirt or a banner. This isn't an avatar take down video, I just want to call attention to how our availability of compassion and empathy for others has often been tied to their aesthetic qualities and markability tier a way that is harming our planet. In the settler colonial frame, empathy is often rooted through visual pleasure of the other. Maybe we can learn from indigenous relational frameworks that center empathy in kinship, reciprocity tier shared shared histories, not just aesthetic pleasure and beauty.