Ebook: Postcolonial theory and Avatar

This volume offers a concise introduction to postcolonial film theory in jargon-free language and shows how this theory can be deployed to interpret James Cameron's high-grossing, immensely popular, and critically acclaimed 2009 film. Avatar is widely celebrated for its politically and culturally sensitive critique of the 'West's' neocolonial wars and exploitation of the 'global south' - an allegory for (neo)colonialism - and, for highlighting the plight of tribal communities throughout the world (for instance, the case of the Dongriah Kondh tribe of India). At the same time, it has been also criticized for repeating the colonialist fantasy of saving natives doomed by imperialist aggression.