The Avatar Opportunity

One of the central themes of Real World Parents is that we look for real world opportunities to talk to our kids about truth and wisdom. We’re big believers that our inescapable popular culture gives us those opportunities in abundance—if we’re willing to overcome the inertia of the “it’s just a movie” cop-out.

Case in point: James Cameron’s megahit “Avatar” has become almost universally embraced as far more than “just a movie.” While it’s true that some people love or hate it as cinema, far more people seem to be impassioned by it’s messages, though not all agree on what those are.

Those praising the film’s big ideas include the president of Bolivia, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, any number of media reviewers, and some Chinese freedom bloggers. Those against the film’s teaching include the Vatican, Ross Douthat of the New York Times, the Chinese government, and any number of Christian and conservative reviewers.

Meanwhile, CNN reports some huge fans of the film are experiencing suicidal thoughts because they will never live on Pandora while others are just depressed because the film’s overwhelming success means we’re now doomed to wear those clunky 3D glasses forever.

Here’s the bottom-line question, though: What do your kids think of the film—and what messages did they hear coming from the story (or whatever story is enthralling them at the moment)? What do they see as true and false in those messages? How do those messages fit into the story of God’s Word—or stand against it?

And how can we teach them the wisdom skill of evaluating the stories that fascinate them in light of the greatest story of all time?

UPDATE: Saw this on Adam McClane’s links page (via the Youth Specialties Update) after I posted: Avatar Promotes/Doesn’t Promote Smoking. (Notice especially the quote from Cameron.)

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