The perpetuation of the white saviour discourse through the family as a state apparatus in avatar the way of water

Abstract

[eng] Since its release in 2009, James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar has been scrutinised from myriad perspectives. One of the most relevant and addressed issues from a postcolonial prism is the portrayal of the Western white saviour, embodied by its white male protagonist, Jake Sully. The film's hyper-masculine performativity has been thoroughly analysed in past literature. Additionally, the suppression of Indigenous voices in the movie undermines the ability of Pandora's natives to represent themselves. (O’Connor 2022, 62-65) Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) is far from being a turning point and perpetuates this trope, even with its added layer of complexity through the hybridity of Sully’s descendants and their experience as asylum seekers. This paper aims to expand on how Avatar’s sequel encapsulates the continuation of the white Western male discourse despite the ambivalent position of Sully's progeny due to its hybridity. The scope of the study focuses on Lo'ak and Spider, two young characters overshadowed by the figures of their respective fathers and who, due to their diverse origins, find themselves displaced within their family and tribal environments. Using a bildungsroman structure, both young men are confronted with the clash between their core beliefs and their need for a sense of belonging due to their hybrid identities; since they are only accepted by their family and tribal patriarchs when they adopt a hyper-masculine and white hunter role.