Analysis of Ethnocentrism in Avatar
In the film Avatar, Jake Sully, a human, mentally controls a body that contains cells of the Na’vi natives from the planet, Pandora, and he attempts to learn the culture of the Na’vi. In a long run, the effect of being exposed to enthnocentrism, primitivism, romanticism and exoticism, could have changed Jakes’s decision from helping the humans to helping and living with the Na’vi. The aim of this essay is to explore enthinocentrism and its three areas: the primitive lives of the Na’vi, Na’vi’s romanticism with nature, and the exoticism of Pandora’s features and its inhabitants.
Ethnocentrism is the view of one’s own culture to be superior and normal over the other culture (Lundberg, 2013). To the humans, they view the Na’vi as “blue monkey” (Cameron & Laudau, 2009), and are disrespectful towards their culture. The Na’vi also show the same attitude towards humans, where Eytukan, the clan leader, said that Jake has an “alien smell” (Cameron & Laudau, 2009). The humans view the trees as merely just an obstacle, whereas the Na’vi valued the trees deeply, where they believe that the trees are sacred, and were used to communicate and worship their mother goddess, Eywa. In turn, both sides think of each other as inferior and uncultured creatures from their contrast of their own beliefs.
Primitivism is the view of another culture that is less developed, evolutionary and technologically (Lundberg, 2013). A scene where the Na’vi gives the impression that they are irrational and savage, was when Jake first landed on Pandora, arrows were stuck on the wheels of a huge truck passing by, which show that the Na’vi still attacked the highly developed technologically humans who owns machine guns and giant walking machines, with only their bows and arrows, as the Na’vi did not think that these technology weapons would be harmful and dangerous. Their animal-like behaviour such as howling and snarling, and being able to swing from tree to tree, give a sense of primitivism.

Romanticism is the belief that when people in the past live better, when they were in tune with nature (Lundberg, 2013). Romanticism is clearly evident in the aspects of Na’vi, from their tree home, their close bond with the animals and nature, to the ability to breathe the air of Pandora that is poisonous to humans. These show that even when the humans are well-equipped with guns and machines, surviving on Pandora is still a struggle, which tells how technology have weakened the humans (Lundberg, 2013). Whereas for the Na’vi, they are able to freely move through the trees, able to peacefully live and bond, with the animals, and performing rituals for the departed animals to show respect for the dead, portraying as ‘noble savages’.
According to Lutz and Collins (1993), exoticism is the creation of something that is unusual but alluring as well. The unique features of Pandora, such as the floating mountains, vast variety of luminal-fluorescent flora and fauna, and the spectacular view of the moons and planet, give an unfamiliar, yet eye-catching. The Na’vi has physical traits that are considered attractive, for their slender, tall and muscular physique, being dressed scantily.
In conclusion, when learning about other culture, ethnocentrism allows one have a better understanding of the other, which is seen in Avatar, where Jake gets to experience in Na’vi’s shoes, and realise that they are not ferocious, barbaric creatures that humans thought they were, but are refined and cultured, as the humans, although disparately.

References
Cameron, J. & Laudau, J. (Producers), Cameron, J. (Director). (2009). Avatar [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox Lightstorm Entertainment.
Lundberg, A (2013). AN1001 Anthropology: Cultural Diversity in Global Perspective, Lecture 2 [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1196913-dt-content-rid-889074_1/courses/13-AN1001-SIN-INT-SP52/Colonialism%20%26%20Race_Ethnographic%20Method.pdf
Lutz, C. A., & Collins, J. L. (1993). A World Brightly Different: Photographic Conventions, 1950-1960. In Reading National Geographic. (pp. 87-118). Chicago, USA: The University of Chicago Press.