The Word for World is Forest

I am a movie fanatic, so while reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel, The Word for World is Forest, I could not help but think how similar this novel is to the movie, “Avatar,” directed by James Cameron. The two have parallel messages: Life is sacred and it is all around us. Look at the human race and how we are killing our planet, our home. We have created a disconnect from the natural world, causing us to move to other planets that can sustain life. And all of this comes to the conclusion that we humans are selfish.

In the novel there are the Athsheans and in the movie there are the Na’vi. Both are indigenous, sapient humanoids who live in harmony with nature. And then we have the humans who come to their planet (home) and try to induce control by building connections. In the novel there is Selver, an Athshean who served the humans for quite some time, and in the movie there is Jake Sulley who volunteers to be an “avatar,” a Na’vi-human hybrid. These two protagonists are the gateway, or the translator, for these two opposing worlds. And as translators, they are viewed as gods and heroes. 

This idea that having the ability to translate, or communicate one’s ideas and actions is of a god-like stature. Selver is able to convince the Athsheans to plan an attack on the Terrans in Central (essential a massacre) and Jake Sulley is able to rally up the Na’vi to fight back the humans. In both instances, I found myself cheering on the indigenous folk and this got me thinking, “What am I doing by cheering them on?” I am essentially acknowledging the indigenous roots of humanity because in reality, we humans have only been civilized for a short amount of time when comparing it to how long we’ve been indigenous people. The image of nature, the image of capturing the raw beauty of this planet we call Earth and home, is a sign of remembrance; remembrance of who we are as humans, as a people, and where our roots began.