Thesis and Outline

INTRO

War is created from two opposing forces and each person must choose a side to support. Either “us” or “them.” Throughout history, the “us” verses “them” mentality established among cultures has created conflicts that can lead to violence and war. Massacres of Native Americans were carried out by the U.S. Military during the western expansion. Hitler’s genocides killed millions of Jewish followers during the second World War.

In our Western culture, many of our films do not stray from the easily understood “us” and “them” battle. For instance, James Cameron’s Avatar pits the profit hungry humans of Earth against the nature-loving, traditional Na’vi of Pandora in a battle over resources and a homeland. Likewise, in Matt Reeve’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, both humans and apes strive to survive on a vastly different version of Earth. So the character clings to their own, familiar culture and fights against the "other" out of fear.  

Either way, inevitable violence explodes in both films. But why is violence among these species seen as the only feasible solution? Again, this all circles back to the means in which Western History was shaped: with an imperial mindset. As a culture, it was ingrained in us to see another culture as an “other” and if they pose the slightest threat or obstacle, force is the simplest solution.

THESIS             

   Therefore, the films Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes feature themes of post-colonialism and the violent effects an “us versus them” relationship among cultures has on the individuals within them.

OUTLINE

How the conflicting cultures of Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes contrast with each other:

·         Dimensions of National Cultures as defined by Geert Hofstede

• According to Hofstede, culture is “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others.”
• There are six dimensions, but the dimensions that fuel most of the conflicts seen in these films are Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long Term Orientation.
• Masculinity versus Femininity focuses on a culture’s preference to strive for personal achievement or to nurture the community as a whole (Hofstede)
• Uncertainty Avoidance concerns the degree to which members of a culture feel comfortable taking risks. Cultures with low uncertainty avoidance will be more likely to take risks. (Hofstede)
• Long Term Orientation expresses quickly or slowly a culture wishes to complete its goals. Cultures with a higher long term orientation are willing to take their time. (Hofstede)

·         Comparing Avatar’s Humans and Na’vi

• Contrast in Masculinity and Femininity 
• Human culture is more focused on achievement, making them masculine. They strive to mine unobtainium and are willing to strike down the Na’vi in order to do so. (Cameron, Avatar)
• The Na’vi are focused on “The People.” Their actions focus on what will better the tribe rather than the individuals. (Cameron, Avatar)
• Contrast in Uncertainty Avoidance
• The humans are more willing to risk destruction and violence in order to get what they want. Several characters express indifference when the Home Tree of the Na’vi becomes an obstacle. (Cameron, Avatar)
• Na’vi are not as well accustomed to change or willing to take chances. They are more traditional as seen in how well connected to their ancestors they are. (This can be seen in their tie to the tree of souls.) They only choose to take chances when their entire culture and lives are on the line. (As seen when they are preparing for the final battle.) (Cameron, Avatar) 
• Contrasts in Long Term Orientation 
• Humans want results immediately. Early on in the film, Parker Selfridge mentions the need to have profitable results for the upcoming quarter. (Cameron, Avatar)
• Relating back to the culture’s feminine quality, the Na’vi are not as focused on immediate results. They are willing to let things flow with the way of Eywa. (Cameron, Avatar)
• Much of the conflict between the humans and Na’vi is rooted in these difference in cultural dimensions which fuel their actions. The humans who strive for achievement use force to get the unobtainium because they need results as soon as possible. On the other hand, the Na’vi have no need for profit and choose to focus on their people by sticking with traditions and letting Eywa be their guiding force.

·         Comparing the humans and apes in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

•  Due to the ape-pocalypse and the mass devastation of the human race, the human culture seen in this film is vastly different from the one previously seen in Avatar. Instead of seeking expansion on another planet, the humans simply strive for survival. Because of this difference, the ape and human cultures have more similarities than differences.
• Both are more Feminine. 
• The Ape community has just begun to thrive and the humans have come together to try to survive. Both cultures are centered on the people of each culture because their races depend on cooperation to survive.
• Both have a lower Uncertainty Avoidance 
• Humans are high risk takers because they are on at the end of their rope. They are willing to risk their lives to fix the dam in order to get electricity that will save their community in San Francisco. (Reeves, Dawn)
• This dimension is difficult to apply to the ape culture because it depends heavily upon the ape. Koba is a huge risk taker since he is willing to kill Caesar, the ape who saved him, in order to rid the Earth of humans. Caesar has a high uncertainty avoidance at first since he looks out for the betterment of the apes. However, when faced with the conflict with Koba, he is more willing to risk his life to salvage the community he has created. (Reeves, Dawn)
• Both have a lower Long Term Orientation 
• Humans are faced with a life or death situation. They need power to live and reach out to other survivors. Therefore, they require immediate results.
• This is another dimension not easily applicable to the apes. Caesar far more concerned with long term orientation. This can be seen in his decision to allow the humans to work on the dam as well as his reluctance to fight them. Meanwhile, Koba is focused on current situation with the humans. His past is what drives him to fight without much concern for the distant future. (Reeves, Dawn)
• Where is the conflict between these cultures rooted?
• What is seen in this film is a reverse in imperialism.
• The Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia defines imperialism as the “practice by which powerful nations or peoples seek to extend and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples.”
• The once conquered apes become the conquerors as Koba leads his army to take over what is left of San Francisco.
• Koba strikes out of fear of past events with humans.
• “Koba’s actions [are] neither random or unjustified. His […] violence […] responds to the violence that has already been done to the apes” (Hamilton, 318).

What does this say about Western Culture?

It reflects elements of Post-Colonialism.

• As stated before, elements of imperialism are apparent through Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
• In a strange twist of events, the apes attempt to exert imperialism over the humans.
• They take advantage of their weakened state and exert force over them.
• As a response to fear for humans, apes (Koba in particular) show off their power and dominance. 
• Avatar contains imperialism as well, but also Orientalism.
• According to Edward Said, Orientalism is closely tied to imperialist cultures. 
• Orientalism is the patronizing and misrepresentation of another culture through the eyes of the imperial culture. 
• This is seen through the scientists on Pandora who try to look at the Na'vi "objectively."
• Avatar chooses to "problematize settler culture's configuration of the 'sacred,' distinguishing indigenous knowledge as objects of colonial scientific study from that of a mode of living." (Chou, 79).
• Also, through the human's need to mold the Na'vi to fit their standards.
• Grace taught many of the Na'vi English and they once tried to offer them medicine (which they refused).

·         It reflects the Western Culture's relationship with violence.

• Violence is used as a means of recognition of personhood.
• The ape’s violence “becomes the deliberate and calculated violence of political subjects, dined rights, and asserting them forcefully against an unjust sovereign” (Hamilton 317).
• Western History with violence is reflected in our entertainment
• Audiences have a thirst for war
• In his review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Richard Corliss explains that the film “dares ask the audience to root for the peacemakers” referencing Malcom and Caesar. However, he later states that in the end, the viewers crave for blood.
• Audiences have Western Colonial Guilt
• Western culture has guilt about colonialism and the means by which these countries expanded.
• John Rieder explains how films like Avatar exploit this Western guilt. He states “Avatar mystifies race and violence, representing the heroes’ own participation in the same project as the villains in order to afford these heroes all the rewards of colonialism with none of the guilt” (47).

CONCLUSION

 The post-colonial nature of a culture is difficult to alter. Even today, we see elements of these events in our entertainment. Through films like Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, conflicts among cultural differences is enough to strike fear into the hearts of the individuals. It is human nature to be cautious and even reject something new and foreign. Strangeness, often found in cultures, can spark fear which can lead to reckless actions.

The amount of violence in films today is enough to tell modern audiences how heavily war and fighting has influenced the Western culture. It is pivotal to Western history and has greatly shaped the entertainment industry. Perhaps there is a way to quench an audience's thirst for gore and blood that does not force cultures to view one another in a negative light. 

Kikuchiyo Follows the Samurai

In Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, a poor farming village faces constant rampages from the local bandits who leave them with hardly any food to survive. Desperate for relief, they hire samurai to defend their village and restore peace to their community. 

However, not all the samurai were handpicked for this mission. One in particular, Kikuchiyo, accompanied the band of samurai whether or not they wanted his assistance. In this scene from Seven Samurai, we see the moment Kikuchiyo follows the team despite their wishes.

Since there is not a video provided by YouTube, click here to watch the clip!

In context of the film

This scene takes place about an hour into the narrative. Six of the samurai have assembled and are traveling back to the village with the farmers who hired them. They walk along several trails and nature settings with Kikuchiyo tailing behind them. 

What Happens?

Throughout the scene, the samurai and farmers walk along paths, noticing Kikuchiyo's constant presence. He begins following them from a good distance away. Next, we see the group of samurai and farmers resting at the top of a waterfall. At the bottom, Kikuchiyo fishes with his bare hands. He shows off his catch of the day to the group above him before roasting it over a fire. Finally, the samurai and farmers walk through a forest and believe Kikuchiyo had given up. Then Kikuchiyo jumps out and tells them which way to go. The scene concludes with the group reaching the village. 

Kikuchiyo proudly shows his catch to the others.

Elements of the scene: 

Mis-en-scéne

One of the first qualities I noticed about this scene was the way in which it was staged. Kikuchiyo was always placed apart from the rest of the group. In the beginning, he is placed in the background. While he fishes, the traveling band is set on top of the waterfall above him. This quality of the scene adds to the already known fact that Kikuchiyo does not truly belong in the group of samurai. 

While the lighting was mostly the same throughout the scene, there is one shift I would like to call to attention. In the forest, the group is placed in lower lighting in the foreground of the frame. When Kikuchiyo jumps out, he stands in the one lighted area of the frame, calling even more attention to his character. 

Cinematography 

An obvious emphasis was placed on Kikuchiyo. He was the only character to have shots in which he was the only subject present. During the fishing sequence, there was a long follow shot on him with the other characters moving in and out of frame. And in the forest, a deep focus was placed on Kikuchiyo as he jumps out into the middle of the frame. 

Soundtrack

The music throughout this scene features a drum and flute that work together to make a very lighthearted and playful environment. Considering Kikuchiyo is the focus of this sequence, he even has a cowbell jingle that goes off when he jumps out before the samurai near the end. It almost reminds me of a clown horn that goes off when a clown enters a scene. 

The others noticing Kikuchiyo.

Why is this important?

Within two and a half minutes, Kikuchiyo's relationship with the rest of the samurai is firmly established. He will constantly live in this liminal space of the samurai class and the farmer's class. Even before we learn about his attempt to change castes, his outsider quality is made apparent. Since he lives between the two classes, he not only has the ability to be a rogue character who lives without class restrictions, but he also has the ability to point out the flaws among the samurai and the farmers.

From this one clip, we understand the importance of Kikuchiyo's character. Considering how much emphasis was placed upon him, we know that the glimpses of his merry nature, resourcefulness and stubbornness will become crucial later on in the film. 

Annotated Bibliography: Avatars and Apes

For my comparative research paper, I will investigate two "us verses them" relationships as seen in James Cameron's Avatar and Matt Reeves' Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Through these films, I will research how these cultures reflect imperialism and orientalism as well as the means by which these cultures choose to settle their differences.

Chou, Shiuhhuah Serena. "Claiming the Sacred: Indigenous Knowledge, Spiritual              Ecology, and the Emergence of Eco-Cosmopolitanism." Cultura:                               International Journal of Philosophy of Culture & Axiology, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan.           2015, pp. 71-84. 

This essay looks at the means by which films (especially Avatar) have endorsed the concept of "indigenous knowledge" and how it is transformed by the settler culture. In other words, Chou analyzes how the native, ecological culture-type is perceived through the lense of cinema.

Hamilton, Sheryl N. "'Human No Like Smart Ape': Figuring the Ape as Legal                       Person in Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Law & Humanities, vol. 10, no. 2,                Nov. 2016, pp. 300-321.

Hamilton's article investigates whether an ape should be considered a person or an animal. While this article veers into the more philosophical side of human-ape relationship, I believe this source will be useful for analyzing the conflicting cultures of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Richard, Corliss. "REVIEW: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Who Needs                              Humans?." Time.com, 12 July 2014, p 1.

In Richard's review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, he compares the relationship between the humans and the apes to the relationship of the humans and animals seen in Animal Farm. He analyzes the roots of the apes and how their past reflects their current predicament with the humans. 

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“Movie Reviews, Articles, Trailers, and More.” Metacritic,                                                         www.metacritic.com/movie. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

By using the website Metacritic, I can access review for both Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. With these reviews, I will gain an insight as to how these films and their underlying themes were received by the public. 

"National Culture." The Hofstede Centre, geert-hofstede.com/national-                                culture.html. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

Although the cultures of the Nav'i and the Apes do not exist within The Hofstede Centre's list of countries, the cultural dimensions can be used to analyze the cultures featured in these films. By applying the six dimensions of a culture, I can make a clear comparison among the cultures themselves and how these dimensions impact cultural relationships. 

Rieder, John. "Race and Revenge Fantasies in Avatar, District 9 and                                     Inglourious Basterds." Science Fiction Film and Television, no. 1, 2011, p. 41. 

Rieder's essay delves into several films of a similar plot including Avatar. Racial issues, use of violence to settle cultural differences, and several other issues are brought into light which will be very useful for my research. 

Prospectus: Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

My Topic

For my research paper, I chose to analyze Avatar by James Cameron and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by Matt Reeves and the means by which they reflect Post Colonialism. More specifically, I want to investigate the “us verse them” relationship of these cultures and how this led to imperialism and orientalism.

How Will I Write This?

To do this, I will first briefly analyze the differences between the conflicting cultures of each film through Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Difference. Then, I will explain how these differences contributed to the power struggle between the cultures and how that power struggle lead to imperialism and orientalism. 

Finally, I will compare these two cultural relationships and how the members of these cultures chose to act towards the "other." Will they fight for dominance? Or strive to peaceful coexistence? Furthermore, how does their imperial/oriental relationship effect their actions?

My Schedule

I intend to use the online search database provided by KSU in addition to movie review sources (like Metacritic) and IMBd for factual information. This gathering of resources will take place over the weekend so that I can have my annotated bibliography completed by March 20^th.

Next, I will organize the information I have gathered to form my thesis and outline. Given that I have a roundtable due on the Tuesday before my thesis and outline are due, I plan to have my roundtable contribution finished by Friday evening. By this logic, I will have my thesis and outline ready by March 28^th at the latest.

For the rough draft, I will use the points made in my outline to guide me through my paper. I also plan to visit the writing center for further assistance. This portion will be completed by April 13^th. From here, I will integrate peer critiques into my final draft which will be finished by April 28^th.

We Expect Much and Suffer Little

It goes without saying that Americans are fortunate to live in the United States. However, many fail to realize how good they have it. Myself included. It only took a couple of Sudanese refugees to make me see how blessed and blind Americans can be. 

Quick Review of Events:

God Grew Tired of Us documents the journey the Sudanese Lost Boys who escaped a violent civil war. Panther Bior, John Bul Dau, and Daniel Abol Pach are the main subjects who travel to Syracuse and Pittsburgh as refugees. There, they encounter a plethora of first world luxuries and learn to adapt to this new way of living. Through it all, the boys never lose sight of their homeland and continuously work to send aid to those who still suffer from the effects of the civil war.

A Little Context:

The film was released in 2007. It was directed by Chirstopher Dillon Quinn and Tommy Walker. Of course, the Sudanese boys featured in the film portrayed themselves, but there was also some narration by Nicole Kidman. Over the year in which the film was released, it won a total of six awards including two from the Sundance Film Festival.

So What is It?

According to IMBd, God Grew Tired of Us is classified as a documentary. And rightfully so. Instead of using characters, we see actual events of real people. All the featured Lost Boys are filmed Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the actual cities in which they lived. 

More specifically, this is a naturalist adversarial documentary since it strives for a glocal (global /local) community through a fieldwork type of documentation. While the Sudanese boys learn how to be an American, they bring a part of Sudan with them. They speak both Dinka and English and keep some of their community based traditions alive. And while they adapt to the American way of life, they share their story with other Americans, shrinking oceans and borders.  

Daniel teaches American girls what a "Sudan" is.

What I Expected:

Based on the given criteria of a documentary, I expected God Grew Tired of Us to cover a topic of which I know nothing about. Or I should have my preexisting ideas about a topic completely flipped. Since this film is in the adversarial mode, I expected the later. I also wanted this film to inspire me. It should make me want to get out of my seat and make change according to the topic addressed. Most documentaries I have seen had this effect on me, so God Grew Tired of Us should not be any different.

What I Thought:

All in all, God Grew Tired of Us moved me. It gave me a desire to reexamine the cultural values in the U.S. Many of the modern commodities we take for granted as Americans were experienced by the Lost Boys for the first time. In fact, they didn't just experience it, they had to be educated on how almost everything worked in their own apartment. 

The Lost Boys learn that dish soap will not turn their dishes green.

But even more, the boys transferred from a community centered culture to an individualistic culture. For instance, you can not go up to a stranger and expect help in the U.S. the way in which the Sudanese boys were accustomed. America was career driven rather than focused on the betterment of the community. There where times when the Lost Boys were working from dawn til dusk and lamented that they could hardly see their friends as much as they liked.

Even so, the most inspiring point of the film came from the need for all the featured Lost Boys to send help back home. John Bul Dau expressed his want to constantly send money to help his family and fellow Lost Boys. In the end, he became a major component for change, leading organizations looking to better the situation in Sudan. 

A Final Word:

After viewing God Grew Tired of Us, I could not stop thinking about how much Americans take for granted in our everyday lives. However, we will never be able to truly appreciate these luxuries because of how expected they are in our culture. 

If anything, this film inspired me to do good for the less fortunate and to learn more about other countries in this world. Being an American can be culturally blinding. We need to go beyond our borders to experience the world and gain more knowledge about our contrasting cultures. And aiding those in need along the way would not be too bad either.