“Avatar 2” plot overturn? Many people don’t understand it at all!

Last Friday, I watched “Avatar 2 The Way of Water”.

The background of the film is set more than 10 years after the end of the plot of “Avatar”.

It tells about —

The story of the Sully family (Jack, Neytiri, and 4 children) working together to defeat a resurgent villain, Colonel Quaritch.

At the domestic premiere on 12.16, countless audiences rushed into the theater at the super high ticket price and risked positive infection, pushing the box office all the way to 200 million yuan.

Exquisite ocean special effects, breathtaking audio-visual feast, so that everyone is overwhelmed.

But at the same time, many viewers complained about the monotonous plot and single characters in the film.

However, in my opinion,

It is more like the director dropped an “invisible bomb” in this turbulent and fragmented era. The surface is calm, but the actual waves are turbulent, with hidden mysteries.

Because what it really tells is the most easily overlooked by everyone:

“Father and son power inheritance, alternate transitional period”

It refers to the critical period when a father’s strength gradually declines and a son’s strength gradually develops.

From an early age, it is related to the “rise and fall of honor and disgrace” of a family;

In a big sense, it is related to the “life and death” of a tribe.

What I want to explore in depth at this moment is what is hidden behind the father-son relationship in the film.

competition & recognition

At the beginning of the film, the Sally family is on the planet Pandora, men farming and women weaving, enjoying themselves happily.

Until the big villain, Colonel Quaritch, makes a comeback and breaks the peace.

At the same time, the relationship between father Jack and his two sons began to become tense.

The reason is that Jack wants the children to stay at home and not run around.

But the two sons always want to prove themselves, and often sneak to the battlefield to join the battle.

Once, the eldest son was unfortunately injured in a battle and almost died.

Jack carried his eldest son home, and despite his blood dripping from his forehead, he severely reprimanded him and fined him to shut himself up for a month.

His wife Neytiri realized that her husband was being too strict with her son, so she persuaded her husband to be gentle and listen to the child.

But Jack is determined to go his own way, believing that he is doing his father’s job.

In the subsequent relationship between father and son, scenes like this often happened.

As if in Jack’s eyes — —

The needs and voices of children are not important at all, only obeying orders unconditionally is the last word.

Many viewers call this phenomenon “patriarchal tyranny” , but from a psychological point of view, it is more like a “competition between father and son” .

American mythologist Joseph Campbell has a classic saying:

The father is the archetype of all enemies.

This statement is actually not difficult to understand.

During the initial birth of a child, a mother acquires a natural emotional connection with her child through pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and companionship.

When the child is still in a symbiotic relationship with his mother, he will perceive his mother as part of his inner world;

And dad is not only a symbol of the outside world, but also an “enemy” who wants to break into this symbiotic relationship from the outside world .

At this time,

If the mother agrees with the child and blocks the husband from the symbiotic relationship with the child, it is equivalent to the child “overcoming” the father and possessing the mother for a long time;

And if the mother agrees with her husband, and at a certain time, she lets go of the child and returns to her husband’s arms, it is equivalent to the father “overcoming” the child and regaining his wife.

Neytiri in the film belongs to the latter.

Although she does not fully agree with her husband’s way of disciplining her son, she will not openly oppose her husband, but rather cooperates with him.

Rules & Protection

Here comes the problem,

When the father “beats” the son in the competition, what does it mean for the son’s growth?

This question needs to be explored in two dimensions.

First of all, it means “rules and protection” when the son is not fully fledged .

In the film, since the big villain made a comeback, Jack took his family across the mountains and went to the ocean tribe to seek asylum in order not to harm the forest tribe.

During this period, he asked the children to behave themselves, bear the burden of humiliation, and not to cause trouble.

Even if he was openly humiliated and provoked by the son of the leader of the sea, and the two sons fought each other out of self-defense, Jack would reprimand his children immediately and demanded that the two sons apologize to each other.

From the perspective of emotional connection, such an approach will inevitably make the son feel aggrieved and put the relationship between father and son in a state of rigidity and tension.

But as a father, Jack actually has no subjective malice;

On the contrary, he was trying to better establish rules for his son and implement protection during the days when he was living under the fence .

Because only if they live in harmony with the ocean leader’s family, can they obtain the other’s long-term protection and avoid wandering in the wilderness.

In this process, the key point is: the father himself needs to have strength.

That is to say, he cannot rely on his own authority and unilaterally require children to obey, but needs the power to lead by example and set an example for children.

Thankfully, Jack did just that.

Since their family is from a forest tribe, their survival skills in the ocean are almost zero.

As the head of the family, Jack’s hard work and dedication are not only not inferior to the children, but also far superior to them.

While learning to drive the ocean mount, he fell down again and again, was hit by waves again and again, but got up again and again to fight again.

This unyielding spirit has two advantages:

As his own strength increases, the protection he can provide for his children will become more and more comprehensive;

He set an example for adapting to the new environment, pointed out the direction, and promoted the child’s own growth.

In a sense, this is not only Jack’s “tenacity” as a man , but also his “kindness” as a father .

Separation & Growth

The above is the care and protection given to the child by the authority of the father when the child is not full-fledged.

But as the child grows up, the wings gradually plump up, and the individual consciousness becomes stronger and stronger,

Jack’s paternal authority will gradually evolve into “oppression and restriction” .

The eldest son, Netia, shouldered the responsibility of the eldest son, chose to obey authority, and became a “good boy” in the eyes of his father.

But at the same time, his own strength was constantly being suppressed.

The youngest son, Roark, continues to resist authority and often makes troubles everywhere on his own initiative, becoming a “bad boy”.

But at the same time, his own strength is constantly improving.

Once, the youngest son Roark clashed with the sea leader’s son Onon and beat him up.

Without further ado, Jack scolded Alok severely and asked him to apologize to the other party.

During the apology process, Ao Nong tricks and invites Alok to Three Brothers Rock -

It is a dangerous sea where children are not allowed to go.

Alok could have refused to go, hiding in his father’s arms obediently and seeking refuge.

But his determination to break through the barriers outweighed his fear of the outside world.

So, he followed without hesitation.

At that moment, he completed the spatial separation from his father.

Arriving at the Rock of the Three Brothers, Onon took the opportunity to slip away, leaving Loark alone.

And Loak was also violently attacked by a big fish and almost died.

In times of crisis, a solitary tukun (giant fish) named Payakan rescued Loak and became good friends with him.

Payakan doesn’t have a good reputation among the Sea Tribes, and everyone thinks that he is a traitor who was banished for killing his companions.

Jack obeyed the leader of the ocean and forced his youngest son, Loak, to cut off contact with Payakan.

But Loark rejected his father.

At that moment, he completed the psychological separation from his father.

He firmly believes that Payakan is good and insists on making a connection with it.

During the connection, he learned about Payakan’s tragic experience of being wronged and misunderstood by everyone.

He tried to get Payakan justice in front of everyone, but no one wanted to believe him.

Despite this, he still insisted on being friends with Payakan and would never leave him.

In a sense, this is both Roark’s “rebellion” as a son and his “growth” as a boy .

Surpass & feed back

So for a child —

From being “beaten” by his father in the competition to gradually separating from his father, what will he gain in the end?

First, he will have the opportunity to connect with the infinite world.

Regardless of his father’s restrictions, Loach followed Ao Nong, the son of the chief of the ocean, to the Three Brothers Rock.

He experienced many dangers alone, but gained a sincere friendship with Tukun Payakan.

When Onon was reprimanded by the ocean leader for this reason, Loak ignored the past and took the initiative to stand up and take responsibility:

“He didn’t force me to go, I asked to go.”

Because he didn’t want Ao Nong to be like himself and become a “bad boy” who disappointed his father.

Because of this, he gained the trust of Ao Nong and established a sincere friendship with him.

In addition, in the process of adventure after adventure, his persistence and courage deeply moved the daughter of the leader of the ocean, Sheria, and gained love.

He left his father’s shelter, and in the process of constantly connecting with the outside world, he walked towards a wider infinite world.

Thus, there is a second harvest: gaining the power to surpass & feed back to my father.

The big villain — Colonel Quaritch searched for the traces of Jack’s family and chased them to the ocean tribe.

Loach and two other children were unfortunately captured.

Jack was helpless, ready to exchange his life for the safety of the three children.

At the critical moment, Loak’s good friend, Tukun Payakan, appeared, and it overturned Colonel Quaritch’s big boat, winning the chance for several children to escape.

During the battle, the eldest son was unfortunately shot and killed.

The furious Jack and his wife decided to settle accounts with Colonel Quaritch, and ordered Loach to guard his brother’s body obediently and not to run around.

Once again, Loark “disobeyed” his father’s order and went quietly to help.

Jack tried his best to drive Colonel Quaritch into the bottom of the sea. He was exhausted and his life was at stake.

At this time, it was the appearance of Roark who saved his dying father.

After regaining consciousness, his father looked at Loark affectionately:

“Son, I see you.”

In a sense, this is not only the son’s “transcending and feeding back” to his father, but also the “inheritance and alternation” of power between father and son .

write at the end

This is the story of Roark in “Avatar 2: The Way of Water”, and it is also the common growth story of many children today.

A child’s complete development needs to constantly pierce the protective shell of the original family, and finally soar in the infinite world.

Teacher Wu Zhihong said:

When an eagle soars free in the sky,
In its heart, all the pictures of the past are hidden, and the love for the past is hidden.
This constitutes a natural loyalty.

What does that mean?

That is to say, a person soaring in the infinite world will not completely betray his father, nor will he completely leave the family harbor behind him.

He’s not cut off from his past, but deeply connected, with a loyalty born of self-love, but not a blind loyalty.

In other words,

A child is not fully alive until he has experienced separation from his original family and a true connection to the infinite world.

When a person can truly live and be true to his heart, he will open a channel beyond the original family:

It leads directly to the sea of ​​stars and connects with everything in the world.

Perhaps, this is what the director of the film wants to convey to us about the ultimate direction of children’s growth.