I have watched several movies over the years, and I am sure there are others of which I am unaware, all with the same theme: a modern man, advancing the influence of progress, finds himself on the wrong side of justice when faced with a native or traditional people group; only by finding acceptance among said people group and standing with them (often futilely) against his former allies can he find redemption. 'Dances with Wolves,' 'Medicine Man,' 'The Last Samurai,' and "Avatar,' all come to mind, all of which are beautifully filmed, with a stirring soundtrack, and a compelling narrative. Whether it is told in the 'old west,' Japan, or on a distant planet, it is the same story with different pajamas. This seems to be 'the fall' narrative of the modern, quasi-new age materialist and also their 'redemption' saga.
The great 'sin' of humanity is its wanton destruction of nature, traditional cultures, and denying justice, fairness, and equality (however defined) to 'the others.' And man's only hope is to embrace the imperiled culture of 'the others,' and live in harmony with nature and his fellow man. It is a beautiful and compelling story, that gives hope to a world with little of joy to be found. The only problem is that it is completely, and utterly, impossible. No matter how we idealize any given culture or the natural world, there never has been and never will be a human society that is 'in harmony' with nature, that is not infested with greed, hatred, envy, strife, treachery, lying, and the like. It makes a nice movie but has no basis in reality. No matter your culture, your race, your gender, your creed, your language, we are at heart all human. And as humans, regardless of our society, a grouping of humans will all have the same faults, shortcomings, and failings. It is our nature. As for this gracious mother earth that will embrace us if only we 'understand' her, go watch a nature show, particularly from the 1980's or early 90's (some of the more modern films are edited to remove the more gruesome aspects of life in the wild). There is no nurturing, mother earth. In the wild, it is kill or be killed. The young, old, and pregnant are not spared but rather preyed upon. There is no mercy, only survival.
The makers of these films (and writers of the original stories) are correct in assuming we need such a story, it is innate in our being and old as man himself. "Tale as old as time," as a certain singing tea pot puts it. That is why these films are so powerful: they resonate in the deepest part of our souls. We already have such a tale, but we don't want that story, we want a story where man can save himself. We want to be the hero, not the princess locked away in the tower by the evil step-mother. In dispensing with the old tale, we find ourselves floundering and restless until we find one to replace it. This meta-narrative that our salvation can be found by embracing our true humanity and the natural world is a nice dream, but it falls apart upon waking. We cannot fix what is broken by embracing something that is flawed at its core. Humanity is flawed, broken, and we cannot fix ourselves. Long ago, when the stars were young, someone whispered, 'ye can be gods,' we listened and broke the world. We are still broken and still think ourselves gods, gods that sound like defiant toddlers screaming that I can 'do it myself.' We even invent stories to reassure us of this fact. But they are just that, stories, and they will not fix the world. But there is an older tale that can do just that.
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