On Avatars and Trebuchets: Miscellaneous Ramblings from Christmas Week (VIDEO)

The Constitutional Alamo ^ | 12/23/09 | Michael Naragon

[Publius772000]

Amid the hustle and bustle that is Christmas, I just wanted to make a couple of politics-neutral observations.

First, my wife and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, so we hired a babysitter and, in an all-to0-rare move, went on a date. Because we’re so rarely on our own, it took us some time to decide what to do with our freedom. We opted on a nice dinner, a little shopping, and a movie. Our second big question, then, was what to see. Again, we rarely go to the movies, and we wanted to pick the best show possible, since it may be quite some time before we’re able to go again.

Despite some of the negative reviews I’d heard, especially among conservative friends, we chose James Cameron’s Avatar. Apparently due to the 3D nature of the film, it cost us over $25 for the two of us to see it, which seemed a little steep at first. After the first few minutes, however, I began to feel that the cost had been acceptable.

Many of those who had given the film poor reviews–and a few of the liberal news services that had reviewed it well–claimed that the film was a vehicle for disseminatingthe typical Hollywood philosophy, that it was somehow a condemnation of Bush/Cheney, Halliburton, and the war on terror. As one who is as staunch a conservative as anyone and a student of history, allow me to add my two cents: if this movie makes any political statement, it is a retelling of the American West and the treatment of the American Indian. The language spoken by the native people in the movie is very similar to that spoken by tribes of the Native Americans.

[Publius772000]

Video of my toddlers firing a medieval siege weapon available at the original article. My wife asks that you ignore the many toys and items in the yard--it had been a hard day of playing outside Tuesday. Apologies to all who are getting covered in snow...