Replies

On the one hand, there is nothing in Avatar which requires one to see it as a political allegory for it to make sense as a story. On the other hand, desiring to see it as a political allegory ruins it as a story.

______________________________________________________________

On the one hand, there is nothing in the Chronicles of Narnia which requires one to see it as a religious allegory for it to make sense as a story. On the other hand, failing to see it as a religious allegory is shocking ignorance or willful blindness.

Thanks for proving my point so wonderfully well, albeit, perhaps, unintentionally. By the way, C.S. Lewis explicitly stated that The Chronicles of Narnia was not allegorical. Some have tried, unsuccessfully, to claim that Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings as an allegory of WWI and WWII (he claimed the LOTR was written with “no allegorical intentions …, moral, religious, or political”) or that Golding wrote The Lord of the Flies as an allegory of man's savage nature (though he claimed he did not).

That point aside, we can see that authors may have purposes behind their stories which can either add to or detract from their story. In C.S. Lewis's case, seeing Narnia, as he did, as a reflection of Christ in another world adds both to our enjoyment of Narnia as well as to our understanding of this world. In Cameron's case, seeing Avatar, as apparently he did, as a way of criticizing the U.S. in its war on terror merely prostitutes the story and fails to offer any enlightenment about our own world.

In Cameron’s case, seeing Avatar, as apparently he did, as a way of criticizing the U.S. in its war on terror merely prostitutes the story and fails to offer any enlightenment about our own world.
______________________________________________________________

You are assuming that the story has an integrity apart from its purpose; I assume that the story is ab initio a whore and my perspective cannot prostitute it further.

But you are full of Christmas generosity of spirit, and I should follow your example, in humble thankfulness for good and intelligent friends. Happy Boxing Day!