Avatar and Racist Message: Movie Faces Racism Accusations

For those of you who have been to see James Cameron’s box office hit movie “Avatar,” you may remember a scene towards the end of the film, in which the villain turns to the hero and says “How does it feel to betray your own race?”

Both of those men are white, but the difference is that one of them (the hero), inhabits the body of a blue-skinned, 9-foot-tall, long tailed alien. And now, it appears that a small vocal group of people are accusing “Avatar” of sending a racist message.

Since the film opened 3 weeks ago, blog posts, newspaper articles, YouTube videos and Tweets, have said things such as the movie is a “fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people,” while others say it reinforces the white Messiah fable.

But the movie’s writer and director James Cameron, who also directed the hit movie “Titanic,” says the real theme behind the film is about respecting others’ differences. In an email, Cameron added that the movie is not to send out a racist message.

Actress Robinne Lee, who starred in “Seven Pounds,” said that “Avatar” reminded her of the Pocahontas story, where the Indian woman leads the white man into the wilderness, where he learns the way of the people and becomes their savior.

You can read more of this story at msnbc.msn.com.