Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron says that his use of female empowerment in the film is more exploratory in nature than what can be found in the MCU and the DCU. Cameron’s Avatar franchise is no stranger to strong female characters, with Sigourney Weaver’s Grace Augustine and CCH Pounder’s Mo’at reflecting the 2009 film’s goal of having major female leads. However, the main female protagonist of the franchise, Neytiri, outshone many characters in general during the first film, a feat Cameron is continuing to pursue by keeping her as the franchise’s primary example of female empowerment.
In an interview with Variety, Cameron claimed that Neytiri’s role as a pregnant hunter and warrior in Avatar: The Way of Water bests the female empowerment found in characters from the MCU and the DCU. While acknowledging the importance of superheroes like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, Cameron also says he wanted to break boundaries by making Neytiri a pregnant warrior in The Way of Water. Check out Cameron’s full statement below:
Everybody’s always talking about female empowerment. But what is such a big part of a woman’s life that we, as men, don’t experience? And I thought, ‘Well, if you’re really going to go all the way down the rabbit hole of female empowerment, let’s have a female warrior who’s six months pregnant in battle.’
It doesn’t happen in our society — probably hasn’t happened for hundreds of years. But I guarantee you, back in the day, women had to fight for survival and protect their children, and it didn’t matter if they were pregnant. And pregnant women are more capable of being a lot more athletic than we, as a culture, acknowledge. I thought, ‘Let’s take the real boundaries off.’ To me, it was the last bastion that you don’t see. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel — all these other amazing women come up, but they’re not moms and they’re not pregnant while they’re fighting evil.
What To Expect From Neytiri In Avatar 2
Not only will Neytiri be dealing with her new role as a mother in Avatar: The Way of Water, but she will also be pregnant while acting as a protector for her people. Cameron’s explanation as to why this works for Neytiri underscores his dedication to make Pandora feel realistic despite its sci-fi setting. Commentating on the lack of pregnant female superheroes in the MCU and DCU, Cameron appears to want more people in charge of major franchises to find creative ways to embody female empowerment as he has with Neytiri. His decision to make Neytiri pregnant not only reinforces how Pandoran societies operate differently from modern Earth, but also acts as a call to action for other creators that are bolstering empowered female characters in their works.
While Cameron has kept the intricate details of Avatar: The Way of Water under wraps – claiming no one will be able to guess the direction of the film based on its promotional material – it appears Neytiri’s motherhood will be an influential factor to her character arc in the second film. Viewers know not only of her pregnancy, but also her and Jake’s children, including Weaver’s teenage Kiri and the adoptive, human Spider, played by Jack Champion. With a family already built around her, Neytiri’s development in Avatar: The Way of Water will have a centralized purpose to it, as she fights to protect not only the unborn child inside her, but also the children she already has.
How Neytiri Is Different From Comic Book Heroes
Aside from how she embodies female empowerment, Neytiri differentiates from female Marvel and DC heroes because of her status as a survivor instead of a hero. Neytiri, Jake, their family, and their people have not been constantly saving Pandora prior to Avatar: The Way of Water, instead only doing what is necessary to ensure the safety of the people they care about. Because of this, Neytiri’s pregnancy offers a humanity to her that may be more relatable to audiences than an empowered female superhero would be. While there is still plenty of strong female representation in the MCU and DCU, Cameron’s approach in Avatar: The Way of Water is unique, and may offer insight for what big studios like Marvel and DC can do with their own films in the future.
Source: Variety