

Avatar's green fascism - swombat
http://www.good.is/post/avatar-s-green-fascism

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diego_moita
This is just too close to Godwin's law to be taken seriously.

"And what is fascism anyway? Good luck finding a concise or clear definition.
We are kind of foggy on that. Presently, the word is most commonly used to
cast aspersions on a particular political stance or belief. The implication is
that if you are fascist you seek to impose a vision of the world on a group of
people and that vision generally contains some notion of moral superiority."

What is the point of defining something as X if X can mean anything to anyone?

'Fascism' should mean a militarist, ultra-nationalist and authoritarian
political regime within a precise moment in history. If it can mean anything
than everything is fascist.

~~~
kevinpet
Fascism is an economic system based on government control of nominally private
enterprises.

If fascism is limited to the political regimes within a precise moment in
history, we lose a useful term.

~~~
_delirium
We also lose a useful term if we define it that broadly, though. It's not only
an economic system, but a complete political/economic system that comes with a
set of aesthetics and a particular focus on nationalism, a strong state, and a
strong leader.

Just government control of nominally private enterprises is much more common
than fascist regimes; it'd also include the UK in the heydey of the East India
Company, modern-day China, and even to some extent modern-day France.

~~~
elblanco
The problem with that definition is that it also defines rather well most
available instances of Communist states. So are you saying Fascism=Communism?
Or that those states are not exemplars of "real" Communism but are in fact
exemplars of Fascism?

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teilo
As far as I'm concerned, once Godwin's Law has been invoked
[<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwins_law>], the writer has lost all
credibility.

~~~
kscaldef
And, as far as I'm concerned, in this case you're the one being intellectually
lazy by making a knee-jerk rejection of the article on purely superficial
grounds.

I don't completely buy the argument being put forward here (it certainly
doesn't help their case that they at one point admit that they don't even know
what "fascism" means), but it's interesting food for thought.

~~~
teilo
Almost everyone who invokes Godwin's Law has a very reasoned argument why they
can connect the Nazi's to Topic X, that is nevertheless fully contrived and
meaningless.

I did read the article, thoroughly, and found the classic intellectual
laziness associated with Godwinesque arguments. And I quote: "Sontag’s point
is that the fascist sympathies and racial preoccupations that guide
Reifensthal’s work for the Nazis also can be seen in her photographic work on
the Nuba people in Africa. You can uncannily substitute Cameron’s name
whenever Sontag mentions Reifensthal and substitute the Na’vi whenever Sontag
mentions the Nuba. The entire Sontag article could just as well have been a
review of Avatar."

In other words, So-and-so is a Nazi. So-and-so wrote an article. Substitute
subject X for A and object Y for B, and it's practically a review of Big New
Thing XY. Ergo, Big New Thing is Nazi-Fascist propaganda. QED.

Hogwash. This is an example of the same intellectual ineptitude that equates
Obama with Hitler.

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GiraffeNecktie
Ah yes, the Na'avi were athletic and the fascists were athletic, therefore the
Na'avi might be fascist. The Na'avi were sexual and the fascists liked sex, so
the Na'avi must be fascist. And yeah it was _really_ sinister the way they
preferred living in harmony with nature rather than turn over their home to be
strip mined. Sheesh. I'm so glad he pointed this stuff out.

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Groxx
I think we can all agree on what Avatar means.

Pocahontas. In space. In 3D.

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eplanit
I think the writer presents interesting, if perhaps over-intellectualized,
viewpoints. However, I don't believe him when he says he cannot find a real
definition of Fascism. I think that's deliberate, for if he included
conventionally accepted definitions, the rest of his article would be non
sequitur. I've always understood it to be a confusion on Patriotism, where
people align their beliefs behind the _government_ instead of aligning with
the principles of their country. Where principles are misunderstood, or
rejected, or under attack -- fascism takes hold. The word certainly has
nothing to do with athleticism.

In this more conventional meaning, I fail to make the connections that the
author makes re: Avatar.

~~~
CWuestefeld
I'm afraid the OP has it right here. From Wikipedia:

 _What constitutes a definition of fascism and fascist governments is a highly
disputed subject that has proved complicated and contentious._

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism>

~~~
lurkinggrue
One reason why I am likely it discount an argument that starts with calling
something fascist.

The word has been so misused as to be parody now.

They may as well amend Goodwin's law.

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edwilliams612
Hey, I liked Battlestar Galactica too, but I don't want a religious nut bag
running the country based on her crazy visions...

I think the main thing to get out of this article is this:

"many people have reported feelings of suicidal depression after seeing it
because when they wake up the next day they realize that reality just doesn’t
measure up to Pandora."

Someone make an awesome 3d Avatar video game stat! Apparently the current
incarnation isn't enough and is leaving people suicidal!

