Despite calling for the protection of the marine ecosystem, “Avatar 2” comes under fire for a recent “dolphin show”.
On December 10th, the team of “Avatar: The Way of Water” (“Avatar 2”), including director James Cameron and actors Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang, watched a dolphin show prior to the film’s press conference, which was held at Maxwell Aqua Park Shinagawa in Tokyo, Japan. In the show, the keepers climbed on the dolphins’ beaks, jumped, and stomped on the dolphins as if riding a jet ski, spinning on the water. In addition, the dolphins jumped up all at once to the music and moved in perfect order.
At the end of the show, director James Cameron and the actors applauded. James Cameron was asked about his feelings about the dolphin show, to which he said, “I love these animals, I love their intelligence”. He also added that he loved the dolphins’ ability to communicate with humans and even joked that the people asked the dolphins for “their permission to be in the show”. Finally, he expressed the wish to be in the show, and that he’d love to ride a dolphin.
Such words and actions are extremely ironic, seeing that James Cameron often called for the protection of the environment and animals. While the event was organized by The Walt Disney Company Japan and James Cameron was making a joke, his remark was problematic. Dolphin fans and environmentalists also expressed their disappointment, shaking their heads at the director’s mistake.
In addition, Walt Disney Company Japan’s promotion direction has gone wrong. Planning a dolphin show along with the promotion of “Avatar 2”, which contains the message criticizing humans for destroying the marine ecosystem, is more of a disaster than just a lack of movie-making understanding. All branches will proceed with the promotion after receiving confirmation from the headquarters, which is Walt Disney’s company-wide communication problem and business setback.
Regardless of the reason, this controversy has left a painful stain on the reputation of “Avatar 2”. It is such an irony when the main character actors of “Avatar 2”, who accuse humans of killing marine life through their work, casually applauded at the dolphin show, which forces dolphins that are raised in small aquariums to move like machines. The sincerity of James Cameron, who voiced for environment and animal protection, also went in vain.
However, director James Cameron of “Avatar 2” has not released any position regarding this issue.
Despite the controversy, “Avatar 2” team is still eagerly promoting its movie by releasing promotional content and achieving 2 million viewers on the 5th day of its release. According to reports as of 7 a.m. on December 18th, “Avatar 2” succeeded in attracting 2,414,554 moviegoers. In this regard, “Avatar 2” production team said, “We achieved this box office success faster than the previous film ‘Avatar’, which surpassed 2 million admissions after 6 days. This has revitalized the sluggish performance of the cinema industry and showed the power of a movie that raised high expectations from people all around the world”.
While watching the dolphin show, “Avatar 2” team clapped enthusiastically. James Cameron even made a slip of the tongue, saying “I want to join this show. I want to ride a dolphin”. However, the controversy is being overshadowed by the promotion of “Avatar 2”, which is focusing on the achievement of hitting 2 million viewers faster than the previous film. This makes netizens raise doubts about the message of “Avatar 2”, which is “Mankind must take the lead in protecting nature and animals”.
Source: 10Asia
