Films and Human Nature; The Double

Author: Kari Morrison

The double is a prevalent way of defining human nature in film. The audience of Avatar feels a strong connection with the main character Jake Sully, when the doubleness of his character is revealed.

In film, there are two kinds: closed and open. The closed film focuses on the double, whereas the open film focuses on the theatrical character.

Open

Reality beyond the frame, characters presence is conscious, and possibilities of the self for freedom.

Closed

Film world is self-contained, double character is plain on the surface, but tangled within, and he cannot pick and choose their possibilities in nature. (Braudy, 2002)

Avatar’s Jake Sully is conflicted between his self and society. Jake’s main conflict is choosing between his life as a paraplegic ex-marine and the simple way of life of the Na’vi people. He is offered a bribe for collecting information on Pandora’s Hometree, if he provides sufficient details, he will get new legs. Jake is tempted by this offer and goes through with it until he realizes that the Na’vi people are more important to him and ends up leading the battle against the corporation. Throughout most of the movie, Jake Sully is actually leading two separate lives in two separate bodies.

Source: Google Images

Source: Braudy, Leo. The World in a Frame: What we see in films. Chicago: Chicago Press, 2002.