(…and other documentaries about isolated tribes)
Whenever I watch this film, I literally have so many questions. Some of these might sound like silly questions, but I don’t care. Since this is going to be a fairly long post, I’m just gonna list my random Avatar thoughts in no particular order.
Loincloths. How do they prevent genital infection and diseases? Their crotches and most sensitive parts are out in the open to the elements. How do women stay clean and healthy down there? What about dirt, dust, and bugs getting into all their cracks and crevices? Isn’t it uncomfortable?
Unlike men, a vagina is a working, self-cleansing organism. This means that women release fluids regularly. If they are walking around naked, or almost naked, how does this not get everywhere? This is why panties were invented, but panties don’t exist on pandora. How do they protect their lady bits??
Do Na’vi women get periods? Is that just a human thing? What do actual isolated tribal women do during that time of the month? What do they call it?
What do they use to clean their teeth? Is oral hygiene and health a thing? Does their breath smell? Or do they just not care about bad breath? Is bad breath a “first world problem”? How are the Na’vi’s teeth so white?
Do the Na’vi stink? Do isolated tribes stink? Rinsing off in a river is not bathing (according to modern cultural standards, of course). How do you kill germs without soap or alcohol? How do they not get clogged pores and bad acne? Or how do they not suffer from dry skin?
How are they so hairless? I’ve seen so many documentaries where previously undocumented tribes use nothing but handmade weapons and materials. The Na’vi also use handmade weapons from the earth and their environment. How do they do things like shave their heads and bodies then?
Where do the Na’vi poop and pee? I know that might be a gross thing to wonder about, but this was never addressed in the movie, nor is it anything addressed in real life documentaries that I watch about isolated or traditional tribes. What is used to clean themselves afterward?
How do the Na’vi combat illness/sickness? What medicines do they have, and for what ailments?
How did the tradition of riding Ikrans come about? Who was the first Na’vi that said, “Yes, I will almost get myself killed by riding an Ikran and then make this a coming-of-age tradition for my people?” Lol
Matter of fact, who was the first lunatic that decided to ride a Toruk!?
Why do the Na’vi live in hammocks in the trees instead of actual shelters? Where do they seek protection from the harsh elements such as severe rain storms and wild animals?
Where do the Na’vi get their cloth and beads from? If they are made from their surroundings, what are they made of?
Where do the feathers come from? We have yet to see a Pandoran animal with feathers and have only been introduced to one plant that has feather-like leaves.
If the Omaticaya clan is primarily isolated from other tribes, how do they continue to reproduce without eventually intermarrying with family?
Have the other Na’vi clans had direct contact with the Sky People? Are the Omaticaya the only clan that can speak English?
Does Na’vi’s hair grow with their neural connectors, or do they grow as open/loose tendrils that need to be protected by the hair which is why it’s braided up the way it is? For these connectors to be so sensitive and vital to Na’vi living (eyesight, connecting with Eywa, their Ikrans, the Direhorse, etc.), how is only hair strong enough to protect it?
Are all marriages arranged, or only for the clan leader and Tsahik? Even though Neytiri broke this tradition, in the deleted scenes, Mo’at told Neytiri that she can never be Tsahik now if she chooses Jake (because he was an outsider). Are leadership rolls only saved for insiders/actual clan members? If so, Neytiri should be able to be Tsahik (if she wants to be) now that Jake was made a clan member and the next clan leader by the end of the film, right?
Why didn’t the Na’vi use their tails more? What was the purpose of them besides looking cool?
What do they use to make their war paint? Plants? Skins of fruit? A type of tree sap?
What creates the poison that they use to coat their arrow tips with?
Why was there an extra, empty hammock already available for Jake to sleep in?
Wow, I wish I could ride an Ikran.
Wow, I wish I could ride a Direhorse.
Wow, I wish I could speak Na’vi.
What does it feel like to connect to Eywa?
I guess I’ll stop there. These are just some of the many things I think about during and after watching this film. There’s more, a lot more, but this post is already getting too long lol
