One film I nominated for the Applied Plant Ecology film festival was James Cameron’s 2009 movie Avatar. This film relates to Applied Plant Ecology in a variety of ways. One example is the Home tree of the Na’vi people. This giant, ancient population of trees that come together to form one structure is very important to the indigenous population, a revered landmark that connects the Na’vi directly with nature. There is also the Tree of Souls, a giant fluorescent willow tree that acts as a religiously important landmark to the Na’vi. They use the tree to connect with their spirituality and also use it as a place of worship for their nature deity. Thirdly is the importance and emphasis on the bioluminescent plants. These plants give light and allow for safe passage for the characters on multiple occasions. Throughout the film, the main character Jake further connects with, respects and learns from nature with the help of the indigenous Na’vi population. This movie relates to the themes of industrialization and ecosystem destruction studied in Applied Plant Ecology. The humans want to exploit Pandora for its natural resources, specifically its rare mineral unobtanium, not caring about what effects it would have on the planet or its indigenous population. The humans on Pandora not only end up destroying multiple historical and religious sites, but also massacre a large population of the Na’vi population. These same issues have been happening in reality for thousands of years, the destruction of sacred and important ecosystems and dismissal and murder of people who try to fight against it.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 