To be or not to be…

So, who here has seen James Cameron’s Avatar? (Don’t worry, there will be no spoilers.) So, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, what are you waiting for? It’s a great movie and I highly recommend you watch it.

Now that that’s over, I’ll get on to what I really wanted to state here. I heard recently that lots of critics are blaming the movie for quite a few suicide cases lately. See… the thing is, that apparently there are some people that see the movie, and love it sooo much they wish they could live IN the movie. What happens is, they tell the world that they’re going to commit suicide because they can’t live in the world of Pandora (the planet from which the Na’vi ((theblue people)) are from.) They fall so in love with the animated world that when the 2 and a half hours of the movie are over, an immense depression comes over them because there is no way to live in Pandora, because it’s all fiction.

Now, my opinion, is that this is all just crazy. I mean, I respect other people’s opinions and thoughts, but are you really going to commit suicide just because you’re living in the normal world? How many other countless movies have come out with fictitious worlds and universes? Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc. Just because we can’t live in them doesn’t mean we should kill ourselves.

I admit, Pandora is surely an insanely pretty and awesome place, and the Na’vi, though I found them kinda ugly at first, become more attractive as you get used to the movie, and the entire world that is Pandora becomes VERY addicting and lovable… but that doesn’t mean you should lose sight of reality.

Whether it’s all a scam to get people to stop watching Avatar (though, I don’t know about the U.S. and other countries, but here in Puerto Rico, three weeks after the release and even today, the tickets are still sold out for that movie…) or whether it’s really happening, we can’t really blame the movie or James Cameron. He did an EXCELLENT job directing the movie and the animators did a wonderful job creating Pandora. I must admit every person who pitched in to that movie should be rewarded accordingly.

The whole reason for this post, is that I can’t seem to believe that some people would actually consider suicide just because they want to live in a different world. Trust me; committing suicide isn’t going to get you anywhere pretty… We need to keep a grasp on reality and keep in check with the world that we live in. We can love and dream about places like Pandora and other fictitious worlds from movies and books, but that’s all we can really do, dream, wonder, and imagine. We can’t really pretend the world to be something like that, because reality will come crashing down on us pretty badly. If you TRULY want to live in a world like that, I suggest a number of things, write about it, make your own fanfiction, draw, draw yourself as a Na’vi, etc. There are countless possibilities to express your creativity and to “live” in that world, all you have to do is keep a hold on reality while leaving a small space for loving these places.