avatar & me

Went to see Avatar finally, Monday night, with trepidation. Not because I thought I wouldn't like it (though I did find its colonialist/epic-hero story both somewhat ridiculous and offensive), and not because it wasn't anything approximating original (see Disney's Pocahontas, McCaffery's Pern series, but especially LeGuin's The Word for World is Forest), and not because it wasn't beautiful and impressive and violent and moving and lovely, because it was all those things.

Mostly I was worried I would get a headache. A really bad headache. And nausea. And disorientation. And I did. It's the eye thing. I don't normally see in 3D, you see, and I guess those glasses can't make my eyes work right, either. Oh, I could tell when something was supposed to be floating out from the screen, and I could almost see it, but mostly those things just looked blurry. And about half way through the movie the splitting, shooting headache kicked in, and a little while later the nausea. I stuck it out (it was just compelling enough not to want to walk out of!), and poor Evan got me home afterward, made me peppermint tea, and put me to bed.

So I've learned my lesson, and I hope that though inevitably Avatar's success will lead to a 3D-ification of the film industry there will be hold-out 2D movies for us defectives to enjoy.