A Study of 'Avatar: Fire and Ash': An Attempt to Retell the 'Cursed History of Nation-Building' as a Sci-Fi Myth
Happy New Year.
I started this note last October, and for someone like me who tends to give up on everything after three days, I have surprisingly managed to keep writing movie reviews for over three months. My goal for this year is to continue this note by writing down my thoughts on each movie I watch, as much as I can.
I look forward to your continued support this year.
So, on January 1, 2026, the first film I watched at the theater was'Avatar: Fire and Ash'.
The runtime is about 3 hours and 15 minutes. Honestly, my spirits sank the moment I saw the runtime, and I couldn't bring myself to go see it last year. However, it is also the ultimate 'blockbuster' to start the New Year holidays with. I thought, if I'm going to do it, I should take the time and energy to sit down and watch it properly. With that in mind, I headed to the theater.
The reputation I heard about this film beforehand was,
'The world-building and visuals are overwhelming, but the story feels stagnant, and it looks like it's repeating the same things as the second film.'
In other words, while the 'technical prowess' is guaranteed, 'narrative freshness' is hard to expect—personally, that was the vibe I was getting.
And when I actually watched it, I felt half of that was true, while the other half was definitely'the story being set up for a five-part series.'I think this film is less of a standalone movie and more of a 'midpoint' film aimed at the destination the entire series is heading toward.
Therefore, in this article, I would like to first briefly organize what the 'Avatar' series has depicted, identify the 'new spark' that the third film, 'Fire and Ash,' has brought to the series, and then offer my own thoughts on what direction the fourth and fifth films might take.
■ The Meaning of Depicting the 'Invasion of Pandora'
The basic structure of the 'Avatar' series is clear. The setting is the extraterrestrial planet Pandora. Humans from Earth invade for resource extraction and military purposes, while the indigenous Na'vi have built a society spiritually connected to nature. The protagonist, Jake Sully, enters Pandora as part of the 'Earth side,' but eventually shifts his allegiance to the Na'vi and confronts the invaders.
Needless to say, this structure is based on America's 'colonialism' and 'history of conquest.' It is a natural interpretation toread the Na'vi as a metaphor for Native Americans and the humans (RDA) as a symbol of modern capitalism and military power.Of course, it is dangerous to oversimplify with a one-to-one correspondence like Na'vi = Native Americans and humans = conquering Americans. However, it is hard to deny that 'Avatar' is attempting to translate the 'shadow of history carried by the American nation' into a cosmic-scale myth.
Here is one point that has bothered me for a long time.
Stories with such 'colonial history metaphors' usually tend to converge into a form where'a peaceful agreement is reached at the end of the story, and they walk a path of coexistence.'That is generally the 'good ending' that modern audiences seek. However, 'Avatar' does not seem to want to settle in that direction. Rather, every time peace or coexistence is mentioned, the signs of another violence arise, and the Sully family continues their journey of displacement.
If this series were truly trying to depict a 'myth of reconciliation,' it wouldn't have been strange for some kind of resolution to have been prepared by the second film. Nevertheless, what was presented in the third film was not just the continuation of 'war with an external enemy,' but 'conflict within the Na'vi.' I think this is the point where the ethics of the series have deepened.
■ The Flow Up to the 3rd Film — Themes are Updated, Forms are Repeated
First, I will look back at the trajectory of the trilogy (1-3) as concisely as possible.
■ The 1st Film 'Avatar' (2009)
The first film was a story of'an outsider belonging to a community.'Jake, a former Marine, enters Pandora through a Na'vi body (avatar), meets Neytiri, learns their culture and values, and eventually turns against the human invaders. In the end, Jake chooses to discard his 'self as a human' and live as a Na'vi.
What was strongly emphasized here was the conflict between civilization (technology) and nature (Eywa), as well as a critique of colonialism. On the other hand, it is also true that it contained a so-called 'White Chief' structure, which became a point of contention critically.
However, I do not simply view this work as a 'film of righteousness.' Rather, I feel that the fact that Jake's 'conversion' is established as a noble story itself reflects the self-justification habits inherent in the American founding myth.
■ The 2nd Film 'The Way of Water' (2022)
In the second film, the theme shifts from 'individual awakening' to 'family and inheritance.' Jake has built a family with Neytiri and is a father protecting his children. Humanity returns to Pandora this time as a 'colonization plan,' and the Sully family leaves the forest people and takes refuge with the sea people, the Metkayina, to avoid pursuit. After adapting to a different culture, they eventually head into battle again—.
This film was a story of Jake as a father 'fighting to protect.' Personally, I have the impression that the repetition of myth was stronger in the second film compared to the first.
However, at the same time, I could see Cameron's sincerity in the fact that Jake was not heroized as a 'savior' but depicted as a being carrying the 'fragility of having a family.' I think the series shifted here from a story of simple victory to a story of a longer war of attrition.
■ The 3rd Film 'Fire and Ash' (2025)
And appearing in the third installment is the Ash People, led by Varang. Having adapted to a volcanic and devastated environment, they possess values that differ from the traditional Na'vi image (harmony and praise of nature). This shakes the simple dichotomy of Na'vi as good and humanity as evil.
Summarizing this so far, it can be roughly organized as follows.
1st film: Awakening of an outsider (Jake)
2nd film: Family and succession, fighting to protect
3rd film: Division and ethics, internal conflict among the same victims
In other words, the themes are certainly being updated. However, the narrative format is being repeated.
“Encounter with a different culture → Learning → Conflict → Battle” is almost the same in every film. This is also the reason why it is criticized as “stagnant.” However, I believe this is not a simple failure, but the result of Cameron intentionally choosing to continue “repeating the format as a myth.” The issue is not the repetition itself, but what is inserted into that repetition.
And the wedge inserted by the third film was the existence of the Ash People.
■ From “War with an External Enemy” to “Internal Ethical Struggle”
A major source of conflict in the early part of this film is Spider, who is a pure human. One night, his mask is damaged, and an incident occurs where he nearly suffocates in Pandora's atmosphere. Taking this as an opportunity, Jake decides to return Spider to the human side, leading to conflict with his family (especially the children). Meanwhile, Quaritch still burns with a desire for revenge and, intertwined with the RDA's operations, approaches the Sully family once again.
Jake relies on the Wind Traders, a nomadic merchant group, to find a way to send Spider back to the human side, but eventually, the Sully family ends up accompanying him, and they are attacked by the Ash People while traveling. Here, the “forces of fire and ash” appear in earnest, and the Sully family's battle lines are torn not only by the “RDA/Quaritch” but also by the “conflict between the Na'vi themselves.”
Furthermore, as an important point of this film, there is a development where Kiri performs a ritualistic act to save Spider, and as a result, Spider changes to a state where he can breathe Pandora's atmosphere. At first glance, this change looks like a miracle and a salvation. However, at the same time, for the RDA, it becomes a key to invasion, proving that “humanity can adapt to Pandora.” I felt the double-bottomed horror of this film here.
The fact that Spider has become a body that can breathe is both a hope and a potential deciding factor for colonization by Earthlings. This feeling that “hope and ruin are born at the same time” makes one aware that “Avatar” is not just a war spectacle, but a story that carries the contradictions of colonial history.
And above all, what the existence of the Ash People shows is the fact that victims are not always morally right. Logic for domination, justification of violence, and accepting the sacrifice of others can also arise on the victim's side. Resistance movements create “different justice” within themselves. This is a fact that I feel painfully even when looking at modern politics and social movements.
In the first and second films, the composition of nature (Eywa) opposing the invaders (technology) was relatively clear. However, the third film has stripped the anti-colonial story of simple good and evil by placing the Ash People, who have turned from “the same victim side” to “the ethics of domination,” there. I feel that the “next stage” of the series has begun here.
■ Are the Ash People “descendants of a destroyed faith”?
I do not want to view the position of the Ash People simply as “bad Na'vi” or “traitors.” Rather, they can be read as those who were abandoned by Eywa (or felt they were) for some reason, and beings who connected to the logic of the invaders in order to survive in a “world where myth does not function.” In other words, it is a division born from religious conflict or the “collapse of faith.”
When I saw this composition, I was reminded of the historical fact that “Native American resistance was not monolithic either.”
Here, I would like to briefly compare the events that occurred in American history with the development of the third “Avatar” film.
1) The American Revolutionary War and the division of the Iroquois Confederacy
The American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century tends to be told as a war between white settlers and the suzerain state of Great Britain, but for indigenous societies, it was also a major turning point where they were forced to choose “which side to join.”
What happened here was not the ideal composition of 'indigenous people uniting to fight against colonists.' For example, in the Iroquois Confederacy, within the same confederacy, indigenous forces siding with the British and those siding with the colonial side split.
In other words, while they appeared as 'the same indigenous people' from the outside, they were forced to choose different survival strategies internally.
This is very similar to the composition of the Na'vi in 'Fire and Ash,' who are torn apart not only by the 'external enemy known as the RDA' but also by the 'internal conflict of the Ash People.'
One would like to believe that communities unite when external pressure increases—
but in reality, it is precisely external pressure that exposes internal differences in values and conflicts of interest. Isn't this cold, hard reality exactly what Cameron is depicting?
2) The Ghost Dance Movement and the Wounded Knee Massacre
The Ghost Dance movement that spread at the end of the 19th century was a religious revival by Native Americans attempting to restore a broken world.
The spirits would return,
the white men would leave,
and the dead would be resurrected—
it is safe to say that this was the last hope for a collapsed community.
However, the result that this movement brought about was oppression and massacre.
What was etched into indigenous society here was not merely a sense of defeat, but a deep distrust of the myth itself, born from the fact that they were killed even more as a result of praying.
The Ash People's distrust of Eywa, the fragmentation of faith, and the silence of God depicted in 'Fire and Ash' resonate strongly with this historical trauma. Faith does not always save a community. In fact, faith itself can sometimes trigger internal conflict and destruction.
'Why does God not protect us?'
'Have the spirits died?'
Given that such religious despair has been born repeatedly throughout history, one cannot laugh at the existence of the Ash People as an 'impossible setting.' Rather, I believe they are a symbol of the 'alternative route' that colonial history inevitably produces.
And what makes this work interesting is that this 'alternative route' not only complicates the story of resistance against an external enemy but also shakes the purity of the Na'vi's ethics.
If Eywa were absolute good and the Na'vi were absolute good, the story could end comfortably. However, if Eywa remains silent, the Na'vi split, and the invaders gain 'adaptation,' the development of the series can only become chaotic.
I feel I can see here the reason why Cameron has no intention of letting this series converge into a simple 'myth of reconciliation.'
■ 'Avatar' as a 'Cursed History of Nation-Building'
I have a premonition that Cameron is attempting to depict the 'Avatar' series as a 'curse' of American nation-building history.
The history of American nation-building contains the myth of freedom and democracy, while simultaneously holding a history of the dispossession of indigenous lands and the breaking of treaties.
Treaties were signed. But they were broken.
Coexistence was spoken of. But it was structurally impossible.
What is important here is that the word 'peace' itself sometimes becomes a tool of violence. Invaders seize land while preaching peace, impose systems, encourage assimilation, and suppress resistance. That is precisely why 'Avatar' cannot end with a 'beautiful reconciliation.' If it were to end that way, it would be washing away inconvenient history with myth.
Isn't what Cameron is referencing the 'structure' of Native American history rather than its 'tragedy'? Contact, illusory coexistence, irreversible conflict over resources, division within the victims, the multiplexing of assimilation, adaptation, betrayal, and resistance—and the invaders acquiring indigenous values.
Spider's transformation in the third film symbolized the phase where 'the invader gains the key to adaptation.' Now that this structure has begun, a future where the Na'vi and humans settle into 'equal coexistence' cannot be easily depicted. If it were depicted, it would be a lie.
I am hopeful that Cameron will not run away from that, and will instead depict a more serious chaos.
■ Where are the 4th and 5th films heading?
From here on, naturally, this is not confirmed information, but rather my own predictions based on what has been presented up to the third film.
■ Part 4: Those Who Have Lost Their Place to Return (A Film of Defeat Without Victory)
The biggest change that will likely occur in the fourth film is that 'humans will become able to live on Pandora.' If Spider's transformation is used as a key, the RDA will likely push forward with human adaptation in earnest.
What is terrifying here is that humans will no longer be 'complete outsiders.' Invaders who are no longer outsiders will no longer be simple targets for expulsion, and the ethics of the Na'vi will also waver. The narrative that 'if you drive them out, it will be solved' will collapse.
Furthermore, the Ash People may be redefined not as mere villains, but as 'a form of future Na'vi.' To live in a world where myths do not function, the Na'vi will have to alter their own ethics—the Sully family will likely be forced to witness that reality.
Jake will not win as a savior, but will change into 'a being who knows that he can no longer win.' The disconnect in values with Neytiri may deepen, and the unity of the family may waver. I predict that the fourth film will not be a 'film that ends in victory,' but rather a 'film like The Empire Strikes Back that continues while suffering defeat.'
■ Part 5: The End of Myth (No One Can Claim This Land as Their Own)
The point the series will reach in the fifth film will likely be a conclusion that definitively redefines 'what Eywa is.'
Eywa has appeared to be a guardian deity. But is that really the case? If Eywa is something like a planetary-scale self-defense system, and if it acts equally cruelly toward both the Na'vi and humans when necessary, then the series will become not a 'myth of salvation,' but a story of the 'will of the planet.'
I believe that what will ultimately happen is a conclusion where there are no complete winners. It is not that the Na'vi will go extinct. However, they will no longer be the center of the world. Humans will not be able to become rulers either. In other words, 'no one can claim this land as their own.'
In Native American history, what was lost was never mythically restored. If the film were to easily restore that fact, it might be a comfort, but it would not be a story that carries the weight of history.
That is why I believe the destination of 'Avatar' will be a story that carries the fact that 'it could not be taken back' into the future.
■ What 'Hope' Cameron Leaves Behind
Writing this far, it might seem like a dark prediction.
However, I do not think Cameron is a nihilist. The hope he leaves behind is likely not peace, reconciliation, or victory, but 'being remembered.'
That the Na'vi existed.
How their world was destroyed and how it was divided.
What they still tried to protect.
That memory will become a curse and a weight on the ethics of future humanity.
It will not be a story that 'America was founded correctly,' but rather,
'America exists upon an irreparable sin'a recognition that will be re-engraved as a story. If 'Avatar' goes that far, this series will not just be a blockbuster entertainment, but should occupy a very important position as an attempt to rewrite the founding myth that America could not tell, as science fiction.
Conclusion: I Want to See This Series Through
Finally, I return to my honest impressions.
This film, 'Fire and Ash,' has a long beginning. There is a lot of exposition. The family is torn apart, captured, rescued, and nature provides the decisive blow—that flow is similar to the previous works. For someone who has experienced long-running series like 'Star Wars,' it is a fact that there is a strong sense of déjà vu.
I was excited by the tumultuous action scenes in the final act, and there were moments when I couldn't help but think, 'Cameron is still Cameron.' Regarding visual technology and spatial direction, I feel that it remains at a one-of-a-kind level.
Even so, it cannot be denied that there must have been many viewers who perceived this film as 'boring.' As I have written at length, I feel hope that the 'Avatar' series is an extremely ambitious attempt to rewrite America's cursed history of nation-building—a history established by stealing indigenous land and repeating division and assimilation—as a sci-fi myth.
That is precisely why I believe in the 'signs of abandoning the safe zone of myth' shown in the third film, and I want to see through to the end where the fourth and fifth films will arrive, including this 'boredom'.