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Kevin Mahoney

The Ultimate Fan's Guide to Avatar, James Cameron's epic movie (Unauthorized) Paperback – March 31, 2010

by Kevin Patrick Mahoney (Author), Alex Carmine (Editor)

11 ratings

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Avatar is the most successful movie of all time, surpassing the record held by James Cameron's previous monster hit, Titanic. It is also the most expensive movie ever. With its adoption of modern 3D techniques, Avatar is arguably the most spectacular film of all time. Kevin Patrick Mahoney explores how Avatar has reached this pinnacle of success. The film has not been universally praised; some critics have pointed to an overly simple plot and dialogue. However, Kevin reveals that there are many complex themes that lie behind such apparent simplicity. This book begins with a thorough review of events as they happen on screen, including the many scenes deleted from the film, and then proceeds to explore some of the most interesting themes in more depth. Kevin examines how James Cameron has adapted Joseph Campbell's theory of the Hero's Journey in Avatar. The Na'vi's planet, Pandora, is very paradisiacal, so this book discusses how it's related to the Biblical Garden of Eden. In addition to this, Kevin dissects Avatar's rather confused politics, the controversial depiction of the US Marine Corps, and the accusations of racism that have been hurled at the film. Since Jake Sully is introduced to us in a wheelchair, Kevin examines the representation of disabled people in Avatar and other science fiction dramas. Some of Avatar's subtle depictions of sexuality seemed to be mainly directed at adolescent boys, so this book also dissects some of the more 'blue' aspects of the movie. Moreover, Kevin Patrick Mahoney reveals how Avatar relates to James Cameron's previous blockbuster movies.

Print length

140 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Punked Books
Publication date

March 31, 2010
Dimensions

5 x 0.35 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0953317250
ISBN-13

978-0953317257
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Punked Books (March 31, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 140 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0953317250
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0953317257
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.35 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,798,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,006 in Individual Directors
- #3,317 in Science Fiction History & Criticism
- #3,694 in Movie Guides & Reviews

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A

Cool book - though some odd parts

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 5, 2010

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Well, first off I liked reading this book because I feel better knowing there are other nerds out there who want to know all the details about Avatar and discuss them at length. And, he does a good job at this. I have no idea how he got the original script or details about the deleted scenes (why didn't you tell us Alex?) but they are really interesting. I wish some were back in the movie - especially the drama around the school massacre that another reviewer mentioned. The trudy / norm relationship - yuck, glad that was cut! It was great to read about this and his thoughts about why these scenes were cut and how certain themes ran much deeper than I had really noticed in the movie. Anyway, I was glad to have read it overall...and what's below are just critical statements because they might benefit other readers who are confused / put off by similar issues while reading (but shouldn't dissuade people who are interested in the movie).

There are a number of copy editing problems and minor mistakes that aren't a big deal, but they are distracting as you read. First, I wish the deleted scenes were more clearly divided out in the book - just with a horizontal bar or something. Sometimes he doesn't make it clear that a scene was deleted (until after describing it) and so things can get confusing. He calls Jake "Jack" in the same sentence he says that he had 6 months before the bulldozers arrive (it's 3 months - which he gets right later). There's a funny statement about a hair queue being some "American term" - lol... no... maybe you should have checked with an American! I just laughed out loud at that part though. Obviously, it was nothing I took offense to because I've probably said the same things about British expressions. Also, along these lines, I wonder if the UK (and Europe) got a different cut because I know the "well of souls" was not called that... it was the "tree of souls" - and I have the DVD and am positive about this. There were a handful of these strange things like that in the book leading me to wonder if Europe got a bit of a different movie for some reason. What happens with the Dragon is also confusing from the book... I couldn't tell what was deleted or what may have been different in a European cut. Jake gets it to crash land - and not on any Na'vi that we know of.

I think the order could be fixed as well. Largely, it is in the order of the movie - but it does have weird points where it jumps ahead. For example, I agree with the other reviewer there is too much of a focus on sex, and this is what screws up the order a bit. The bestiality stuff was a bit weird - I never got that from the movie at all. He describes the sex scene long before it happens...then describes it again. This happens with a few scenes.

Also, there are a lot of references to Terminator and Aliens. I have only seen Terminator 1, so I was a little in the dark here. I wished he would've given more of a plot summary of these movies so I didn't have to look them up on wikipedia (which he did quite a bit in the book, which I found strange for an author doing an in depth analysis...wikipedia is kinda a big giant regression to the mean & a lazy way to get data... but still, it's a good book & I'd be too lazy to ever write it - so I don't mean to throw stones.)

I think it's an interesting read...and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the film. Oh also, you may not agree with all his analyses - but just know you're getting his opinion & speculation on many issues (e.g. why certain people have certain names...who knows if he's right?) This is not James Cameron's view...so that's just what you get for reading this vs. waiting until whenever Cameron's commentary DVD comes out.

10 people found this helpful

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Aretha

Mixed Feelings

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 1, 2010

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I have very mixed feelings about this book.

Some of it was very interesting, particularly the material about the backstory and the scenes left out or changed from the script. Some was moderately interesting but could probably have been reduced significantly, such as the material about Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey and how it relates to this movie, comparison with Cameron's earlier movies, and the history of SF in general. And some that might have been of interest was left out altogether. I'm surprised the author didn't seem to notice the similarities between the banshees and Anne McCaffrey's Pern dragons. Another item I missed was how the hunter-gatherer Na'vi reacted to the humans' cultivation of their flora.

One thing I found really irritating was the focus on sex. I suppose there ARE hidden sexual connotations. But this young buck of an author had to have had his imagination directed by his hormones to have spent as much time on them and to have noticed all the things he did. Personally, I don't see why the neural connection between the Na'vi and their animals must be regarded as orgasm or bordering on bestiality. They had connections with their Mother Tree and their Tree of Voices, didn't they? As Grace says, all of Pandora is part of a network. Period.

The writing could have done with more editing. There are clear grammatical errors scattered throughout. Paragraphs seem to run on and on for pages and pages. I finally realized part of that is because of the formatting of the Kindle edition -- paragraph breaks tend to get omitted. However, I think in many places the author does run his paragraphs together.

Overall, I'd say the book was of some use, but was rather wearisome to read.

25 people found this helpful

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Tricia K.

Not Remotely Worth Reading

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2011

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This author does something that I absolutely hate: He assumes that you've seen certain other films, and talks about them ad nauseum. If I'd wanted a book about THOSE films, I'd have bought one.

I agree with the first reviewer that this author also seems positively obsessed with what he perceives to be the sexual undercurrents in this film; for whatever reasons, he's reading all kinds of things into the movie that simply were never remotely hinted at, and CERTAINLY not worth major mention in a discussion of the film.

I consider this book to have been a total waste of money; I wouldn't even give it to an enemy, much less a friend, or inflict it on a library. This one goes into the recycle bin; otherwise, it's a waste of a tree, not to mention your time.

3 people found this helpful

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jimmie r attaway aka ( sgtdusty}

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2015

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dull movie 10 times better

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Lee Sausley

It reminded me of the really good literature classes that I took in college

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2015

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It reminded me of the really good literature classes that I took in college. Comprehensive look at the literary underpinnings of the film and it's plot. If you're a language arts geek, you'll absolutely love it.

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Amy Diers

Is this about Avatar or their political views?

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 24, 2010

I am a huge fan of Avatar and purchased this book to find out more about the back story but instead had I had to read page upon page about the authors political views and how Terminator and many other movies made Avatar the movie it is. I had to read more about how the military action in this movie is directly reflected by any and every war/military issue we have ever seen. It is Science Fiction. Obviously. It is what it is so lets leave it that way. I just would have loved to learn about how the movie came about and JAMES CAMERONS meaning of Avatar.

One person found this helpful

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Specialist.

Much more than the movie

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 19, 2010

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Even though this book can be a bit rambling at times it does offer one persons take on the full Avatar Script, for instance did you know that Norm had a girlfriend? Or that the name of the bonding appendage is called a Q?????? well read the book and find out, there is so much good info for any fan that I am now reading it for the third time hoping that the special edition film will contain some of the deleted scenes that were not shown in the Directors cut that came out after the first Avatar film.

8 people found this helpful

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