Minor Avatar gripes

So, Avatar: as you've probably heard by now, it's very, very pretty, has little to recommend it by way of script, plotting or characterisation (to quote chromatic scthewriter: the solution to flat characters is not 3D, it's better writing), and it has a really stupid ending.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed it. The fight scenes are good. But I'm going to air some minor grievances anyway, because these things have been bugging me.

First off: when Jake Sully arrives, the scientists are all "ooh, he's a Marine, he's going to be such a thicko, why did they bother". Er, no. He's the identical twin of the scientist originally slated for the mission, which means he shares his genome and upbringing: hence, there's a very good chance that he's highly intelligent. Secondly, he's had extensive experience of jungle warfare in Venezuela¹, and thus should be at home working and surviving for long periods of time in a jungle environment (in a rather different ecosystem, obviously, but there must be some transferable skills, especially given how much Pandoran jungle looks like Earth jungle). Thirdly, he's a reconnaissance specialist, which means he's been trained in close, careful observation. Put all this together, and you have the makings of a first-rate field assistant, which is not something to be sniffed at. Yes, scientists can be dismissive of expertise from outside their field. But they're not stupid, and they'd certainly think of the identical-twin thing.

Secondly: is Colonel the most evil rank, or what? At least as far as the movie biz is concerned. A re-watching of Akira suggests that yes, it is. Relatedly, Col. Miles Quaritch is another entry for my ongoing list of "evil characters called Miles in fiction".

Thirdly, the ending. Oh God, the ending. There were at least two ways they could have recovered the situation: ( Spoilers herein )

Anyway, I'd like to end on a more serious note. The displacement and genocide of tribal peoples is not safely confined to the past or the cinema; it's still going on now, and it's much more brutal than Cameron dared to show. If your planet is affected by the issues raised in this feature film, please consider donating to Survival International³.

¹ Even though he later appears completely unable to move tactically in a jungle environment. Never mind, there are bigger plot holes out there.
² Did you notice him? Giovanni Ribisi, AKA Phoebe's idiot brother Frank from Friends. If you ever get the chance to catch him in the Kieszlowski-written film Heaven, do take it.
³ Hat-tip to James "Two Doctors" Mackenzie for the link.

How to talk to your MP

Yesterday, the excellent Open Rights Group (roughly, the British equivalent of the EFF) ran a workshop on talking to your MP face-to-face. There was particular emphasis on opposing the incredibly evil Digital Economy Bill (tl;dr: if anyone in your household is accused of filesharing, they can extrajudicially suspend your 'net connection without proper appeal, and the government can amend copyright law however the hell they want without need for Parliamentary debate), but a lot of the advice was more general. Here's ORG's general list of tips for talking to MPs.

• Talking to your MP is one of the most effective campaigning actions you can take, as it lets Parliament know about your concerns.
• Even if your MP never votes against the party line, it's still worth talking to them, because they will feed your concerns forward to front-benchers.
• Many MPs have open surgeries (turn up and wait), or you can usually make an appointment.
• It's a good idea to write to your MP first, before going to see them.
• Try to cultivate a good relationship with the MP's staff.
• Try to keep everything brief.
• Keep things as non-technical as possible, both in a legal and computational sense. Stick to a clear line (eg "Internet disconnection is collective punishment and thus a violation of human rights"). Most MPs will not know what an IP address is.
• One issue per letter.
• Give examples of how it affects you personally. This one's really important.
• Include facts, case studies, etc: they make your case much stronger.
• In the meeting, write down what the MP says.
• If they ask you a question to which you don't know the answer, say "I don't know, let me research that and get back to you".
• Ask for specific actions - voting for amendments, speaking in specific debates, contacting ministers, etc.
• After the meeting, send a short email to say thank you.

Non-Brits: how does this compare to contacting elected representatives in your country?

[Brits reading this may also be interested to learn of the existence of the Pirate Party UK, whose Campaigns Officer was at the meeting. They're modelled on the similarly-named Swedish pro-digital-freedoms party, and will be running candidates in the forthcoming General, Scottish and European elections. They're not affiliated with ORG, as far as I can tell.]