Construction of Otherness and Socio-Ontological Boundaries in Avatar: The Way of Water

Abstract

Using a three-part ethnographic approach – combining production analysis, narrative interpretation, and reception studies – this paper examines James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Grounded in theories of representation and social ontology, the study analyzes how the sequel negotiates the dichotomy between Self and Other. While seemingly promoting ecological awareness and anti-colonialism, the film reinforces structures embedded in colonial and neoliberal logic. The Na’vi remain portrayed as culturally homogeneous and morally superior, which stabilizes alterity into a symbolically functional form. Crucially, the conflict shifts from a collective political struggle to a family-centered narrative, reflecting a broader neoliberal individualization of social conflict. Although the film’s technological advances offer an aesthetic decentering of the human perspective, this does not disrupt epistemological categories; instead, alterity is transformed into a spectacle for Western audiences.