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Marietta, OH

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Why Avatar should have been called The Social Network

March 5, 2011 by Margie Clayman 16 Comments

Do you ever feel like you are forever behind in movies? Granted, you’re always behind because of all of the movies made before your time – I only recently watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s, for example. However, every year, when the Oscars come and go, I always tell myself, “Man, next year I’m going to see more movies so that I can, well, care.” It doesn’t work. Case in point – I just watched Avatar last night. And uh, well…I still haven’t seen The Social Network. I know, my family thinks this is ridiculous of me too.

In watching Avatar, a lot of things came to mind. It is a gorgeous thing to look at, no doubt about it. And I’m not even talking about Sam Worthington here. The story, though, was kind of dumb. As a friend of mine pointed out, what movie can get away with calling a priceless mineral unobtainium? Yerg.

But what really stuck in my head is how much Avatar came to remind me of the whole Social Media world. Though I haven’t seen The Social Network, what I’ve heard is that it is really not about the Social Media phenomenon as a whole – it’s a business story. It’s a suspenseful movie loosely tied to reality. Avatar, though, believe it or not, gets to the crux of what Social Media is all about. Here’s how.

“Get them to trust you”

Well, I hardly need to go further, right? Without spoiling too much for those of you who are even later than me in seeing this now, the main character is directed to go amongst the natives on Pandora as an agent of sorts. He needs to get them to trust him, he needs to learn what makes them tick, and he needs to do it without getting killed. Luckily, the stakes aren’t often THAT high in Social Media, but are we not going out into this crazy online world, hoping we can gain trust, hoping we can learn about people in our industry if we’re out here for business? Is this not where words like “genuine” and “authentic” come from?

There are tricks in the trade to gain power

The movie hinges on something the main character figures out. It results in him becoming a hero, and the movie continues on from there. But interestingly, the movie doesn’t have this moment linger on. The character, in narration, says, “I figured that I would try this.”

Often, in Social Media, we find that tweaking a little thing here, going out on a limb a little bit over there, can end up making a huge difference. Figuring out a certain monetary amount that people always seem happy to pay, for example, is a great way to start building your online business. But you never are 100% sure if it’s going to work until you try it, and in Social Media, if you tweak something the wrong way, the results could also be dastardly!

Well, it is called Avatar

The most poignant tie between Avatar and the realm of Social Media, however, is the change that the main character undergoes when he is in his avatar. You see, the main character, in his real life, is in a wheelchair. He isn’t as smart as his PhD brother, who passed away, and therefore he is also often overlooked, or looked at merely as muscle. In the world of Pandora, though, the main character, Jake, is able to run, jump, and accomplish countless other feats. He’s able to gain respect and become the person he always wanted to be.

Is it not the same in the online world?

From my own perspective, the online world has given me a chance to meet people without judgment. I’m 4’5. You might think, “big whoop,” but when you are a little person, people automatically register, “Kid.” If you think that doesn’t hinder first impressions, well, let me tell you – it does. In the online world, people have only my words to judge. If my words are deemed silly, then it’s because of my brain, not because of my physical reality.

Think about Roger Ebert, who spoke at TED yesterday. Cancer has ravaged his body and has left him unable to speak, but in the online world, his life goes on unaffected.

What you choose to do with your avatar is entirely up to you. You can be a twisted double agent if you like. You can use your ability to run to help people out. It’s an open book. Just like in Avatar.

What do you think?

If you’ve seen Avatar, are there other points that seem to tie it to the online world? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Filed Under: Musings

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Raul Colon says

    March 5, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    Margie,

    It is funny how so many things that you pointed out where so obvious but you seemed to find the tie towards avatar and how it translates towards some of the key things you have to do to make sure you are successful in the social networks.

    I think you brought a great point social channels give us so many ways to communicate that some characteristics (example physical) don’t come into play.

    We need to focus a bit more on what people can bring to the table not all the other superficial factors we are judged on.

    Excellent Margie just excellent.

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 1:00 pm

      Thanks, Raul. I appreciate it! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jay Baer says

    March 5, 2011 at 12:35 pm

    Wowza. Killer post. You nailed it.

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 1:00 pm

      Thanks, Jay! Made my day right there 🙂

      Reply
  3. Estrella Rosenberg says

    March 5, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    GoodNESS woman! I’m with Jay – what else to say except you nailed it. Great post. Do a little “I am awesome” dance because you are 🙂

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 1:01 pm

      wow, thank you so much!!

      How did you know I have an “I am awesome” dance? 🙂 Well, if I do, I borrowed it from you. *smush* 🙂

      Reply
  4. Joe Sorge says

    March 5, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    You go Girl!
    loving how you “see” things.

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 2:09 pm

      Thanks so much, Joe. I appreciate that!

      Reply
  5. Jose Champsaur says

    March 5, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Thanks for posting your ideas. I really enjoyed this article.

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 2:09 pm

      Thanks Jose. Glad to hear it!

      Reply
  6. Mr.Shri says

    March 5, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    Hey Margie,
    This is such an awesome post… moreover its also a review about Avatar & what are the key lessons we can learn from movies. Great post all the way till the end.

    🙂 Cheers!
    Shri

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 5:27 pm

      thanks so much! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Anita says

    March 5, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    Too cool. How serendipitous that I just happened to watch Avatar last night! I resisted the hordes who flocked to it when it came out, but I was actually quite affected by the message. I love your interpretation of the “social network” metaphors. Terrific post, thank you!

    Reply
    • Margie Clayman says

      March 5, 2011 at 5:28 pm

      Thank YOU, Anita. Great minds think alike, non? How funny 🙂

      Reply
  8. Suzanne Vara says

    March 5, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    I am more behind than you are as I have not seen either Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Avatar or Social Network.

    This post is awesome. It captures the online world so well vs the IRL where we are judged. Our appearance speaks before we ever open our mouths. Online, our words speak long before our appearance. Sure, we put up photos of ourselves but it is face. We cannot see how tall/short someone is, thin/overweight (generally). The physical features that we are constantly judged by are removed online. I think the power of online is many time we are through our words show the person we are as opposed to being judged for who people think we are or want us to be.

    Great post and thanks for letting us non movie goers, what this movie was about. =-)

    Reply
  9. Margie Clayman says

    March 5, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    You should watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I’d love to hear your take on it. It’s…interesting 🙂

    Thank you very much for your kind words and for making my post sound really good. You should be my agent 🙂

    As for the movies, I’m just glad there is someone whom I can update!! 🙂

    Reply

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