Transcend The Restraints Of Ethnocentrism: Identity Quest In Avatar

It is no doubt that the question of cultural identities plays a significant role incontemporary culture study. The past decade has seen a proliferation of scholarlywork on collective identity, especially among political scientists and historians.Cultural identity initially was there to answer that fundamental question‘Who am I?’.Identity is now an especially topical issue with many ramification for the study ofethnicity, class, race, religion, language, ideology and so on. With the development ofglobalization, the question of ‘crisis of identity’ is worth studying, which makes itnecessary to analysis the reconstruction of cultural identity.The whole thesis consists of five parts. Chapter one deals with the context of thefilm Avatar, elaborates the hybrid identity in the hybrid culture, and reveal theargument that ethnocentrism is the source of cultural opposition.Chapter two focuses on the analysis of the loss of identity presented in Avatar,including the identity conflict of Jack in the real world and the world of Na’vi, theshatter of the cultural belief and the different attitude towards "the other" in the twodifferent worlds.Chapter three mainly concentrates on the identity quest in Avatar, including theright attitude human being should take towards Ethnocentrism, and using HomiBhabha’s theory of Hybridity and Mimicry which the hero Avatar takes as twostrategies to search for the identity in the the world of Na’vi.In the conclusion part, a statement will be given to reinforce the thesis statementthat we should hold a right attitude toward identity, so as to find approaches tostrengthen our own culture consciousness in the context of modern world.In general, this thesis is a case study with literature research, descriptive method,interdisciplinary research. Based on cultural identity theory, this thesis analysis theself-identifying of the hero Jake Sully in the movie Avatar through his consistentlystruggling and introspecting in cultural conflicts of two contradictory societies. Allpresentations to having discovered the ‘true’ identity of a people are likely to become ideological forms which are used by certain groups or countries for their ownbenefit.In the meanwhile, theoretical reference and practicable guidance are provided forcultural identity construction in the context of globalization. This thesis complementsthe research of reconstruction of cultural identity, and is especially helpful for ThirdWorld countries to be aware of the truth of identity and make them to hold a rightattitude towards intercultural awareness, so as to realize multicultural co-existence inthe context of the globalization.