《阿凡達》世界太完美 讓影迷抑鬱想自殺
An idyllic planet populated by blue aliens is an ideal setting for cinematic escapism. But the world of the sci-fi epic Avatar is so perfect people have admitted being plagued by depression and suicidal thoughts at not being able to visit the planet.
Set in the future when Earth's resources have been depleted, director James Cameron's film tells the story of a corporation trying to mine a rare mineral.
The humans clash with the natives - a peace-loving race of 7ft tall, blue-skinned creatures called the Na'vi, who exist in perfect harmony with nature.
Fans have flooded the internet with their confused feelings. On the site Avatar Forums, the topic 'Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible' has more than 1,000 posts.
In a similar forum, one user wrote: "When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed grey. It just seems so meaningless.
"I still don't really see any reason to keep doing things at all. I live in a dying world."
On another site, one fan was even more affected, admitting: "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora."
On the Avatar site Naviblue, a fan calling himself Jorba has even asked others to join him in starting a real Na'vi tribe.
The incredible visual realism of the film could mean viewers become particularly attached, the Daily Mail reports.
Dr Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Centre for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York told CNN: "Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far.
"It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."
But not everyone viewing the film has been hit by the 'Avatar Blues', as a small but vocal group have alleged it contains racist themes - the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.
Since the film opened three weeks ago, hundreds of blog posts, newspaper articles, tweets and YouTube videos have said things such as the film is 'a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people' and that it reinforces 'the white Messiah fable'."
The film's writer and director, James Cameron, says the real theme is about respecting others' differences.
藍色外星人居住的田園般的星球是電影逃避主義的理想之地，但科幻鉅著《阿凡達》中的虛幻世界太完美，以至於讓很多人因無法真正生活在這樣的星球而感到抑鬱，部分影迷甚至產生了自殺的念頭。
由詹姆斯•卡梅隆執導的這部影片以未來地球資源消耗殆盡爲背景，講述了地球上的一家公司試圖在外星球開採稀有礦產的故事。
這一開採計劃使得人類與外星土著“納威人”發生衝突。藍皮膚的“納威人”身高達7英尺，他們熱愛和平，與大自然十分和諧地相處。
看完該片後，影迷們紛紛涌至網上表達自己的“糾結”心情。在“阿凡達論壇”網站上，一個名爲“解決潘多拉星球之夢無法實現所帶來的抑鬱”的主題帖至今已有一千多人跟貼。
在一個類似的論壇上，一名網友寫道：“昨天我看了《阿凡達》，今早醒來時我感到世界如此灰暗，毫無意義。”
“我仍然無法找到繼續生活下去的理由，我生活在一個垂死的世界。”
在另外一個網站上，一個影迷的“阿凡達抑鬱”更爲嚴重。他坦稱：“我甚至想過自殺，這樣我就有可能在一個類似於潘多拉星球的世界重生。”
在“藍色納威”《阿凡達》影迷網站上，一名自稱“約爾巴”的網友甚至邀請其他人與他一起打造一個真正的“納威部落”。
《每日郵報》報道稱，影片令人驚歎的虛幻現實主義讓觀影者爲之着魔。
紐約貝斯以色列醫學中心的路易斯•阿姆斯特朗音樂和醫學中心的精神病學家和醫學主任斯蒂芬•康策爾博士在接受美國有線新聞網採訪時說：“虛幻世界不是現實生活，也不可能成爲現實生活，但該片的確是迄今我們打造虛幻世界的巔峯之作。”
“影片利用了最新的科技打造虛擬世界，現實生活永遠不會像銀幕上那樣理想，這讓人更深地感覺到現實生活的不完美。”
但並非所有看了該片的人都出現了“藍色阿凡達”抑鬱，有一小部分人認爲影片帶有種族主義色彩，白人英雄再次拯救了原始土著。
自影片上映三週以來，有關該片的博客、新聞報道、微博以及Youtube視頻鋪天蓋地，有人說該片“以白人視角敘述種族幻想”，有意強調了“白人救世的神話”。
但影片編劇兼導演詹姆斯•卡梅隆表示，影片真正的主題其實是尊重差異。
Vocabulary:
idyllic：suitable for or suggestive of an idyll; charmingly simple or rustic（田園詩般的）
escapism：the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in entertainment or in an imaginative situation, activity, etc（逃避現實，空想）
sci-fi：science fiction的簡寫，科幻小說
pinnacle：the highest or culminating point, as of success, power, fame, etc（頂點，頂峯）
utopian：founded upon or involving idealized perfection（烏托邦的，理想化的）
Messiah：one who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or liberator（人們信賴的領導者；救世主）
