RDA (Avatar)
 | |
| Type | Military-Mining Corporation |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Colonization of Pandora |
| Headquarters | Earth |
| Location | |
| Services | Military Takeover |
Key people | Parker Selfridge,Miles Quaritch |
The Resources Development Administration (RDA) is a fictional organization that first appears in Avatar, the 2009 science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron.
Real-world comparisons
James Cameron considered the military contractors under the corporation to be "Blackwater types".[1]
Commentary
Global Entertainment Media: Between Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Globalization says, "Avatar represents the colonial self (the RDA) and the colonized other (the Na'vi) through the lens of Orientalist stereotypes (Said 1979). In Avatar, the colonial self is portrayed as active, technological, modern, forward-looking, and rational, while the colonized other is depicted as passive, naturalistic, traditional, backwards, and spiritual."[2]
Avatar and Philosophy: Learning to See says, "Avatar's Resources Development Administration (RDA) corporation offers a picture of what British Petroleum (BP) or Halliburton might be like if they could operate on an interplanetary scale... If the actions of the RDA and its private military force bring to mind examples of American imperialism and environmental exploitation, perhaps it's because our own world is poisoned by similarly perverse values. The RDA's attempt to wipe out an indigenous population to clear a path to natural resources looks a lot like our genocide of Native Americans, as well as like our ongoing decimation of the rain forest. At times, the RDA's attempt to suppress the Na'vi insurgents evokes the jungle war in Vietnam."[3]
The Post-2000 Film Western: Contexts, Transnationality, Hybridity says, "Within the structural framework, the RDA, which represents the mining and resource development needs of Earth, can be metaphorically read as a futuristic Department of the Interior, which within the United States' political structure oversees federal land management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)... On Pandora, the military and the scientific Avatar Project fall directly under the purview of the RDA... their mission also includes acting as liaisons with the Na'vi, educating them and convincing them to accept the RDA's mining operation. The military ensures the success of the operation; its placement in the story reminds us that when the BIA was first created in 1824 it was housed in the War Department."[4]
References
- ^ Whipp, Glenn (February 10, 2010). "Is 'Avatar' a message movie? Absolutely, says James Cameron". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Mirrlees 2013, p. 6
- ^ Dinello 2014, p. 154
- ^ Marubbio 2015, p. 173
Bibliography
- Dinello, Dan (2014). "'See the World We Come From': Spiritual versus Technological Transcendence in Avatar". In Dunn, George A.; Irwin, William (eds.). Avatar and Philosophy: Learning to See. The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-88676-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Marubbio, M. Elise (2015). "Decolonizing the Western: A Revisionist Analysis of Avatar with a Twist". In Paryz, Marek; Leo, John R. (eds.). The Post-2000 Film Western: Contexts, Transnationality, Hybridity. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-53128-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Mirrlees, Tanner (2013). Global Entertainment Media: Between Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Globalization. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-33465-8.
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