The writers and directors of Avatar and Inception, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan respectively, each created a film true to their ever-present styles, using technology and society to amaze audiences all over the world. The film Inception claims for itself the category of mainstream film in no uncertain terms. It’s easy to follow storyline, big name actors, hugely successful writer and director, and failure to challenge any social or political views makes sure of it. Nolan’s Inception was also enjoyed all over the world, due to its swift globalization after its huge success in the U.S. Inception was a blockbuster film for reasons such as its instant success with audiences and its big name stars. Moreover, as stated in A Short History of the Movies, “[a] blockbuster is a picture that takes in over $100 million at the U.S box office”, which Inception rapidly surpassed (Mast, Kawin, 347).

Inception experienced significant internal artistic developments. Nolan waited to make the film until there was technology available that he deemed worthy of the script. Nolan even went so far as to build elaborate sets for parts of the film, according to his 2010 interview with John Hiscock from The Telegraph. The movie poster for the film affords audiences a brief glimpse into the surreal world Christopher Nolan created for the movie. It shows the incredible technology utilized in the film; the CGI implemented throughout that was delicately and expertly applied.

Additionally, Inception went through external shocks. As stated in Christopher Nolan’s interview by Jonah Nolan, “The subject [of dreams] has also been yoked into slightly bizarre and obsolete theories about psychology that have tainted it a bit.” Dreams are a pivotal piece of the film, which reflects somewhat on Nolan’s attempt to remove the often Freudian outlook on dreams throughout society. On the other hand, Avatar is quite firmly an unconventional film. It challenges the very bedrock on which modern civilization has been built, as its writer and director James Cameron wanted it to.

As Cameron states in an NPR interview “At a very generalized level, it’s saying our attitude about indigenous people and our entitlement about what is rightfully theirs is the same sense of entitlement that lets us bulldoze a forest and not blink an eye.” In this way Cameron shows audiences the wrongs committed so many times throughout history, and even currently, simultaneously making an amazing and heartfelt film while scolding viewers for their easy acceptance of such wrongs and their “sense of entitlement”. The YouTube movie trailer for Avatar shows this sense of entitlement incredibly well when one of the characters says of the indigenous people living on Pandora, “their village happens to be resting on the richest deposit [of minerals], and they need to relocate.”

The fact that the land, and for that matter the entire planet, do not belong to humans makes no difference to its human invaders. This is highly reminiscent of earth’s bloody history; Europeans taking the Americas, Africa, India, country after country being reduced to slave status and viewed as “less” and “savage”. Avatar was also a huge blockbuster film. It was James Cameron’s most successful film yet, surpassing even The Titanic as the biggest blockbuster to date, as John Hiscock foresaw in his 2009 pre-release interview with Cameron.

Avatar was successfully and instantly globalized after its release to audiences. Many indigenous peoples from across the world watched the film, experiencing it very differently than the general populace, according to Joni Adamson’s Oxford published journal article titled “Indigenous Literatures, Multinaturalism, and Avatar: The emergence of Indigenous Cosmopolitics”. The chief of the Arara people, an indigenous tribe in Brazil said of the film, “Avatar is happening here” (Adamson 13). This gives a sense of the wholly different feelings present in an indigenous viewer as opposed to a random member of society. Avatar experienced significant internal artistic developments through the use of cutting edge technology to create exactly the experience that Cameron wanted audiences to have. The movie poster shown below for the film shows the flawless blending of CGI special effects and reality that Cameron cultivated in Avatar. This mix of techniques provides the movie with a realistic edge that somehow succeeds in driving home the storyline one step further for audiences.

Additionally, the film underwent extreme external shocks; the very idea of Avatar exhibits a need to remind the world of its faults. The opening scene of the film depicting Jake’s first glimpse of Pandora shows the hostile military takeover of a planet and people that do not belong to humans. As he debarks the plane and shows the viewers the planet and it’s new military inhabitants, it affords the audience their first look at not only an amazingly created new planet, but also at a clear belief that humans have the right to take anything they want.

This opening scene from Avatar exhibits the ever-progressing style found in James Cameron’s work. It also serves to astound and enchant audiences, reeling them in with groundbreaking CGI and special effects that Cameron is so well known for. Cameron’s technique with special effects is displayed in the screenshot shown below from Avatar, showing the meticulous care and work that went into creating his characters.

Inception’s director Christopher Nolan, famous for his ambiguous endings and maze –like storylines, continued his well-deserved reputation with this film. He’s quoted in Mark Fisher’s University of California published journal article titled “The Lost Unconscious: Delusions and Dreams in Inception” as saying “I’ve always believed that if you make a film with ambiguity, it needs to be based on a true interpretation.” This helps to express the basis of dreams used in Inception, as Nolan converted a nightly experience for everyone in the audience from something odd to be forgotten, into a mesmerizing, life-altering occurrence. In this way Nolan set out to enrapture viewers with the insanely pleasurable special effects and CGI incorporated into the film, but also to open their minds to the idea that dreams were more than society claimed them to be. Furthermore, throughout the film Nolan made certain to include aspects that audiences would be capable of easily relating to, such as the scene wherein Leonardo DiCaprio’s character while sitting in a wooden chair is tipped backwards into a bathtub full of water. While most viewers have not personally experienced something like that scene, they can, without much effort, imagine it quite well.

The technology Cameron used in Avatar shows his personal flare for new special effects, and served to captivate and delight audiences around the world.  He was heavily influenced by history when writing the movie, making him intent upon inducing viewers to remember how the world came to be as it is.  Meanwhile, Inception utilized technology and special effects impeccably, creating a film that audiences could both become lost in and relate to.  Christopher Nolan set out to change society’s view of dreams, while simultaneously entertaining viewers, and accomplished both wondrously.