Na'vi sociology

[Clarke]

(Split off because we rather drifted off the topic of AI from here)

Originally Posted by dstroudswan

I see your point, but the Na'vi rely very heavily on equality and community. Though I suppose that could be skewed in certain situations. Then again, Neytiri didn't seem much more well-off than any other, and she was the leader's daughter.

We don't really see that much of the Na'vi freely interacting among themselves. Either the focus is on Jake for whatever reason, or the event is ritualistic, i.e. the hunt, what little we see of the funeral, and talking to Eywa. The film doesn't really show us how the clan is structured to any great degree. Also, a dictatorship-like structure of a single leading couple seems to clash with the socialism elsewhere.

(This is apart from the fact that the socialism itself seems to be unexplained. Evolution dictates that individuals should be greedy, and only co-operate to the extent it benefits their group. The obvious explanation is that Eywa is modifying them somehow, but that raises the very big scary question IMO of "Why?" Also, to a lesser extent, "How?")