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#1
09-07-2010, 05:35 PM
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AVATAR is like a drug...
Last weekend I was walking in a forest, when all the sudden Leona Lewis started singing the "I See you" theme inside my head. Well of course I got chills going down my spine, which wasn't the unusual thing as it happens quite often.. but this time, something else happened too.
It was the same feeling I had after the first and the second viewing of Avatar. Only a few seconds, but I was truly high there. That short moment, I was captured into Pandora again.  Have you seen this thread? Waiting for PAD to kick in Or remember one called "The Magic is gone? These remind me of.. what I have heard about drug addicts. Every time a person uses the drug, he's looking for the experience he had the first time... PAD I think (as the most horrible depression I have ever had) is also comparable to the depression of drug addicts after "the magic is gone". (By PAD, I mean the absolutely horrible depression no one wants, there's also the other feeling of enlightenment or something, which I wouldn't call a depression as it's awesome.) What do you think ? Of course I'm not talking about anything else than the initial highs and obsession, there are many _bad_ things in drugs that do not apply to Avatar in any way.  Unlike drugs.. I think Avatar and the chaos of feelings it brings makes a person better, not worse 
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#2
09-07-2010, 10:30 PM
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Great viewpoint on the subject. But remember that PAD isn't all good for the person. No offense to him, but look at HNM.
The 'chaos of feelings' might... stay inside the person. Then we've got a problem, see.
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#3
09-07-2010, 10:38 PM
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Sounds like a nice experience. I find I get some of those when I'm running. But they're in the class of "If you love it set it free" things; trying to hold on to them makes them more elusive.
Good analogy with the drug experience and nicely qualified, too. There are lots of ways of changing consciousness, drugs are just the most widely known and widely applicable. Most other ways of doing it require some effort from the subject, which makes them less popular. But, heck, look at advertising. That produces a consciousness change. If it didn't, they wouldn't spend billions on it. Doesn't change everyone, but changes enough people, and not a few of the ones who think they're immune, either. On a more positive note... lots of ways of producing change for the good. Meditation is proven to lower blood pressure and have numerous other health benefits, for example.
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#4
09-09-2010, 02:49 PM
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I think it is a valid comparison.
There's a lot to consider, but I definitely agree, Avatar can be used as a powerful, positive high. But of course it can be abused or mistreated. I think it all depends on how you use it, how often you use it, and most importantly, why you use it. These two quotes, in my opinion, represent two opposite sides of the spectrum. Both of which I have been to. Quote:
Quote:
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Stay thirsty my friends... C V M N
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#6
09-08-2010, 01:05 AM
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I'm a little worried about how true this analogy might be, especially with regard to addiction. Though ultimately I think Avatar can be a much more positive trip than pretty much any kind of drug.
Maybe like alcohol, Avatar is something that can be abused... (?) Just pondering out loud here.
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#7
09-08-2010, 01:11 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
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#8
09-08-2010, 10:39 AM
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hmm, not really... There's no physical need - that is what addiction is.
Personally, it hasn't been looking for the first time again for me... It has been more just looking for ANYTHING since it's the only thing that gives me that feeling... I don't rate 'this one was better than that time' - I just enjoy it.
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#9
09-09-2010, 02:01 PM
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Another interesting way to look at the effects of Avatar is comparing to religious things.
Not all religious people believe in that stuff just because their parents used to beat the **** out of them when their young minds were full of questions. Many people turn to religious. I used to not understand it at all. How could people ever just turn into a something that made no sense at all. Well, big religions still make no sense to me, but I can understand such people much better now. I think a list is not needed here, Avatar changed me in many ways. Because I was surprised myself how something can affect me that deeply, I can now accept the fact that other things may do that too.
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#10
09-10-2010, 03:41 AM
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Addictiveness is a continuum. At one end is the classic behavior of the heroin addict shooting up in a flophouse, oblivious to the world. No dispute about terminology there.
The hallmarks of addictive behavior can, however, be found in varying and lesser degrees in all kinds of things. Any time that someone experiences a frequent desire that overrides their better judgement, that could be called an addiction to the object of the desire. Alcohol, food, coffee, chocolate... sex, anger, codependency... news media, negativity, depression... the list is endless. At some point you need to decide whether you've diluted the meaning of the term too much to make it worth calling something an addiction. You wouldn't want, for instance, funding for drug addiction centers to be shared with people who were hooked on internet posting. However, I've found there to be more value for people in reconsidering certain behaviors as addictive than not. The solution is still some variation of reestablishing self-esteem and taking control of their lives, taking back the power that they gave up to the object of their desire.
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#11
09-10-2010, 09:35 AM
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Addiction is negative. If it doesn't have negative consequences, it is not the same. That is why things like hard drugs ARE addictions, most things like chocolate or caffeine are not actual 'addictions' for most people, most like something they desire but which is actually sustainable (alcohol and tobacco can end up somewhere between the two depending on the scale)
Avatar falls into the latter group. It's not an 'addiction', it's not something negative. It's a deep love, a desire for something more in life, and that is a good thing.
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#13
09-10-2010, 12:35 PM
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Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It's happened to me recently also!
__________________
 Live free. Live high. Photography is truth. The cinema is truth 24 times per second. - Jean-Luc Godard Click here for my Neytiri sketch
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#14
09-13-2010, 12:25 PM
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I certainly agree that Avatar can be like a drug to some. I think it's all about changing the mind-set of an individual which can create positive feelings. These feeling deep down are from chemical reactions inside the brain such as dopamine and seretonin. Any activity that causes a surge in these chemical transmitters can also become an addictive behaviour. It doesn't have to be physically addictive like certain drugs, but more of a psychological addiction. If you enjoy something, you will want to do it more.
__________________
 Eventually after centuries of war they gave up fighting and assimilated the enemy and found the enemy was themselves. We are all seeds of the great tree, whose strength is in our legs, like the mighty trunks. In our arms, as sheltering branches. In our eyes, the blue-flower, which unfolds to the sun. We are all seeds of the great tree, whose song is within us.
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