The Dongria Kondh is a peaceful tribe living in the eastern state of Orissa, India. They live in the forest, they worship nature, and their sacred mountain is being threatened by Vedanta Resources, a British firm that wants to mine the mountain for its rich stores of aluminum.
This scenario sound familiar? It should. Anyone who’s been to the movies lately could tell you the plot is eerily reminiscent of James Cameron’s epically popular film “Avatar,” in which a peaceful, forest dwelling tribe of natives have to protect their homeland from corporate hounds who want to mine its resources.
The similarities between the movie and the plight of the Dongria were not lost on Survival International, a London-based advocacy group fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples. The group ran an advertisement in a February edition of Variety magazine urging James Cameron and the makers of “Avatar” to support their cause.
“‘Avatar’ is fantasy … and real,” the ad said. “The Dongria Kondh tribe in India are struggling to defend their land against a mining company hell-bent on destroying their sacred mountain. Please help the Dongria.”
The Irish writer Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Lately, it seems as if more and more movies are disconnecting from the fantasy realm of our television and movie screens and becoming real.
“Star Wars:” Former President Ronald Reagan proposed Star Wars — a plan to use lasers in space to destroy incoming missiles — thirty years ago, no doubt taking inspiration from this movie produced in the 70s about a galaxy far, far away. In a classic example of science fiction becoming science reality, the United States Missile Defense Agency announced Thursday the first successful test of a plane designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles with a high-powered laser beam.
“Total Recall:” Granted, this Schwarzenegger film about memory implantation and mutants living on Mars has nothing to do with reality. But Toyota Motor Corp. probably knows something of the title. Faulty brake systems led Toyota to recall over 400,000 Priuses, and the company announced Saturday that potential drive shaft defects have led them to recall 8,000 Tacoma trucks in North America.
“The Day After Tomorrow:” In this one, apocalyptic weather brought about by rampant global warming wipes out most of North America. While it is still standing, the east coast has been shown its own glimpse of the day after tomorrow with record-breaking snowstorms blanketing cities in frost.
The recent blizzards smashed snowfall records in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, closing schools, businesses and airports and covering roads in dangerous ice resulting in 50-car pileups. The federal government itself was closed for four straight days due to snow, slowing progress in Washington to a standstill while more than 250,000 federal workers sat at home.
Smart guy, that Oscar Wilde.
Zach is preparing for the day when 2012 comes true. E-mail your plans for the apocalypse to zfowle@asu.edu
