Dreaming of Reality

After the three readings: Freud's Dream Theory, The Pathos of the Unconscious: Charlie Chaplin and Dreams, and Psychoanalysis of Dreams by Walden and Poch; it is apparent that a characters true self can be revealed through dreams. All three authors talk in a way connecting Freud's dream theories and the literature he had been acquainted with. In Freud's Dream Theory, by Appignanesi, it is stated that "all dreams represent the fulfillment of wishes", which plays a huge role in how dreams are a kind of hidden way for directors and producers to build characters and show who the characters really are.  

For lucid dreamers, there's no denying that James Cameron's Avatar, has a quality that reminds us so vividly of a fantastical lucid dream environment. Avatar showcases an imagination-rich fantasy environment, filled with alien life forms, epic landscapes and awe-inspiring robotic armies. The movie features awe-inspiring natural environments, advanced alien life forms, floating islands and robotic armies. It also reveals a spiritual nature which tells us that, on the planet Pandora at least, all life is connected and shares a special kind of energy. 

The writer and director, James Cameron noted that the flying scenes in Avatar were actually inspired by some of his own lucid dreams. Most people dream of things they want to do from birth: like becoming a veterinarian, or an astronaut, or a teacher, or having super-speed. Cameron talks about how he had always dreamed of flying, like many of us have. This sparked the ideas that he wanted to create a dreaming imagery where you are almost lucid dreaming while watching the film.

The story revolves around a crippled ex soldier, Jake Sully, who goes to sleep, at which point his mind is "teleported" out of his body where he wakes up into an elaborate fantasy world with a blue, 12 foot alien body. In this form, Sully, his avatar name, explores extraterrestrial rainforests, fights savage alien beasts, flies on the backs of dragons and battles 20-foot robot walkers in the process of saving a civilization from a tyrannical invader. The central theme of altered states of consciousness and mind separating from body adheres to the notion of our minds wandering while our bodies lay asleep.

In the movie, Jake Sully is an ex soldier who has somehow lost the ability of movement in his lower limbs, earlier in his career, therefore he is unable to walk and has to use a wheelchair. His brother was a huge asset in this study but had previously died so they asked Jake to do it, the closest thing to his brother. The first time Jake was put into his avatar body, he went crazy. Not a bad crazy, but crazy as in he was able to walk and run and feel his limbs in his "new body." 

Throughout the movie Jake (Sully to the avatars) has the ability to run, to find love, and to live in a community that accepted him. To him, this was more a life than his life in human form. He was first set out to study the ways of life of the avatars so they could take over their "home tree," where they lived. But towards the end of the movie, Jake finds himself in his dreams more and more, never wanting to come back to reality. Jake connects to what Appignanesi says about dreams representing the fufilment of wishes because of his new body and his new abilities to do everything he wishes for, showing his true character.