Avatar has made more dollars in the last month than there are people in China, but not all of its fans left the theater feeling happy. Psychology Today reports that some experienced depression and even suicidal thoughts after seeing Avatar. Here’s an example of the post-movie melancholia an Avatar fan felt:

“Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in ‘Avatar.’

No, it’s not because Avatar has a silly script or condescendingly simplifies the complex historical narratives of native peoples. The reason is that some Avatar fans can’t handle being thrust back into the bleak reality of early 21st century Earth, a dying planet whose quickly decaying beauty can’t match the shimmering, bioluminescent landscapes of Pandora (the planet where Avatar is set). Finding the IMdB discussions full of “trolls and 12 year old deconstructors”  (according to one Avatar enthusiast) the blockbuster film’s fans have created their own online forum communities, one of which includes a thread entitled ‘Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible’ And an antidote is indeed desperately needed.

Another forum member offered a rather comprehensive solution:

“Start living like Neytiri: in touch with nature, the environment, and not being greedy and wasteful. Pass on the burger, for something more healthy for you and less cruel to animals. Spend your time on this forum, or volunteering in your free time, instead of getting high or drinking, twiddling your thumbs, being apathetic and complaining about how bad the world is. Don’t get swept away by the wave of negativity, live your dream. Your life has only two switches, to shine or not to shine. There is no ‘apathy’ setting. If you’re on apathy setting you might as well sign your world away to destruction. When you get discouraged by everyone around you, be courageous like Jake, and jump on the leonopteryx. Be the change you want to see in your world. There are only so many people on this earth, the more of them that are doing positive things, the less of them that are out there doing negative things. It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where, just by pulling a trigger or making a corporate decision, one single greedy human being can wipe out the hard works of love of many people. But this is why we need to stop focusing on money and start focusing on our environment. Because we have the intelligence to kill ourselves, but not the wisdom to stop it. What will our money buy, when everything that is worth having is destroyed? The only way you can fill the emptiness you feel after this movie, is to jump on the leonopteryx.”

Speaking as someone who has seen this movie (in Copenhagen, actually, so the Danish subtitles sort of distorted some of the experience, since parts of the dialogue are in Na’vi, the lilting language of idyllic Pandora’s noble natives) I can tell you that it’s not worth getting this worked up about, just in case that wasn’t clear. It’s a great looking movie but it’s certainly not a great movie. Indeed, Jake Sully, the Na’vi’s human advocate (dressed up as an alien for diplomatic purposes (don’t worry, it’s  a long story)) fulfills the tired troupe of White Savior, like some sort of interstellar Lawrence of Arabia or Kevin Costner’s character in the eponymous Dances with Wolves. Don’t take my word for it though, this is Ezili Danto’s interpretation. Personally, I can’t find a reason to disagree with her. So maybe one way to beat those “Avatar blues” is to remember that, at the end of the day, two important facts a) the millions of dollars James Cameron spent making Avatar (and the subsequent cost of pricey tickets for 3-D showings) all could’ve gone to, I don’t know, cleaning up The Chesapeake Bay or subsidizing wind farm construction. At least something less vain, frivolous, and decadent  than a major motion picture.  And, of course, b) it’s just a movie. A great antidote to movies are books. I suggest Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece Blood Meridian, a novel depicting panoramas surpassing Pandora’s in primordial beauty.

Apparently, we no longer need musical instruments to make music. In fact, scientists can now create music using nothing but human brain waves. It is done using brain wave reading from EEGs and using extremely  complicated (I can only imagine) math to create pitches and rhythms for the brain waves. Does this mean we can all be musicians now? Not quite, but according to some, if the technology is improved, it could be used to detect brain irregularities, such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, etc. 

Follow the first link to hear some samples of tracks researchers have created, which sound like…kind of normal sounding music. Not very danceable, but music nonetheless. It will be interesting to see what develops with this unexpectedly cool technology.

Artist David Greenberger, creator of the ledendary ‘zine The Duplex Planet, has been on a 30-year mission to transform our preconceptions about aging.  His methods are grounded in love and respect coupled with a joy about how people face the world.  Over the years his work has grown to reach larger audiences through books, documentaries, CDs and radio programs.

Lately Greenberger has been in Milwaukee as artist-in-residence at the Center on Age & Community and collecting conversations with elderly people suffering varying degrees of memory loss.  In collaboration with with musician Paul Cebar, Greenberger developed an evening of songs called Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time, which will debut at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, May 13, 2009.

If you can’t make the show be sure to listen to selections here!

The Center on Age & Community is directed by Anne Basting whose artist-in-residence program is intended “to transform the tragic narrative” associated with aging and memory loss.  Her approach indicates that the arts are the most effective, and perhaps the only, means toward such transformation.  The Center has a great deal of information available here, as well as a documentary film called Almost Home, by Brad Lichtenstein.  Anne’s latest book Forget Memory will be out soon from Johns Hopkins University Press. In the meantime, read her blog.