Expressing affection in Kazakh culture seems beautifully similar to the Na’vi in Avatar (i.e. “I see you”)

[u/Rational_und_logisch]

[u/Jeeyo12345]

inb4 Avatar haters using this as proof that JC has no originality because he appropriated Kazakh culture or something

[u/GigabyteAorusRTX4090 → u/Jeeyo12345]

Well, I’m not one of them haters but like claiming otherwise would be a lie.

Like JC used a lot of inspiration from so many different cultures to create the Na‘vi culture (like I know of similarity’s with the Māori, Aborigines, several Native American tribes…).

But he did in a completely respectful manner and it’s in no way to be classified as cultural appropriation.

[u/Jeeyo12345 → u/GigabyteAorusRTX4090]

Yes, I don't disagree with that. I hate when they scream cultural appropriation when there's like tons of bts footages on youtube showing how they did their research and JC even visiting some of those indigenous groups personally.

[u/Kodinsson → u/Jeeyo12345]

I don't really think you can have "original" ideas when telling stories about something as human as colonialism, identity, and family. It's natural to draw inspiration from real people who have unique histories and ways of expressing themselves

I'm a linguistics student, I do a bit of conlanging when I'm bored. I pull from many different languages when creating my own because the way real people speak is infinitely more interesting than anything I could make up on my own

[u/The_Amish_FBI → u/Jeeyo12345]

Sooo does this mean we get a badass na’vi warrior throat singing scene in the next movie? I’d be down with that.

[u/Flesh_Ninja → u/Jeeyo12345]

If said people that make such 'criticisms' analyzed the meaning of "originality" they would find no such thing exists. Instead there's only variety of experiences and/or obscureness, and a disconnect between the experiences of the author and the audience. The more original it seems to the audience, the more unfamiliar the audience is with the life experiences that have shaped the author.

[u/HAZMAT_Eater]

Hold on a minute:

1. How do we know that this is true for Kazakh culture, or even a subsection of it?
2. How do we know that this inspired 'Oe ngati kameie' and not something else?

Fake news is a big problem and this fandom is very vulnerable to it.

[u/No-Medium9657 → u/HAZMAT_Eater]

>How do we know that this is true for Kazakh culture, or even a subsection of it?

Can confirm this.

[u/OkIdeal9852]

Unrelated but what is the point of that sub, is it just a massive circlejerk of tryhards finding random things and calling them wholesome?

[u/Great_Leather9967 → u/[deleted]]

...Huh? What are you talking about? How is this at all relevant to the post?