Sincerely, Saskia

There is nothing more disappointing than when an actor from a beloved franchise turns their back on the films or the character they once played. One infamous example is Robert Pattinson’s pure disdain for the Twilight Saga – and mainly his character, Edward Cullen.

There are interviews and interviews of him rolling his eyes to the heavens about Edward’s creepiness and the whole premise of the novels, but at least in Pattinson’s case, he kind of has a point. Although, I will firmly remain in the crazy town that is team Edward, thank you very much.

One person who I will staunchly say does not have a point in the criticism for their character, and who it seems has completely missed the point with their grievance for the role they’ve co-opted, is Zoe Salañda.

Salañda plays Neytiri in the Avatar franchise, so far comprising of Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and most recently, Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Now, Avatar’s cultural impact – or lack thereof – has been thrown into question many times. Why has this multimillion-dollar franchise not left a mark on society in the same way Marvel, Harry Potter and other hugely, financially backed franchises have? That’s not a question I have the answer to, but I will say after seeing Fire and Ash, and completely bypassing The Way of Water until after I’d seen the former, I couldn’t care less whether the films return for a fourth and fifth instalment as director James Cameron intends to do.

Avatar lacks a certain… excitement? Authenticity? Yes, it is visually stunning, but I would argue that there’s not enough distance from the history Avatar imitates for it to be enjoyed without coming away thinking of the horrors of colonisation that still take place today. Avatar is not alone in this camp but there is an inherent lack of real-world accountability, and Avatar as a film does not provide any resolution for the fictional world’s problems, except for the tired ‘white saviour’ troupe.  

And now another thorn in the side of the franchise is Salañda, who in a recent interview branded Neytiri, the franchises most complex character — a native of Pandora who had her home colonised by the ‘Sky People’ and eventually forced to leave it altogether — as a ‘racist’.

Yes, seriously.

Now, for Salañda, a half Black, half Puerto Rican woman to say this about her character who has lost everything – her son included – at the hands of the colonisers is a gross oversimplification that frankly has everyone baffled.

I hate to say it, but this is the kind of thing you would expect to slip out of the mouth of a white cast member, completely misunderstanding her plight because they have never experienced anything like it. Boiling down years of oppression, resulting in her disgust and disdain for the ‘sky people,’ to racism and then issuing an apology on Instagram the next day after social media tore them a new one. But coming from Salañda herself, it leaves a nasty taste in a lot of people’s mouths – mine included – that has irreparably marred my perception.

Salañda has previously had allegations of being colourist and anti-Black made towards her, and with this latest statement, she is not beating those allegations any time soon. Playing the heroin, you would expect a level of empathy or understanding towards the character – especially when that franchise reflects real world history and some societies presently. Instead, we get statements like: “Let’s face it, Neytiri is a racist, and she loses sight because of this blind fury she has,” erm, what? Has she been watching the same films we have?

In the interview, Salañda nattered on about Neytiri having lost sight of everything and not remembering the person she loves and respects the most is a ‘sky person’. The only sky people Neytiri knows are the ones who came to colonise her planet and steal their resources — not caring who they kill in the process.

Yes, she fell in love with a ‘sky person,’ but Jake Sully’s intentions were not pure in the beginning either. No one boards a ship to infiltrate another planet without disrupting or displacing something while they are there. Knowing that, Jake should really be validating her feelings and sympathising with her distrust and disdain instead of hushing her up for the sake of his own sensibility.

Even if there was any truth in Salañda’s statement and Neytiri was a racist, who the f*ck cares. You cannot destroy an indigenous person’s home and expect them to not feel hatred when all the infiltrators look the same. For non-white people, racism does not hold the same weight. Anyone can hold racial prejudices but if I do it as a Black woman, someone with no power to systematise their biases, a white person’s life will remain unchanged. Power and racism go hand in hand, upholding a system that continues to work against us and incite racial tension is not the same as a person holding ill will because you invaded their home and we cannot pretend it is — argue with yourselves.

Salañda, coming from two minorities and living in Western society as it is reflected today, should not only be ashamed of what she said but she should reevaluate where that thinking has come from.

Just like in life, where as Black women we are encouraged to downplay racist or offensive actions made towards us, discouraged from standing against racism aloud and advised to stop pointing out racial injustices because it is ‘ruining all my favourite shows’, this blatant disregard for Neytiri’s plight is offensive.

You can say it is ‘just a film’ all you want, but everything is political and not all of us are privileged enough to turn a blind eye to it — especially, when that call is coming from inside the house.

Image Credit: Lightstorm Entertainment