After having a few days to really let my Avatar IMAX 3D really sink in, I've been thinking a lot about some of the characters and themes that the film portrays and discusses. On the whole, Avatar is really nothing new in a storytelling sense. Before the credits even began to roll, I found myself thinking of heavy parallels with both Dances with Wolves and John Boorman's The Emerald Forest. In terms of filmmaking and the technical aspects, I think more than enough has already been said that can be said.

One of the most interesting things to me about the film though remains the character Colonel Quaritch, which was portrayed superbly by Stephen Lang. For those of you that are American Civil War and/or film buffs, you'll remember that the height of Lang's film career thus far was easily his stunning portrayal of Confederate LTG Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson in Ronald F. Maxwell's flawed Gods and Generals. Although Gods and Generals was a huge dissapointment to me in several ways (not to mention a commercial dud), Lang brings the same intensity and believability to his character in Avatar.

In Avatar, Colonel Quaritch is clearly one of the film's central (and most important) antagonists. It is his character that leads the mercenary contingent protecting human economic interests on the moon of Pandora. He is a career soldier, ruthless and driven in his quest to protect human interests at the expense of all others. By the end of the film, Quaritch is killed by Neytiri and Jake Sully, and his character is ultimately seen to represent all that is shameful and wrong with the human race.

But I see Quaritch as something much different. Quite the contrary to the general belief of him as a ruthless soldier hell-bent on the destruction of the Na'vi, I instead see him as the real hero of the film. It is Colonel Quaritch that truly understands the importance of the concept of natural selection on a universal scale, and the necessity of human expansion for the sake of continued existence. Did he enjoy destroying 'Home Tree' and killing scores of Na'vi? Probably yes, but only out of a sense of absolute dedication to the cause of humanity and the continued survival of the human race.

I justify my thinking because of a strong belief I have grown to have in the importance of what I see as several key factors in the survival of the human race: Procreation, education, communication, creativity, protection and expansion. To me, the most sacred and important thing any human being can do is to procreate and raise educated, well-adjusted children that positively contribute to the further survival and expansion of the human race. The second most important thing that any human being can contribute is anything that directly or indirectly leads to more favorable chances of the ultimate survival of the human race.

Avatar does not make clear the question of if Colonel Quaritch has any children. On this point, I would assume that he has none and so by this measure alone his existence can best be described as a failure. But on the second point (contributing to the ultimate survival of the race), Quaritch is without question absolutely dedicated to and actively involved in human efforts contributing directly to the survival and expansion of our race. Yes, his methods are certainly cruel and mechanical. But to him, what is at stake is nothing less than the continued survival of humanity. And while the Na'vi/Pandora represent a significant ecological and cultural treasure, they must unfortunately be subjected to the laws of nature without any regard for emotional attachment. Is it a pretty position to take? Certainly not. But what is at stake is nothing less than our very existence in the universe!

If the Na'vi (or the entire moon of Pandora) must be consumed or destroyed so that humanity may survive, then so be it. And it is in this sense that Quaritch becomes the true hero of the film. With his death, Quaritch becomes a martyr for the just cause of humanity. An unfairly simplified and maligned character that in truth was probably the only human character in the film that understood that to survive (as a race) in a violent and unpredictable universe, humanity must constantly grow and ruthlessly expand if we are to have any chance at all at existing a thousand or more years from now. And while some say we would certainly lose our very humanity in the process, I would argue that human evolution and technological advances will hopefully compensate somewhat for what certainly is a grim, hard path towards the goal of ultimate survival.