Untangling the world's love-hate relationship with America

Is there a divine reason the word "Avatar" emerged at the forefront of popular culture? Discover the original Avatars and learn how their ancient wisdom can change the way you view the world. Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar speaks to anyone concerned with the sustainability of Mother Earth, the role of elders in our society, the seemingly unconsciousness of science and corporations, and the subtleties of unseen realities, resulting in spiritual growth, a deeper relationship with nature, and a better world for all. An avatar is a manifestation of the Supreme Being—usually in human form—that descends from the transcendental realm to Earth to heal the planet and restore peace and harmony by eliminating the harmful souls that prey on Mother Earth. In Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar, Vedic expert and teacher Jeffrey Armstrong explains the ancient Indian wisdoms embodied in the word “avatar,” and that behind the notion of avatar is a view that sees the sacredness of all life and the soul of all beings as eternal—meant for freedom and made of divine essence.

"Tracing a dynamic genealogy of performance from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first, McMillian contends that black women artists practiced a purposeful self-objectification, transforming themselves into art objects. In doing so, these artists raised new ways to ponder the intersections of art, performance, and black female embodiment."--Back cover.

Avatar and Nature Spirituality explores the cultural and religious significance of James Cameron’s film Avatar (2010), one of the most commercially successful motion pictures of all time. Its success was due in no small measure to the beauty of the Pandora landscape and the dramatic, heart-wrenching plight of its nature-venerating inhabitants. To some audience members, the film was inspirational, leading them to express affinity with the film’s message of ecological interdependence and animistic spirituality. Some were moved to support the efforts of indigenous peoples, who were metaphorically and sympathetically depicted in the film, to protect their cultures and environments. To others, the film was politically, ethically, or spiritually dangerous. Indeed, the global reception to the film was intense, contested, and often confusing. To illuminate the film and its reception, this book draws on an interdisciplinary team of scholars, experts in indigenous traditions, religious studies, anthropology, literature and film, and post-colonial studies. Readers will learn about the cultural and religious trends that gave rise to the film and the reasons these trends are feared, resisted, and criticized, enabling them to wrestle with their own views, not only about the film but about the controversy surrounding it. Like the film itself, Avatar and Nature Spirituality provides an opportunity for considering afresh the ongoing struggle to determine how we should live on our home planet, and what sorts of political, economic, and spiritual values and practices would best guide us.

James Cameron's blockbuster film is expanded upon by award-winning author Sherri L. Smith (novels Lucy the Giant, Flygirl, and The Toymaker's Apprentice) and artist Jan Duursema (Star Wars graphic novel series The Clone Wars, Legacy, and Dawn of the Jedi), with new scenes and new, revealing information about the mysteries of Eywa! From his first fateful encounter with Jake Sully to his acceptance of Jake as Toruk Makto; the Last Shadow, Tsu'tey's life takes a path he could never had anticipated, and which the film told only a part... Collects issues 1-6 of Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path, plus the short story "Brothers" from Free Comic Book Day 2017.

The decade from 2000 to 2009 is framed, at one end, by the traumatic catastrophe of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and, at the other, by the election of the first African American president of the United States. In between, the United States and the world witnessed the rapid expansion of new media and the Internet, such natural disasters as Hurricane Katrina, political uprisings around the world, and a massive meltdown of world economies. Amid these crises and revolutions, American films responded in multiple ways, sometimes directly reflecting these turbulent times, and sometimes indirectly couching history in traditional genres and stories. In American Cinema of the 2000s, essays from ten top film scholars examine such popular series as the groundbreaking Matrix films and the gripping adventures of former CIA covert operative Jason Bourne; new, offbeat films like Juno; and the resurgence of documentaries like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Each essay demonstrates the complex ways in which American culture and American cinema are bound together in subtle and challenging ways.