AVATAR

Today is opening day for James Cameron's much-hyped science fiction movie, Avatar. The project is said to set new technical standards for filmmaking, and with a budget of $400 million, it probably should.

The plot of the movie, judging from pre-release material on television, is much less avant-garde. Humans seem to be engaged in the military conquest of a people living on an extrasolar planet. Not only is that theme unfortunate, it's arguably unlikely. Projecting military power is hugely expensive. Projecting it into another star system would seem both a colossal waste of resources and a bizarre policy choice. Another problem with the movie might be its choice of alien. They might be ten feet tall, blue, and tough to kill, but they are definitely humanoid. Yes, the Screen Actors Guild only has humanoid types, but shouldn't that much money and that much technology get truly alien aliens?

Hopefully, by the time humans are capable of interstellar travel, we will also have left the notion of military conquest as a good thing far, far behind.