Warning: Avatar spoilers!
It appears that this idea is getting more consideration, Some see racist theme in alien adventure ‘Avatar’ – Yahoo! News. I leave it to you to make your own judgment. I am surprised by comments like this, though:
“Avatar” is being criticized by a small but vocal group of people who allege it contains racist themes — the white hero once again saving the primitive natives.
This comment itself seems wrong to me, since I don’t see anywhere where the Na’vi are “primitive”. If anything, Cameron suggests they are superior to the humans. I also don’t see him “saving” the Na’vi: indeed, at the end, his life is saved by them. There is the idea of the outsider saving the community, but that theme can be seen in many films. But more than that, the forces that rise up to defeat the human military seemed to be so much more than just the human in the mix.
Maybe I am naive, but I thought “Avatar” is richer and more complex than how it is portrayed here.
Smart People I Know 
I see the opposite of those comments. (Yes, spoilers ahead.)
Jake may possibly be a little xenophobic, or maybe just very protective of his own species because initially he doesn’t care for what happens to the Na’vi. However, the more time he spends in his avatar, within the Na’vi culture, the more he comes to appreciate how their life is different from his own species’ yet as if not more fulfilling. Their seeming lack of technology is more than compensated by their relationship with the flora, fauna and own community.
What I saw was a so-called “White Man” embracing a new culture and shedding his own skin (literally and figuratively) and stigma to become one of them. I would argue that whatever “White Man” remained in the story at that point, it was those who tried to destroy the Na’vi not save them.
And seriously, some people are that shallow not to get that? Maybe I’m taking a step back for my observation but I’m not trying hard. I guess statistically it’s impossible not to get people who don’t understand the movie.
I think it’s totally fair to say the movie follows the “going native” formula very closely. And the na’vi are referred to as primitive in the article because they have much less technology since they have found ways to interact with nature to sustain their limited population.
But ya, people always get emotional about these story archetypes. I think it’s unnecessary. I really liked Mumbo Jumbo’s treatment of the idea. There’s a big focus on a black American who joins the leagues of the white men to infiltrate them but the white men plan to convert him and become their leader. But that doesn’t work so they just paint somebody in black face. Racist, postmodern hilarity ensues. They all sail away on the Titanic or something. 😀
Great feedback!
I’d like to add that I am being fairly open and generous in my assessment of the film and Cameron’s direction for a number of reasons. 1) I believe that Cameron is primarily interested in pushing the boundaries of filmmaking generally, and while he has good stories for his films, I think to him they are secondary to what he is trying to accomplish as a filmmaker. I suspect that he saw this story as a way to make a film that advanced 3D and animation film techniques, not a way to remake “Dances with Wolves”. If anything, this seemed like a remake of “Aliens”.
2) I think that Cameron, while not remaking DWW, does borrow heavily from other films in telling his story. That does mean he drags along themes and ideas that foster this notion that the film is racist. However, I don’t know if Cameron thinks too much about it. I could argue that Aliens is a feminist film, but I can’t imagine that was his intent. I think he simply adds elements that propel the story.
As I said in an earlier post, science fiction and art in general are elusive and highly open to the viewer’s interpretation.
It’s interesting that Transformers 2 was also accused of racism. I suspect directors making SF films in the future will need to consider when they make films.
Thanks for the comments!