Trisha Hasin &

Alice Jin

Character Development:Jake Sully

There are three moments that noticeably illustrate how much Jake has changed as a character .

1. Jake’s and Quaritch’s discussion about Jake’s initiation into the Omaticaya clan

2. Jake’s attempt to stop the bulldozers3. Jake’s address to the Omaticaya people

1. Jake’s and Quaritch’s discussion about Jake’s initiation into the Omaticaya clan

Lighting:Whenever there were scenes of Jake in his human form, both in his Avatar link and when he was speaking with Quaritch, the lighting was quite dark. The low key lighting showed the inner conflict within Jake. Since he had grown to like the Omaticaya people, he did not want to go along with Quaritch’s plan and harm them. The low key lighting could also highlight the fact that Quaritch was dangerous, especially with all the Intel he received from Jake, which he felt guilty about giving.

Dialogue:Quaritch: “It’s time to come in… by the way, you’re gonna get your legs back.” Jake: “I gotta finish this. There’s one more thing. A ceremony. It’s the final stage to becoming a man.”

Quaritch offering Jake his “real legs” was the only thing that motivated Jake to go to Pandora and give Intel to Quaritch, but yet he was insistent on taking part in the final ceremony of the Omaticaya. This was because Jake actually cared for the Omaticaya people and wanted to spend more time with them. If he was able to take part in the final ceremony, that would allow him to become one of “The People” and he would feel like he belonged somewhere. Getting back his legs was the last thing on his mind.

Camera Angles:At the start of the film, Quaritch would always look down on Jake, but that changed later on halfway through the film. Instead of high angle shots, there were more eye level shots, so we saw Quaritch and Jake on the same level. This showed that they had a strong bond between them and that they were on the same side. However, when Jake started caring for the Omaticaya people, his relationship with Quaritch started to fall apart. Near the end of the film, we saw Quaritch looking up at Jake from low angle shots. This meant that Quaritch was afraid of Jake as he could stop his plan to destroy Hometree. Since Quaritch realized that Jake had changed from his side, he asserted his power by standing up.

Costume:In earlier scenes in the film, Jake wore army clothing, even when he was in his Avatar body. This showed that Jake was loyal to Quaritch and would do anything he said, like giving him all the Intel he needed. However, Jake’s view on the Omaticaya people changed. He felt he belonged to them more and was one of “The People”, that is why he started dressing like the Na’vi. Jake had completely pushed away the human outlook and had become more Na’vi. This clearly showed changes in Jack’s view of the Na’vi as the film progressed.

Before After

2. Jake’s attempt to stop the bulldozers

Camera Angles:As Jake climbed to the top of the bulldozer to smash the camera, they were face to face. That eye level shot showed that Jake and the machine were on the same level now. That was because Jake got angry with them as they were destroying the Omaticaya land. This is quite different compared to the beginning of the film. Low angle shots were taken instead to make us look up at the machines from Jakes point of view, so he looked quite weak and small compared to them.

Before After

Camera Angles:An over the shoulder high angle shot was taken when we saw Jake deliver his speech to the Omaticaya people. We usually do not see Jake as the most superior, but in that scene we do. That means he has started to become a leader. Jake was desperately trying to save the Omaticaya people from the “sky people”, so he wanted to give an important speech to save them. Since he was seen higher than the audience, the scene showed the importance of Jake’s speech and his leadership quality. As we were looking over Jake’s shoulder, we realized that he was in charge of so many people’s lives.

3. Jake’s address to the Omaticaya people

Dialogue:“This? This is OUR land!!!”

“My brothers! Sisters!”

Jake has had a complete change of heart. When he said “our land”, it showed that Jake thought of himself as being part of “The People”. It also showed that he had created a bond with the Na’vi land and since the land was so important to the Omaticaya people too, the land was a medium for Jake to connect with the Na’vi. This was different from the start of the film as he did not realize how important the land was to the Omaticaya people, but now he does. When Jake said “brothers” and “sisters”, he was creating a link with the Na’vi and thought of them as his family.