Avatar Plot Summary:
So there's more to the story than I'm going to explain. I'm only going to explain the part that pertains to this note, so as to keep it as short and simple as possible. The humans in the movie find this completely new world full of this different species that are very much like humans. They have blue skin, they're very lean, and they're way taller than humans. They are brilliant like humans, and they have their own religion and lifestyle. But they are like animals, in that they have very natural survival instincts. They hunt for their food, they are very strong and street-smart, they eat what is available in the environment, they house themselves in the environment, and they utilize the animals and environmental resources around them to their benefit. One could compare them to Native Americans. The humans in the movie decide go on a military mission to the planet Pandora, which is 4.3 lightyears from earth. So, in order to transport themselves there, they use a science lab, where they can create avatars on the planet, and then the humans that decide to take on the mission can sleep in an incubator-looking machine and transport themselves into the bodies of the avatars. I know, it sounds crazy, and that type thing isn't physically possible, at least not with the technology we have right now. But the point is the avatars. Pay close attention to that. The main character in the movie is a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully. In the beginning of the movie, what he's most excited about is being transported into a new body that is fully able to walk. Pay attention to that point too.
Surrogate Plot Summary:
The government creates a bunch of robot surrogate bodies, and people buy them and keep their real bodies in incubator-like machines, while they walze around in their surrogate bodies. This is done to keep their real bodies from getting hurt, crippled, blinded, killed, etc. Also, it's a way for them to create new bodies if they don't like their real bodies. If their real bodies are fat, ugly, crippled, etc., then they can run around in a new body of their choosing. This is done in the same way it is done in "Avatar": by transmitting brain waves from one's real body through the incubator-like machine into the surrogate body. That way, the person is essentially living his/her life in the real world, just in a different body. It's like a brain transplant, but it's not permanent.
Brain transplants might be the solution to what I'm about to suggest, but assuming that won't work, because I really don't see how it would, we'll just go ahead and discuss the cooler option. Surrogate bodies. What if we created surrogate bodies and did with them what they do in Avatar and Surrogates? I know it sounds crazy and impossible, but there may be some kind of technology we have than can pull off something to this effect. I know it doesn't seem like we could do it on another planet, like what happens in "Avatar," at least not with the technology we have right now. But maybe we could do it here on earth, like in "Surrogates." And even if we couldn't somehow send ourselves to another body altogether, maybe it seems more possible to create an alternate reality. You know, like those virtual reality rides. We could live our lives in a virtual reality, in a virtual body. It would have same effect, I would think.
And this could potentially be a great idea. Think about it. If we don't like our bodies or faces, we can just create a body with the attributes we choose for ourselves. This is kind of ridiculous, if you ask me, at least for most of us. But what if you screwed up in life? What if you got to the point where you weigh like 1,000 pounds, and it just seems out of the realm of possibility to turn your life around? What if you were so ugly and distorted, from birth or a fire or whatever, that people stare at you every time they see you? What if you are a little person, only 2 feet tall, and have trouble living a normal life? What if you are 90 years old and can barely walk or see or hear? What if you are blind/deaf or can't talk? What if you are crippled, like the main character in "Avatar?" What if you have extreme problems that modern technology and medicine can't fix? What if you have some kind of disease all over your skin or inside your body that keeps you from being able to live your life normally? Guess what, you can create a surrogate body that is attractive and has no trouble moving around. It makes you appear normal - beautiful, the correct size, the correct shape, without flaws, without disease. It has no trouble walking or seeing or hearing. Now you can live your life to the fullest. You can now live a normal life, which you could never have lived in the body you were born in that failed you. This would solve so many problems for so many people.
Here's another idea. Using a surrogate body would keep your body away from harm. If you're surrogate body was destroyed, you would still have your real body, and you could create another surrogate body if you wanted. Assuming your body stays safe inside your incubator-type machine, you are indestructible. You don't have to worry about getting scraped up or breaking your bones. You don't have to worry as much about being murdered or attacked. And think about it. If people realize they're only going to destroy or harm a surrogate, rather than kill or harm the person, they probably will be less inclined to do anything. Crime would probably decrease. The only thing you'd have to worry about would be keeping your real body safe, especially when you're not in it. But there are all kinds of ways to lock things up.
Now think about it this way. This could be great for the military. They could put tons of people in surrogate bodies and send them off to war. (This is assuming we're not using the virtual reality idea, but actually somehow sending ourselves to another body. Then again, maybe something like this would, somehow be possible in a virtual reality...I'm not sure how that would work.) Anyway, if we were to do this, more people would be willing to fight, because they wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt or dying. And then we would have a huge army of surrogates, and we'd be indestructible. It would only get ridiculous if every country took on surrogates. Assuming only the United States uses them, we're indestructible.
There are only three issues I can imagine happening with the surrogate bodies. First, with indestructibility comes power. If we believe we're all-powerful, things could get messy. No one would mess with us. We could potentially become supreme ruler over all countries, and we know communism is not the answer. We don't want to control the world. And it wouldn't be fair to send tons of indestructible bodies to another country to fight a NORMAL number of NORMAL people. That just wouldn't be a fair shot, but if fair is not what you're looking for, then I guess that argument's out. But seriously, take it from any movie ever made that entails one supreme ruler over everything. Take it from any movie that has an entity that is so strong and powerful that no one compares. It never ends well. It's great in theory, but maybe it's not such a good idea in reality.
My second problem with the idea of surrogates is that, while yes, people would probably be reluctant to try to murder someone while he/she is in his/her surrogate body, since he/she is not going to die anyway, crime may still be an issue - just in a different way. Surrogates would be property of other people, so if someone got mad at someone else, he/she could just destroy or harm the surrogate body of the other person. Or maybe the surrogate bodies would become so precious that people might try stealing surrogate bodies. So then you have the problem of property theft. The good thing about the surrogate bodies, though, at least in my theory, is that you can get away from any bad situation you're in by switching over to your real body at any moment. You could even never go back to your surrogate body and just create a new one or stay in your real body. So if someone tried to kidnap your surrogate body, you could just go back to your real body right away. At least, that's how it works in my theory.
The last problem I have with the surrogate body idea is this: What if everyone died at the age of 130, because they kept their real bodies safe and healthy their whole lives? This means everyone would live long, and we'd have a high birthrate and low deathrate. That means the human population would go out the roof. And we all know why having a high population of people on earth is a bad thing. If you don't think so, just read my note "Dodger Logic #17: Seven Billion and Counting." It poses a very compelling argument as to why a large, uncontrollably growing population is a very bad thing.
So should we do this? Should we try to come up with a way to create surrogate bodies for ourselves? Is it morally right? Could it be considered defying God if we did it? Could it be just the kind of growing technology that I always say we should stray away from, because it is rotting our minds? There are definitely risks, but are the risks considerably less than the benefits? Let me know. Give me some feedback on your opinion. And, of course, we are all to assume this would work if we gave it a shot. Who knows what we could do? We've created machines that can fly in the air. Why couldn't we come up with something to the effect of surrogate bodies?
Ok, as my final word for this note, I'd like to talk about one common belief as to what the writers of Avatar were alluding to when they created the movie. Someone wrote an article awhile back on how the writers of Avatar were being racist, because the whole movie was about a civilization of colored people (since they were blue) who had to be rescued by white people. Ok, to me this was obviously a ridiculous assumption, and it wasn't the intended message. The story is about the blue people civilization called the Na'vi that are attacked by humans, because the humans want the precious material that lies beneath the ground on the Na'vi's planet. This material can't be found on earth, and it's worth a lot of money. Well, guess what this sounds like to me? In my plot summary of Avatar, I compared the Na'vi to Native Americans. Well, doesn't this sound like the story of Christopher Columbus? Columbus attacked and invaded the land that the Native Americans inhabited, just because he wanted the gold he thought he would find on their territory. He tortured those poor Indians, forced them to be his slaves, uprooted them from their homeland, tore them away from their family and friends, and ultimately murdered them. That's the parallel I believe the writers of "Avatar" were alluding to. They were trying to show how ridiculous and horrible a situation like that is. It wasn't a racist movie against black people who need to be saved by white people. No, it was a comparison of the horror that humans inflicted on other humans, out of greed. Ok, so chew on that for a bit, and leave me some comments. Thanks. :)
From Surrogates, the movie.
A surrogate body from the movie Surrogates. They are essentially robots with human souls in them, but they are very human-like.
These are the 2 main characters in the movie Avatar. The male is a human inside an avatar, and the female is actually the real deal. She is apart of the Na'vi civlization on her planet, 4.3 lightyears away from earth. I think, if we create surrogate bodies for ourselves, that we should create them to look just like the avatars in this movie!
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