Bit of a Fire and Ash think-piece?
No intentional spoilers but read at your own risk.
Something I thought was interesting in Fire and Ash was how the humans were referred to as 'Pink-skins' a lot as a descriptor. And it makes sense from the Na'vi's perspective to refer to them as that, as most of the human population on Pandora has been shown to be either white or fair skinned people. Honestly I can count on my hand the number of obviously brown skinned characters in this franchise that have speaking roles.
But after seeing how much weight the term 'Pink-skin' has in the film, Im wondering if brown skin humans are viewed in the same light? Obviously they would be viewed in hatred probably as they would still be considered a Skyperson, but thinking of characters like Max makes me wonder if the Na'vi view him differently (even on a subconscious level) compared to Norm, even though they are both scientist.
Maybe I'm coming from this at a personal angle as a black person, and have grown up seeing discourse and different ways people are treated if they are considered Light-skin, Brown-skin, or Dark-skin, and am wondering if that same human concept is applied to the Na'vi.
Would a Na'vi view a black or brown person differently if they saw similar features between their species? Similar hair textures and styles? Similar cultural practices and maybe ways of dress?
What if they interacted with a black avatar driver? Because from every source material I've checked, there has never been a confirmed one. (Alma from Frontiers of Pandora may be Black or Afro-Hispanic, but it has not been confirmed.) Would the Na'vi, or at the very least the Omatikaya have a different outlook on humans if just one was able to speak about having a similar culture to the na'vi? A similar outlook on life?
I know that most Na'vi characters are specially played by POC for this specific reason, as their cultures are what shape and inspire the Na'vi as a whole. But now I can't help but wonder what it would be like if more human characters were specifically brown POC.
Other than Max in the films, the only other brown POC with names in the franchise are almost all from Frontiers. With Alma (who is an interesting case due to her actions), Priya, Rajinder, Anqa, Alex, and Harding (again another interesting case considering her actions).
And almost all of these characters are active members of the resistance against the RDA. It would be so interesting, even if only from a visual standpoint to see more POC characters at places like High Camp in the films, compared to the "Pinkness" of places like Bridgehead.
It would give such a intetesting contrast between the skypeople Neytiri may be able to 'tolerate' more than the majority that are present on Pandora. The majority that have been the reason for so much of her personal pain, but still share DNA with her husband and children.
