The spectacular and spendid visuals of ‘Avatar’ have gotten better with its sequel. James Cameron has brought forth an enthralling narrative with grandiose visuals in the sequel ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. The past impressive immersion in the experience of 3-Dimension has gravitated the audience toward the magnum opus.The 2009 film changed the map of cinema and the role of technology in it.
The story also brought forth various topics like colonization and environmental concerns. The film grossed $2,788 million worldwide. Many people turned up to watch the film. It enamored everyone unanimously. However, there were some people, who came out feeling empty and lost faith and the zeal to push themselves in their daily lives. A group of people emerged experiencing something called ‘Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome’.
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What Is ‘Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome’? What Did People Feel?
Not everyone was zealous after watching the 2009 mega-hit ‘Avatar’. There was a group of people experiencing depression as well as suicidal thoughts. The Blue Pandora world fascinated the cine-goers, but some experienced fatigue. Many were taken in what Cameron mounted with those magnificent creatures, and some were taken aback by the concerns that the film highlighted. The immersive experience turned fatal for their mental health. Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome is rather an emotional phenomenon than a mental one.
When the film was released, people started chronicling their different experiences with the film on fan-made forums. One of the people, as per The Guardian, wrote “Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and everything is the same as in Avatar”.
In 2020, on Discord, fans of the film formed a Discord forum called ‘Kelutral’. A digital artist from Texas, Max Perrin experienced the syndrome and found refuge in the online community. He did not watch the film in the cinema hall, but he watched it in 2017, which completely changed his world.
When he was completely swept off his feet by the experience, he wanted to verbalize his experience and put it into words, so he joined the Discord community. But, since then, he was taken aback due to the post-viewing experience with his mental health healing. “I felt like that was an amazing dream, but now I had to wake up. I had to return to the doldrum of reality, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my adult life”, he said.
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Did It Perpetuate With The Film’s Sequel?
In 2010, CNN reported about the Avatar ‘Blues’ that people experienced after they watched the film. Many people had a similar experience like Perrin, where they experienced depressive episodes post the film. Since the anticipation of the film has built, the forums are activated again. ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ has improved since 2009 with top-notch VFX, more realistic portrayal of the creatures, the old and new. But, with an upscaled viewing experience, the anxiety flared up.
Nick Paavo, a game developer, who is also a part of the group said, “There’s definitely been a couple of people — less than you could count on one hand — who have mentioned, ‘Man, I’m worried that this is going to hit me different’. Most of us are blinded by excitement; we’re not even thinking about the possible consequences of what the world looks like after this movie”.
Perrin, according to Variety, said, “I didn’t want a life that was free of problems. It was just that the problems of the world of ‘Avatar’ seemed more overcomeable than my own problems. It’s going to be a very introspective time for me. I don’t think it’s going to be as negative as a lot of people’s first post-‘Avatar’ depression. It is going to be more solemn, sentimental, and retrospective”.
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