The Systems Lessons in “Avatar”
by Colleen Ponto
I went to see the movie Avatar Sunday night with my husband--a rare event for me on two counts: (1) seeing a movie, and (2) being with my husband without our kids. According to my three children,
this was a "Mom, you have to see this movie" movie. So I went.
Even though I am not an appreciative fan of science fiction, violence, or special effects, Avatar may just be one of those transformational films, a film that shifts human consciousness. There were so many systems principles embedded in Avatar. Concepts such as "everything is interconnected," "every solution creates new problems," "nothing exists independent of its relationships," "waste = food," "there is no 'away,'" and "information (or feedback) is the fuel of life" were key messages of this film. And one final systems principle came to mind as I left the theater--"you can never direct a living system to change, you can only disturb it." Avatar certainly was a "disturbing" movie.
During the car ride home, I asked my husband lots of questions about James Cameron, the director of the film (since I am not a moviegoer, I know very little about anyone in the film industry)--about who he is, his character, his political views, etc. He didn't know. And then in yesterday's Seattle Times, I found the following quote from James Cameron, a statement he made at the Annual Golden Globes Awards that addressed some of my questions:
"Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected, all human beings to each other, and us to the Earth. And if you have to go four and a half light years to another made-up planet to appreciate this miracle of the world that we have right here, well, you know what, that's the wonder of cinema right there, that's the magic."
Another systems thinking educator has successfully landed on center stage. Bravo, James Cameron, Bravo!
Colleen Ponto, Ed.D., teaches at Seattle University, where she is a core faculty member of the Organization Systems Renewal Graduate Program, which specializes in helping adult learners to become designers and leaders of systemic organizational change. Colleen is also an independent educational and organizational consultant. One of her current passions is teaching systems thinking to learners of all ages.