A fact that has long been tested in practice: the more famous the object, the more rumors around it, the more attacks on it and the more people dream of attracting attention to themselves at someone else's expense. In this light, it is logical that James Cameron's Avatar, which has already become legendary, receives criticism even years after its release.
First of all, it is worth emphasizing that the script for the highest-grossing film in history does not really shine with particular originality. The author was accused of plagiarism and old Soviet science fiction, and a number of cartoons, such as Bats for Planet Terra or Pacahontas, and even Oscar nominees (Dancing with Wolves). The reason for this, according to experts, is not the theft of ideas, but the use of "common" thoughts that are found in almost every culture. For example, intersections can be found with both Buddhist mythology and Ancient Greek.
Actually, another sensational statement came from Andrei Borisov, Minister of Culture of Yakutia. He said critically that 20 years ago he was sure that Hollywood directors would get to the traditional Yakut epics - and the best confirmation of this was Avatar, based on the legendary Olonkho. Moreover, the epic itself, in his opinion, is much closer to modern youth than "Cameron's special effects."
However, the "plot theft" was skillful and quite unnoticeable. In Olonkho, the main character unexpectedly learns about the divine genealogy, which pushes him in search of his beloved. The main part of the plot consists of passing a series of tests and fighting enemies from the "nether world". It is worth recalling that in "Avatar" the main character, a military man, betrays his army in order to be on the side of the indigenous people, illegally expelled from their land.
There are clear intersections of plots, however: in the Yakut epic, the tree of the universe appears, which divides the world into three parts. The essence of the tree is a certain goddess. James Cameron also "planted" a huge sacred tree on his Pandora, and even gave him an immaterial spirit: however, he expanded it throughout the planet. But that's where any similarities end.
The reason for this may be that Olonkho is not a specific story, but a whole system of epics, only some of which were translated into Russian, and some were not written down at all, remaining only in the heads of the indigenous population. Perhaps Borisov, expressing his thought at the UNESCO congress, meant not the most famous part of the saga?
