Compare and contrast essay

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: IGNATIUS JEE SHAO IANG
STUDENT ID NO: 0320069
FILMS SELECTED: Science-Fiction Film
WORD COUNT: 1003
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSIONDATE:APRIL 8th
, 2015

2. Nowadays,filmsplayanimportantrole inourdailylife aseveryone watchmovies.One of the
mostpreferredgenresof filmsisthe science fictiongenre. The touchstone forscientificfiction,then,
isthat it describesanimaginaryinventionordiscoveryinthe natural sciences.The mostserious
piecesof thisfictionarise fromspeculationaboutwhatmayhappenif science makesan
extraordinarydiscovery.The romance isanattemptto anticipate thisdiscoveryanditsimpactupon
society,andto foresee howmankindmayadjusttothe new condition. (Bailey,1947) RecentlyIhave
watchedtwowell-knownscience fictionmoviesof differentaspect,AvatarandWar of The Worlds.
These twomoviesreallygotmyattentionalthoughtheyare differentintheirstoryline,ending,
personalitiesof theirmaincharacterandalsotheirmovie settings.
The storyline of avataris abouthowmankindinvadesthe aliensbutvice versaforthe War of The
World. In the movie Avatar,humanbeingsattackblue-skinnedalien,the Na’vi withjustone goal in
mindthat isto excavate valuable mineral,Unobtaniumonthe planetPandora.The storyline is
basicallyshowingushowscientistscreatesAvatartosubvertthe Na’vi. The humanslaunchtheir
attack on the Na’vi,killingmanyof the Na’vi anddestroyingalmosteverythingonPandora.Jake Sully
inhis avatar,helpsthe Na’vi people toholdtheirgroundandprotecttheirhome.Inthe endtheywin
the battle.Onthe other hand,War of The World isaboutEarth beingattackby the aliensusing
giganticTripodas theirweapon.AlienswhichwerecalledMartiansbeginthe warbyattackingEarth,
theysimplyjustdestroyanythingthatcomesinsight.Althoughthe plotisratherattracting,the
reasonwhythe Martians invade the Earth remainsunknownasthe filmitself doesnotgive aclear
explanationonit.
Both of these moviesshowavastdifference inthe ending.Avatarpossessedagoodendingas it
givessatisfactorytothe viewers. “Isee you”(Avatar,2009) is a famousquotesusedinthe movie.
Towardsthe endof the film,there isa scene showingthatthe nativesof PandoraunderJake’s
supervision, force the RDA personneltoleave the planetonthe remainingValkyrie shutter.Norm
SpellmanandDr.Max Patel were allowedtostayremainonPandora,thisgivesthe viewersa

3. satisfied ending. The mostamazingpartof the movie isthat whenJake returnstothe Tree of Souls,
where the OmaticayasuccessfullytransfersJake’sconsciousnessintohisAvatarbodypermanently.
The endingwrapseverythingupexplicitlywhenJake’sAvataropenedhiseyes.Unlike Avatar, the
endingof War of the Worlds isnot reallysatisfying.Tome the movie islackof the ‘wow’factor
whichcan bringexcitementtothe viewers. The endingwasnotreallyattractingasit isexpected.The
movie endswith the narrator’svoice informingusthatthe alienhadkilledbillions,howeverwere
defencelessagainstdisease-carryingbacteriatowhichhumanshave longbeenimmune.
There are a fewdistinctdifferencesintermsof theircharacteras well.Avatar’smaincharacter,
Jake Sullyisa physicallydisabledmanwhosufferedaspiral injuryinanunarmedwar while fighting
inVenezuela.The injurywassevere,leavinghimparalysedfromthe waistdown.Despite inhis
wheelchair,Jake showshisdecentpersonalitiesinfew placesthroughoutthe movie.Forinstance,
Jake starts a bar fightwitha man whostrikesa woman.EveninhisAvatar form, he tries to do
somethingthatismorallycorrect.Jake sidedthe Na’vi andstophumanbeingsfromevadingPandora
afterhe foundout the true intentionof ColonelMilesQuaritch.Jake isabrave yetencouraging
leader.Eveninanunfavourable situation,he encouragesthe Na’vi peopletofightbackhuman
beings.Unlike Jake,the maincharacterof War of The Worlds,Ray Ferriershows asmidgenof
humanity inhischaracter. He isa divorceddockworkerandaless-than-perfectfather.Notonlythat,
Ray isalso a self-absorbedindividual whofeelsimposeduponbyhavingtobabysit hisownchildren.
While havingcustodyof the kids,he wandersoutwithhisneighbourstowitnessstrange patternsin
the sky,leavinghis10 year olddaughteralone inthe house.Towardsthe climax of the movie,Ray
becomesareal fatherwhenhe decidedtoprotecthischildrenandbringthemtosafety.
For the settingsof the movies,itisobviousthatbothtookplace at differentplaces.The settingsin
Avatar coversmainlyof onthe Pandora,a planetof bothlivingandnon-livingnatural resourcesand
wildlife.Basedonthe director JamesCameron,the screensandbackgroundsinthe filmare mostly
computergenerated,andare of highdefinitionwiththe use of animationsoftware byprofessional

4. designersandillustrators.Forexample,the ‘HallelujahMountain’inAvatarisactuallyinspiredbythe
Chinese HuangShanMountain.Thisexplainedwhy HallelujahMountainhasthe similarappearance
as the Huang Shan Mountain.Onthe otherhand, War of the World’ssettingsare mostlyinthe cities.
Notonlythat, the vast bridge overshadowingRay’shouse isthe Bayonne Bridge whichconnectNew
JerseywithStatenIsland.Inthe film,there’sascene inwhichthe bridge isdestroyed. Althoughit
seemstobe just aroundthe corner of the house inNew Jersey,the areawhere the alienmachines
make theirfirstappearance isabout6 milesnorthinthe downtownIronbound,adistrictof Newark.
All inall,Avatarand War of The Worlds differintermsthe storyline,ending,characterandalso
the settings.Boththe moviesportrays differentaspectsonhow humansinvade aliensandvice
versa.In conclusion,Ireallyenjoyedwatchingbothof these movies.ButIf Iam askedto choose one
amongthem,definitelyIwillpreferAvatarasit bringsmore excitementandfascinationtothe
viewers,unlikeWarof The Worldswhichislack of excitementinit.

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