1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: LIM ZIA HUEI
STUDENT ID NO: 0321031
FILMS SELECTED: AVANTAR;CHAPPIE
WORD COUNT: 902 WORDS
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSIONDATE: APRIL 8TH
, 2015

2. Contrast Essay
Science-Fiction Films
People nowadaysliketowatchmoviesinthe cinemasfor entertainmentpurposesespeciallythe young
people. They either go to the cinemas with their friends or go as couples. Watching movies are just so
easynowcompare tobefore.We notreallyneedtogotothe cinemastowatchthe moviesalthoughsome
people feelthatwatchingmovieswithfriendsinthe cinemasare more enjoyable.We canjust watchthe
moviesat home using our televisionsorlaptops.DVD also can be seensoldeverywhere inthe shopping
complexes.There are somanygenresof the filmsshowninthe cinemas.One of the genresthatare quite
famous is science-fiction films which are films that are fiction based on imagined future scientific or
technological advancesandmajorsocial orenvironmental changes.Thisisalsoone of myfavorites. Some
of the science-fiction films that I had watched before were Avatar and Chappie. There are some
differencesbetweenthistwofilmsalthoughtheyare inthe same genre. The differencesthatI can found
inbothfilmsare the eventshappened,scientific-fieldsinvolved,relationshipsamongthe maincharacters
and differentculturesshowedinthe films.
Firstof all,the eventshappenedinbothfilmswere different.InAvatar,the eventtookplace outsideof
the Earth whichwasonadenselyforestedhabitablemoonorbitingthe gasgiantPolyphemusinthe Alpha
Centauri star system called Pandora. From the film, humans were said to have depleted Earth’s natural
resources,leadingtoa severe energycrisisby2154. Hence,The ResourcesDevelopmentAdministration
(RDA) mines for a valuable mineral which was unobtaniumon Pandora. In the other hand, the event in
Chappie took place on Earth that was Johannesburg, South African. The South African police force
purchasedarmor-platedattackrobotsfromweaponsmanufacturerTetravaal inordertocombatthe high
crime rate inJohannesburgand indeed,itwasa success.The robots were known as police robots inthe
film. Hence,itisobviousthatthe eventshappenedinthe filmsare totallydifferentwhichare outsidethe
Earth and on the Earth.
Next, the scientific-fields involved in the films were different. The scientific-field involved in the film,
Avatarwasmostlylifescience orbiology.Inthe film,scientistsusedNa’vi-humanhybridscalled“avatars”,
operatedby geneticallymatchedhumans;JakeSullyinordertoexplorePandora’sbiosphere.Avatarcould
be said as a remotely located body, a biological body. However, the scientific field involved in Chappie
was different. This film involved mostly physical science. One of the main characters, Deon Wilson
invented the police robots in order to help the police to lower the crime rate. After that, he created a
prototype artificial intelligence thatmimickedahumanmindto the pointof feelingemotionsandhaving
opinions.He trieditonadamagedrobotand the robotwas namedChappie. Itisclearthatalthoughboth
filmsinvolve science butthe scientific-fieldsare different.
Besides that, both films showed different types of relationshipsamong the main characters. Avatar
showedmostlythe romanticloverrelationshipbetweenthe charactersJake andNeytiri.The filmapplied
a star-crossed love came from radically different cultures that were contemptuous of their relationship
and were forced to choose between the competing communities. In the other hand, Chappie showeda
familyrelationshipamongthe maincharacters.Deonwhichwasthe makerof Chappie treatedChappie as
hisson. Notonlythat, one of the gangsters,Yolandi actedasa motherrole to Chappie.Theyboth taught
Chappie tobecomeagoodandkindbeingaswellasnotinvolving incrimes.However,oneof thegangsters
which is Ninja acted as a bad father and taught Chappie to play with guns and also rob cars. The Avatar

3. filmshowaromanticloverrelationshipandthe Chappiefilmshow afamilyrelationshipbetweenoramong
the maincharacters.
Lastly,both filmsshowedcertainbutdifferentcultures.Cameronwasaskedaboutthe meaningof the
termAvatar before ina2007 interviewwithTime magazine.HisreplywasthatAvatarwasan incarnation
of one of the Hindugodstakingafleshform.Inthisfilmwhatthatmeanswasthatthe humantechnology
inthe future iscapable of injecting ahuman’sintelligence intoaremotelylocatedbody,abiological body.
Not only that, the color of the Na’vi had a connection to the Hindu deities. So, this film showedHindu’s
culture in it. In the film Chappie,it was mostly talking about the gangster culture. The film showedhow
gangsters lived and found money through making crime such as selling drug and robbing. There were
many scenes of fighting and negotiating among gangsters in this film. Gangsters fought each other for
moneyandtheirownlives.Itwasquite interestingtofindoutthe differentculturesinvolvedinboth films.
Both filmswere somuch differentfromeachotheralthoughtheywere categorizedinthe same genre
whichwasscience-fiction. Theyhaddifferentevents,scientific-fields,relationshipsandculturesinvolved.
Science-fictionmoviesare amazingfor me.This genre of moviesshow our imaginationof future science
and technology.Sometimes,the imaginaryscienceortechnologythatshowedinthe moviescanbecame
true.Thisisthe reasonIlike thistypeof moviessomuch.Ithelpedinimprovingourscience andtechnology
by givingnewideas.

4. References
 Peggy.K. (2009,December 19). Is Avatar Science-Fiction? Retrieved from
http://blog.sciencefictionbiology.com/2009/12/is-avatar-science-fiction.html
 Roger.E. (2009,December 11). Avatar. Retrieved from
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/avatar-2009#
 Daniel.D. (2015,March 6). We Need Good Sci-Fi Movies, And Chappie Isn’t One Of Them.
Retrievedfrom http://time.com/3732300/chappie-sci-fi-ai/
 Sandy.S. (2013,April 6). Neil Blomkamp’sSci-Fi Comedy ’Chappie’ Gets a Synopsis; Production
Begins This Fall. Retrieved from http://screenrant.com/chappie-movie-neil-blomkamp-
synopsis-start-date-2014/