Despite advocating veganism and anti-gun policy, movie director James Cameron said he can "relate" to Marvel movie monster Thanos who committed genocide and wiped out half the universe.
Talking to Time magazine, he said of the villain: "I can relate to Thanos…. I thought he had a pretty viable answer. The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be the half that has to go."
Cameron has been one of Hollywood’s most famous filmmakers behind blockbuster films such as "Titanic" (1997), "Avatar" (2009), "Aliens" (1986), and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991). In recent years, his political commentary has made headlines, such as when he lamented parts of his past career, suggesting to The Hollywood Reporter he had once been a "testosterone-poisoned young man." He added that the hormone associated with masculinity is "a toxin that you have to slowly work out of your system."
The February 16 Time article by Eliana Dockterman began by recounting, "James Cameron wanted a vegan set on Avatar: The Way of Water. Anything less would be hypocritical. The sci-fi epic, which reportedly cost more than $350 million, centers on aliens fending off invading humans who have depleted earth’s resources. ‘We couldn’t lecture oil companies and turn around and eat hamburgers,’ he says."
The article elaborated further on Cameron’s staunch advocacy of far-left environmentalism.
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"Cameron may have also intended to make a larger point to Hollywood. When the director brought the idea for the first Avatar to 20th Century Fox, he says executives asked him to strip the script of ‘tree hugging’ because they thought it wouldn’t sell tickets. He refused," Time wrote. "Avatar went on to achieve massive success, grossing nearly $3 billion globally."
The article then shifted to discuss the super villain Thanos from Marvel Studios' movie franchise, who gained the power to wipe out half of all life in order to bring "balance" the universe.
"Since then, other movies like Avengers: Infinity War have tackled climate change. Still, that Marvel blockbuster doesn’t exactly endorse green activism. In fact, it’s the villain who becomes so concerned with waning resources that he uses magic to snap his fingers and demolish half of all life in the universe," Dockterman wrote. "'I can relate to Thanos,' Cameron says. ‘I thought he had a pretty viable answer. The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be the half that has to go.’"
In a previous interview with Esquire Middle East, the director cheered New Zealand for its tough gun control and lamented his past use of guns in action films such as "Terminator," "Aliens," and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
"I actually cut about 10 minutes of the movie targeting gunplay action. I wanted to get rid of some of the ugliness, to find a balance between light and dark," he told Esquire Middle East.
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He noted further, "I look back on some films that I’ve made, and I don’t know if I would want to make that film now. I don’t know if I would want to fetishize the gun, like I did on a couple of Terminator movies 30+ years ago."
