Cultures of the Na'vi and North Korea: A Comparative Analysis

With the hundreds of cultures created through-out the centuries, fictional or non-fictional, culture is such a diverse subject. Each custom, idea and social behavior one follows is unique, however and when comparing two cultures, there can be many differences and similarities. When looking at the fictional culture from the movie ‘Avatar’, the Na’vi, which is the indigenous inhabitants of the moon ‘Pandora’, compared to early-day North Korean culture which there is a lack of similarities when cross comparing both cultures.

North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has morphed into an isolated and paranoid nation that tightly controls what the outside world sees. Ruled by the Kim dynasty, Kim Jong-un, the current supreme leader of Korea, has implicated brutal and inhumane rules. Those who have escaped North Korea, by illegally leaving the country have described the nation as a place where most people struggle for basic necessities such as food and medicine. Family is one of the most important aspects of an individual's life and can shape the individual. Family structure in North Korea is based around a patrilocal residence, meaning that the married couple lives with or near the male’s parents/family. Families tend to be small, only having between 4 - 5 members and usually no more than two generations. Most families aren’t religious in North Korea as religion is a sensitive subject, legally North Korea has the ‘right to freedom of religion’, but this is not respected in any aspect. Christians and other religious believers in North Korea tend to face serve persecutions, such as prison and/or torture. North Korea does not allow any religious freedom as it’s seen as a betrayal to the political status quo of Kim Jong Un as he demands total allegiance to himself. Going into North Korea politics, it has been ruled by one of the world’s longest-running dynastic dictatorship. It’s a system of patronage. The North Korean government is forcibly obtaining the loyalty of citizens to tend to the needs of the government and its hierarchy. The government is always in control of the citizens and the supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, is at the top of the hierarchy with his god-like complex, he’s forced the people of North Korea to worship him out of fear for themselves and their families. Kim Jong Un was born into the dynastic dictatorship, giving him all political power. This is leaving North Korea's economy to be solely coordinated by the government. The country is isolated, tightly controlled and is based on a communist system of production, the people of North Korea don’t get much of a say and if they do not obey the party ideology (the set of rules and regulations set out by the government) they are punished. North Korea is a difficult and hard culture to follow and is filled with patrilocal and misogynistic behaviors, it’s a culture one tends to follow out of fear.

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The Na’vi is a complex, a spiritually based society where the ‘sentient extraterrestrial humanoids’ follow sacred rules and worship the god-like sentient intelligence species known as Ewya. They not only respect those around them but they respect and worship the environment, making sure to keep the beings out of harm's way. The Family structure in the Na’vi is complex, the Na’vi beings are big on family, having monogamous relationships, which mate for life. By having such a spiritually developed culture, almost all beings and creatures are family, treating all biotic bodies carefully, due to such a connection to their environment and its natural order, including the deity which oversees the ecosystem, named ‘Ewya’. Ewya is in a sense a ‘god-like’ figure to the Na’vi beings. It’s a creature which not only protects the ecosystem but also guides the Na’vi women. This is seen as a religious aspect for the Na’vi beings. The females of the clan are more spiritually driven, although the environment of Pandora has an almost consciousness embedded through-out it’s biological aspects, the women are seen as the messengers to Ewya and convey its power through various rituals and religious practices. The Tree of Life is also a part of the religious aspects, where the Na’vi use the roots of the tree to communicate with their ancestors, the Tree of Life is very sacred to the Na’vi people. The spiritual aspects of the Na’vi, outweigh any economic value that Pandora has, the beings find almost all creatures equal and deserve to be treated respectfully. There is also no currency in Pandora, however, there is a sort of order within, such as having specific jobs for each clan member like being a hunter. The only expectation is treating all creatures with respect. The only political order which is present in the Na’vi is the two important clan leaders which help guide the community, one being the spiritual leader, who is in touch with Ewya and who is a direct messenger from deity itself. The spiritual leader is in charge of the females in the clan, teaching them the ways of Ewya. The other being the Clan leader, who is in charge of the warriors of the clan, mainly men, the clan leader and spiritual leader are bonded for life and are the top of the social hierarchy of the Na’vi people. The Na’vi is a spiritually based culture having many aspects solely based on the way others are treated and how respectful one is to their creatures.

When comparing the two cultures, there are many differences and similarities throughout their practices. Family structure is a big part of each culture when comparing the Na’vi and North Korea, the main difference is the respect that women receive. Women are seen as weak individuals and are solely used throughout their lifetime when comparing this to the Na’vi, women are almost sacred, as they are the worshippers to Ewya. Ewya is also a big difference when comparing both cultures, every single one of the Na’ vi people are expected to worship and follow Ewya which is a deity to the beings, North Korean on the other hand, does not allow any other religious factors to be practiced and expect North Koreans to only care about the political factors in North Korea. The Na’vi people nurture their ecosystems and are in touch with their surroundings, comparing this to North Korea, North Koreas only use of its environment is for economic factors. When comparing the political order of both cultures, North Korea bases the whole political system in favor of the supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un but for the Na’vi, although there is a sort of political order, referring to the clan and spiritual leader, the Na’vi is more focused on keeping its creatures and environment safe, instead of using them for economic value.

Overall, when comparing both cultures, the differences immensely outweigh the similarities, it’s clear to see that North Korea is only considerate about its government, whereas the Na’vi focuses on the people.