Some people are blue people and some are not. James Cameron’s ambitious 3D fantasy Avatar caused a sensation when it was released in 2009. No one had ever seen anything like it, which didn’t make it a great film, even if its novelty helped make it a top grosser movies of all time. Avatar seemed to tap into a genuine desire for novelty, and its relatively simple story—of a lunar planet of highly evolved nature-loving beings with blue skin, overrun by greedy colonialist humans—made for an easily recognizable parable of the myriad real-life crimes that white people have perpetuated in our world for centuries. Whether or not you cared about the Na’Vi, the blue people of Cameron’s invented moon, Pandora, you could find all the depth you wanted in Avatar. And given the then-new technology Cameron had used to make it, it was often extremely beautiful to look at.
And then, in part because the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the next shiny thing, most people have kind of forgotten about Pandora and Avatar, even though Cameron hasn’t. Building on the technology he developed for the first film, he has spent the past 13 years making not just one sequel but two, with two more films already in the planning stages. Now Avatar: The Way of Water, that first sequel, is here. How much do you care? Or rather, how much can James Cameron’s car interest you, which is a sort of humanoid hybrid between the real James Cameron and the idea of James Cameron as an infallible hit man, especially if you were indifferent before?
Final Thoughts
Deciding when to give a child their first mobile phone is an individual decision that each family will have to make together. That decision will vary based on very important factors like your child’s maturity and your family dynamics. It’s not so much about the appropriate age for mobile phones as it is about the level of maturity required for responsible use. With careful consideration, careful supervision, and thoughtful discussion, getting your child or teenager’s first cell phone doesn’t have to be such a scary milestone, after all.
Holiday-themed winter activities
- Organize your own Gingerbread House Building Competition.
- Visit Santa Claus.
- String popcorn to make a garland for your tree.
- Create salt dough decorations.
- Make paper snowflakes. We suggest the traditional approach for the little ones, but the 3D snowflakes for the more advanced crafter.
- Check out some library books during the holidays that you’d like to know more about, like Kwanzaa or Hanukkah.
- Weave a mkeka. A mkeka is a woven straw mat and is one of the seven symbols of Kwanzaa, signifying the importance of starting all projects with a solid foundation.
- Make a Kwanzaa necklace with dried pasta.
- Build a spinning star mobile for Hanukkah.
- Make your own dreidel and play.
Here are some bonus activities for good measure. Check out some classics:
It all boils down to maturity
When it comes to giving your child a phone, James P. Steyer, the director of Common Sense Media, says: “. . .No two children are the same. There is no magic number. A child’s age is not as important as their responsibility or maturity level.
Knowing when to give your child a phone is more a matter of maturity and individual circumstances than age. Know your child better than anyone: Is he ready to handle a phone?