"Avatar" wasn't considered good enough to be included in a list of the year's best films, but the American Film Institute (AFI) may have made amends for its snub of James Cameron's latest by naming his 3D epic one of the year's top moments of significance on Monday.
In addition to hailing the triumphs and travails of the blue skinned inhabitants of Pandora as "a pioneering effort to unleash the human imagination," the institute cited the growing popularity of Twitter, Michael Jackson's death, and Jay Leno's move to prime time as other sea changes in the pop culture landscape.
AFI also took note of some watershed moments that were less than laudable, citing Realty TV and its dwindling appreciation of boundaries as a move in a " ... dangerous new direction."
In making its selection, AFI said its 13-person jury of filmmakers, TV players, scholars, and critics weighed certain criteria including advances in new technologies, deaths or anniversaries of note, and emerging trends in arts and entertainment.
AFI will honor the creative teams behind its eight selections at a luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on January 15.
Here's a list of AFI's moments of significance and the rationale for their selection:
AVATAR – JAMES CAMERON’S MILEPOST IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE ART FORM
James Cameron’s pioneering effort to unleash the human imagination was fully realized in 2009 with the release of "Avatar," a film that firmly established itself as a landmark in the way stories are told.
With an army of technological wizards at his side, writer/director/producer/co-editor Cameron called upon the forces of art and technology to create new tools for storytelling that are groundbreaking in both scope and scale.
The magic of the motion picture – and the transfer of its power to television and now video games – has always found its truest power in its immersive qualities, and with Cameron’s advances in CGI (computer-generated images) and 3D, "Avatar" enters AFI’s almanac as an achievement that will have profound effects on the future of the art form.
TWITTER: THE NEW WATERCOOLER
Twitter, the Internet platform for messages of up to 140 characters, has become a powerful force in the worlds of film and television. It has long been proven that the most effective way to attract an audience is through “word of mouth,” and Twitter allows for these influential conversations to be immediate and international.
Twitter has also created new and direct channels of communication for artists to speak directly to their fan base. Most notably, in 2009, Ashton Kutcher enlisted over one million followers to his “tweets.”
In marketing terms, Twitter and other forms of social networking have allowed motion pictures and television programs the opportunity to both expand and unite their audiences. For example, "Paranormal Activity" became a cultural sensation in 2009 for mastering “word of mouth” marketing via social networks, in addition to telling a terrifying tale very well.
